Attention Foreclosure-threatened Homeowners
Posted by Michelle Moquin on July 21st, 2011
Good morning!
Here’s the latest from Scambusters:
Fraudsters are using a documents-checking process known as a mortgage securitization audit as a means of scamming foreclosure-threatened homeowners.
Even when the process is legitimately carried out, the Federal Trade Commission suggests it’s worthless. Some in the legal profession disagree.This week, we outline both sides of the debate, but, more Importantly, explain how to avoid an out-and-out scam.
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Mortgage Securitization Scams Add to Homeowners’ Woes
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Masquerading under the impressive-sounding title of a “mortgage securitization audit,” a new scam is bleeding financially-pressured homeowners out of their dwindling funds.
Also sometimes simply called a “mortgage audit” or a “forensic document review,” the service supposedly combs through all of the documents relating to a mortgage, looking for mistakes or even frauds in those documents.
The purported aim is either to help homeowners escape foreclosure or to strengthen their case for a loan modification, which will ease their repayments. And that sounds like a pretty good idea, except for two things:
* Many so-called mortgage securitization companies actually do nothing at all but collect a couple thousand dollars from their victims. Or maybe, they’ll produce an impressive looking set of documents that are actually publicly available and have no legal value.
* The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer watchdog, has publicly denounced the use o mortgage audits, even if they’re done properly and legally.
It’s only fair to point out here that some lawyers disagree with the FTC. They maintain that a securitization audit, done at the right time and under the direction of an attorney, does help to strengthen a homeowner’s hand in a foreclosure fight.
One can imagine this seeming to make sense, since any evidence that a lender has behaved incorrectly would surely weigh on a homeowner’s side. But then, we’re not lawyers, so we can’t really argue that one.
What’s certain is that those who say the practice is worthwhile insist that you should hire a specialist attorney first and let them decide what audit work needs to be done. You shouldn’t take the opposite route, they warn, of starting off with a firm or individual offering mortgage audits.
One lawyer argued in a recent blog that mortgage audits “are a necessary and essential element to a successful foreclosure defense” and that in every successful case he had handled a mortgage audit and securitization analysis had been “at the foundation of the success.”
But he adds: “Let me make it very clear that an audit is not the first step to mounting an effective foreclosure defense.”
And he warns that many so-called mortgage auditors provide inadmissible evidence while charging around $2,000 for their service.
Moe Bedard, who founded the online consumer advocacy community loansafe.org, takes an even stronger stance. He says a lot of the firms offering mortgage audits are “reincarnated loan modification frauds with a new name or they are out of work mortgage brokers working from their kitchen tables.”
He adds: “These unlicensed auditors are charging from $200-$7,000 for services which are essentially worthless to a homeowner looking to stop foreclosure. “More often than not, these firms are offering mortgage audits with no attorney representation, which is the primary reason why they can be of no help to homeowners.
“The homeowner is left with an expensive stack of papers that are essentially worthless.”
(Note that we are not connected with loansafe; it is a privately operated, advertisement-supported site.)
If you opt to go down the attorney route, you should, of course, always check with your State Bar Association about the status and standing of any law firm before you deal with them.
However, before you even do that, listen to what the FTC says. In a consumer alert that you can read in full here
(http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=8JUKO&m=K26YH1cdMGtWfo&b=zFQrGJlFnAe6RqGZAIGHTA) the Commission warns that when “auditors” say you can use their reports to avoid foreclosure or speed up loan modification, nothing could be further from the truth.
“There is no evidence that forensic loan audits will help you get a loan modification or any other foreclosure relief, even if they’re conducted by a licensed, legitimate and trained auditor, mortgage professional or lawyer,” says the Commission.
And they note that although it’s possible under certain circumstances to sue a lender because of mistakes in loan documents, even winning the case doesn’t compel the lender to modify the loan terms just to ease your payment terms.
The FTC points out that mortgage audit scams are just one of many tricks that defaulters may encounter and suggests avoiding any companies or individuals who:
* Guarantee they can halt foreclosure.
* Tell you not to get in touch with your lender or attorney and ask for money upfront before doing anything for you.
* Suggest you lease your home under some sort of buy-back program.
* Tell you to pay your mortgage to them instead of the lender.
* Make a cash offer to buy your home at a price that doesn’t match current market rates.
* Present you with documents that supposedly need to be signed immediately.
Instead, the best thing to do if you’re having trouble making your mortgage payments is to contact the lender and try to work out a new repayment plan. The nonprofit Home Ownership Preservation Foundation, which is certified by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), has a help hotline on 1-800-995-HOPE, or you can go to www.hopenow.com.
Footnote: We’ve warned of this before, but we heard recently about a mortgage scam in Nevada in which homeowners received a letter saying their mortgage had been transferred to another to whom they should now make their payments.
It was simply untrue and, if the alleged operators hadn’t been caught so quickly, no doubt many owners would have fallen for this.
The action here is simple: If you get any kind of notification about a change of mortgage owner, just get in touch with your lender and check it out with them. Of course, don’t use any of the contact information given in the letter!
One way or another, the fraudsters are out to make the most of ignorance and upheaval in the house and mortgage market of the past few years. Knowing about their tricks, like the mortgagesecuritization scam can keep you one step ahead.
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Readers: Well, I think the glitches are resolved. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that we have seen the last of them. Thank you again for your patience and understanding.
So…what’s the written word? Blog this BABE.
Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)
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July 21st, 2011 at 12:13 pm
I am no supporter of the Human idiot named Michelle Bachmann but this time she’s gone too far.
Tell Secretary Sebelius and DEH Commissioner Edward Ehlinger: Stop funding Bachmann’s anti-gay clinic with TAXPAYER MONEY.
So-called gay conversion therapy has been denounced by the scientific and medical communities as ineffective, and potentially dangerous.
But an investigation earlier this month exposed that this hateful practice is used by the “quality Christian counseling clinic” owned by Michele Bachmann and her husband/1 — a clinic which was recently discovered to have received over $137,000 in federal Medicaid funds, in addition to $24,000 in other state and federal funds./2
It’s bad enough that Bachmann and Associates, after denying for years they practiced ex-gay therapy, clearly encourages patients to pray the gay away. Our taxpayer dollars shouldn’t be funding it.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which oversees Medicaid, and the Minnesota Department of Health (DEH), which distributes the funds within the state, should immediately pull public funds from Bachmann’s clinic.
Going to the Bachmann family for counseling is like attending a peace rally hosted by Dick Cheney.
Their views are extreme, hateful and crazy. Michele Bachmann has called homosexuality “a part of Satan,” and “a real issue of sexual dysfunction” while her husband Marcus has called gays “barbarians.”
And even as Michele Bachmann’s family was collecting over $160,000 in Medicaid and other public funds, she was leading Tea Party calls for drastic cuts to the social safety net – especially to Medicaid which she has said swell the “welfare rolls” – and even voted to shut down the government rather than continue funding Planned Parenthood and the Health Care Reform Act./3
Yet when reports broke of the Medicaid payments to her family, Bachmann suddenly became sensitive to discrimination, declaring “it would be discriminatory not to accept Medicaid as a form of payment.”/4
It would be stunning to keep funding with public money a clinic that promotes an anti-gay, religious agenda and medically-unsound services that are more damaging than anything else. HHS and Minnesota DEH must take a stand now.
Tell Secretary Sebelius and DEH Commissioner Edward Ehlinger: Stop funding Bachmann’s anti-gay clinic.
Please click here now if you agree: http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/bachmann_clinic/?rc=share_email
1. “Undercover Investigation Confirms Bachmann Clinic Provides Discredited, Damaging ‘Ex-Gay’ Therapy,” ThinkProgress, July 8, 2011
2. “Bachmann’s husband got $137,000 in Medicaid funds,” MSNBC, June 28, 2011
3. “Bachmann voted for government shutdown because of abortion,” The Minnesota Independent, March 2, 2011
4. “Bachmann responds to Medicaid payout report, CNN, June 29, 2011″
/SB
July 21st, 2011 at 12:46 pm
Thank you Social Butterfly for speaking up. The bigots and idiots my race puts into office is scary.
Toni
July 21st, 2011 at 1:11 pm
ZANDER ON PASSIVE AGGRESSION
The world is filled with wordless communications. I’m not thinking here about broad smiles that boost confidence or winks that signal thumbs up — I have in mind another type of message.
Picture if you will — rolled eyes, deep sighs, impatient facial expressions, raised eyebrows, tapping fingers and even tongue clucks.
These are a mere sampling of the many ways we impart not-so-nice feelings and thoughts without saying a word. Daily Health News contributor and life coach Lauren Zander calls such communications “the unsaid.”
She explains that “many people have a commentary going on in their heads all the time that they try to keep hidden, yet it leaks out in a surprising variety of physical ways.”
THE UP-FRONT AGENT AND THE OTHER
Zander explains that the unsaid has to do with the two parts everyone has — the external part that she calls the “agent” and the inner part that she calls the “double agent.”
The agent does the talking and generally wants to be perceived as nice and likable and definitely does not want to provoke or take part in confrontations.
However, the “double agent” holds a strong place, too.
This is the part of a person that mutters silently about his or her real thoughts and feelings and often describes things in terms that are nowhere near as kind as the ones verbalized to the world.
Here’s an example that you may recognize from your own life. Say you ask your partner to do a common chore, maybe take the car in for an oil change, and he says fine… not a problem… will do it tomorrow.
But let’s say you know from experience that “tomorrow’s” oil change is very unlikely to happen and that once again you will be stuck with the responsibility.
Now you have two choices — you can confront your partner about his previous lack of follow-through and the unhappiness it has caused… or you might say “Okay, sure” and then roll your eyes or shrug your shoulders a bit dramatically, or you might say nothing but just walk away.
Your body signals have now negated the words that you said and revealed your true feelings of exasperation and resignation. Real communication has hit the wall and the result is you’ve made your partner a “bad guy.”
A SLIPPERY SLOPE
The first step off this slippery slope is to look not at the other person but at yourself, says Zander. What are you doing when you send out your unsaid thoughts and the feelings that lie behind them?
Are you secretly feeling sheepish, angry, volatile or resigned? Chances are good that if you are like most people, you have no idea that you’re sending these signals.
An excellent way to explore your physical expressions, she says, is simply to ask the people in your life to describe them for you.
If you have kids, they can tell you immediately what you do — remember how you knew instantly that your mom was mad by, perhaps, the way she stiffened her back or raised one eyebrow?
Some things don’t change. So ask your kids or spouse about what funny body “tics” you have and what those tics mean to them. Note: You have to be sure not to take it personally when/if they give you a truthful answer. Just take it as the information you are seeking.
DECODING THE OTHER
Of course, sometimes, like Freud’s cigars, a sigh really is just a sigh and it might convey nothing more than a bit of fatigue.
As you work on your awareness about your own verbal tics, you will become more conscious of the ones you make that are silent criticism versus those that are meaningless in the greater context.
This will help you increase sensitivity to the verbal tics of the other person as well. At some point, though, it is crucial to ask if he or she is willing to tackle the “unsaid” problem together. The idea is for you both to transform all those silent messages into spoken ones, thus turning them into honest and fruitful communication.
The major leap that you will have to make to get this conversation going is to actually take your partner’s word over yours, since these tics tend to be blind spots, and the truth is that our own dynamics are hard to own. Basically, you have to ask someone to see something you can’t. It happens to us all.
Once you’re ready, Zander has specific suggestions about how to make this conversation a success. Of course it will require tact and timing. Drawing heavily on both, here is how she says to go about it…
Wait for a peaceful time in your relationship when you are not fighting and there is no fight on the horizon. This will allow you to have a conversation that’s relatively anxiety-free.
Let the other person know that this is a conversation that comes from love and a desire to add to both the other person’s happiness and the quality of your relationship together.
Ask permission to point out the other person’s unsaid signals as he or she is making them and to ask on the spot what they mean.
Be sure when doing this that you are neither accusatory nor judgmental — your positive attitude will keep the conversation from turning into a fight that would include further hostile signals.
Remember to ask what you do that may be irritating and at times even infuriating to the other person — and be willing to discuss those things as well.
REACHING THE GOAL
If you are able to help each other through this conversation, it can totally change the locked-in positions that work their way into relationships.
“Working on this together is a brilliant way to stop a negative dynamic,” says Zander. “Instead of getting mad about those silent signals, you can have fun catching yourself and each other as it’s happening.
It is all about understanding the other person, and in no way is it about right or wrong. By taking that aspect out of it, it becomes a form of play between two people who are now on the same team.”
Source(s):
Lauren Zander, cofounder and chairman, The Handel Group, New York City. http://www.TheHandelGroup.com
July 21st, 2011 at 1:22 pm
Michelle, your article just reminds us of the fact that the banks have us by the balls and they are squeezing at their leisure.
July 21st, 2011 at 1:33 pm
Guam War Survivors: Part 4
by Mindy Aguon
Guam – Agana Heights resident Regina Reyes vividly recalls the days of World War II as if it were yesterday. “I still remember everything. I’m so old, but I still remember,” she shared.
At 96 years old, she is forever haunted by what she endured during the Japanese occupation of Guam. With four young children living in the central village with her husband, Regina was five months pregnant with her fifth child when she had her first encounter with the Japanese.
“I go to get the kids clothes in my house as soon as I got there, the Japanese came with his guns. He points at me with the gun and I said nothing. As soon as I said nothing he do what he wants. He raped me…nobody helped,” she recalled.
Despite reporting the rape, no one was ever held accountable for what they did to her. Instead, Regina and her family were forced to move from their home, as she continued, “We moved to the jungle near Mangilao place; we build a small house with my kids.
There’s a river there. One evening, I just finished cooking, one evening they came and said the Japanese came and they lived on the other side of the river and they said you know what when the American pass by they gonna bomb. I just poured water because I know what he saying.”
From there they were forced to live at the Manenggon concentration camp. It was there that Regina would see her husband Henry for the very last time.
“They send somebody to say that he was gonna carry the things for the Japanese to Yigo, that’s the word from him, I never see him,” she said. “They make him work since the Japanese came.
To the end of time, I never see him.” Overcome with emotion, she added, “I’m lucky I’m still okay because you know what? Who gonna raise my kids?”
At the end of the war, Regina was left homeless with four children and a baby on the way. But she was resilient and resourceful, a strong woman who worked tirelessly to take care of her children.
Every day for years, Regina would make and sell corn tortillas to ensure her children were taken care of. The silent tears that fall from her face today are remnants of the pain she endured more than six decades ago at the hands of the Japanese.
“Thanks to God, I’m still okay. It’s so painful,” she said, weeping openly.
Yet through the tears, she manages to find joy – grateful for the many blessings that have made up her nearly century-long life.
And as every day passes, Regina is still hopeful that the United States will make good on war reparations and helping close a horrific chapter of her life.
“I’m so old, but I know that they’re cheating me, right?” she said, innocently adding, “To wave thanks to God that I’m still okay that’s what I’m going to yell. God helped me thanks to God.”
===================
Yes, Regina, God will help you. But not the hypocrites that drip God’s name or words form the Bible at every opportunity.
Yet, those bigots who have made themselves a part of our lives write in and tell us they are Guamanians and that we should not listen to Chamorros who advocate self determination.
I say, you white bastards may think you are Guamanians because you have taken our land and occupied it for decades, but you are NOT!
LEA
July 21st, 2011 at 1:40 pm
Your article is timely Michelle. The fools who gave the keys back to the assholes who drove our economic vehicle into a ditch will be complaining about the lack of results from Obama’s financial regulations.
Let me remind them that the republicans are busy making sure that those new rules cannot be enforced because they are cutting the budgets of the agencies that are tasked with enforcing those new rules.
Elliot
July 21st, 2011 at 1:47 pm
Michelle, as I see it the real problem is that Democrats have no courage. They are easily cowered and they support none of the news anchors willing to do what they are too gutless to do, that is to challenge the lies the republican party and its members spout.
MSNBC just fired their young Turk anchor, Uygur because he refused to stop calling the republicans and other inept politicians on their behavior. The was told to “tone it down,” or risk losing his anchor spot.
He refused and MSNBC fired him because of the republican party complaints.
Anne
July 21st, 2011 at 1:48 pm
You have witnessed just a start of the lawsuits Anonz is encouraging against Rupert Murdoch and family’s interest. They have other holdings He is planning to attack I am told.
It was pointed out to me by some who would know that back in the day Anonz was slighted by his favorite football team, the 49′ers owners. They were riding high because of the success of their team.
It is widely known how they dissed his lady when she was not included in the after party becauseEdward DeBartlo Jr. didn’t think that many ethics she was accompanied with was good for the party mix.
The rumor is Ed just ignored Anonz’s complaint. He was heard exclaiming, “I built this team, now everybody wants a piece of me.” Whether he was guilty of what he was accused of is not the issue. The way he handled Anonz’s perceived insult to his lady was.
It is widely known that Anonz called his office and told them about his displeasure with their boss’s behavior towards his lady. Then he added before he hung up, “tell the asshole to pack his bags, he won”t be running the team much longer.”Within in a few months Debartlo had to give up controlling interest in the team.
Now, he is on Murdoch’s ass. About continuing the ownership of his company. Will he handle it better than DeBartolo Jr., did? Or will he and his son lose out on future ownership of something he built?
I do know the promised billion dollar lawsuits have started.
Mike
July 21st, 2011 at 1:49 pm
Letter to Anonz: Please don’t let me get on your bad side.
Letter to Murdoch: Head for the hills.
Cass
July 21st, 2011 at 1:57 pm
Thank you Social Butterfly for your calling that silly ass a fool. Gays will never be allowed the same federal benefits that straights get in marriage if we don’t keep the injustice before the American people.
Here is an article on Senator Dianne Feinstein an her efforts to correct that.
==============================
It is great news that gay couples in New York now have the right to legally marry.
It is wrong, however, that those same married couples will not be able to enjoy the federal rights and privileges afforded to straight married couples.
The reason is the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), a bill passed in 1996 that denies the rights and benefits provided by the federal government to legally married same-sex couples.
Just a few months ago, I introduced the Respect for Marriage Act, a bill to repeal DOMA once and for all.
The bill is simple. It would strike DOMA from federal law and free the federal government to provide basic stability, security and fairness to thousands of same-sex couples in this country.
And I am very pleased that President Obama has endorsed our legislation to repeal DOMA and right this wrong.
Today the Senate Judiciary Committee held the very first congressional hearing on the repeal of DOMA. I hope it will open the minds of many of my colleagues about repealing DOMA.
This is the key argument I made at today’s hearing:
Family law has traditionally been the preserve of state law and therefore it varies from state to state.
Marriage is the preserve of state law. Divorce is the preserve of state law. Adoption is the preserve of state law. Inheritance rights are the preserve of state law.
The single exception is DOMA.
The Williams Institute at UCLA estimates there are between 50,000 and 80,000 married same-sex couples in the states that have approved same-sex marriage: Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire and the District of Columbia.
The number of couples will significantly grow now that New York State recently granted same-sex couples the freedom to marry.
In my state of California, an estimated 18,000 couples were wed when same-sex marriage was allowed in 2008.
These couples live their lives like all married people.
They share financial expenses, they raise children together and they care for each other in good times and bad, in sickness and in health, until death they do part.
But because of DOMA, these couples cannot take advantage of the more than 1,100 federal protections available to every other married couple in this country.
DOMA denies these couples the rights and benefits to file joint federal income taxes and claim certain deductions; receive spousal benefits under Social Security; take unpaid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act; or obtain the protections of the estate tax when a spouse passes and wants to leave his or her possessions to another.
In fact, many people are impacted precisely when they are at their most vulnerable: after the death of their spouse or when their spouse is seriously ill. This discrimination is wrong, plain and simple, and it impacts so many couples around the country.
When I introduced the Respect for Marriage Act earlier this year, three couples came forward with stories or commitment to each other and to their children. Today the committee heard from more married couples about how DOMA has impacted their lives.
The most effective weapon we have at our disposal is storytelling. These stories of married couples who are denied the stability and the protections guaranteed by federal law will help build momentum to repeal DOMA and right this wrong.
The Courage Campaign, a 700,000-member grassroots organization based in California, is working state-by-state to gain support and gather stories.
This has been an historic year in equality for LGBT Americans. Congress finally repealed the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy and a federal court recently found provisions of DOMA unconstitutional.
But we still have more to do.
Repealing DOMA won’t be easy. It will be a long road. But it is the right thing to do and I look forward to leading this fight in the United States Senate.
I hope you will share your story–whether you are gay or straight–and join me in this fight.
Senator Dianne Feinstein is California’s senior senator and a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
=======================
What I fail to understand is how the republicans can convince otherwise intelligent people that allowing gays to have marriage rights infringes or hurts their right to marry?
Barbara
July 21st, 2011 at 4:05 pm
Mike
I did not know the identify of Anonz before, but based on what you wrote today, now I do.
That does not seem to me from this point of view to be a good thing.
July 21st, 2011 at 4:35 pm
The question is…who is Mike, and how, if so, does he know Anonz…good story.
July 21st, 2011 at 4:58 pm
Yes, good q Boggzy though DeBartlo was a known mafia ‘afiliate’ brought up on Fed bribery charges…what else Mike, my interest is piqued…to say the least…
July 21st, 2011 at 5:12 pm
exactly my point, a writer can take that information and create a great story…go ahead, Mike.
July 21st, 2011 at 5:20 pm
Main dude, you slay me…miss you guys – the ‘in person’ version, can I come see you two? – ZL
July 21st, 2011 at 6:10 pm
That may be true Doug. But the events will unfold just as I have laid them out.
July 21st, 2011 at 6:39 pm
and I do await with anticipation for the next page to unfold…
July 21st, 2011 at 6:49 pm
USCG: Search Continues, But No Sign of Missing 15 Off Chuuk
Last Updated on Friday, 22 July 2011 08:34
Written by News Release
Thursday, 21 July 2011 18:33
Guam News – Guam News
Guam – The U.S. Coast Guard, Navy and international partners continue searching for a missing 28 foot fiberglass skiff reported to have fifteen passengers on board, 6 children and 9 adults.
The skiff was last seen leaving the northern pass of Chuuk lagoon on Monday on a voyage to Ruo Island, a small island within the Murilo Atolls, approximately 70 nautical miles northeast of Chuuk.
After completing a voyage of over 480 nautical miles from Guam to the search area, Coast Guard Cutter Assateague has reached the search area where aircraft from both the Coast Guard and Navy have been searching since early Wednesday morning.
Search and rescue assets have been searching for approximately 35 hours and have combed over 9,300 square nautical miles of ocean. The search area consists of thousands of miles of open ocean, lagoons and small atolls, many of which are uninhabited. Local fishermen throughout the region have taken to the water to help as well as news spreads of the search.
In an effort to bring every available asset to the search, U.S. Coast Sector Guam utilized the Automated Mutual-Assistance Vessel Rescue (AMVER) system to identify commercial vessels in the area that could assist with the search. Höegh Asia, a 750-foot cargo ship and participating member of the AMVER program, responded to the request for assistance.
AMVER, sponsored by the United States Coast Guard, is a unique, computer-based, and voluntary global ship reporting system used worldwide by search and rescue authorities to arrange for assistance to persons in distress at sea. With AMVER, rescue coordinators can identity participating ships in the area of distress and divert the best suited ship or ships to respond.
Mariners are reminded to maintain basic safety equipment on board their vessels and make reports of marine emergencies to emergency responders by contacting the Coast Guard Sector Guam Command Center on VHF Channel 16, or by calling 671-564-USCG
UPDATE: SEARCH CONTINUES FOR MISSING CHUUK SKIFF
Apra Harbor, Guam – The U.S. Coast Guard, Navy and international partners continue searching for a missing 28 foot fiberglass skiff reported to have fifteen passengers on board, 6 children and 9 adults.
The skiff was last seen leaving the northern pass of Chuuk lagoon on Monday on a voyage to Ruo Island, a small island within the Murilo Atolls, approximately 70 nautical miles northeast of Chuuk.
After completing a voyage of over 480 nautical miles from Guam to the search area, Coast Guard Cutter Assateague has reached the search area where aircraft from both the Coast Guard and Navy have been searching since early Wednesday morning.
Search and rescue assets have been searching for approximately 35 hours and have combed over 9,300 square nautical miles of ocean. The search area consists of thousands of miles of open ocean, lagoons and small atolls, many of which are uninhabited. Local fishermen throughout the region have taken to the water to help as well as news spreads of the search.
In an effort to bring every available asset to the search, U.S. Coast Sector Guam utilized the Automated Mutual-Assistance Vessel Rescue (AMVER) system to identify commercial vessels in the area that could assist with the search. Höegh Asia, a 750-foot cargo ship and participating member of the AMVER program, responded to the request for assistance.
AMVER, sponsored by the United States Coast Guard, is a unique, computer-based, and voluntary global ship reporting system used worldwide by search and rescue authorities to arrange for assistance to persons in distress at sea. With AMVER, rescue coordinators can identity participating ships in the area of distress and divert the best suited ship or ships to respond.
Mariners are reminded to maintain basic safety equipment on board their vessels and make reports of marine emergencies to emergency responders by contacting the Coast Guard Sector Guam Command Center on VHF Channel 16, or by calling 671-564-USCG
July 21st, 2011 at 6:54 pm
I agree with you Mike who can argue with headlines like this:
Allegations in the U.K. against Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, Fox’s parent company, just keep coming. Hacking into the phone of a 13-year-old murder victim, bribing government officials, and now claims of hacking into the voice mail of 9/11 victims and their families.1
Now, the key is to find out how far Fox and the rest of Murdoch’s news outlets went here in the U.S. If they’ve been as corrupt and criminal here as it looks like they’ve been in the U.K., then we might just see Murdoch’s media empire crumble.
So we’re launching a new campaign to build unavoidable public pressure for full investigations. We’ll start tomorrow with a hard-hitting new ad asking whether Murdoch is “running a company or a crime syndicate.”
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No one else seems to have been willing to take this arrogant greedy bastard on. So Mike if you say Anonz is willing. I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt
Grace
July 21st, 2011 at 9:10 pm
Fabulous PreFab
John Grissim
The factory-built home sector—once known for producing shoddily-made mobile homes—now offers everything from small, stylish, energy-efficient retirement cottages to luxurious mansions.
Example: A six-bedroom 7,200-square-foot French country-style mansion erected this February in the upscale Bethesda, Maryland, development of Greenwich Forest looks just like many of the other grand homes in the neighborhood.
Only this mansion went from vacant lot to mostly complete residence in just 32 hours. Despite its grandeur, it’s a “modular home,” built in pieces in a factory in Pennsylvania, delivered on trucks, lifted into place by a crane, then bolted together, with only finish work done on site.
Prefab also works for home additions, such as family rooms or second floors. Most well-made factory-built homes are indistinguishable from traditional site-built homes—but they have some important and timely advantages…
Cost savings. Factory-built homes typically cost around 15% less than site-built homes of similar size and quality, because of the efficiencies of factory construction… lower labor costs… and the volume discounts that these companies can obtain on components.
As long as your factory-built home is well-made and looks like the other homes in the neighborhood, it’s likely to fetch just as much as comparable site-built homes when resold.
Time savings. Factory-built homes often can be completed in less than half the time it takes to build a conventional home—typically two months or less.
Lower mold risks.
Factory-built homes are built in climate-controlled environments with no exposure to the elements, especially moisture that can cause mold.
Mold is not just a health risk—it’s a financial risk. Eradication can cost many thousands of dollars and often is not covered by insurance.
Lower heating and air-conditioning costs. Factory-built housing has made huge strides in technology in the past 20 years. Factories can build energy-efficient airtight homes, resulting in significant energy cost savings.
Here’s what home buyers need to know when they consider three major types of factory-built homes…
MODULAR HOMES
Modular homes generally consist of two or more “modules,” or sections, that are transported to the home site on flatbed trucks, then, typically, lifted onto a conventional foundation by a crane and bolted together.
Modular homes arrive at the site about 65% complete, requiring one to two months of on-site finish work, such as joining modules together, completing the roof and adding porches, decks and dormers.
Top modular home makers offer a wide range of styles, layouts, colors, components and flooring options.
There are poorly made modular homes on the market, so it pays to stick with today’s most reliable, high-quality manufacturers…
Genesis Homes’ innovative new “GO House” is an energy-efficient ranch or Cape Cod-style home that buyers can customize online to suit their needs (starts at $66,480). Quality is high, the range of options is extensive and—unlike other modular builders—Genesis sells nationwide. 877-523-2181, http://www.TheGoHouse.com.
Nationwide Homes offers quality modular houses and an excellent network of general contractors. The company even trains its truck drivers to confirm that modules are correctly sited on home foundations — an extra set of trained eyes helps ensure successful builds.
Nationwide’s homes are available in 16 southern, southeastern and mid-Atlantic states. 800-216-7001, http://www.Nationwide-Homes.com.
R-Anell Homes are well-made and available in the Carolinas, Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee and Georgia. The company sells through a dealership network and through contractors, so buyers can visit a dealership and walk through model homes before making design decisions. 800-951-5511, http://www.R-Anell.net.
Guerdon Enterprises offers a wide range of well-built modular homes (including multifamily homes) in the Pacific and Northwest regions. 800-473-3586, http://www.Guerdon.com.
Visit these companies’ Web sites to view examples of their houses and confirm that they serve your region.
Contact the makers that you like most, and ask for their list of recommended general contractors in your area.
Request bids from several contractors who have put up a dozen or more of that maker’s modular homes.
These bids should include everything you would expect if you were buying a site-built home from a developer—site preparation, landscaping, septic system construction or sewer-line connections, utility connections, etc. The land itself typically is purchased separately.
HIGH-DESIGN PREFAB
This type of factory-built home is appropriate for buyers who want architecturally distinctive homes or stylish energy-efficient smaller homes without paying an architect to draw up plans for them. Top makers…
Modern Cabana makes attractive, affordable and energy-efficient small buildings appropriate as vacation getaways, guest homes or home offices. They’re available throughout the US. 415-206-9330, http://www.ModernCabana.com.
Blu Homes recently acquired the architectural plans of top designer Michelle Kaufmann and now offers her energy-efficient homes across the US. 617-275-2333, http://www.BluHomes.com.
ideabox makes small, stylish, affordable and energy-efficient modular homes. They’re available in the West. 503-510-4789, http://www.IdeaBox.us.
Nationwide Homes’ ECO-Cottages are cozy, affordable modular homes that often are used as vacation homes. They’re available in the Southeast and mid-Atlantic.
800-216-7001, http://www.Nationwide-Homes.com/ ecocottages. Its one-bedroom ECO-Cottage Palmeco beach house starts at just $69,500.
MANUFACTURED HOMES
Manufactured homes, previously called “mobile homes,” are built on a steel chassis, typically in either one or two sections.
Despite their low-end reputation, a well-designed, well-constructed manufactured home can be every bit as nice as a site-built or modular home—but even cheaper and with an even shorter build time.
Among the best bets…
Fuqua Building Systems makes homes featuring a craftsman style and quality workmanship that set the top end of its product line far above most of the competition. Fuqua’s homes are available across most of the western US. 800-336-0874, http://www.FuquaHomes.com.
Silvercrest features several well-made models with appealing open layouts. They’re available in the West as far east as Colorado. 800-382-0709, http://www.SilverCrest.com.
Hi-Tech Housing makes beautiful well-constructed manufactured homes—as well as modular homes—available in the Midwest for $75,000 to $250,000. 574-848-5593, http://www.Hi-TechHousing.com.
Only consider models that have a steep roof pitch with at least four inches of rise per lateral foot… overhanging eaves on all four sides…
and ceilings at least eight feet high. Pay a contractor to install a conventional foundation, a porch or deck and an attached garage. These design elements prevent a well-designed manufactured home from looking like a manufactured home.
Manufactured homes tend to be sold through dealerships, not general contractors. Lending officers who handle manufactured-home loans for local banks often can provide off-the-record advice about which of an area’s dealerships are most reputable.
The dealership’s price quote likely will not include some necessary on-site work, including site preparation, utility hookups, septic system installation and foundation construction. Expect to pay a contractor around $20,000 for these services.
Personal interviewed John Grissim, an independent consultant based in Sequim, Washington, who helps consumers around the US select and purchase modular and manufactured homes.
He is the founder and former publisher of The Grissim Report, an industry newsletter about the factory-built home sector, and author of two consumer guides—The Grissim Buyer’s Guide to Manufactured Homes & Land and The Grissim Ratings Guide to Manufactured Homes (Rainshadow). http://www.GrissimGuides.com
July 21st, 2011 at 9:50 pm
Barbara
There will always be haters. We just can’t let them silence us.
I chuckled over this sign I saw recently:
“hey straight people if you hate gays so much stop giving birth to them.”
Peace and luv,
/SB
July 22nd, 2011 at 4:31 am
Coast Guard: Missing skiff believed spotted on uninhabited atoll
By the CNN Wire Staff July 22, 2011 6:50 a.m. EDT
(CNN) — A small boat matching the description of a skiff reported missing with 15 people aboard 600 miles southeast of Guam has been spotted on an uninhabited atoll, the U.S. Coast Guard said Friday.
The small boat, which was carrying six children and nine adults, was last seen near Chuuk, a group of islands in the Federated States of Micronesia, on Monday, the Coast Guard said.
The crew of a vessel leaving Ruo Island, the intended destination of the missing skiff, reported seeing an overturned boat on the beach of the Fanano atoll, the Coast Guard said in a statement.
Several people were also on shore, it said.
A long-range Navy search plane flew over the area after the Coast Guard received the report.
“Once on scene, the aircraft reported back that a damaged vessel was overturned on the beach and several crude shelters had been erected on the beach,” the statement said.
“Three other boats could be seen on the island and people on the shore began waving at the plane as it soared overhead.”
Communication in the area is extremely limited. The Coast Guard has redirected one of its ships to Fanano to confirm whether the people spotted on the beach are in fact the missing passengers, said Capt. Thomas Sparks, commander of the Coast Guard’s Sector Guam.
The small boat was headed for tiny Ruo Island, also part of the federation, about 70 miles northeast of Chuuk, said the Coast Guard.
Most of the missing people work in Chuuk state and were traveling home to Ruo, according to Petty Officer 3rd Class Anthony Soto of the Coast Guard in Hawaii.
The Chuuk State Department of Transportation reported the boat missing to the Coast Guard Tuesday morning when it was overdue at Ruo Island.
The national government of the Micronesian federation, the Chuuk state government and the Guam sector of the Coast Guard coordinated a joint search to find the boat.
The Federated States of Micronesia is a democratic island group in the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and Indonesia.
Independent since 1986, the vast archipelago of hundreds of tiny islands comprises a land mass of just 702 square miles, about the size of Singapore. It includes the Chuuk Islands, Yap Islands, Kosrae and Pohnpei.
July 22nd, 2011 at 4:42 am
Have you ever wonder how cruel this world could. Imagine the suffering of this 14 month old baby girl. If only Madaline could have beamed her up?
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by Mindy Aguon
Guam – The parents of a 14-month-old toddler appeared before a Superior Court judge today, accused of neglecting their child so much so that it resulted in her death.
34-year-old Ray Anthony Ayuyu Hocog and 33-year-old Mary Pereira Rojas appeared before Magistrate Judge Alberto Tolentino this afternoon after spending the last day and a half behind bars.
His Honor asked Hocog if she had a copy of the complaint and if she had read it, which she confirmed she did.
“The people of Guam are charging you as a 1st degree felony, and child abuse as a 3rd degree felony in this complaint,” he explained to her.
Hocog and Rojas were arrested by the Guam Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division late Wednesday afternoon in connection with their daughter’s death.
The Mangilao couple faces charges of manslaughter as a 1st degree felony and child abuse as a 3rd degree felony for the alleged neglect of their 14-month-old daughter.
Last Saturday medics responded to the couple’s home where they found the toddler not breathing. They transported her to Naval Hospital where she was pronounced dead several hours later.
But her death sparked concerns from Naval Hospital physicians who contacted Child Protective Services who in turn called police.
Medical Examiner Dr. Aurelio Espinola confirms the toddler died from pneumonia and malnutrition saying she was “skin and bones”.
Prosecutor Stephen Leon Guerrero asked the court to impose $100,000 bail for each of the defendants, saying, “We’re alleging that this defendant along with the co-defendant allowed their 14-month-old daughter to starve to death and we’re also extremely concerned because this defendant and the co-defendant have six other minors.
So we do feel the $100,000 cash bail is appropriate and warranted due to the significant and serious nature of the charges and the resulting death of this minor child.”
According to the magistrate’s complaint, the toddler was born on May 30 of last year weighing 6 lbs. When she died, she weighed 5 lbs., 8 oz. and the prosecutor’s declaration indicated that she has not received medical attention since her birth.
The toddler’s rib cage was clearly evident and her arms and legs reportedly had an approximate circumference of a nickel and quarter. Court documents state the child contracted pneumonia as a result of her malnutrition.
The couple, when interviewed by police said they live together and took turns taking care of the toddler and her siblings based on their work schedules.
According to Leon Guerrero, the two are both employed at LSG, Lufthansa Service Guam, Inc. “As indicated by the prosecution, you face a potential 15 years incarceration for this crime if you are convicted – the court believes $100,000 cash bail is reasonable and appropriate at this time,” announced the judge.
Leon Guerrero could not provide the condition of the couple’s other six children because they are minors; CPS has stepped in and placed the children with relatives.
Hocog and Rojas are scheduled to appear back in court for a preliminary hearing on Monday, August 1.
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Some cruelties can make you question the existence of God.
Hafa Adai
Anna
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