Venice Beach in California: synonymous with sun, surf, palm trees and, now, homeless people. As many as 200 tents inhabited by them line the oceanfront in this Los Angeles-area town that for decades has been a lure for surfers and tourists. For them home is a chaotic jumble of used-anything that can help create shelter, and of waste and detritus, all in appalling hygiene conditions. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES