Buffett's kids use dad's ideas to invest in giving

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) ? As they work to give away part of Warren Buffett's roughly $47 billion fortune, his three children have adopted an approach that looks remarkably similar to their father's technique for making all that money.

Like Buffett, each relies on tiny staffs. And just like their father invests only in businesses he understands, they restrict their giving to their targeted projects.

Warren Buffett doesn't direct how the foundations created by Susie, Howard and Peter Buffett spend the estimated $2.6 billion in Berkshire Hathaway stock they'll receive, but his children seem to have absorbed his philosophy.

"I think the only pressure I feel from him is making sure we're smart about how we spend the money," said Howard Buffett. "He's had no influence on where we give money, but he's had a big influence on how we go about it."

Buffett's children have focused on different topics, reflecting their divergent interests.

Howard Buffett is helping farmers in impoverished nations produce more to reduce world hunger. Susie Buffett is strengthening early childhood education and looking for ways to reduce teen pregnancy. And Peter Buffett wants to empower women and girls worldwide through education, collaboration and economic development to end violence against women.

"We're given this amazing opportunity to try and make change where we can," Peter Buffett said. "And being our father's children, we don't think small."

The Buffett children have all been running foundations their parents set up for them since the late 1990s, but they had to dramatically increase their giving after 2006 when Warren Buffett announced his overall giving plan and the children received their first annual gift of stock worth roughly $65 million to each of them.

They'll have to ramp up their giving again because Buffett's annual gifts of Berkshire Hathaway stock will increase to roughly $100 million to $125 million to each child next summer.

Although his children's foundations will each eventually receive stock worth about $2.6 billion, their charitable work is still overshadowed by their dad's main pledge to give the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation stock worth more than $44 billion.

Warren Buffett is also giving nearly $4.4 billion worth of stock to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, named for the investor's first wife, who died in 2004. That organization promotes women's reproductive health and tries to limit the spread of nuclear weapons.

All three younger Buffetts said they're glad their father encouraged them to take risks, so they wouldn't be afraid to tackle difficult issues.

The Buffett children also said they are glad their parents had the foresight to set up separate foundations for each of them, so they could all go their own way.

Howard Buffett regularly travels to poverty-stricken parts of the world to talk with farmers and check up on projects his foundation has funded, but the 57-year-old often doesn't tell his dad where he's going until after he returns to avoid worrying him about the dangers of destinations like the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Howard Buffett, who raises corn and soybeans in Illinois, likes to get a close look at the challenges those farmers he's trying to help face. He said when he's travelling he's reminded of how his mother would try to help anyone in need she encountered.

"It's very hard for me to walk into those circumstances and not try to do something," he said.

In his giving, Howard Buffett tries to focus on programs that can be continued after the initial grant ends, so he doesn't support introducing expensive hybrid seeds and irrigation in places where farmers can't afford them.

The elder Buffett manages one of the world's largest conglomerates with a tiny staff of two dozen at its Omaha headquarters, and Howard, Susie and Peter run their foundations with staffs less than half that size.

Peter Buffett, 54, said the three children also have applied their father's belief in limiting his investments to areas he understands.

"You want to be as focused on an end goal as you can be," Peter Buffett said. "In a very practical way, it helps you say no."

Peter Buffett, who is a musician and composer, is working on leveling the playing field for women and girls worldwide through a variety of programs. He hopes that if girls, particularly in impoverished areas, can get access to more resources and education they'll be ready to play a larger role in their communities and decision making.

Peter Buffett's NoVo Foundation also support programs to help U.S. schools teach kids social and emotional skills and sound decision-making.

Susie Buffett said she enjoys trying to tackle messy, human problems that aren't easy to solve, much like her mom did.

"That comes directly from my childhood. It is what I watched my mother do," said Susie Buffett, 59. "She had me in the car with her at a very early age in the housing projects and deep in the community. She was very involved personally. It was not a check-writing thing. It was her being there."

Susie Buffett was always interested in education, but she decided to focus her giving on early childhood education after asking Omaha's schools superintendent where she could make the biggest difference.

Because Susie Buffett is the only one of Warren's children living in Omaha, she also uses her Sherwood Foundation to support Omaha nonprofits that help make the city a better place and help low-income neighborhoods.

Warren Buffett's decision to increase the amount of money he is giving his children's foundations indicates he supports their work, and he praised their philanthropy.

"Everything has impressed me," Buffett said "They're each doing things they have a special interest in which they have some special abilities too. And they work very hard at it."

___

Follow Josh Funk online at www.twitter.com/funkwrite

___

Online:

Berkshire Hathaway Inc.: http://www.berkshirehathaway.com

Sherwood Foundation: http://www.sherwoodfoundation.org

Howard G. Buffett Foundation: http://www.thehowardgbuffettfoundation.org

NoVo Foundation: http://novofoundation.org

Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation: http://www.stbfoundation.org

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: http://www.gatesfoundation.org

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/buffetts-kids-dads-ideas-invest-giving-151856741--finance.html

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FITSOUL: Say HELLO to the Biggest Fitness e-store

Cricket is a game of ups and downs. Blazing balls, equally chastening shots, tough decisions and some swear words to add some gusto to the plate of viewers and Gentleman's not so gentle game.Cricket may have befuddle and remained surrounded by controversies for much of the world, but has and will always be called the gentlemen's game - played in whites (sometimes), with stadium prized as high as the grace of a batsman's "strokes".

Cricket is an obsession for most of the Indians and it is better understood as a religion. In recent years, the test match admirers have dwindled, and the new forms of cricket such as 20-20 which is played can be finished in couple of hours - people are getting more and more inclined and bewitched by this shorter version, fast paced form that wraps faster than many baseball games.

Cricket has seen many changes over the course of time. Its enormous popularity in India is commendable. This is one reason why cricket attracts numerous sponsors here. In addition, the matches played in and by India are more and higher than most of the other cricket playing countries, with each game being followed like a ritual.

The popular saying, "If cricket is the religion, Sachin is God" sculpts that how we Indians are smitten by this game.To tap the same enthusiasm and serve all cricket fans with branded and international cricket goods 'Fitsoul' came to being.

Fitsoul is one of its kind exclusive sports gears and goods e-commerce online destination that gives you numerous options to choose from at unbelievably affordable prizes. Fitsoul offers you the biggest and the most anticipated assortment of 'English willow' and 'Kashmir willow' bats, Elbow, thigh and abdominal guards, with helmets, Cricket balls, Bat grips and everything you can think of!

Just like apparels, Cricket Sports good are available under various brands names. Some of the highly reputed companies are Cosco, Adidas and Kookaburra. Generally, these brands are not available under same roof and if it does it doesn't give you much choice to choose from. But Fitsoul is one destination which is profusely stuffed with the best cricketing goods from the finest makers.

Fitsoul is an interactive experiences just a click away that you'd cherish, a single stop for all your snazzy, zappy and coolest fitness and sports gear goods.

Source: http://www.artipot.com/articles/1391607/fitsoul-say-hello-to-the-biggest-fitness-e-store.htm

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Are You Working on Your Real Estate Investing Business Efficiently?

In my previous article I talked about a book that I felt was well worth the investment of money (to buy) and time (to read). I must say, it was a great decision on my part to purchase that book. It was?definitely?the most efficient use of my money and time. Tired of me patting myself on the back? I?m tired of it too. Time for some humble pie?

It?s easy to talk about our great decisions, but I believe the most can be learned from bad decisions. This bad decision revolves around the book, Access 2007 ? The Missing Manual.

If you are a real estate investor, DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK!

I mean no offense to the author, Matthew MacDonald by saying this. In all actuality, the portion I did read was well put together and helpful; however, the main problem is I should have NEVER been reading this book in the first place!

You?re Getting Into Real Estate Investing ? Right?

When I was first getting started, my goal was to become a successful real estate investor, NOT a successful database management professional. What in the world was I thinking by purchasing and then beginning to read this book? As obvious as it may seem, my thought process at the time was (and still is) a very very easy and?cleverly?hidden trap: if I learn how to do this, my business will be much more efficient and I will save money. - WRONG!!!

To rub some additional salt into my own wound (serve up some more humble pie for myself), I should add that I am a former engineer, so I am pretty well versed in Excel spreadsheets. I bring up this point to show that even though the obvious ?time efficient path? should have been clear to me, I still fell into the trap.

Time is Not Unlimited

Check out how thick the book is! Again, what was I thinking?!?! Not only is this book over 700 pages, it was pretty darn complicated given the fact I knew nothing about Access 2007. I still remember sitting at my computer, going page? by page? by page? and barely making any progress. After a while I though, ?this is terrible, what a waste of time!?, but then I would justify continuing with the simple thought of ?well, I spend company capital on the book, so I better get my monies worth?? ugggg! I hate when I trick myself with those irrational thoughts!

Finally, I convinced myself that this?endeavor?was a complete waste, especially given the fact that I knew my way around a spreadsheet. I threw the book up on my shelf and haven?t picked it up until today to take the pictures of it.

Lesson to Be Learned

I?m assuming if you are reading this, it is because you came to BiggerPockets looking to learn more about real estate investing, and not database management. With that being said, spend your time learning about things that pertain to your goals. Yes, I know that seems so obvious, but learn from my mistake, it can happen!

If you want to become a landlord, spend your time learning about how to screen?tenants, solid lease agreements, the laws in your state, etc. If your goal is to be a wholesaler, spend your time learning marketing methods and ways to track your marketing. If your goal is to be a flipper, spend your time finding those solid contractors and sub contractors.

Don?t go and waste your time with things that aren?t going to significantly benefit your goal. I use the word ?significantly? because there does need to be some distinction. By learning Access 2007,?could I have benefited from it? Absolutely. I could do it all myself and not have to worry about ever paying someone to create a certain type of database. However? is that benefit really ?that? good considering the amount of time I would have had to spend in order to accomplish it? No way!!! Not even close!!! If I ever need to create a complicated Access database, I will GLADLY pay an expert to do it. It would be well worth it.

Do You Have an Access 2007 In Your Life?

Stop and think about what you are currently spending your time on. No matter if you?re a rookie, somewhat experienced, or a hardcore veteran. Is there anything that you are spending your time doing that really won?t have ?that? much benefit to you once you accomplish it? Odds are, you do in one way or another. Heck, I probably have a couple right now that I?m not totally aware of (yet).

Remember, being an efficient/successful business person and investor is all about making sure your ?time spent? is proportional to your ?benefit gained?.

I would love to throw my book up on Amazon or eBay to sell it. Or better yet, use it as kindling for a bonfire, but I keep it around. I place it in a spot where I can always see it while sitting at my desk to remind me of this: use your time wisely!

Welcome to Our Blog!
Welcome to the BiggerPockets Blog. Our blog brings together experts in various fields of real estate with the goal of keeping our readers informed and up to speed. Whether you're a real estate professional (lender, Realtor, banker, etc), investor (landlord, flipper, wholesaler, etc.), or simply a consumer, renter or homeowner interested in the world of real estate, this blog is the place for you to get involved!

You can subscribe to our RSS feed, get blog updates by email, join our free mailing list, or best of all, join our social network along with 63,000 others interested in real estate education, dealmaking, networking, and marketing.

Author: Clay Huber

Clay's Website: http://huberpropertygroup.com/

Clay has written 20 articles for us.

Clay is a licensed real estate agent and the owner of Huber Property Group, LLC, a real estate investment company located in Grand Rapids, MI. His company purchases distressed properties with the main exit strategy of fixing them up and reselling with owner financing, particularly, land contracts.

Source: http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2012/09/28/real-estate-investor-time-management/

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HBT: Braun makes history by joining 40/30 club

The Brewers lost 7-6 to the Astros last night and now sit five games behind the Cardinals for the second Wild Card spot with five games left to play. While the Brewers? playoff hopes are hanging by a thread, Ryan Braun is busy making history.

Braun doubled in the sixth inning last night before stealing third base. He now has 30 stolen bases on the year to go along with a career-high 41 home runs. This is just the 11th time in MLB history that a player has amassed at least 40 homers and 30 stolen bases in one season.

Here are the others:

2006: Alfonso Soriano ? 46 home runs and 41 stolen bases

1999: Jeff Bagwell ? 42 home runs and 32 stolen bases

1998: Alex Rodriguez ? 42 home runs and 46 stolen bases

1997: Barry Bonds ? 40 home runs and 37 stolen bases

1997: Larry Walker ? 49 home runs and 33 stolen bases

1997: Jeff Bagwell ? 43 home runs and 31 stolen bases

1996: Barry Bonds ? 42 home runs and 40 stolen bases

1996: Ellis Burks ? 40 home runs and 32 stolen bases

1988: Jose Canseco ? 42 home runs and 40 stolen bases

1963: Hank Aaron ? 44 home runs and 31 stolen bases

Braun won the National League MVP award last season by hitting .332/.397/.597 with 33 home runs, 111 RBI, 33 stolen bases and a .994 OPS. He has a strong case for the award again this year on pure numbers alone, delivering a .319/.391/.602 batting line to go along with a .993 OPS. His 41 homers and 112 RBI currently lead the National League. Of course, the chances of a repeat are likely pretty slim. The Brewers are almost certainly going to miss the postseason and we?ll probably see quite a few voters dock him for his overturned PED test. Not saying it?s fair, as he should be assessed on his 2012 contributions alone and not the controversy that followed him into spring training, but that?s the reality of the situation.

Source: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/29/ryan-braun-makes-history-by-joining-4030-club/related

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Who's watching? 3-D TV is no hit with viewers

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Phil Orlins knows everything about producing TV in three dimensions. The ESPN producer has captured the undulating greens of Augusta National and the flying motor bikes of the X-Games for ESPN's 3-D channel. But he can only guess how well his shows resonate with viewers. That's because 3-D audiences are so small they can't be measured by Nielsen's rating system.

"The feedback on The Masters was fast and furious. You could go on Twitter at any moment, and there'd be comments coming in every minute about 3-D coverage," said Orlins while giving a tour of a production truck at this summer's X-Games. "But then you go to some other events where it's pretty quiet."

Orlins' problem is that fewer than 115,000 American homes are tuned into 3-D channels at any one time. That's less than a hundredth of the 20.2 million-strong audience that saw television's highest-rated show "NCIS" this week. 3-D viewership is so tiny that The Nielsen Co.'s methods are unable to capture any meaningful data about viewers' programming preferences.

ESPN 3D is one of nine 3-D channels that launched in the years following the late 2009 release of James Cameron's "Avatar." The 3-D blockbuster won three Oscars and ranks as the highest-grossing film of all time, garnering $2.8 billion at the global box office.

"Avatar" was supposed to change everything. Enthusiastic television executives expected the movie to spur 3-D's transition to American living rooms, boosting sales of new TVs and giving people a reason to pay more for 3-D channels.

That never happened.

Only 2 percent of TVs in the U.S. are able to show 3-D programming, according to the most recent data from research firm IHS Screen Digest. That's about 6.9 million sets out of 331 million. After this year's Christmas buying rush, IHS expects the number of 3-D-capable televisions installed in homes to jump to 19.3 million, mostly because 3-D viewing technology is being built into most new large-screen TVs. But even with the jump, 3-D TVs will amount to less than 6 percent of all sets.

"We've learned with every passing day that we were ahead of the curve further than we thought we were," said Bryan Burns, the business leader for ESPN 3D. "We hit the on-ramp earlier than we realized at the time."

Why 3-D television hasn't become a national craze is a mystery to some in the industry, considering the wide acceptance of 3-D movies at theaters. But 3-D content is expensive to produce, and as a result there's not a lot of it. Some of the content isn't very good. Some people find the special glasses required for 3-D TV uncomfortable. And many wonder whether it's worth the extra cost.

"It was kind of fascinating to me, but it's not all there," said Tim Carter, a graphic designer in Sarasota, Fla., who bought a large, high-end 3-D TV with other high-end features last year for about $1,800.

Today, the average 42-inch 3-D television costs about $900, according to IHS. They contain a high-tech chip and software that translates 3-D video feeds into the right- and left-eye images that create the 3-D effect for people wearing the right glasses. In some cases, special glasses can cost an extra $50 or so.

Watching home movies on disc requires a 3-D Blu-ray player that can cost another $120 and each disc set purchase runs around $27, according to IHS. (3-D movies are usually bundled with other discs.)

While operators like DirecTV and Comcast Corp. don't charge specifically for channels like ESPN 3D, they are generally bundled in packages that require other spending. At DirecTV that means a $200 high-definition digital video recorder and $10 per month for HD service. For Comcast, that means a minimum $65-per-month digital starter package with HD service costing another $10 a month.

All that for the privilege of watching 3-D at home in your pajamas.

Due to the cost, Carter said he's mainly sampled free 3-D movie trailers provided on-demand by his cable TV company. A trailer for the latest "Transformers" movie didn't make him more enthused. "One of the robots pops out at you, and it felt forced." ''It's not consistent," he said, noting that 3-D effects aren't noticeable much of the time. He said he's not knocking the technology, he's just disappointed with the way it's being used.

Nowadays, 3-D is just one feature on TVs with bigger screens. It is usually grouped with other upgrades that include motion-smoothing technology and light-emitting diodes that are smaller, more energy efficient and display color contrast better than traditional liquid crystal display sets. It's difficult to isolate how much 3-D adds to the price tag of an individual set because of this bundling, but according to IHS the average 42-inch set with 3-D is about $200 more than a similar-sized one without. Some 3-D TVs, however, can be found for cheaper than others of the same size.

"There's very little direct consumer demand," said Tom Morrod, a TV technology analyst with IHS in London. Some consumers buy TVs which happen to have 3-D, but they don't bother to get the glasses needed to watch them, he said.

"They don't see a value with it. Consumers associate value right now with screen size and very few other features."

Sluggish demand for 3-D on TV has caused programmers to hit pause on rolling out new shows and channels.

In June, DirecTV turned its 24-hour channel, n3D, into a part-time network that only shows special event programming like the Olympics, in part to avoid the heavy use of reruns caused by a lack of new material. Last year, AT&T dropped ESPN 3D from its lineup, saying the $10 per month cost to subscribers wasn't justified given low demand.

So far, ESPN 3D is the most aggressive network in terms of shooting original 3-D productions. It has about 140 per year. It also has the widest distribution, according to research firm SNL Kagan, no doubt because popular sports network ESPN includes it in negotiations with distributors. Though few own the hardware to watch the channel, ESPN 3D now pipes into 60 million U.S. homes.

Without extra subscriber fees, it could be difficult to make a big business out of 3-D production, especially because it's more expensive than 2-D. Every 3-D camera set-up requires two cameras. They have to be mounted on a special computerized rig that aligns them. And someone in a back room has to adjust a knob that determines how cross-eyed the lenses are. That can require twice the manpower for the same camera position, boosting costs when revenues aren't going up very much.

Advertising, the other pillar of the TV channel business, is also hampered because of the lack of audience data.

That has resulted in an odd arrangement. Companies that run advertisements on ESPN 3D, like movie studios, actually have their ads played a second time in 2-D on ESPN and other channels so they can meet their goal of reaching a measurable number of people, Burns said. That uses up 2-D commercial airtime that might have been sold to other customers.

While he wouldn't say if it's profitable, Burns said ESPN 3D is still a revenue-generating business that is "doing well," because of how the network accounts for revenue from distributors and advertisers.

3-D TV is not a complete bust. Burns and others expect that as more TVs are sold with the capability, the more viewership will grow, just like it did for high-definition sets and programs a few years ago.

"It took five years before reporting systems caught up and we knew who actually had the service," Burns said of the launch of HD. "It's not unfamiliar territory to us. We've been down this road before."

For TV signal providers, carrying 3-D channels before they really become mainstream wins them points with their savviest technophile customers, the kind who jumped on the HD bandwagon early ?a decade ago.

In many ways, though, the comparison to HD isn't a good one.

Watching 3-D is a problem for about 6 percent of Americans with certain eye problems, according to Dr. David Maino, a professor with the Illinois College of Optometry. They simply can't see in 3-D or suffer dizziness or nausea when watching.

And it won't get the same push that HD got by the hundreds of TV stations that switched to high-definition broadcasts in the last few years. Nor will it benefit from the nation's switch from analog to digital TV broadcasts in 2009.

Another awkward point: some people just don't like 3-D. In a phone survey last November of 1,300 Americans who had seen 3-D TV, Leichtman Research Group found that 38 percent rated it poorly at 3 or below on a scale of 10. That's twice as many as rated it excellently, at 8 or higher.

That's a knock against 3-D that HD didn't have.

"It's one of those examples where seeing isn't believing, thus far," said Bruce Leichtman, president of Leichtman Research. "That's certainly not a great place to start."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/whos-watching-3-d-tv-no-hit-viewers-131822985--finance.html

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Rock-?Em, Sock-?Em Obots (Unqualified Offerings)

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Lesbian on 'loving terms' with dad despite dowry offer

Bobby Yip / Reuters

Gigi Chao, seen in the conference room of her office in Hong Kong Thursday, has received a flood of offers of dates and marriage from men.

By The Associated Press

HONG KONG -- The daughter of a flamboyant Hong Kong tycoon -- who has offered $65 million to any man who can woo her away from her lesbian partner -- said she's not upset with her father. Still, it's unlikely she will be accepting any of the marriage proposals flooding in.

Cecil Chao made world headlines this week when he offered the unusual marriage bounty after learning that his daughter, Gigi Chao, had eloped with her partner to France.

"I'm actually on very, very loving terms with my father. We speak on a daily basis. He just has a very interesting way of expressing his fatherly love," the 33-year-old told The Associated Press.

CNBC's Robert Frank has all the details on the story about Gigi Chao's father who is offering $65 million to any man able to marry her.

She said her father offered the reward because he was upset after learning she had "a church blessing in Paris" with her girlfriend of the past several years.

"What this whole episode really highlights is that perhaps still, the Chinese ? or in fact the Hong Kong mentality ? can perhaps tolerate the 'don't ask, don't tell' view of sexuality," she said. "But as a social statement, it's still very much a sensitive issue."

Hong Kong 'playboy tycoon' offers $65 million to find husband for lesbian daughter

Hong Kong decriminalized homosexuality in 1991, but it does not legally recognize same-sex marriage.

Cecil Chao is the chairman of Hong Kong property developer Cheuk Nang Holdings and has a reputation for being a playboy.

Kin Cheung / AP

Cecil Chao, chairman of Hong Kong property developer Cheuk Nang Holdings, pictured Friday, offered $65 million to any man who can woo her away from her lesbian partner.

He once claimed to have had 10,000 girlfriends but has never married.

He's also known for his love of Rolls-Royces and for being a qualified helicopter pilot, a skill he shares with Gigi Chao, one of his three children by three different women.

Cecil Chao said Friday in a separate interview with the AP that reports that his daughter had married were just rumors.

He added that he has received hundreds of offers from suitors since he made the offer and his daughter has probably had thousands.

"I was very surprised about the reaction from around the world," said the 76-year-old tycoon, sporting gold, mirrored sunglasses and a sport jacket over an unbuttoned polo shirt. "Thousands of people writing to say they want to be my in-laws."

Australia lawmakers reject gay marriage plan

He said he's offering the money because he wants to make sure his daughter has a comfortable life in Hong Kong, which he believes will require a house worth $19 million. The rest of the money can be used for investments, he said.

"Living a comfortable life in Hong Kong, not super-luxury, takes HK$500 million ($65 million)," he said.

When asked whether she would accept an eligible suitor, Gigi Chao laughed off the question, saying, "We'll just worry about that when the time comes."

More world stories from NBC News:

Follow World News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook

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? 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/28/14138419-lesbian-heiress-gigi-chao-on-loving-terms-with-father-despite-65-million-dowry-offer?lite

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Big days from Bradley, Bubba give US 5-3 lead

USA's captain Davis Love III hugs Phil Mickelson on the 17th hole after winning a four-ball match at the Ryder Cup PGA golf tournament Friday, Sept. 28, 2012, at the Medinah Country Club in Medinah, Ill. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

USA's captain Davis Love III hugs Phil Mickelson on the 17th hole after winning a four-ball match at the Ryder Cup PGA golf tournament Friday, Sept. 28, 2012, at the Medinah Country Club in Medinah, Ill. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

USA's Keegan Bradley reacts after a close chip on the 16th hole during a four-ball match at the Ryder Cup PGA golf tournament Friday, Sept. 28, 2012, at the Medinah Country Club in Medinah, Ill. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Europe's Nicolas Colsaerts reacts after making a birdie putt on the second hole during a four-ball match at the Ryder Cup PGA golf tournament Friday, Sept. 28, 2012, at the Medinah Country Club in Medinah, Ill. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

USA's Bubba Watson reacts to a shot on the 12th hole during a four-ball match at the Ryder Cup PGA golf tournament Friday, Sept. 28, 2012, at the Medinah Country Club in Medinah, Ill. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

USA's Webb Simpson, right, and Bubba Watson line up a putt on the fifth hole during a four-ball match at the Ryder Cup PGA golf tournament Friday, Sept. 28, 2012, at the Medinah Country Club in Medinah, Ill. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

MEDINAH, Ill. (AP) ? Keegan Bradley made Friday at the Ryder Cup feel like the best day of his life, and it wasn't too shabby for the rest of the Americans.

Bradley led a strong performance by rookies on both teams at Medinah by teaming with Phil Mickelson for two wins against Europe's best two partnerships. Even with Tiger Woods getting shutout on opening day for the fourth time, the United States took a big step toward regaining the cup by taking a 5-3 lead.

Leading the way was Bradley, the former PGA champion whom Mickelson took under his wing last year for a series of money games at the majors to prepare the New England kid for moments like this. And did he ever deliver.

"This is literally what I've dreamt about since I was a little kid," Bradley said. "I got to do it next to my idol all day."

Bradley holed a 25-foot birdie putt in morning foursomes to hand Luke Donald and Sergio Garcia their first loss ever in Ryder Cup foursomes. Next up were Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell, and the Americans won the first three holes. Mickelson wasn't there only for support. Right when Europe was trying to rally, the four-time major champion closed it out with a 7-iron to 2 feet that was conceded for birdie.

It was a day Bradley didn't want to end.

"Oh, baby, I wish we could go 36 more," Bradley said.

He wasn't the only rookie to shine on a mild day in the Chicago suburbs. Nicolas Colsaerts, the 29-year-old from Belgium, helped Europe avoid getting shutout in afternoon fourballs by single-handedly taking down Woods and Steve Stricker.

Colsaerts made eight birdies and an eagle ? a 10-under 62 if he was keeping score on his own. He teamed with Lee Westwood, who was just along for this amazing ride for a 1-up victory that ended 11 hours of enormous cheers and plenty of American red on the leaderboard.

"I don't think there has ever been a better debut than that," Westwood said.

Woods and Stricker also lost to Ian Poulter and Justin Rose in morning foursomes, making this the fourth time in the seven Ryder Cups that Woods has played that he lost both matches on the opening day.

There was nothing Woods could do against Colsaerts, the biggest hitter in Europe who isn't too bad with the putter, either.

"Nicolas probably had one of the greatest putting rounds I've ever seen," Woods said, high praise coming from a 14-time major champion.

Woods turned in a mixed performance. He missed a 6-foot birdie putt on the 15th to fall 2 down, and then came back with a bending, 25-foot birdie putt on the 16th and a shot into 4 feet on the 17th that looked as if it might square the match. Instead, Colsaerts rolled in a 25-foot birdie putt for a halve. Woods had a 12-foot birdie putt on the 18th to halve the match, only it caught the left lip.

"We ran into a guy who made everything today," Woods said. "I don't know what he shot. He was like 7 under through 10. I quit counting after that."

Both captains made sure all 12 of their players got into the game early, though European captain Jose Maria Olazabal set himself up for second-guessing when he sat out Donald, Garcia and Poulter for the afternoon matches. They have a combined 31-13-5 record in the Ryder Cup.

Mickelson set an American record by playing in his ninth Ryder Cup, and he won his opening two matches for the first time in his career. Mickelson came up with some big putts and amazing shots, and the 42-year-old felt about 10 years younger playing alongside Bradley.

"It could be the best day of my life," Bradley said.

Europe has won six of the last eight times in the Ryder Cup, and it wasn't about to hang its head after one day. It was leading all four of the opening matches early Friday under a gloomy sky. The sun came out, and the Americans came to life.

"There's a long way to go in this tournament," Rose said. "There's ebbs and flows. Obviously, there's momentum for the U.S. team right now, but that could all swing back in our favor tomorrow."

Even so, the Americans headed to their team room full of confidence. It won five of eight matches without getting a point from Woods, and they picked up a little extra momentum when Mickelson and Bradley took down McIlroy, the No. 1 player in the world.

The Ryder Cup again lived up to its billing as the most exciting tournament in golf with relentless action, huge swings in momentum and endless cheers.

Bubba Watson asked the crowd to keep chanting and cheering when he stepped to the tee for his afternoon fourballs with Webb Simpson, and the Masters champion belted his drive down the middle, raising his driver to play to the crowd. Then, the Americans did a number of Paul Lawrie and Peter Hanson, going 6 up through eight holes and closing them out on the 14th hole.

Matt Kuchar ran off four straight birdies as he and Dustin Johnson built an early lead against Rose and Martin Kaymer.

The only rookie who didn't deliver a point was FedEx Cup champion Brandt Snedeker, though it wasn't from a lack of effort. Snedeker and Furyk were 3 down through 12 holes against McIlroy and McDowell in the morning when they put together a furious rally, with Furyk carrying the bulk of the load. They squared the match going to the 18th when Snedeker hit a drive toward the hospitality tents well right of the fairway, and Furyk couldn't convert a 20-foot par putt to halve the match.

But it was a sign of the American fight.

Bradley turned into a rock star at Medinah, especially on the par-3 13th, perhaps the toughest tee shot because it was long and into the wind, requiring a hybrid. He hit it to 15 feet left of the flag, and as the crowd chanted, "USA! USA!" Bradley nodded at them repeatedly.

Mickelson, who first played in these matches in 1995, smiled and gently patted him on the back to let him soak up the moment. Lefty then holed the birdie putt for a 2-up lead, and Garcia missed a 3 1/2-foot par putt on the next hole. It was the Spaniard's first loss in 10 foursomes matches dating to 1999.

Bradley was so into the moment that his focus was broken walking up the 15th hole when he spotted fans holding a large American flag on the left side of the gallery. He jogged over to them for high-fives, waited for Mickelson to play a wedge into the green, and then holed the 25-foot birdie putt.

His caddie, Steve Hale, swung the flagstick around like a baseball bat until Mickelson's caddie reminded him to put it in the hole for Donald to play a bunker shot.

"There's a simple reason why Keegan is perfect for the Ryder Cup," Mickelson said. "The more pressure the situation, the better he plays, the better he sees the shot, the better he focuses. And the better the result. As a player, you feel more pressure and intensity during these matches than you do at any other event.

"And that's when he's at his best."

Jason Dufner, another American rookie, actually showed some emotion with a tiny fist pump when his 15-foot birdie putt on the ninth stopped next to the cup, then dropped in the left side. Dufner made birdie on the next hole for a foursomes win with Zach Johnson over Westwood and Francesco Molinari.

Poulter holed a bunker shot, a long birdie putt and a clutch par putt from 7 feet on the 16th hole that carried he and Rose to victory over Woods and Stricker. Poulter has lost only three times in 12 matches in his Ryder Cup career. Two of those had been to Woods.

"I never wanted to have another one," Poulter said.

Next up is another long day of foursomes and fourballs, a chance for Europe to get back in the game going into the Sunday singles.

Love could not have asked for a better start, particularly from his rookies ? and especially from Bradley.

"I felt young," Mickelson said. "And it felt great."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-09-28-Ryder%20Cup/id-33e9c51c4ea4419b88f2ff85ec7da0cd

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U.S. aims to rally Syrian opposition with new aid

NEW YORK (AP) ? The Obama administration moved Friday to rally Syria's opposition with pledges of $45 million in new non-lethal and humanitarian assistance as the administration and other world leaders lamented the failure of diplomatic efforts to push Syrian President Bashar Assad from power.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the U.S. would contribute an additional $15 million in non-lethal gear ? mostly communications equipment ? to the civilian opposition trying to oust Assad as well as $30 million in new humanitarian assistance to help those affected by the continuing violence.

She also delivered a new, stark warning to Iran that it must stop arming and supporting the Assad regime.

"It is no secret that our attempts to move forward at the U.N. Security Council have been blocked repeatedly, but the United States is not waiting," Clinton said as she announced the new aid at a gathering of the Friends of Syria group that she hosted at a New York hotel on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. She and other foreign ministers from the group met with nine Syrian opposition figures, including several who traveled from Syria to attend Friday's session, to discuss strategy.

With U.N. action blocked by Russia and China, Clinton said the rest of the world must support the Syrian opposition. She also said it was urgent that the fractured foes of the regime unite around plans for a political transition that could put an end to more than three decades of Assad family rule. Activists say the current 18-month long conflict has led to more than 30,000 deaths.

"Conditions in Syria continue to deteriorate as the Assad regime relentlessly wages war on its own people," Clinton said. "We see more bodies filling hospitals and morgues and we see more refugees fleeing their homeland and flooding into neighboring countries. The regime of Bashar al-Assad must come to an end so that the suffering of the Syrian people can stop and a new dawn can begin."

In Washington, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said new intelligence suggested the Syrian government has moved some of its chemical weapons in order to protect them, even though the U.S. believes that the main sites remain secure.

The new U.S. humanitarian assistance ? which brings America's total humanitarian contribution to more than $130 million since the crisis began ? will include food, water, blankets and medical services to victims of the violence. U.S. officials said on Thursday that an earlier shipment of medical goods provided by USAID had just arrived in southern Syria. The officials would not provide details of how the aid made it into Syrian territory.

The additional non-lethal support brings the total U.S. contribution in that area to nearly $40 million since the crisis began and includes 1,100 sets of communications equipment, including satellite-linked computers, telephones and cameras and training for more than 1,000 activists, students and independent journalists.

"We are working to help them strengthen their networks, avoid regime persecution and document human rights abuses," Clinton said. The U.S. is not providing military aid to the rebels although it acknowledges that other countries are.

Clinton's announcement came as fighting intensified in Syria's largest city, Aleppo, with the most widespread battles reported in three months in the city of 3 million people as rebel forces launched a new offensive against Assad.

Despite some battleground success, there have been complaints that the opposition is hopelessly splintered and unable to coalesce around a transition plan that was adopted by members of the U.N. Security Council in Geneva over the summer. Friday's meeting was intended in part to encourage better cooperation among Assad's foes.

"It is encouraging to see some progress toward greater opposition unity, but we all know there is more work to be done," Clinton said. U.S. officials have noted that revolutionary councils in cities including Damascus, Homs, Aleppo, Idlib and Deir al-Zour were becoming increasingly organized.

Members of local groups from across Syria and representatives of the exile group, the Syrian National Council ? including its head, Abdulbaset Sieda ? attended the meeting. But U.S. officials declined to name others taking part or let them be photographed, saying that doing so would risk putting those opponents of Assad in danger of reprisals.

The meeting was co-chaired by the Arab League. League Secretary General Nabil Elaraby lamented the U.N.'s inability to demand that the Geneva plan be implemented by threatening sanctions against those who would not abide by it.

"All of our efforts up to now have led to failures," he said. "We have not managed to change the situation."

Neither Russia nor China, which have vetoed three Western-backed resolutions aimed at pressuring Assad to end the violence and enter negotiations on a political transition, were invited to Friday's meeting.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov ? who was to address the General Assembly on Friday ? has accused the U.S. and other countries of encouraging terrorism in their stance on Syria.

However, Clinton told the meeting that the greatest threat to Syria, other than the Assad regime itself was Iran.

"Let's be very frank here," she said. "The regime's most important lifeline is Iran."

"There is no longer any doubt that Tehran will do whatever it takes to protect its proxy and crony in Damascus. Iran will do everything it can to evade international sanctions," Clinton said. She urged Syria's neighbors to take extra steps to ensure that Iran is not smuggling weapons and materiel into Syria through their airspace or territory.

___

Associated Press writer Lolita C. Baldor contributed to this report from Washington.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-aims-rally-syrian-opposition-aid-184703115.html

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UTAH STATE BAR ? CYBERLAW SECTION ? ? ?The Legal ...

I prepared this presentation, and gave it yesterday at the Utah State Bar?s facility in Salt Lake City.

Here is the notice that was posted on the Bar?s website.? Note that I tweaked the title slightly for the final version of the presentation.

This entry was posted on September 27, 2012 at 7:23 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Source: http://gregjonesorg.wordpress.com/2012/09/27/utah-state-bar-cyberlaw-section-the-legal-ecosystem-for-open-source-individuals-ideas-and-institutions/

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Chambers Street Properties $700 Million Credit Facility Will Help with

Chambers Street Properties (formerly CB Richard Ellis Realty Trust), based in Princeton, New Jersey, has secured a $700 million revolving credit facility through a consortium of lenders led by Wells Fargo Securities, LLC and RBC Capital Markets. This capital infusion will help the REIT go on a shopping expedition, mostly for industrial properties, although it also buys office buildings.
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The new facility will make available a line of credit over the next four years with an option to extend it for an additional year. Chambers Street also has the option to request an increase in the facility of up to $700 million for a total of $1.4 billion.
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"This new line of credit reinforces the strength of our investment strategy and provides us with an expanded capital platform to build upon our existing portfolio and support the next phase of the company's growth as an investor in high-quality, net-leased commercial real estate," said Jack A.Cuneo, president and CEO of Chambers Street Properties.
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Chambers owns commercial properties across three continents in more than 40 markets: It has 124 properties around the globe. Of those, 112 properties are in the US, seven are in the United Kingdom and five are located in Germany. In addition, Chambers Street owns an interest, with institutional partners in Asia, in eight properties in China and Japan.
?

Philip Kianka

Last month, Chambers Street announced the purchase of a fully-occupied 1.1-million-square-foot- warehouse/distribution center in Kansas City, Kansas, as well as the purchase of a 1-million-square-foot state-of-the-art logistics facility near Koblenz, Germany. The latter is still under construction, but is 100% pre-leased, says Philip Kianka, executive vice president and chief operating officer at Chambers Street Properties. The facility in Koblenz is expected to open possibly by December 2012, although the opening date may be pushed back, he says.???
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"We have focused on warehouses and logistics (properties) since the beginning," of the company, says Kianka. CB Richard Ellis Realty Trust started with a private placement in 2004 but there was an IPO in November 2006, he says. "We became Chambers Street Properties on July 1, 2012," says Kianka.
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"Before the name change, we were part of CBRE Advisors and employees of CBRE Global Investors with an annual contract that came up every April," says Kianka. "But as we matured as a REIT, and after we raised equity through the public markets, we decided to take over the management team and become direct employees of the REIT," he says.?
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Chambers Street's acquisitions are guided by a change in logistics patterns, says Kianka, "Everyone (who owns industrial properties today) is reviewing their needs and relocating near ports or intermodal facilities," he says. "We are also getting closer and closer to population centers," says Kianca.
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In this new scenario, says Kianca, port cities like Jacksonville are favored along with markets like Kansas City, which has the advantage of intermodal facilities. Although Jacksonville is not as large as Kansas City, it does have direct access to the port, and ships can get into Jacksonville fairly easily, he says.
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"Everyone who is buying logistics properties has a presence in the Southeast," says Kianca, and Chambers Street is no different. It has a significant presence in North and South Carolina markets that are close to Charleston and Savannah.
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One reason that industrial property owners want to be in the Southeast, says Kianca, is to take advantage of the expansion of the Panama Canal, scheduled for completion in 2015.? The Panama Canal project will make it easier for Asian suppliers to ship goods directly to the East Coast. But in order to accommodate the larger ships that will be coming through the canal, ports need to make infrastructure improvements.
?
"Charleston and Miami are out in front of (with respect to infrastructure improvements)," says Kianca, "and (industrial properties in Miami) are being considered (for acquisition by Chambers Street), but in Charleston and Savannah, you can connect with a greater population.
?
Meanwhile, Kianca says that Chambers Street isn't confining itself to acquisitions in industrial markets in the Southeast. "We are looking throughout the US, wherever we can get the best deals, as well as in Europe," he says.

Source: http://www.worldpropertychannel.com/north-america-commercial-news/chambers-street-properties-cb-richard-ellis-realty-trust-wells-fargo-securities-llc-rbc-capital-markets-jack-a-cuneo-miami-panama-canal-industrial-real-estate-market-6121.php

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Putting away the toys time | Your online newspaper for London ...

Photos by Mike Maloney/London Community News/Twitter: mdmaloneyphoto

Shorter days and cooler nights are not just a sign of the onset of fall, but they also generally foretell the end of the summer show and shine season as well.

And that was the case on Tuesday night (Sept. 25) when the Cherryhill Village Cruizers wrapped up the season with their final show of the year at the Cherryhill Mall.

Since early June, on average, about 100 classic cars and their owners have made the trip from as far away as Strathroy and Ingersoll to the mall on Oxford Street every Tuesday night to join with fellow automotive enthusiasts.

Showing everything from classic originals from the early 1900s, 60s muscle cars and the latest models off the assembly line, there has been a little bit of everything to tickle the fancy of most any car buff each night.

As a show of thanks to the community that has come out and supported them all summer, the Cherryhill Village Cruizers made donations of more than $1,500 to each of two local charities ? Mission Services London and to Jesse?s Journey ? with money that was raised over the course of the summer through raffles and by donation.

Find us on Facebook: London Community News

Source: http://www.londoncommunitynews.com/2012/09/putting-away-the-toys-time/

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Romney To Middle Class Ohioans: Don't Expect Too Much Tax ...

WESTERVILLE, Ohio -- In a line that event attendees found a bit puzzling, Mitt Romney warned a crowd of mostly middle-class onlookers on Wednesday not to expect too much tax relief under his administration.

"We have got to reform our tax system," Romney said at a morning event here. "Small businesses most typically pay taxes at the individual tax rate. And so our individual income taxes are the ones I want to reform. Make them simpler. I want to bring the rates down. By the way, don't be expecting a huge cut in taxes because I'm also going to lower deductions and exemptions. But by bringing rates down we will be able to let small businesses keep more of their money so they can hire more people."

The comments were either a flub on Romney's part or an admission that many of the deductions and exemptions that he will have to target in order to make his tax plan deficit neutral will end up affecting the middle class.

To date, Romney has said that he will only eliminate deductions and exemptions above a certain income level. He hasn't said what that income level would be. But when asked whether he would make $100,000 the cutoff, he said that he considered "middle income" to be "$200,000 to $250,000 and less." (One of the few Romney-backing studies has said that the only way his tax plan adds up is if he eliminates deductions and exemptions above that $100,000 income level).

Romney's comment on Wednesday left some in the crowd believing that their deductions and exemptions -- be they on home mortgage interest payments, charitable donations or employer-provided health insurance -- would be targeted if he became president. And it wasn't a top-income-bracket type of crowd. In 2009, the estimated median household income in Westerville was $76,154. Census data from 2011 shows that the mean household income in Franklin County, which contains part of Westerville, is $65,607. For Delaware County, which contains another part of Westerville, that number is $107,231.

"I'm curious what he meant by that," Westerville resident Phil Bentley said of Romney's comment. "I don't know if I have seen those details."

Still, Bentley said, he supported Romney's overall tax plan, which calls for a 20 tax cut across the board for all income brackets, and which Romney insists will remain deficit neutral In fact, none of the half-dozen attendees interviewed after the event expressed concern about the remarks, offering up lines of explanation that one wouldn't often expect at a Republican presidential candidate's rally.

"We need the taxes to stay the way they are because we have to get the debt down," said Margo Belkofer, of Powell, Ohio.

"He's not promoting a tax cut, he is preventing a tax increase," said Jim Bachelder, of Westerville.

Cynthia Beitman, of Westerville, said she was fine with Romney eliminating deductions and exemptions for people like her, so long as he lowered the rates overall for small businesses. "People run small businesses," she exclaimed.

"I thought that line was really good," said Patty Karst of Gahanna, Ohio. "You have to realize as a society that we have to have the funds for infrastructure, the protection of the country and the social programs we support."

Also on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/26/romney-ohio-taxes_n_1915949.html

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Don't Make These Mistakes With Your Retirement Plans

(credit: Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

BOSTON (CBS) ? Don?t Make These Mistakes With Your Retirement Plans -

• Not taking advantage of your employer?s matching contribution. You have walked away from free money!

• Not contributing to your retirement plan because you don?t like the choices. Even a mediocre plan is better than no plan especially if your employer matches.

• Choosing the ?safest? investment, the one that appears to the most conservative without understanding that all investments have risk.

• Basing investment choices on what the ?company guru? has chosen for his portfolio; with investing one size does not fit all.

• Putting all retirement assets into company stock. Not prudent to have more than 25 to 35% invested in company stock. Some experts will tell you, at the max, 10% but try to tell that to the Apple employees. The risk here is that there is no diversification. So your job and retirement are both tied to a single firm.

• Cashing out your retirement savings when you leave your job. Over 50% of plan participants take the money and spend it rather than roll it into an IRA. Let?s say you have $5,000 in your retirement plan and want to take it with you, the company is required to withhold 20% if you want to take your money out. So you?ll get $4,000 to spend. Oh, and when you file your taxes you will owe a 10% penalty, which will amount to $500. If you had left that money in a tax-deferred account for another 30 years and you got an 8% return, you would have had over $50,000.

• Not regularly checking account statements against pay stubs to be sure the account is being credited properly and your contributions are invested as selected.

• Choosing the most aggressive investment thinking it will produce the greatest return.

• Making choices based simply on the number of funds. If the company offers 10 funds, putting 10% into each fund.

• Making investment selections for a retirement plan without taking into account what else you own. You should be looking at your aggregate portfolio including a spouse?s retirement plan as well as your personal investments.

• Trying to time the market. This often leads to employees selling low and buying high.

• Borrowing from your retirement plan. Although you are paying yourself back if you should lose your job you will be required to pay back the loan in 30 days or it is considered a withdrawal. And the reason you borrowed was because you didn?t have the money. Also, you will be paying it back with after-tax dollars and when you withdraw those funds in retirement you will be taxed on them again.

??????..

You can hear Dee Lee?s expert financial advice on WBZ NewsRadio 1030 each weekday at 1:55 p.m., 3:55 p.m., and 7:55 p.m.

Subscribe to Dee?s Money Matters newsletter here.

Source: http://boston.cbslocal.com/2012/09/27/dont-make-these-mistakes-with-your-retirement-plans/

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Unions Find a GOP Ally (WSJ)

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?Soccer Mom Madam? pleads guilty to promoting prostitution

The suburban mother of four accused of running an upscale escort service in Manhattan pleaded guilty in Manhattan Criminal Court on Tuesday.

Anna Gristina, 44, of Monroe, N.Y., pleaded guilty to a single count of promoting prostitution, stemming from a July 2011 tryst she allegedly arranged involving two women and an undercover officer posing as a client.

Read the original story at NBCNewYork.com

Gristina will be ordered to serve five years of probation when she's sentenced on Nov. 20. The four months she's already spent behind bars will count toward the jail portion of her sentence, and she won't have to serve any additional time.

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Prosecutors said their five-year investigation revealed Gristina had a roster of wealthy, well-placed clients and boasted of law-enforcement connections during 15 years in a business that made her millions.

Video: Home from jail, alleged ?soccer mom madam? speaks (on this page)

She has maintained she was merely starting a dating service.

Gristina was arrested Feb. 22 and was held for months on $2 million bond. An appeals court in June called the amount "unreasonable and an abuse of discretion" and lowered it.

She was released on $250,000 bond in June after four months behind bars.

Gristina's lawyer unsuccessfully tried to have the case thrown out in August, arguing that the DA's office "vindictively prosecuted her as a result of her failure to cooperate with investigators" during what he called an illegal interrogation.

Gristina said in court papers that investigators shrugged off her requests for a lawyer and told her they'd let her go if she gave them information about five men ? not named in her filings, but described as a financier, an international banker and a member of a politically connected family, among others.

Story: ?Soccer Mom Madam? on arrest: ?It?s decimating my family?

The DA's office countered in court papers that Gristina "has not produced a shred of evidence of actual vindictiveness."

A grand jury decided there was enough evidence to indict Gristina before her arrest, undermining her argument that she was prosecuted because she didn't cooperate, Assistant District Attorneys Elizabeth Roper and Charles Linehan wrote in a July filing.

Story: NYC ponders: Suburban mom or high-rolling madam?

The judge's ruling didn't address the way Gristina was questioned, saying simply that there was adequate evidence for the case to go forward.

Jaynie Baker, accused of assisting Gristina as a matchmaking recruiter, struck a deal with prosecutors in August.

Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/49170565/ns/today-today_news/

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Toddler Safe At Home After Amber Alert ? CBS Dallas / Fort Worth

GARLAND (CBS 11 NEWS) ? Two-year-old Maliyah Vergenz is too busy being adorable?alternately hiding her face against her father?s shoulder or blowing kisses?to realize that she was ever in danger.? But, the Garland toddler, now safe at home, was the subject of a North Texas Amber Alert on Tuesday, after she disappeared with the family?s live-in babysitter.

(credit: Garland Police)

Patricia Garcia, 38, has been charged with kidnapping and is being held on a $50,000 bond.

?I called the babysitter to see if I could pick up my daughter,? says Maliyah?s father, Anthony Vergenz.? ?She pretty much said the only way I?d get my daughter back was to call Garland Police Department.? That right there threw up a red flag.?

What Vergenz didn?t know at that time, was that earlier in the day, Garcia phoned police to accuse the couple of selling drugs.

?We?re still doing an investigation,? says Garland Police spokesperson, Ofc. Joe Harn.? ?We don?t know if the drugs were placed there.? What is an interesting fact to us is that we get a call about drugs being there in the home, turn them over to us, and soon after that, she leaves with the baby and does not return.?

For several hours, investigators say they communicated with Garcia.? They say she agreed to meet at local motel to return the child.? When that appointed time came and passed, police issued an Amber Alert.

(credit: Garland Police)

Garland investigators are crediting an eagle-eyed Terrell officer for spotting the suspect?s car and taking her into custody shortly after 11:00 Tuesday night.? Maliyah was found safe in the hotel room and returned to her worried parents.

?Should I have done a background check or something on her? Yes. I should have,? says Vergenz.? ?But that?s a lesson learned. I just thought that going through church, knowing this person, and it?s been almost two years we?ve known her. ?

Maliyah?s mom, Cassandra Williams, says she considered Garcia a trusted friend.? She now feels both compassion and anger for the woman, who claimed to have recently miscarried.

?I feel real betrayed,? says Williams, her voice breaking. ?I feel like I can?t trust anybody anymore.?

Source: http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2012/09/26/toddler-safe-at-home-after-amber-alert/

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Anglican church chooses new leader to weather storms

LONDON (Reuters) - Church of England officials met in secret on Wednesday to choose the next Archbishop of Canterbury, a centuries-old role with the modern task of preventing 80 million Anglicans worldwide from splitting over gay marriage and women bishops.

The new church leader must reconcile modernists and traditionalists, and stem a long-term decline in church attendance, a difficult juggling act that some see as a poisoned chalice.

Outgoing Archbishop Rowan Williams, 62, a self-confessed "old hairy lefty" who opposed the Iraq war, said his successor as head of the global Anglican Communion will need "the constitution of an ox and the skin of a rhinoceros".

"It'd be hard to find somebody more unifying than Rowan Williams, and yet he hasn't managed to hold it together," Paul Handley, editor of the Church Times newspaper, told Reuters.

"Under him, there have been two significant changes: one is the growth of secularism ... and the other is greater division in the church over issues like women bishops, women priests and gay weddings."

The arcane process of selecting the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury is wrapped in layers of protocol perhaps unsurprising for a role with roots going back 1,400 years.

Meeting for three days behind closed doors at a secret location, a 16-member panel of bishops, church members and lay people will pick a preferred candidate and a reserve choice.

They will give the two names to Prime Minister David Cameron who will forward the name of the preferred candidate to Queen Elizabeth, supreme governor of the Church of England. Once she approves the candidate, Cameron's Downing Street office will make the announcement next week, possibly on Wednesday.

The new archbishop will earn about 74,000 pounds ($120,000) a year and have lodgings in the Old Palace in Canterbury, southeast England, and the historic riverside Lambeth Palace in London. His tenure will last until retirement at 70 or until he decides to move on.

FAVOURITES

The winner will be under pressure to prevent the Anglican world from being torn apart over homosexuality and same-sex unions. Greater tolerance on those issues among some in Britain and the United States has angered conservatives in areas with growing congregations, such as Nigeria.

One of the favourites to replace Williams is the Bishop of Durham Justin Welby, 56, a former oil executive who trained as a priest after the death of his infant daughter in a car crash.

He sits on a panel set up by the government to investigate the fixing of the Libor (interbank) borrowing rate.

Perhaps the best known candidate is the Archbishop of York John Sentamu, 63, a straight-talking traditionalist and the church's second most senior cleric. Born in Uganda, he fled to Britain after being detained and beaten under dictator Idi Amin.

He writes a column for Rupert Murdoch's top-selling Sun tabloid, a newspaper better known for its daily picture of a topless woman on page three.

Other frontrunners include the Bishop of Coventry Christopher Cocksworth, 53, a father of five who is a popular figure among more liberal members of the church.

The main traditionalist candidate is the Bishop of London Richard Chartres, 65, who opposed the blessing in Anglican churches of "civil partnerships", a formula that gives same-sex couples legal recognition.

The successor to the scholarly Williams will be enthroned in a grand ceremony at Canterbury Cathedral, where St Augustine began England's conversion to Christianity in 597 AD.

The Reverend George Pitcher, who advised Williams on public relations, said the next archbishop should reform the role to make it more manageable.

"The job as it currently stands can't be a job that anybody in their right mind would want to do," he told the BBC. "It's probably a debilitating and depressing prospect becoming Archbishop of Canterbury precisely because the job is undoable."

(Editing by Janet Lawrence)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/anglican-church-chooses-leader-weather-storms-154844039.html

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