Universal Connection Blog

Opportunity Knocks for Home Buyers

Homeownership is an important part of the American way of life, and for most people, the question isn't if they will buy a home, it's when that purchase will occur.

For those whose homeownership aspirations have been dampened or temporarily derailed by the housing and economic downturn - the people wondering if this is a good time to buy - the answer is simple: Yes, now is a great time to buy.

Today's market, coupled with a temporary tax credit for first-time home buyers and near-record low mortgage interest rates, provides an unprecedented window of opportunity for prospective home buyers. In fact, there may never be another buyer's market as good as today's.

Bay Area News Group
National Association of Home Builders
May 2, 2009

If you are interested in more information, or want to check market home prices in your desired area call:

Janet Palma, Realtor

Sampson Realty - Castro Valley

510.390.3984

Governor Schwarzenegger Signs Legislation to Move Los Angeles Stadium Forward

Governor Schwarzenegger Signs Legislation to Move Los Angeles Stadium Forward

Posted using ShareThis

Global Warming Helps Reopen the Northeast Passage

Global Warming Helps Reopen the Northeast Passage.

A successful navigation of the Northeast Passage off Russia\'s inhospitable coast promises a faster shipping route between Europe and Asia. But the Suez Canal should not worry about loss of business just yet

Question of the Day

If you could go back in time and undo one mistake from your past, what mistake would you undo?
Submitted by Los Angeles Style Salope.

Obama in Germany

Flanked by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, Obama became the first US president to visit the Buchenwald concentration camp in central Germany.

Obama’s stops in Dresden, Buchenwald and Normandy together form a poignant two-day mission of World War II remembrance.

Dresden was controversially flattened by Allied bombing in the final months of the war, killing an estimated 35,000 people.

The city has been lovingly restored in the intervening years, and Merkel led Obama to the Baroque Church of Our Lady which was destroyed in the war and reopened in 2005 after a lavish reconstruction financed with donations from around the globe.

Obama remains extremely popular in Germany, nearly a year after he drew a rapturous crowd of 200,000 people to the streets of Berlin as a presidential candidate.

Smiling warmly, he and Merkel played down any rumours of a rift over issues ranging from the planned closing of the US anti-terror lockup at Guantanamo Bay to a recent negotiations on rescuing the European arm of General Motors.

Calling Merkel “my friend,” Obama said he had neither asked for nor received any hard commitments from the chancellor on taking Guantanamo detainees.

Although she frequently called for the camp’s closure, Merkel is leery of accepting potentially dangerous inmates four months before a national election.

Obama also praised European efforts on fighting climate change and said the United States was now willing to now willing to lead the way.

The president was due to pay a visit to wounded US troops at the Landstuhl medical centre in western Germany before heading to France later Friday.

France 24

I could just cry tears of joy from his deep compassion. My faith in goodness is restored.

Obama in France

AFP - US President Barack Obama landed late Friday in France where he is to attend international ceremonies marking the 65th anniversary of World War II D-day landings.

Obama arrived on Air Force One at Orly airport at 9:13 pm (1913 GMT), after visiting a former Nazi camp in Germany, and was met on the tarmac by French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner.

As Obama travelled in to Paris the US First Lady Michelle Obama and her young daughters Malia, 10, and Sasha, seven, paid a brief trip to the Eiffel Tower Friday evening.

The president and his family were to spend Friday night at the US embassy in Paris, before travelling to the north of France Saturday.

On the eve of France's participation in the European Parliament election, Obama will join French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Caen and give a speech at the US war cemetery at nearby Colleville-sur-mer.

Obama's great-uncle, Charlie Payne, 84 and frail but among the liberators of the Buchenwald camp complex the president visited in central Germany, will join Obama's party in Normandy.

Further visits to Paris' Notre Dame cathedral and the Pompidou centre are also on the menu along with a dinner with Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy before returning to the US.

France 24

My heart goes out to our President who at least tries to befriend everyone. His task to re-establish good relations with Europe and the rest of the world seemed so daunting, yet he moves through his visits so effortlessly and is not afraid to show brute honesty. This is the audacity of hope...

Cairo Speech Excerpt

All of us share this world for but a brief moment in time. The question is whether we spend that time focused on what pushes us apart, or whether we commit ourselves to an effort – a sustained effort – to find common ground, to focus on the future we seek for our children, and to respect the dignity of all human beings.

It is easier to start wars than to end them. It is easier to blame others than to look inward; to see what is different about someone than to find the things we share. But we should choose the right path, not just the easy path. There is also one rule that lies at the heart of every religion – that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. This truth transcends nations and peoples – a belief that isn’t new; that isn’t black or white or brown; that isn’t Christian, or Muslim or Jew. It’s a belief that pulsed in the cradle of civilization, and that still beats in the heart of billions. It’s a faith in other people, and it’s what brought me here today.

U.S. President Barack Obama, June 3, 2009

For transcript of the entire speech go to France 24: http://www.france24.com/en/20090604-transcript-obama-cairo-speech-new-beginning-muslim-world-egypt-usa

Quote of the Day

Under capitalism, man exploits man. Under communism, it's just the opposite.

John Kenneth Galbraith (1908 - 2006)

Chickenfoot! Pics from Fillmore

Quote of the Day

The great French Marsall Lyautey once asked his gardener to plant a tree. The gardener objected that the tree was slow growing and would not reach maturity for 100 years. The Marsall replied, 'In that case, there is no time to lose; plant it this afternoon!'

John F. Kennedy (1917 - 1963)

Quote of the Day

Better than a gift given with a joyous heart are sweet words spoken with a cheerful smile.

- Tirukkural 92