Friday, July 31, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
The Recession Has Hit The Oldest Professoin In the World
You know it's serious when hookers start cutting their prices. Peep what's happening in Germany. Discounts for bike riders. WTF ?
The "flat-rate sex" promotions, which are based on all-you-can-eat restaurants, have been introduced by brothel owners in a bid to revive trade that has fallen around 30 per cent in the economic downturn.
Other imaginative offers include rebates for pensioners and people on benefits, 10 per cent discounts for men who arrive by bicycle or public transport, and free shoe-polishing for customers who stay overnight.
But it is the flat-rate deals – which are priced as low as £60 (€70) – that have attracted particular controversy in a country where prostitution is legal and generally well-tolerated.
The promotion is popular which brothel owners who have to pay their sex workers a fixed daily wage whether or not they have any clients.
But conservative politicians have expressed disgust at the innovation and have ordered a wave of police raids on sex clubs in an effort to bring it to an end.
“This is an outrageous violation of human dignity,” Heribert Rech, the Baden-Württemberg interior minister, told The Times.
“So-called flat-rate sex is an immoral development which cannot be tolerated in our society.”
Because the promotion is not forbidden by law, officers have focused their raids on immigration and hygiene offences at brothels where is has been introduced.
So it's ok to have sex with someone in your house as your business, but it's not ok, to have a flat rate ? Hmmm Germany.
From:UK Telegraph
You, Me, Her, Him... And So On, And So On...
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Fox News Is At It Again. Reporter Calls President Obama A Racist
Where does Fox News get these people. It seems like they're in a competition to see who can say the dumbest ish. Peep what this,"rhymes with jacker" had to say about President Obama. By the way, does he realize the President is half white ?In the wake of Obama’s recent statement towards the Cambridge Police in regards to the Henry Louis Gates incident, every Obama hater is coming out the woodworks. So, it’s only natural that FOX is the leader of the pack. Glenn Beck, a Fox & Friends personality, recently made the comment that:
Obama has a “deep-seeded hatred for white people and white culture,…I’m not saying he doesn’t like white people…this guy is, I believe, a racist.”
In response to the negative comments that the networkreceived after his statement, the network released this statement:
During Fox & Friends this morning, Glenn Beck expressed a personal opinion which represented his own views, not those of the Fox News Channel. And as with all commentators in the cable news, arena, he is given the freedom to express his opinions.
From Bossip
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
10 Tell Tell Signs That Someone Is Lying To You
Is it me, or does it seem like someone is always lying to you about something. You know it, everyone around knows it, but they keep on going with the story. Below are the 10 signs to know when someone is hitting you with a "Tall Tale"
1.) Study Body Language - when someone is lying or claiming falsities, there are almost always physical clues. For example, a stiff demeanor, wringing of the hands, a nervous sway, sweating and fidgeting are, in some cases, a dead give away. A lot of times people tend to overlook the subtleties.
2.) Probe for Details- sadly, someone who is lying will go out of their way to convince you that he or she is telling the truth, including enduring a semi-cross examination. If you seek details of the proposed truth, there are bound to be holes through the story. The devil is in the details so circle back and ask specific questions and, more often than not, the liar is bound to slip up.
3.) Refusal to Cooperate – if a person is lying, they will sometimes try to dodge the entire conversation by storming off to another room when questioned, accusing you of being untrustworthy and insecure. If a person is telling the truth, they have nothing to hide and no reason to avoid your questions. But the moment your inquisitions spark erratic behavior and refusal to cooperate, you’re more than likely not going to get the truth.
4.) Sketchy Eye Contact – people who lie hardly notice that they display telltale signs. Eye contact is one of the easiest ways to gauge if a person is telling the truth. Often times, a liar will have shifty eye contact, and the eyes will drift around the room. People who have mastered the craft, will have no problem looking you in the eyes and telling a bold face lie, and these are the people you want to avoid at all costs.
5.) Watch for Stress Indicators – when a person is stressed with the idea of coming clean and decides to take the lying route, psychologists say that dilated pupils and a change in vocal pitch are very common amongst liars. In this case, if someone is trying to convince you of non-truths, their voice suddenly shoots up a few octaves, and they look like a deer in headlights, he or she could be lying.
6.) Listen For Pauses – if someone is in a situation that calls for immediate damage control and resorts to lying, he or she will have to make up a story on the spot. While making up a story isn’t hard for some, they will pause for a beat or two to collect their thoughts and think of the next part of the lie. This is how one lie leads to many and remember to ask detailed questions.
7.) Listen and Ask Again- if you’re asking questions throughout a liar’s storytelling process, you, yourself, may tend to forget what you’ve asked and the answers given. But if you’re quiet and listening, the liar will feel that they’ve prevailed and are no longer on guard. But once, they’re finished with their story, ask him or her to repeat the story again from beginning to end, and there are bound to be inconsistencies. Be weary though, smart people lie better than most.
8.) Watch for Catchphrases – someone who wants to appear as though they’re telling the truth may use phrases like, “honestly” or “to be honest.” In other words, this person is making a conscious effort to be “honest,” which could mean everything that was said prior to “to be honest” could be a lie, or everything after the “honestly” could be untrue as well.
9.) Be Honest With Yourself - the truth hurts, and sometimes people say they want the truth but will gladly believe a lie, and this is why liars succeed. Some will willingly lie to someone who has a weakness for them, and know how to maneuver to produce the desired results. But does the story really make sense? Don’t ask questions you don’t want answers to, or get lied to. Pick your poison.
10.) Trust Your Gut - intuition is something a lot of people have learned to ignore or overlook with age. But be in touch with your inner-self; if something inside says, “this is not right,” or you get the distinct feeling someone is trying to get over on you, trust your instincts and take that as all the truth you need.
From:Bossip
Monday, July 27, 2009
Alpha Kappa Alpha Head Pulled A Madoff, Stole over 900k In Stacks. Skee-Wee !
I know times are tough, but people are getting carried away with ripping people off. Do they not think people are not going to notice 900k missing ?!
Members of Alpha Kappa Alpha, the nation’s oldest sorority for collegiate and professional black women, are asking a D.C. court to remove the group’s national leadership and order its president to return funds allegedly paid in contravention of the organization’s bylaws.
The group’s national president, Barbara McKinzie, has come under fire for a long list of alleged financial misdeeds. The most interesting of those allegations: The plaintiffs claim McKinzie used the organization’s money to commission a $900,000 “living legacy wax figure” of herself.
McKinzie could not be reached for comment.
Eight members of Alpha Kappa Alpha filed the complaint in D.C. Superior Court on June 20 “to restore their beloved sorority to its former high standards of governance, corporate transparency and active member communication,” according to the complaint itself.
Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) was founded at Howard University in 1908 and now boasts more than 950 chapters in cities and colleges around the world, claiming more than 200,000 members that include some of the most prominent and successful black female business leaders in the country.
The membership rolls include at least one retired D.C. Superior Court judge, Mary Terrell, and former D.C. Mayor Sharon Pratt.
Most Washingtonians recall the organization’s centennial celebration last summer — downtown D.C. was swarmed by thousands of AKA members decked head to toe in pink and green. The event drew nearly 20,000 guests to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, setting a Guinness world record for the largest sit-down dinner in the history of conventions worldwide.
The event itself, though, is part of the controversy. The massive attendance — and a registration fee that was twice as high as it had been in prior years, $500 per person — generated significant surplus funds for the organization, the plaintiffs allege. The plaintiffs claim that McKinzie, with the approval of the group’s directors but without the approval of the overall membership, spent the surplus funds on McKinzie’s “pet projects,” including the wax figure, projects to help Liberian women, the Ford Museum and the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History. The statue of McKinzie will be displayed at the National Great Blacks in Wax Museum in Baltimore, said Celeste Moy, an attorney at the firm representing the plaintiffs.
In addition, the plaintiffs took issue with McKinzie’s alleged misuse of a corporate credit card for personal expenses, a $375,000 lump sum payment McKinzie received, and a $4,000 monthly stipend McKinzie is to be paid for four years after she leaves office.
According to the complaint, McKinzie’s position is typically an unpaid one, and the payments allegedly should have been included in a budget to be discussed at the group’s 2008 annual meeting, called the Boulé. McKinzie first delayed that budget discussion and then canceled it, the complaint alleges.
The group’s directors have asserted in the past that the payments were to compensate McKinzie for a significant amount of accounting and consulting work she did on behalf of the organization.
The group’s accounting and investment strategies are also under fire. According to the complaint, several of the deductions on the sorority’s 2006 and 2007 tax returns are “unreasonably large and inappropriate” and may “expose[] the organization to potential IRS claims and obligations.” The sorority is a non-profit organization incorporated under D.C. law. It also has a non-profit foundation that is incorporated in Illinois.
Under McKinzie’s leadership, AKA also shifted several million dollars of the sorority’s and the foundation’s funds from cash and cash equivalents to stock and bond investments — those investments have since plummeted in value, according to the complaint.
The organization has also allegedly spent more than $500,000 in legal fees in 2008 and 2009 for “actions against whistleblowers.”
Members who have voiced concerns over the alleged financial improprieties have had their membership privileges “withdrawn, suspended and otherwise adversely affected,” according to the complaint.
From:Washington business Journal
Remember To Bring Someone Who Can Spell With You When You Get a Tattoo
Friday, July 24, 2009
New Orleans Infant Dies From...Rat Bites ?!?!
A 3-month-old suburban New Orleans girl whose body was covered with rodent bites bled to death before she was found in her crib, according to an autopsy released yesterday.According to Westwego, La. police, Natalie Hill had severe wounds on her nose and leg along with more than 100 suspected rat bites when her parents found her body last Thursday in her crib, which was stained with bloody rodent footprints.
No charges have been filed, but the investigating continues.The child's parents told police the girl was fine when her mother fed her several hours before her body was discovered. When police arrived at the house, the girl's father was in the front yard shouting that his baby was dead.Investigators are awaiting the results of drug and alcohol tests that the parents submitted to last week, the chief said.In Ohio, three people have been accused of letting rats bite a 6-week-old girl and chew off several of her toes at a cluttered mobile home. The girl was reported in fair condition at a Columbus hospital after losing the toes on one foot.
From:Wendyista
Fellas, Are You One Of The 5 Types Of Guys Women Hate
Can you speak up for yourself just once? That’s what I want to say every time I run into Mr. “Spineless.” In many ways, his act plays out like the beginning of Coming to America, since he’s always saying, “Whatever you like.” And while a woman may enjoy this act for a short period of time, she eventually grows tired of her man not having a backbone. So my advice to Mr. “Spineless” is speak up for yourself. If you don’t like something, say it. She’ll respect you more in the long run.
2. Mr. “Name-Dropper”
And on and on it goes.
If only Mr. “Name-Dropper” would realize that real women are rarely impressed by a man who spends the majority of his time name-dropping. He should stop trying to woo her with who he knows, and instead try wowing her with who he is.
3. Mr. “My Friends Come First”
Let me first say that I’m a strong advocate of both men and women maintaining their friendships while in a relationship. But Mr. “My Friends Come First” seems more concerned with hanging out with his boys than keeping his relationship strong.
Here’s something that he obviously doesn’t know: Those same “friends” would leave him in a heartbeat to be with a good woman. That’s why it’s important to take care of your relationship first. You can always catch up with your friends later.
4. Mr. “Change My Diaper”
When she first met Mr. “Change My Diaper,” she thought she’d be his woman—not his mother. But this man is so immature that she often contemplates claiming him as a dependent on her taxes.
Everything about this guy reeks of immaturity: he doesn’t have a decent job, he doesn’t have any real goals, and his idea of “foreplay” is having his three friends come over to play video games. Yeah, that sounds appealing.
5. Mr. “Tell Me Anything”
Mr. “Tell Me Anything” is such a smooth talker. There’s just one problem though. He never follows through with anything that he says … never. In fact, he’d probably make a great AM radio host, since he’s “all talk, all the time.” She’ll soon grow tired of his eloquent speeches and leave him alone. When that happens, he’ll be left with nothing but the hot air from his words to keep him warm at night.
Kelis Broke The Bank.$55k Per Month. Nas Better Get To Rapping
Wow ! 55k per month. I think i'll buy another copy of Illmatic just to help him out.
Kelis has a new baby boy and $55,000 per month. The judge in her child support case with her ex-husband, Nas, awarded Kelis way more than the initial $5k Nas said he wanted to pay. In addition to the $55k , the judge ordered Nas to pay for the baby’s nurse, prenatal expenses, medical insurance and $35,000 to Kelis’ lawyer.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Fox Host Calls Black Folks..... "Species" ?!
More eviedence that racism is still in effect. Brian Kilmeade of Fox News showed us how he really feels.Brian Kilmeade, co-host of Fox & Friends, apologized for remarks he made about American ethnicity during a recent telecast on the Fox News Channel.
Discussing a Swedish study on the relationship between Alzheimer's disease and marriage, Kilmeade said it was problematic to compare Swedish and American populations, because, "we [Americans] keep marrying other species and other ethnics . . . Swedes have pure genes . . . in America we marry everybody . . ."
Unity: Journalists of Color, condemned Kilmeade's words, saying they lent credence to "the basest of white supremacist ideologies, the notion that white people and non-white people are of different species, with the white race as 'pure.'"
Monday on Fox & Friends, Kilmeade said he did not intend to offend anyone with his earlier remarks: "Looking back on those comments, I realize they were inappropriate. I sincerely apologize. America is a huge melting pot and that is what makes us such a great country."
From: the Baltimore sun
14 Years Old And 555 Pounds, Your Momma Needs Her Azz Whipped !
We're starting to hear more stories like this. Is it me, or do you rarely see kids outside playing anymore ?The case of a 555-pound South Carolina teenager has legal and health experts throughout the country considering whether child obesity is a form of child abuse.
Alexander Draper, 14, is now in foster care and his mother, Jerri Gray, was arrested in June and charged with criminal neglect. Gray, 49, said she was doing all she could to help her son lose weight. Her attorney said if his client is found guilty, it would "set a precedent that opens Pandora's box."
In one case in 2007, a New York court ordered nutritional counseling, cooking classes and gym workouts for an adolescent girl who weighed 261 pounds.
In Gray's case, her attorney said his client followed nutritional guidelines set for her son by the state Department of Social Services, but that Alexander apparently got other food on his own. In June, Gray told CBS News that she works late shifts, which leaves her little time to prepare healthy meals for her son.
"There's a strong likelihood that this kid is going to school and could eat whatever he wanted to at school, because you've got friends who will help him buy food or will give him their leftovers," the attorney, Grant Varner, told USA Today.
But according to others, childhood obesity is a form of child abuse.
"If you gave your child a drug, you'd be held in the court. But if you kill them with food, that seems to be acceptable," said Ron Jones, a corporate wellness expert.
According to one report cited by USA Today, 30 percent of children in 30 states ages 10 to 17 are overweight or obese, with the rate hitting a high of 44.4 percent in Mississippi. The Centers for Disease Control said the number of obese children ages 6 to 11 more than doubled in the past 20 years, while the rate for adolescents more than tripled.
The difficulty in prosecuting parents of obese children is that most states require the child's health to be in imminent danger for criminal charges to be filed, Richard Balnave, a professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, told the newspaper.
The arrest warrant in the Gray case alleges that her son's weight was "serious and threatening to his health" and that she had placed him "at an unreasonable risk of harm."
In May, Gray failed to appear at a court hearing in which Alexander was to be turned over to foster care. Police later found the pair in Maryland and took them back to South Carolina, where Gray was released on a $50,000 bond, her attorney said.
Her case is still pending.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Racism Is Still Alive And Kicking in 2009
Henry Louis Gates Jr. A scholar's scholar was arrested for breaking into his own house ?!?A black scholar and director at Harvard University by the name of, Henry Louis Gates Jr., was arrested at his own house. It looks to be a case of racial profiling:
Henry Louis Gates Jr., the nation’s pre-eminent black scholar, is accusing Cambridge police of racism after he was arrested while trying to force open the locked front door of his home near Harvard University. Cambridge police were called to the home Thursday afternoon after a woman reported seeing a man “wedging his shoulder into the front door as to pry the door open,” according to a police report.
An officer ordered the man to identify himself, and Gates refused, according to the report. Gates began calling the officer a racist and said repeatedly, “This is what happens to black men in America.” Officers said they tried to calm down the 58-year-old academic, who responded, “You don’t know who you’re messing with,” according to the police report.
Gates was arrested on a disorderly conduct charge after police said he “exhibited loud and tumultuous behavior.” He was released later that day on his own recognizance and arraignment was scheduled for Aug. 26. Gates referred comment to his lawyer, fellow Harvard scholar Charles Ogletree, who was not immediately available. Cambridge police declined to comment, and the Middlesex district attorney’s office said it could not do so until after Gates’ arraignment. The woman who reported Gates did not return a message Monday.
Many of Gates’ African-American colleagues believe his arrest is part of a pattern of racial profiling in Cambridge, said Allen Counter, who has taught neuroscience at Harvard for 25 years. Counter has said he was stopped on campus by two Harvard police officers in 2004 after being mistaken for a robbery suspect.
They threatened to arrest him when he could not produce identification. “We do not believe that this arrest would have happened if professor Gates was white,” Counter said. “It really has been very unsettling for African-Americans throughout Harvard and throughout Cambridge that this happened.” Counter said he spoke to Gates, who told him police continued to question him after he showed them his license and Harvard identification. “They did not believe him when he said that he was in his own home,” Counter said. “He was totally mistreated in this incident.”
Gates is the director of Harvard University’s W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research and served for 15 years as chairman of what is now the Department of African and African American Research. He joined the Harvard faculty in 1991 and holds one of 20 prestigious “university professors” positions at the school. He also was host of “African American Lives,” a PBS show about the family histories of prominent U.S. blacks. Time magazine named him one of the 25 most influential Americans in 1997.
From: AP
Thursday, July 16, 2009
A Year In Jail For Back Child Support For A Child That Wasn't His. Ouch !
This rather remedial looking gentleman to your left caught a back child support case for a kid that wasn't his, and spent a year in jail. Wow !!
Frank Hatley was just released from prison after he was jailed for not paying child support for a child that is not his:
Frank Hatley spent the past year in jail for being a deadbeat dad. But there’s one problem — Hatley doesn’t have any children. And, the “deadbeat” label doesn’t fit the 50-year-old either, his supporters say. After a hearing, Hatley was released from the Cook County Jail in south Georgia Wednesday afternoon, with the help of the Southern Center for Human Rights.
Superior Court Judge Dane Perkins ruled that Hatley was indigent and should not be jailed for not being able to make child support payments. Perkins postponed a decision on whether Hatley should have to make any more back payments on child-support for a child who is not his.
In June of last year, a judge ordered Hatley to jail for failing to reimburse the state for public assistance that was paid to support his “son,” who, as the court was aware, is not actually his son.The story dates back to 1986, when Hatley had a relationship with Essie Lee Morrison. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. Morrison told Hatley that the child was his, but……the couple ended their relationship shortly after the boy’s birth, according to court documents. The couple never married and never lived together, the documents state.
When the boy turned 2, Morrison applied for public support for her son. Under Georgia law, the state can go after the non-custodial parent to recoup the assistance. For 13 years, Hatley made payments to the state until learning, in 2000, that the boy might not be his biological son. A DNA test that year confirmed that there was no chance he was the father, according to court documents. Hatley returned to court and was relieved of any future child support reimbursement but was ordered to pay more than $16,000 that he had owed the state before the ruling.
Latesha Bradley, an attorney who represented Hatley in that hearing, told CNN the argument for keeping Hatley liable for the back payments was that he had signed a consent agreement with the office of child support services. The court agreed that Hatley had to comply with the consent agreement for the period that he believed the boy was his son.
Court documents show that Hatley for the most part continued to make payments. He was jailed for six months in 2006 for falling behind on payments during a period of unemployment, but afterward he resumed making payments and continued to do so even after he lost another job in 2008 and became homeless, court records state. Last year, he again became unable to maintain the payments and was once again jailed.
The circumstances of Hatley’s arrest didn’t feel right to many, including Cook County Sheriff Johnny Daughtrey. “I knew the gentleman’s plight and didn’t know how to help him,” Daughtrey told CNN. About two months ago, when attorneys from the Southern Center for Human Rights visited his jail, Daughtrey alerted them to Hatley’s case.
From:CNN
How Much Did Master P Pay This guy ?!
Now fortunately for him, his friend Juan Flowers is stepping up to lend him a helping hand. Juan Flowers was with him that 2002 night and now admits that he was the shooter, not the rapper.
“Juan Edwin Flowers has stated under oath that it was he who fired the shot which killed Steve Thomas. His testimony is therefore relevant and he is a material witness.”
The prosecution team for the trial however disagrees. According to prosecutors when previously questioned, Flowers denied that he and Murder were involved in the shooting.
“Flowers denied that he or Corey Miller were responsible for the murder of Steve Thomas.”
Prosecutors are therefore deeming the confession as “exculpatory” or favorable to the defense which would make it unusable.
His confession directly disputes information from another one of C-Murder’s “friends.” Dwayne “Wango” Cobbins was involved with the incident as well. He told prosecutors that he saw C-Murder hit Thomas first but did not see him shoot. After fleeing from the scene he claimed that he heard Juan Flowers say:
“No one could see C. Miller shoot that tiny little gun.”
According to Cobbins, he then figured out that the rapper had a gun hidden in his boot that he used to shoot Thomas. Cobbins later plead guilty to obstruction of justice after threatening a witness in the case. He is currently serving nine years in jail.
The fate of Flowers rests in the hands of Judge Hans Liljeberg. If Judge Liljeberg thinks that he is indeed a material witness, he can have him moved to the Jefferson Parish to testify. If not, then this could be the end for Corey “C-Murder” Miller.
C-Murder is currently at the East Baton Rouge Parish Jail after pleading no contest to two counts of second degree attempted murder for a separate incident. A video emerged showing him shooting at a club owner and bouncer at a Baton Rouge club in 2001. He shot at them after refusing to be searched. A judge sentenced him to ten years for the shooting but gave him credit for time served under house arrest.
If Flowers really did the crime, he’s dirty for not speaking up early. If he didn’t but he’s covering for his friend, then that’s a hell of a friend….but hey, what are friends for?
10th Annual White Attire Affair ~ The Experience
When: Saturday July, 18, 2009 VIP Reception - 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Main Event - 9:00pm - 12:30am
Where: The "Experience",1100 First Street, SE, Washington, DC 20023
Cost: VIP: $125, Main: $75 and Private Cabana (6 tickets included)
Dupont Circle - Ticket Outlet:Lambda Rising Bookstore1625 Connecticut Avenue NWWashington, DC 20009(202) 462-6969
Contact:Abdur-Rahim Briggs (202) 276-5791Zekeera Belton (202) 285-7518
VIP Reception:Club Room and Outdoor PatioChampagne and WineLive musical performances 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
The Main Event:RoofTop Oasiswith Passed Hors d'oeuvres Open Bar Live musical performances DJ and Dancing 9:00 pm - 12:30 am
For more information please visit http://www.alsura.org/!!! Proceeds from this event will awarded the SAME NIGHT!!!
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT TO OUR GUESTS AND SUPPORTERS
Last Minute Day of Event ticket purchase venue location and purchase times will be posted the evening of Friday July 17, 2009 as added convenience to your experience prior to the event
_________________________________________
The 2009 White Attire Affair - "The Experience" Is A Ticketed Event Only - Please Make Your Purchase Prior To The Event
Event Sales Will Not Be Permitted At The Door
___________________________________________
Event ParkingThe Experience on First is conveniently located one block from the Navy Yard Metro StationPublic parking is available one block at 25 M Street, SW for $10.00 per carColonial Parking is available next to The Experience on First for $20.00 per car* Please be advised the Nationals Baseball team is playing a home game that starts at 7:05 on the evening of the event. Street parking in the area may have restrictions. Please plan accordingly.
Left At The Alter Via Email ?!? Damn That's Cold !
Former Net star Richard Jefferson admitted yesterday that he told his beautiful bride-to-be that their wedding was off in an email- stunning her just days before their planned posh nuptials.
Kesha Ni’Cole Nichols got the heart-wrenching message after a tense Fourth of July weekend, Jefferson told The Post.
“There was a lot of stress and tension in the relationship. We’ve been through a lot — but we just couldn’t continue,” said Jefferson, sounding upset during a telephone interview.
But at least Nichols got a nice parting gift — Jefferson, who was traded from the Milwaukee Bucks to the San Antonio Spurs last month, said he’s giving her a “six-figure” settlement so she can start a new life.
“I won’t say a negative word about Kesha. She is one of my best friends,” said Jefferson, who courted for nearly five years.
He said things came to a head when they celebrated July 4 in LA, a week before their planned July 11 wedding at the luxurious Mandarin Oriental on Columbus Circle.
After Nichols boarded a plane back to New York the next day, Jefferson said, he sent her the devastating e-mail.
“Sometimes you might write an e-mail to get your thoughts down right,” he explained.
After Nichols — and the message — arrived in New York, the couple spoke by phone for two hours, Jefferson said.
“It was a conversation Kesha and I had,” he said, adding only that it was “a combination of things” that led to the split.
Jefferson said they haven’t spoken in a week.
“It’s been an emotional time for both of us,” he said. “I know she’s hurt. I’m hurt, too.”
The couple had planned to top off their $500,000 wedding with a honeymoon in London, where they had tickets to one of the Michael Jackson comeback shows.
Of the money he’s giving Nichols, Jefferson said, “I’m not trying to buy her off. She has a lump sum to help her move on.”
He added, “I’ve made my mistakes in this relationship, 100 percent. But at the end of the day, there were some people who were responsible for the demise of it.”
He insisted a rumor he’s gay had nothing to do with the breakup.
“I’m not gay,” Jefferson said. “That couldn’t be any further from the truth. I have nothing to hide.”
Nichols could not be reached.
On July 6, Jefferson told his family the wedding was off.Kesha told her family and friends the next day, he said.Because some out-of-town guests were already in, or en route to, New York, they decided to go through with a dinner that was supposed to have been part of the wedding celebration, Jefferson said.
The jilted bride, a former Net dancer, checked into the Mandarin and spent what would have been her wedding night in a luxury suite. A fellow dancer pal of Kesha, Keltie Colleen, wrote on her blog that Nichols was “going through some serious grief.”
None of Jefferson’s family made the trip. “My family didn’t take this well. I’m the last one not to have married,” said Jefferson, the son of Christian missionaries. “My family was looking forward to me starting a family of my own.” Jefferson flew to Paris last week with some basketball buddies. He went “only because I care about her so much that I didn’t want to change my mind after those emails were sent,” he said. “I didn’t want to start missing her and decide, ‘let’s do this.”‘ “It’s so crazy, the divorce rate out there,” Jefferson added. “If you aren’t 100 percent certain about something, you shouldn’t do it.”
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Bad News For All You Pill Poppers
You better hurry up and raid grandmas medicine cabinet, or call up doctor friend to hook you up, because Uncle Sam is cracking down on your meds.FDA Panel Urges Ban on Vicodin, Percocet
Also recommends dosing limits for OTC painkillers that contain acetaminophen, like Tylenol or Excedrin, because of link to liver damage.
TUESDAY, June 30 (HealthDay News) -- The popular prescription painkillers Vicodin and Percocet, which combine acetaminophen with an opiate narcotic, should be banned, and the maximum dose of over-the-counter painkillers with acetaminophen, like Tylenol or Excedrin, should be lowered, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel urged Tuesday.
The panel's recommendations followed the release of an FDA report last month that found severe liver damage, and even death, can result from a lack of consumer awareness that acetaminophen -- which is easier on the stomach than such painkillers as aspirin and ibuprofen -- can cause such injury.
The dangers from use or abuse of Vicodin and Percocet may be even more concerning, one key panelist said.
"It seems to me that problems with opiate combinations are clearly more prevalent," Dr. Lewis S. Nelson, chairman of the FDA's Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee, said during a Tuesday press conference held after the two-day meeting.
Explaining the panel's 20-17 vote to ban prescription acetaminophen/opiate drugs, Nelson said, "There are many deaths that relate to problems with prescription opiate combination acetaminophen products, whereas the number of deaths clearly related to the over-the-counter products are much more limited."
But the FDA advisers also took aim at over-the-counter (OTC) acetaminophen products. The agency's report found that many people may consume more than the recommended dose of these pain relievers in the mistaken belief that taking more will prove more effective against pain without posing health risks. Consumers may also not know that acetaminophen is present in many over-the-counter products, including remedies for colds, headaches and fevers, making it possible to exceed the recommended acetaminophen dose, the report said.
Based on that, the FDA advisory panel voted 21-16 to lower the maximum daily dose of nonprescription acetaminophen, which is currently 4 grams -- equal to eight pills of a drug such as Extra Strength Tylenol. The panel was not asked to recommend another maximum daily dose.
The panel also voted 24-13 to limit the maximum single dose of acetaminophen to 650 milligrams. The current single dose of Extra Strength Tylenol, for instance, is 1,000 milligrams.
The panel also voted 26-11 to make the 1,000-milligram dose of acetaminophen available only by prescription.
The advisers voted against other safety restrictions for other over-the-counter drugs such as NyQuil or Theraflu, which contain acetaminophen and other ingredients that treat cough and runny nose. Patients often mix the cold medications with pure acetaminophen drugs, like Tylenol, leaving them vulnerable to dangerously high levels of acetaminophen.
The FDA is not obligated to follow the recommendations of its advisory panels, but it typically does so.
Dr. Sandra L. Kweder, deputy director of the FDA's Office of New Drugs at the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, gave a strong hint of what the agency might do with the advisory panel's recommendations.
"I think the top recommendation of this committee was that the agency needs to do something to address and decrease the usual dose of acetaminophen, both for over-the-counter products and also prescription combination products," Kweder said during the press conference.
She added, "There was a clear message that there is a high likelihood of overdose from prescription narcotic/acetaminophen combination products. If we don't eliminate these combination products, we should certainly at least lower the usual acetaminophen dose patients receive in those prescription combination products."
At the very least the agency should require new warning labels on these prescription combinations that alert patients to the potential of liver damage if they take too much acetaminophen, she said.
Speaking for the OTC drug industry, Lynda A. Suydam, of the Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA), said her group was "pleased the committee did not recommend eliminating these important nonprescription products."
However, in a statement, she added that CHPA was "disappointed in [the panel's] divided vote to lower the maximum daily dose and the single dose of 1000 mg acetaminophen. There was a notable lack of data referenced by the committee to support these recommendations and overwhelmingly strong data affirming the efficacy and safety of acetaminophen in its current dosage forms."
Another expert took a different view. Dr. John H. Klippel, chief executive officer of the Arthritis Foundation, said Tuesday's votes were very important to "people with arthritis because acetaminophen is a very commonly used medication to control pain."
"Lowering the maximum dose, providing that kind of guidance to patients, if it increases safety, would be something the arthritis community would support," he said. "Every person who takes this drug sees it as valuable, but they want clear guidance so they won't be harmed by the drug."
Dr. Lewis W. Teperman, director of transplant surgery and vice chairman of surgery at New York University School of Medicine, said he also supported the panel's decision to recommend lowering doses of acetaminophen.
"It's not that the doses can get you in trouble, but the very young and the very old can get into trouble easily," he said. Also if you are sick, there is the danger of taking cold remedies that contain acetaminophen plus taking pure acetaminophen drugs as well, he noted.
But Klippel added that the vote to make the 1,000-milligram dose of acetaminophen available by prescription only would overburden the health-care system. "Given the massive number of people who rely on this drug for pain control, making the maximum dose requiring a prescription, I think, is going to place undo burden on the health-care system," he said.
Teperman disagreed.
"The 1,000 milligram pill should never be at the patient's discretion. It should only be prescribed by a physician," Teperman said. "If you took an entire bottle of Tylenol Extra Strength, three days later you would be in a coma and needing a liver transplant."
From:MSN