Bank-Ordered Mob Hits Begin in Bend Oregon

Only in Bend.

I checked Busters (?) assertion that this rel="nofollow" thing exists on my template, and it does. Here is the low down from google (Which OWNS blogspot).

Preventing comment spam

1/18/2005 04:28:00 PM

If you're a blogger (or a blog reader), you're painfully familiar with people who try to raise their own websites' search engine rankings by submitting linked blog comments like "Visit my discount pharmaceuticals site." This is called comment spam, we don't like it either, and we've been testing a new tag that blocks it.

From now on, when Google sees the attribute (rel="nofollow") on hyperlinks, those links won't get any credit when we rank websites in our search results. This isn't a negative vote for the site where the comment was posted; it's just a way to make sure that spammers get no benefit from abusing public areas like blog comments, trackbacks, and referrer lists.

Q: How does a link change? A: Any link that a user can create on your site automatically gets a new "nofollow" attribute. So if a blog spammer previously added a comment like Visit my discount pharmaceuticals site. That comment would be transformed to Visit my discount pharmaceuticals site.

Q: What types of links should get this attribute? A: We encourage you to use the rel="nofollow" attribute anywhere that users can add links by themselves, including within comments, trackbacks, and referrer lists. Comment areas receive the most attention, but securing every location where someone can add a link is the way to keep spammers at bay.

Q: Should I put rel="nofollow" on the link to my comments page? A: Probably not, because lots of interesting discussion can happen there. Also, if other people link to your comments page, a spider can follow that link and find any spam that's lurking on the comments page. The best places to add this attribute are the actual links that other people can create. So on this page, for instance, only the links within comments and the link immediately after "Posted by:" would get the rel="nofollow" attribute.

Q: Do individual bloggers need to do anything? A: Probably not. Updating the software that generates these pages will ensure that most bloggers get these changes automatically.

Q: Is this a blog-only change? A: No. We think any piece of software that allows others to add links to an author's site (including guestbooks, visitor stats, or referrer lists) can use this attribute. We're working primarily with blog software makers for now because blogs are such a common target. Got more questions? Email commentspam at google.com. As we spot more areas where spammers still abuse the Web, we'll contact the appropriate people in order to keep fighting comment spam. Matt Cutts, Google Software Engineer Jason Shellen, Blogger Program Manager

Update: The reaction to nofollow has really been quite positive, especially considering how diverse the web is. We're delighted to announce more support for nofollow:

So there it is. I'm sort of ambivalent about it. I use a lot of links to sites like the Bulletin, or Cascade Business Buttbangers that I frankly DO NOT want to get a Page Rank increase from this blogs inbounds.

But I took out the nofollow's for now, anyway. I figure I can reinstate them if there is a rapid increase in spam.

And even more awesomeness from his High Busterness:

Homer has every fucking kind of spybot in the universe enabled in his code with all the widgets and gadgets he uses

Right now there are over 30 sites in my 'locale' to map all of homers spybots to NULL.

Oh boy. I can only assume he's talking about the little widgets embedded on the right side of the page.

These are little hunks of javascript that provide the craigslist RSS feed, the stock market widget stuff, and that's about it, to my knowledge. But if Buster can provide some sort of idea as to what these 30 "spybots" are, I'll take a look.

I assume he has editted his /etc/hosts (or similar) file to map these "off site" http calls to his local. I suppose that's one option, but I've noticed that when you unplug your net connection, and try to load a page with say, a Yahoo map on it, that it'll grind away forever trying to grab the content.

Anyway, I'm as paranoid as the next guy, and don't want my own data being gathered more than is necessary. But at some point you have to realize that using the Inner Nets at all requires some level of identification.

OK, I take privacy seriously, but enough geeky bullshit.

Things are indeed getting strange in Bend. We knew they would, but The Mob? From Buster:

Re: So that doctor Lynn McDonald killed himself on July 7th,... He was developer #2. First was Doug Sokol in Sisters, and third was Jay Audia. Things are getting ugly. * Real journalism would have a field day on BEND-OR, #1 over-priced RE in the USA, #1 RE-Developer per-capita 'suicide' rate, or death in unusual circumstance's. Well what do you expect the town is RAN by the BOSS-HOGG, the BULL&SORE are RAN by the BOSS-HOGG. In whose interest is any of this? Just sit on it for months or years, and then the Oregonian will revisit it when its long been over.

A more interesting thing would be the insurance angle, especially in these cases of accidental death. Quite often on these BIG RE-POOL deals the mob takes out insurance policy's, in event of loss of money, your-out, and they collect. It's always been the honorable thing to do. It would be interesting if we could find out if DR. SHIRE who accidentally took a swim down Benham Falls, had lots of insurance by third partys??

And from the Shire article:

McDonald and his wife, Jan, had taken full ownership of the project in May with the hope they could sell it, Jan McDonald said Wednesday.

Jan McDonald is trying to sell the 14 developed lots, one house and additional land before the 6-acre property goes to public auction in December, she said.

The family owes Umpqua Bank $3.4 million on the project, according to the default notice.

The notice also names Meyers as a guarantor.

More from Buster:

We have a lot of newbies in the last few days. I completely agree with fresh-blood that the reason is that blog's are few in BEND, and places where people can say their mind are even fewer. Thus folks flock to this rock in the desert, and leave their mark. I have said many a times, that this is a mob town, and people will kill. It is essential for everyones safety to remain anonymous. Suicides will become all too common, and it will even become easier to disguise an act of aggression as an accident. There has NEVER been a better time to be anonymous in Bend.

Now maybe you can see why I start out this piece with some sort of geek-ridden crap about anonymity. Things really are starting to go in a weird direction.

This McDonald guy buys Meyers chunk of the Shire for an unknown amount in May, and not even 2 months later, jumps over Benham falls? Really? That's an awful long distance to cover from doubling up on REd, to committing hari kari, in such a short time.

And Jay Audia shot himself? This is another vulture job in the works that seems to have driven it's principle to his grave awful fast.

I don't know. These may have been perfectly legit suicides with 2 despondent dudes who couldn't bear the thought of going on without getting blowjobs on Volo's upper deck every Friday & Saturday night.

But Buster raises an interesting alternative: These are bank ordered mob hits.

There are people in the World who DO think that when you owe them money, and you don't pay, that your life is forfeit. And it'd be easy to do & get away with:

"Listen, you either pay up, or I will kill your wife, your kids, and everyone you know. And if you say one word, I kill 'em all. Now, you get me that money, or that's it. You either do the right thing, or we will. You savvy?"

Here's the quote from the Bulletins crack team of Investigative Journalists:

The Shire concept originated with Ron Meyers, who sold his share in the development for an unspecified amount to Dr. Lynn B. McDonald — a former emergency room physician at St. Charles Bend. McDonald died July 7.

Wow. So they're doing a piece on foreclosure at The Shire, and the owner DIED.

That's all. He just died, and they fail to mention HOW. Here's an interesting quote from helpfindthemissing.com:

Deschutes County Sheriff's Search and Rescue and U.S. Forest Service crews were scouring the Deschutes River and its banks late Sunday in the area of Benham Falls, southwest of Bend, after a Bend man's bicycle and pickup truck left in the area prompted concern that he might be lost in or near the river.

If they were checking the banks, they should try the refi department.

So this guy DROWN going over Benham Falls. An Emergency Room physician, heads out to LA PINE, gets MIXED UP, and goes over the falls?

Here's some more from The Bulletin piece covering his death:

He owned the Parrell-Sisters Mobile Home Park, which was placed in receivership in May, as well as unsold properties in The Shire subdivision in Bend.

“He was actually getting over some big hurdles in his life,” Stuman said. “The last e-mail I got from him on that subject was last Friday, and it was just kind of like ‘Let’s get the investors paid off, except me, and move on.’”

So he's trying to "move past" this thing & get his ducks in a row, he's got a wife & 16 year old twins, and he... KILLS HIMSELF?

I don't know. That sounds Real Strange. First, jumping off a waterfall is not a guaranteed suicide. A lot of times it's just a severe "hobbling".

And read the article: Doctor's body found below Benham Falls. Look for the word "died". Not there. Look for "suicide". Not there. "Killed", ditto. "Jumped", ditto. "Drown", same.

There's no mention of any sort of CAUSE OF DEATH. He was just FOUND. How was he found, in what state? Well, search for the word "dead", and of course you can't find it. But certainly, he "died", right? Well, you won't find that word in the piece, so possibly he survived.

His body was just FOUND, and there is no mention of him being "dead", or having "died", or having "drown", or having "jumped", or anything else. Fuck, maybe he jumped from an airplane, and his chute didn't open. Hard to say, cuz the Bulletin MAKES NO MENTION OF ANY FACT WITH RESPECT TO THIS MANS DEATH. None whatever. What do they say?

Two rescue boats and two divers discovered McDonald’s body under about 10 feet of water, less than one-quarter of a mile upriver from the Slough day-use area, Mills said.

Mills said he had known McDonald since he started working at the St. Charles Bend emergency room and called the doctor a “longtime friend to the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office.”

Officials have no indication how or why McDonald got into the river, Mills said, and an investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death will continue today.

Yeah, investigations will continue, my ass. Yeah, like fucking OJ is going to find Nicole & Ron's killer if he has to work forever. Investigation, my fat ass.

Now, I'm not saying this guy did NOT commit suicide, but this is awful strange. If I wanted to kill some fucker for not paying me back, this would be one of your more obvious routes to go. Drown the bastard, then cram the body UNDER 10 FEET of water.

UNDER 10 FEET OF WATER?

I mean, What The Fuck? I thought bodies floated. Right? And how in the fuck did they KNOW TO LOOK were he was, UNDER WATER? That fucking body may have well been on the moon. I don't know, this doesn't add up.

If McDonald can’t sell the development, Umpqua will hold an auction at the Deschutes County Courthouse on Dec. 2, according to the default notice.

Umpqua, citing privacy and pending litigation, declined to comment.

Yeah, I'll bet Umpqua has no comment, cuz they had this guy offed.

It's getting awful strange. Start combing the obits. Audia supposedly shot himself, a crime so easily done by someone else, a 2 year old could have planned it. McDonald's story just doesn't add up at all.

But you won't hear dink from The Bulletin. They won't even use words commonly associated with death or suicide. It's like they won't admit that these people are really dying.

Anyway, be concerned about your privacy. I'm not AT ALL convinced the Audia & McDonald deaths are suicides. There's a LOT of money being lost, and it would not surprise me in the least that deluded RE speculators would approach some seedier types to do a refi, to bridge the financing gap & keep a project alive.

People have started dying over RE in Bend, and you shouldn't just accept the word of the local media, who essentially won't even acknowledge that a death has even occurred.

Would they try to find commenters or, God Forbid, Blog Posters for negative dissemination of opinion? Fuck, who knows. The Bulletin won't even admit people are dead, for the love of Christ. Who the fuck is really running the show over there?

OK, moving on from Obvious Bank-Ordered Mob Hits, marge, The Goddess, posted the following:

July 08 99 Sold @ $284k median
June 08 114 sold @ $315k median
July 07 112 sold @ $342k median

That's a Big Negatory of 17% YoY. You may have noticed that the recent April $270K lows, were only mentioned in "hindsight".

Bend and Redmond home prices jump in May

By Andrew Moore / The Bulletin
June 10, 2008

Median home prices in Bend and Redmond rebounded in May to $303,000 and $245,000, respectively, according to the latest report from the Bratton Appraisal Group.

In Bend, May’s median price climbed more than 12 percent from its April level of $270,000, which had been the lowest median....

I would expect the Bulletin to stay true to form, as they did with the murder/suicide of McDonald, and not even acknowledge that the market has resumed its implosion.

Folks, it is AUGUST. Remember when I said Things Will Get Better? Well, I said that back in Feb, as Feb is ALWAYS The Bottom of Bends yearly cycle. And of course things DID get better, and even I was surprised by the inanity of the RE comments about how we'd turned the corner, because there'd been an UPTICK IN VOLUME.

Wow. Seriously, how STUPID does local media & their Lackey Ass RE "Experts" think we are? I am always amazed at this. Even marge has indicated that we are DOWN over last month, something rare in the ANALS of local RE history.

Here's more marge goodness:

Here's a new stat.
50 of the 99 sales were vacant while on the market.
514 of the 1600+ active listings are vacant. Yowser!!
4 of the 99 sold broke the $100 ppf.

Interesting that 1/3rd of the total listings are vacant, while a full half of the solds were vacant. Conclusion? VACATE your house if you want to sell.

I know. Just kidding. But for a comparison of where Bend is with respect to the rest of the US in regards to vacancies, I found this:

Yes, Bend is different. We have 33% vacancies, while the rest of the US endures the HORRORS of vacancy rates BELOW 3%.

I got this graph from seekingalpha.com, and they talk about working off the excesses of the boom, normalizing vacancy rates, and the like.

But they fail to acknowledge what I feel is the big BINARY SWITCH that has occurred: People have LOST THEIR CREDIT RATINGS.

This is The Thing we cannot UNDO. THIS is the demand killer. This is why the housing market has, for the foreseeable future, changed WHOLESALE from "where it was" pre-bubble.

There are MILLIONS, and there will be many MILLIONS MORE, who will simply be unable to purchase a home in the foreseeable future (10 years), because their FICO has gone bye-bye. Trying to sell to these people is like pushing on a string; no amount of price lowering will really "induce" these people into buying, they can't.

We're entering into a Serfdom economy. The Landed Set, and the Vast Rabble who rents forever. This will affect MILLIONS, many more than it does today. THIS is why housing will probably NOT return to normalcy in any relevant time period. This is why ANY purchase that could require a loan (car, appliance, etc) will not return to normal anytime soon.

We've crossed over into a state we haven't seen since The Great Depression. From Timmy:

So that means 10 months of vacant inventory and 33 months of occupied inventory.

I'm guessing the occupied houses are priced way too high.

From what I've seen lately, houses at $400k should be at $300k. Houses at $600k should be at $400k.

That's roughly speaking. Individual cases vary.

I'm seeing stuff bought at $290k in 2006 being priced at $400k. Get real, people. Or you won't sell.

This looks about right. Especially the last line.

Bend is different. Classic. Homes that are occupied ARE NOT SELLING. Fucking Classic! This is a perfect insight into the Psyche of Bend: Bendites Are Completely Deluded About Their Own Importance & Self Worth.

People still here can't sell to save their lives, people who've accepted their mortality & have moved out, actually are selling. Or maybe it's the banks REO that's selling.

What's truly awesome is that The Bulletin is shielding us from the Truth; Nobody Dies In Bend... they're just "found". Yeah! Finding someone is a Happy Event! Nothing ever goes wrong in Bend! From The Shire piece:

“It was Ron’s concept, and it was a good one,” Jan McDonald said. “Had the market not gone to where it went, it had the potential to be successful.”

The project — whose features include unique stonework, artificial thatched roofs, terraced gardens and a network of streams and ponds with a pathway leading to what’s called “The Ring Bearer’s Court” — captured media attention outside Central Oregon, including a December 2006 feature on BBC Radio.

The development drew about 6,000 visitors over two weekends in summer 2006 at the Central Oregon Builders Association’s Tour of Homes and has continued to attract curious onlookers, Meyers said.

Meyers and McDonald drew up a set of rules — similar to codes, covenants and restrictions that govern rules in many subdivisions — and called them the “Declaration of Interdependence.”

“We wanted to create a community — not just another subdivision,” Meyers said.

The Bulletin is STILL SELLING THE PROJECT.

"Not just another subdivision".

"It was Ron's concept, and it was a good one".

"The development drew 6,000 visitors".

Somebody's DEAD, and The Bulletin is concerned about RESELLING THE THING. Always New Money. Gotta Get The Money. We Need New Investors.

That? Oh, that's nothing. That's just the burial of the last guy who owned this project. We're not sure what happened. He was found. That's all we know.

Now let's sign these papers. One last question: Are you dying for this project to succeed?