Regarding the streaking effect, I have seen similar on some of my pictures, like this one (view larger on Flickr to see what I mean):
I think it is down to quirks in how the light comes through the lens. I don't think it hurts your image - if anything, it looks like the kind of textures that people often apply in post-processing. Bump up the colour and contrast of the foreground a bit and it will be even less noticeable.
Wulf