Micro Mosquito

I got one. Now you go get one.

Christmas wishlist - Volcano Vaporizer

The healthiest way to get high. The most unhealthy thing about smoking cannibus is the tar. A vaporizer will eliminate tar intake.

once a stripper; always a stripper

glow in the dark cats

Common - I used to love h.e.r.

Dirty Hotel Secrets

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3estl_dirty-hotel-secrets_news

Choke Slam

You thought you were tough.

Jenny Baby Hawk

Baby Hawk

Add to My Profile | More Videos

This is for those of you who wonder what goes on in the dressing room of a strip club. This is my friend Jenny. Sorry the video's sideways. Strippers aren't usually good with technology.

Dying professor's last lecture

Unauthorized movement of Nuclear Weapons

Urban Shoplifting

Urban Shoplifting - Watch more free videos
This guy doesn't steal anything he just makes mall cops chase him.

Kendra Can't Rap

No one wants to tell her she can't rap because they all want to go to Hugh Hefner's parties,

First Snow

First snow today in Squaw Valley and in West Virginia. Dust your snowboards off. It's almost time to ride.

TGIF

Molly Helsel wins fan favorite fight season 4 bodog fight

Molly Helsel the girl I trained for Bodog Fight Costa Rica has won fan favorite fight for the same fight. Since she never paid me the agreed upon percentage after I trained her twice a day,went to Costa Rica with her, put up with her on her period, and cutting weight. I am hereby taking full credit.

James Oddo for president

New York city councilman James Oddo flips out when he is interviewed by a norwegian spoof show.

This is what our troops in Iraq should be driving

Fuck a Hummer check out Force Protection Armored Vehicles.

How does a handcuffed woman strangle herself?

(CNN) -- An autopsy will be performed Tuesday on a 45-year-old mother of three who died in police custody at Phoenix's Sky Harbor International Airport, the acting director of the medical examiner's office said.
art.womandead.jpg

Carol Ann Gotbaum, in an undated family photo, may have accidentally strangled herself while in custody.

The release of the official cause of death could be delayed if investigators need toxicology or other extensive testing reports, because those tests can take up to three weeks, Dave Boyer said.

Police say Carol Ann Gotbaum apparently strangled as she tried to maneuver her way out of the handcuffs that had been secured behind her back.

Gotbaum was arrested Friday at the airport for alleged disorderly conduct, said Phoenix Police Department spokesman Sgt. Andy Hill.

A US Airways spokesman told the New York Daily News that Gotbaum's flight was preparing to leave when she arrived at the gate.

Traveling alone, Gotbaum rebooked on a later flight, but "she became extremely irate, apparently running up and down the gate area," airline spokesman Derek Hanna told the New York Daily News.
Don't Miss

* KPHO: Victim traveling to alcohol treatment

Michael Manning, a Phoenix attorney retained by Gotbaum's family, said she had "an emotional reaction" after she was denied permission to board a flight from Phoenix to Tucson, Arizona, where she planned to check herself into an alcohol treatment center. He did not say why the woman was not allowed to board the plane.

Manning said the family had not decided whether to file action against the police.

Airport workers who witnessed the arrest told the Daily News that Gotbaum was screaming, "I'm not a terrorist! I'm a sick mom! I need help!"

A police officer put his knee in Gotbaum's back to restrain her while other arresting police grabbed her flailing arms, one worker told the Daily News.

"I believe she was a little not-there," the worker told the newspaper. "She kept punching. She kept screaming. She kept kicking. She looked really scared, really frightened. I think she was afraid to go to jail."

Airport witnesses told police Friday that Gotbaum was "very loud, she was yelling and screaming and running around the concourse area," Hill said. Video Watch police describe woman's death »

He said police "could not calm her down" and "it was very difficult for them to get her handcuffed."

Arresting officers "did not have to pepper spray her or [use a stun gun] on her or anything else," Hill said.

Gotbaum was handcuffed and taken to a holding cell. She continued "to be vocally and physically disruptive in the holding room," leading officers to further restrain her, Hill said.

Officers used a 16-inch chain, called a shackle, that was attached to the bench she sat on and to the handcuffs.

About 15 minutes later police "found her with the handcuffs up by her neck area," Hill said. Gotbaum was unconscious, and police and firefighters tried to revive her by CPR and other means, Hill said.

"They could not revive her and, tragically, she died."

Hill said many people are "able to get handcuffs around their back and get them up and around."

But Hill said authorities don't know how the handcuffs "got placed on that neck area."

On Saturday, Hill said investigators guessed that "Gotbaum had possibly tried to manipulate the handcuffs from behind her to the front, got tangled up in the process and they ended up around her neck area."

When Gotbaum was found the handcuffs were in front of her body and the shackle was still attached to her handcuffs, officials said. They said the chain was not wrapped around her neck.

"It was pulled against the front of her neck area," Hill said.
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Gotbaum lived in New York. She was the mother of three children and the daughter-in-law of longtime New York City Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum.

Betsy Gotbaum called her daughter-in-law "a wonderful, wonderful person" and a great mother. She said the family was dealing with the situation "the best way we can."

ARCTIC MONKEYS - Rhythms del Mundo

Check this band out they're sick.

North American Union, no one asked Me

Bush is Crazy

Bush Administration Insider Says 9/11 Was An Inside Job

Dr. Morgan Reynolds: "A former Bush team member during his first administration is now voicing serious doubts about the collapse of the World Trade Center on 9-11. Former chief economist for the Department of Labor during President George W. Bush's first term Morgan Reynolds comments that the official story about the collapse of the WTC is "bogus" and that it is more likely that a controlled demolition destroyed the Twin Towers and adjacent Building No. 7."

This is the girl I trained for Bodog Fight Costa Rica

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3


That's me in her corner with the green bandanna at the beginning. She's good but since this fight happened we've had a falling out because of her attitude.

Angry German kid with subtitles

Student Tasered at University of Florida for asking a question

Ninjas vs. Kung Fu care of MSNBC

Ninjas on the internet claiming they can beat shaoilin munk ass piss off kung fu masters. Reported by MSNBC.

James Brown & Pavarotti RIP

Electric Bike

Stewardess Fashion Police

As the mercury climbed over 100 on Labor Day, I called Southwest Airlines with a not entirely hypothetical question:

Could a young woman board a flight to Tucson today wearing a bikini top?

Angelique, the agent who took my call, assured me that a young woman could.

“We don't have a problem with it if she's covered up in all the right spots,” she said. “We don't have a dress code.”

Tell that to Kyla Ebbert, who was escorted off a Southwest Airlines flight two months ago for wearing an outfit far less revealing than a bikini top.

Ebbert, a Mesa College student and Hooters waitress, was allowed to stay on the plane, but only after she put up a fight and, she says, was lectured on how to dress properly.

I don't know about you, but one of my big gripes with the airlines is that they just don't take the time to dispense fashion advice any more.

Southwest explained its treatment of Ebbert in a letter to her mother, saying it could remove any passenger “whose clothing is lewd, obscene or patently offensive” to ensure the comfort of children and “adults with heightened sensitivities.”

Ebbert, 23, says she was judged unfairly by the airline and humiliated by the experience. Who wouldn't be?

She had a doctor's appointment that afternoon in Tucson, where temperatures had topped 106 all week. She arrived at Lindbergh Field wearing a white denim miniskirt, high-heel sandals, and a turquoise summer sweater over a tank top over a bra.

After the plane filled, and the flight attendants began their safety spiel, Ebbert was asked to step off the plane by a customer service supervisor, identified by the airline only as “Keith.”

They walked out onto the jet bridge, where Keith told Ebbert her clothing was inappropriate and asked her to change. She explained she was flying to Tucson for only a few hours and had brought no luggage.

“I asked him what part of my outfit was offensive,” she said. “The shirt? The skirt? And he said, 'The whole thing.' ”

Keith asked her to go home, change and take a later flight. She refused, citing her appointment. The plane was ready to leave, so Keith relented. He had her pull up her tank top a bit, pull down her skirt a bit, and return to her seat.

Ebbert says several flight attendants overheard the conversation and, after an embarrassing walk down the aisle, she took her seat and spread a blanket over her lap. She kept her composure until the plane landed, when she called her mother and broke down.

She took a photo of herself with her cell phone so her mother could see her clothes. That's when mom became livid.

“My daughter is young, tall, blond and beautiful,” Michele Ebbert told me, “and she is both envied and complimented on her appearance. She dresses provocatively, as do 99 percent of 23-year-old girls who can. But they were out of line.”

Who knows where the lines are drawn these days, particularly when it comes to dress? If you watch television, or visit the mall, or take in a game at Petco Park, you'll see women dressed in ways that, 50 years ago, were pornographic. Today they are stylish.

A Supreme Court justice famously could not define “obscene,” and declaring a thing “lewd” imputes motive. Did Kyla Ebbert intend to excite sexual desire on that flight to Tucson? I doubt it, just as I doubt that flight attendants are proper judges of such matters.

But neither am I. So when I arranged to see Ebbert in the notorious outfit, I brought along my fashion advisers, writer Nina Garin and photojournalist Crissy Pascual, who for years collaborated on a feature in this newspaper called “Seen on the Street.”

The three of us met Ebbert and her mother for lunch at Nordstrom Cafe. Ebbert, who is 5-foot-5 and has green eyes, is pretty enough to be a model.

Yet even wearing the clothes that scandalized Southwest, she did not attract attention beyond some lingering glances.

My fashion advisers were baffled, saying they saw nothing you don't see on a college campus or in Pacific Beach.

“I was expecting to be shocked, and I was shocked the other way,” Pascual told me.

“It wasn't a big deal,” Garin said. “Her skirt was a bit short, which was only accented by her heels. If she had been wearing flip-flops it wouldn't have mattered.”

Garin wondered if a jealous woman may have complained about Ebbert's outfit. I asked her what she would have said had she been on the plane.

“ 'I hope she's not sitting next to my husband,' ” Garin replied. “She's pretty. She wears her clothes well. But I wouldn't complain about it.”

Pascual detected sexism in the way Ebbert was treated, wondering if a man would have been asked to change clothes. Do men dress inappropriately? “I see butt cracks, a lot of butt cracks,” she said.

In its letter, Southwest said “there were concerns about the revealing nature of her outfit.”

I called Hollye Chacón, the Southwest customer relations representative who wrote the letter, to see if we were talking about the same outfit.

“What exactly was being revealed?” I asked.

She said yesterday she'd call back, but never did. That's pretty revealing in itself.

Never Hesitate

Here's a video my friend Steve sent me. In England idiot kids go around slapping random strangers in public areas, then throw the video on the internet. Guess they slapped the wrong girl.

Funny Dogs

American Freedom

Loopholes in service-dog law easily exploited by pet owners

Just because a dog is wearing a boldly colored vest that says “Service Dog” doesn't mean it's a service dog.

That Fido could be a phony.


NADIA BOROWSKI SCOTT / Union-Tribune
Pam Albertson, who shopped for groceries with her service dog, Cameo, and her boyfriend, John Carpenter, said that people who do pretend to have service dogs don't realize the damage this can cause.
The vests cost about $30 and are easily available online. You can also order patches that say “Medical Alert Service Dog” or “Hearing Alert Service Dog.”

Why would people pretend their pooches have such abilities?

So they can take their dogs just about anywhere they please, including restaurants, beaches, stores, movies and hotels that prohibit ordinary pets.

Kathy Maxfield, who is disabled, knows pet owners who do this and she is livid. It's making it tough for people who have true disabilities and rely on trained service dogs, the San Diego resident said.

“It's just pure wrong.”

And it's just about impossible to stop. The Americans with Disabilities Act, signed into law in 1990, shields those who use service dogs from being harassed when taking their animals to public places.

It's against the law, for instance, for a business owner to ask someone with a service dog what kind of disabilities the person has.


NADIA BOROWSKI SCOTT
/ Union-Tribune
Pam Albertson has a photo ID for her service dog, Cameo, when on Qualcomm property. Using a phony service dog is a misdemeanor in California, but the law is nearly impossible to enforce.
It's also against the law to ask for proof that the animal is a trained service dog. A service dog doesn't have to wear a vest. And it isn't required to have professional training.

The only thing a merchant can ask is whether the animal is a service animal and what tasks it can do.

Because of such privacy protections, it's impossible to estimate how many dogs aren't actually on the up and up. People who train service dogs and people who use them legitimately say it's a growing problem, though. So do officials at the San Diego County Department of Animal Services, which issues special tags for assistance dogs.

“Like anything else, people take advantage,” said Carol Davis of Paws'itive Teams, which trains service dogs in San Diego. “There are dog owners who love their dogs and want them to go everywhere with them.”

Pam Albertson, who relies on her service dog, Cameo, to help her, said the people who do this don't realize the damage they can cause.

An improperly trained dog can be aggressive or ill-behaved. It may not have the calm temperament that her dog, a golden retriever, has. She's concerned that an untrained dog might attack her dog.

“It's one more thing we have to worry about,” she said.



Service dogs today perform a host of tasks for an ever-growing range of people with disabilities.

People in wheelchairs have dogs trained to pick up items they drop. People who suffer seizures have dogs capable of signaling for help.

And people with emotional disorders, such as panic attacks, have trained service animals that can sense an attack coming and step in and perform an act that eases it.

People see all these folks in restaurants and shopping malls with their dogs by their sides and wonder: Why not me and my dog?

Dawn Danielson, director of the county Department of Animal Services, suspects that some of the people who get assistance tags for their dogs are taking advantage of safeguards that were established to protect those with disabilities from uncomfortable inquisitions.

The ADA prevents her staff from asking if the person seeking the tag has a disability or if the dog has any specific training.

“We can't say, 'Hey, that poodle doesn't look like it can do all that much,' ” she said. “Our hands are tied.”

In 2000, 82 tags were given out. Last year, that number had grown to 265.

Kent Krueger, vice president of Lincoln, Neb.-based SitStay.com, which sells service dog vests online, also can't question the motives of those who buy his vests.

“It's the honor code,” Krueger said.

People who pretend that their dogs are service dogs are breaking the law. In California, it's a misdemeanor and punishable by at least six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

There's one problem, though. The law is just about impossible to enforce.

The San Diego Police Department has never made such an arrest, said Det. Gary Hassen, a spokesman.

In 2003, the Sheriff's Department investigated reports that a man and a dog – both of them “filthy” – were entering restaurants and grocery stores, said Jan Caldwell, a spokeswoman. But after conferring with disability experts, the department made no arrests, because the dog might provide psychological comfort and be considered a service dog.



While some people fake it, other people may really believe they have a valid reason to take their pets to public places. They claim the animals provide emotional support. Some get doctors to sign notes, saying the dogs play a role in their health care.

But service dog trainers question the practice, arguing that such dogs aren't trained to do anything. They're pets.

Davis knew of one woman who carried her poodle to a play. She was a breast cancer survivor and her doctor had written a note saying the dog provided continuing support.

“I can understand why people want their dogs with them. Who doesn't?” Davis said.

But such a dog hasn't undergone the rigorous training required of a working service dog, Davis said. And if it behaves badly, it sours the public perception of dogs paired with the disabled. Merchants can ask a person with any dog – including legitimate service dogs – to leave if the animal is acting badly.

Only about 45 percent of the dogs that enter training with Canine Companions for Independence end up graduating from the 2½-year training program, said Corey Hudson, executive director of the Santa Rosa-based organization. He's also president of the North America board of directors for Assistance Dogs International, which works to establish and promote standards for service dogs.

“We select and select and select and then we screen and screen and screen,” Hudson said of the dogs his organization trains.

While ADI has an accreditation program for properly trained dogs, accreditation isn't mandated by any government agency. A person can self-train the dog and claim it performs as a service dog, even if the owner lacks the expertise to train it properly or the dog doesn't have the temperament for the job.

Determining the legitimacy of service dogs is made even more confusing by conflicts over emotional support dogs. According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, emotional support dogs are not trained service dogs.

But the U.S. Department of Transportation ruled in 2003 that animals that provide emotional support should be allowed on airline flights. And some courts have ruled that people with emotional support animals can't be denied apartments that prohibit pets.

As the laws have loosened, people have begun showing up in more places with more varieties of animals. Airline passengers have successfully lobbied to bring dogs, cats, monkeys, goats – even a small horse – onboard.

And if they can take their animals on a plane, they figure why not a restaurant or a movie theater?

The Coalition of Assistance Dog Organizations is lobbying the federal government to change the Americans With Disabilities Act's definition of a service animal. To qualify, an animal would need to be trained to mitigate a person's disability, according to the definition sought by the coalition.

That definition stipulates that an animal providing “comfort” would not qualify. Finding a solution will be difficult, said Hudson, director of Canine Companions for Independence, because everyone agrees that people with disabilities shouldn't have to answer demeaning and challenging questions.

Unfortunately, that has created loopholes a St. Bernard can get through.

“And that drags all of us down,” Hudson said.

By Michael Stetz

Bobster Trike by Zeel Design

I love this trike. It reminds me of my big wheel when I was a kid.
Zeel Design

Tara Needs Your Prayers

This is my friend Tara Larosa.


This is Tara Larosa's boyfriend SFC Adrian M Elizalde killed in Iraq when an IED hit his truck on Thursday August, 23rd. He was 30 years old.

Home prices drop

WASHINGTON – Sales of existing homes dropped for a fifth straight month in July while the number of unsold homes shot up to a record level.

Many analysts said the worst slump in housing in 16 years is likely to deepen in coming months, reflecting the recent turmoil in credit markets, which has caused lenders to tighten their standards.

The National Association of Realtors reported Monday that sales of existing homes dipped by 0.2 percent in July, compared to June, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.75 million units.

The median price of a home sold last month slid to $230,200, down by 0.6 percent from the median price a year ago. It marked the 12th consecutive month that home prices have declined, a record stretch.

On Wall Street, stocks retreated on Monday after the housing report renewed concerns about the strength of the economy. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 56.74 points to close at 13,322.13.

The deep slump in housing, combined with recent severe turmoil in financial markets, has raised worries about a possible recession. But many economists believe the Federal Reserve will ward off a full-blown downturn by reducing a key short-term interest rate should financial market conditions fail to stabilize.

But economists said the report on existing home sales signaled further trouble ahead, given a big jump in the inventory of unsold homes which rose by 5.1 percent to a record level of 4.59 million homes.

Based on the July sales pace, it would take 9.2 months to exhaust the number of single-family homes on the market, the highest level in nearly 16 years, and 11.9 months to exhaust the level of condominiums on the market. The months supply of condos sitting on the market is 45.1 percent higher than a year ago.

The rising glut of unsold homes is putting downward pressure on prices. The median price of an existing home, the point where half of homes sold for more and half for less, has now fallen every month for a year, something that has not occurred before on Realtors' records going back to 1969. Economists said to expect more price declines in coming months.

“We are literally swimming in an ocean of homes for sale,” said Mike Larson, a real estate analyst with Weiss Research Inc. “Until we work through this extremely large inventory glut, we're not going to see any momentum in home prices.”

Analysts said the financial market turbulence that has occurred in August will mean further downward pressure on home sales as big investors such as hedge funds grow more leery about purchasing mortgages that have been packaged into securities for fear that the rising number of defaults will mean they won't get repaid.

Even before the latest market turbulence, banks and other lenders were tightening up on their loan standards in response to rising delinquencies, especially on subprime loans extended to borrowers with weak credit histories.

“With fewer buyers qualifying for loans and lots of unsold houses out there, that makes a choice recipe for further sales declines this fall and into the winter,” said Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC

Hoffman said there is a growing threat that the severe slump in housing and sagging consumer confidence will weigh on consumer spending in the second half of this year, presenting a significant risk to the overall economy. But he said he believed the country would be able to avoid an outright recession because the Federal Reserve will decide at its next meeting on Sept. 18 to cut the federal funds rate, the key benchmark rate for millions of consumer and business loans.

Hoffman said he expected the September Fed rate cut would be the first of several as the central bank steps up its efforts to combat the current turbulence. The Fed in the past two weeks has supplied the banking system with billions of dollars to encourage banks to keep making loans and on Aug. 17 announced a half-point cut in its discount rate, the interest it charges to make direct loans to banks.

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said the latest housing report showed the need for Congress to increase efforts to deal with the potential flood of foreclosures that are being projected over the next two years as nearly 2 million homeowners with adjustable-rate mortgages experience payment shocks as their loans reset in a weakening housing market.

“We need to deal with widespread uncertainty in the mortgage market and help to refinance borrowers who were duped into bad loans,” said Schumer, who is sponsoring legislation to boost federal support for mortgage counseling services.

The 0.2 percent drop in July sales, compared with activity in June, marked the fifth straight monthly decline and left sales 9 percent below the level of a year ago. The sales pace was the slowest since November 2002.

By region of the country, sales fell by 2.2 percent in the Midwest and were unchanged in the South. Sales rose by 1.8 percent in the West and 1 percent in the Northeast.

Lawrence Yun, senior economist for the Realtors, said he viewed the rise in sales in the Northeast as a potentially hopefully sign of a national rebound since that was the region where sales and prices first started falling after a five-year boom which ended in 2006.

Suicide Girls - Punk Rock Pinups (TGIF)

IRA Riots Belfast

Women of the IRA

women in Easter Rising 1916

Something smells good

Yamaha Midnight Warrior

Stock


Custom


Sport meets cruiser in the all-black version of the four-time AMA Prostar drag racing champion. Can I get a hell yeah?

Dog carts

Cane Corso

Group
Guardian

Life Expectancy
10-11 years

Size Male
Height: 24-27 inches
Weight: 99-110 pounds

Size Female
Height: 23-25 inches
Weight: 88-99 pounds

Temperament
Very loyal, willing to please and quiet around the house. The Cane Corso is highly intelligent and very trainable. Active and even-minded, he is an unequalled watch and protection dog. The Cane Corso is great with children in the family. Docile and affectionate with the owner. They are protective yet gentle. The Cane Corso has a very stable temperament. It makes an excellent guard dog and watchdog. It will not wonder from the home. They stick close to their masters. If necessary he becomes a terrible and brave protector of people, house and property. The Cane Corso is not a fighting dog. They were bred as working dogs for hundreds of years. Therefore they will not go out looking for a fight, but on the other hand they will not back down from other dogs.

Originally used for hearding and guarding, the Cane Corso is somewhat aggressive with strangers and other dogs and is only recommended for an experienced handler. Cane Corsos make excellent family dogs, they are quiet, loyal, intelligent and gentle with children. Cane Corsos make excellent guard and watchdogs and are very willing to please their families.

The Irish Wolfhound

When the Irish Wolfhound attacks

TGIF (NSFW)

Battle at Kruger

Check this out. it's crazy.

Respect the Gator

Muay Thai - Nothing a good surgeon can't fix

Presa Canario

Group
Guardian

Life Expectancy
9-11 years

Size Male
Height: 24-26 inches
Weight: 103-126 pounds

Size Female
Height: 23-25 inches
Weight: 89-110 pounds

Temperament
Generally, the Canary Dog will make good guardians and companions. The Canary dog likes to spend time around people, yet can be suspicious of strangers. They are relatively aggressive in disposition, yet they tend to be affectionate towards the owners. Tolerance of other dogs is minimal. Therefore, the Canary dog may be a poor choice for people who have other pets in the household.

The Canary Dog requires a very dominant owner who understands the alpha nature in canines. No member of the family can be uncomfortable around the dog. The Canary dog will make outstanding guard dogs. Just their appearance is a deterrent not to mention their ability to confront any intruder. In the wrong hands this dog can be dangerous, but with the right owner it can make a nice, devoted companion. This is not a breed for first time dog owners.

The BoerBoel of South Africa

Boerboel playing with english bulldog











I've been researching guard dog breeds for when I get a house. I came across this breed and it's on my top potential breed list.

Group
Guardian

Life Expectancy
10-12 years

Size Male
Height:25-28 inches
Weight:150-200 pounds

Size Female
Height:23-26 inches
Weight:150-200 pounds

Temperament
The temperament of the Boerboel dog is considered to be his most attractive and most important characteristic. The South Africans describe him as the only breed in the world bred with one purpose only: to guard and protect. A Boerboel dog should never sulk or grumble after being reprimanded. People buy a Boerboel dog for his temperament only, and this should stay his most important quality. He should be your best friend, he has to read your mind, he has to know when you feel threatened, and know instinctively if you approve of a stranger or not! He should feel when you are afraid, and tell you with a deep, comforting rumble: I'm here; with my life I will protect you.

He is a child-lover and playmate by excellence. He is not a one-man's dog, but he will love and protect every member of his family alike. The entire family belongs to him to love and safeguard them from any harm.

The Boerboel dog is a protector and can be very aggressive to people passing in the street. They will guard their family, friends and property with their life. When the owners are not home they will not allow anyone to enter the home, unless they know them very well. When welcomed visitors arrive they will accept them after being properly introduced. They are however, guard dogs, and will keep close watch over any house guest. Owners have to be very careful when opening the gate or door so that they don't get out into the street when people are passing by. The Boerboel Dog will do okay with other dogs, cats and other non-canine pets, letting birds come down and snatch from their food bowl. The Boerboel Dog requires a dominant owner.

Lion's know how to share the love

Filipino hot dogs

This is why the chinese are taking over

Fine Art

Bodies . . . The Exhibition

Due to overwhelming public demand, the exhibition will extend its run in San Diego through November 11, 2007. Tickets are available at the box office or by visiting www.bodiestickets.com or calling 877-BODIES-5.

I still haven't checked this out. Anyone want to go with me?

UCLA study on cannabis

Dr. Donald Tashkin of UCLA Geffin School of medicine talks to Lanny about the effects of cannabis (marijuana, pot, herb, smoke, etc) on the lungs.

Hogzilla

Hunter gets owned by deer

Can't knock me out

Travis Pastrana

X-Games 1st Double Back Flip

Big Wave Ride

D-War

lassie kung fu

Golden eagle catches deer

Hacking a dead laptop battery

Mentos and Carlsberg = bad combination

Medical Cannibus Ken White: What to do if you are confronted by the cops

San Diego Foreclosures up 551% from last year

Home foreclosures in San Diego County continued a troublesome climb into record territory in June, but analysts say the number has yet to reach a threshold that creates a drag on real estate prices or the economy.

DataQuick Information Systems reported yesterday that during the first half of 2007, San Diego County had 2,896 foreclosures compared with 445 during the first half of 2006, a 551 percent increase.

That sets a record dating to 1988, when DataQuick began tracking foreclosures, researcher John Karevoll said. “A steadily increasing portion of those who get notices of default now are being foreclosed on.”

From May to June, county foreclosures increased from 532 to 657, a 24 percent increase and a record for any month since 1988.

County notices of default, the first step in the foreclosure process that occurs when homeowners begin missing mortgage payments, totaled 8,314 for the first six months of 2007, compared with 3,311 in the same period last year, a 151 percent increase. From May to June of this year, default notices rose from 1,441 to 1,596, an 11 percent increase.

Although foreclosures are spiking, there is no reason for homeowners to panic, Karevoll said.


“California is better off than the nation, and San Diego County is better off than California,” he said. “It still is not a major factor in the real estate market, but if there is a recession, it could become a huge factor.”

Economist Mark Schniepp of the California Economic Forecast agreed that the county is faring well compared with many areas.

“San Diego will be hit hard, but not nearly as hard as Riverside and Sacramento,” he said. “Those areas had significantly more new houses going in, and the foreclosure problem is largely associated with new housing production at the affordable end.”

Agents who sell real-estate-owned homes say they're moving at a pace that hasn't been seen since the real estate recession of the mid-1990s. With no one paying the mortgage, lenders are eager to sell foreclosure homes, said David Cabot, president of the San Diego Association of Realtors. Experts say there are deals but few steals, however.

Banks “don't want to give it away,” said San Diego agent and real-estate-owned specialist Marc Carpenter.

In San Diego County, neighborhoods having some of the region's most affordable housing were hardest hit by foreclosures in the first half of the year, DataQuick reported. The 91913 ZIP code, which includes much of Eastlake and Otay Ranch, ranked highest among areas with 1,000 or more dwellings. The rate there was nearly 12 foreclosures per 1,000 homes. Other areas with high foreclosure rates included southeast Chula Vista, San Ysidro, Spring Valley and City Heights.

Statewide, midyear default-notice figures were at their highest in more than a decade. DataQuick attributed it to “flat or falling prices, anemic sales and a market struggling with the excesses of the 2004-2005 home buying frenzy.”

Across California, foreclosures hit 28,440 at midyear, compared with 3,159 in the first half of 2006, an 800 percent increase. In June, there were 6,861 foreclosures statewide, compared with 5,273 in May, an increase of 30 percent.

Lenders statewide had filed 100,703 notices of default at midyear, up 153 percent from 39,765 for the first half of 2006. Particularly hard hit was neighboring Riverside County, where notices during the second quarter were up by nearly 191 percent. In June, there were 19,834 default notices statewide, a rise of nearly 12 percent from 17,751 in May.

University of San Diego economist Alan Gin said a recession could make the foreclosure problem much worse, but he said there is less than a 50 percent chance that one will occur. While foreclosures are “still a small part of market,” the spike in defaults is worrisome, he said.

“There is no sign that they are on the verge of turning around,” Gin said. “It could take awhile for this thing to shake out.”

San Diego County's home prices remain relatively stable. Last month's median price for all homes, including condominiums, was $495,500, down nearly 2 percent from a year earlier but up $3,500 compared with May, DataQuick reported. Sales activity was down nearly 23 percent last month compared with June 2006.

Too much risk
Gin said lenders had been too willing to make risky loans during the housing boom, but some analysts say buyers must accept responsibility for overextending themselves.

Ryan Grothe thought he was making the right decision when he moved his family into a two-bedroom condo he purchased in Rancho Peñasquitos in late 2005. Their one-bedroom apartment had become cramped, and he wanted a roomier place for their daughter, now 2 years old.

A year and a half after moving into their new home, the Grothes are renting again, unable to make the nearly $3,000 monthly payment on their $370,000 loan and are facing foreclosure.

Also saddled with two car payments and his wife's student loan, Grothe worried that he would have a tough time finding a place to rent as his credit rating worsened. He works as a security officer at two jobs, and his wife is a registered nurse.

“The lenders told us if we didn't do something, our place would go into foreclosure,” said Grothe, who is hoping to sell the condo, but for far less than the purchase price. “We had called both lenders trying to refinance and they said, 'No, the property values are going down and you'd have to fork over money in advance to refinance.'

“I'm upset; I'm really disgusted with everyone involved in selling us this place,” he said. “We told them that we couldn't afford this, that we would need to refinance, we're starting to fall behind, and it just amazes me that they help you get into these places and when you need help, they run the other way.”

As more borrowers find themselves in trouble, they're turning to nonprofit agencies such as Community HousingWorks, which works with strapped homeowners to set up repayment plans.

“We get people who are days away from losing their home, all the way to people who are 30, 60 days late on their loan, and we're even getting folks wanting to get ahead of an adjustment on their payments,” said Gabe del Rio, vice president for lending and homeownership for the agency.

'Time bombs'
Economist Schniepp sees a strong link between foreclosures and the recent meltdown of the subprime lending market. Weak underwriting standards and the heavy reliance on adjustable loans with low “teaser” interest rates put borrowers and lenders on a collision course, he said. The weakest loans were made in 2005 and 2006, and many of them will continue resetting at higher interest rates into 2009, he added.

Subprime loans, which often required low down payments and little or no documentation of income, “had all of these time bombs built in so the borrower can't make the payments,” Schniepp said.

The best solution is for lenders to renegotiate risky subprime loans to keep buyers in their homes, the economist said. In the near term, he expects foreclosures to increase.

Lenders are willing to work with overextended borrowers, though the options available vary, said Jack Haynes, executive vice president of Countrywide Home Loans, one of the nation's largest mortgage lenders.

“For all intents and purposes, we've never had this market condition,” Haynes said. “It's certainly in the best interest of our investors and our borrowers to always look for solutions for every one of these borrowers. That could be refinancing to restructuring the loan.”

Many San Diego County homeowners saw their property values double as residential real estate boomed between 2000 and 2005. Karevoll doesn't expect home equity loans to be affected by foreclosure rates because defaults haven't significantly reduced property values.

G.U. Krueger, an Irvine-based economist, said default activity may slow once weak subprime loans work their way through the system. There could be “a quick kind of flushing out, a kind of a storm that passes quickly.”