Thursday, June 30, 2011

Supermodels: They never get old

(Newdailynews.com) Supermodels, like Carbon-12, age really, really slowly. 20 years and multiple pregnancies may wreak havoc on us normal folks, but it doesn't seem to do a darn thing to these freakishly good-looking Amazons. Have a look....

If there's one thing Heidi Klum knows, it's how to turn up the heat.

The German stunner, 38, poses topless in the August issue of Glamour, and opens up about how she keeps her marriage to singer Seal spicier than ever.

Supermodels, like Carbon-12, age really, <i>really</i> slowly. 20 years and multiple pregnancies may wreak havoc on us normal folks, but it doesn't seem to do a darn thing to these freakishly good-looking Amazons. Have a look....
<br><br>
If there's one thing Heidi Klum knows, it's how to turn up the heat.
<br><br>
The German stunner, 38, <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2011/06/29/2011-06-29_project_runway_host_heidi_klum_says_husband_seal_is_a_beautiful_man.html" target="_blank">poses topless</a> in the August issue of Glamour, and opens up about how she keeps her marriage to singer Seal spicier than ever.
<br><br>
'There's nothing wrong with a nice garter belt,' Klum tells the mag. 'I'm not saying you have to put a pole up in your bedroom and start swinging off the rafters. But I love that sometimes!'
<br><br>
'My husband and I just had a 'sexy week' in London. I'd put on a super-short skirt with a garter belt on underneath so that when I'd sit, he could see it. It's fun to sauce it up a little bit,' she adds.
<br><br>
While she likes to change things up in the bedroom, the blond beauty says she loves her husband just the way he is. Not only does Klum think Seal is 'always' good looking, she says, 'He's even hot when he's sleeping.'

'There's nothing wrong with a nice garter belt,' Klum tells the mag. 'I'm not saying you have to put a pole up in your bedroom and start swinging off the rafters. But I love that sometimes!'

'My husband and I just had a 'sexy week' in London. I'd put on a super-short skirt with a garter belt on underneath so that when I'd sit, he could see it. It's fun to sauce it up a little bit,' she adds.

While she likes to change things up in the bedroom, the blond beauty says she loves her husband just the way he is. Not only does Klum think Seal is 'always' good looking, she says, 'He's even hot when he's sleeping.'

 

*Heidi is one hot mama! She defines what it's like to age gracefully.*


Diva's Nation
*Join The "Hot Mama Heidi Klum" Conversation*

MSNBC suspends Mark Halperin for Obama remark

(The Cutline-Joe Pompeo) MSNBC has suspended political analyst and Time magazine writer Mark Halperin indefinitely over a remark he made about President Obama Thursday morning.

"Mark Halperin's comments this morning were completely inappropriate and unacceptable," said MSNBC spokesman Jeremy Gaines in a statement. "We apologize to the President, the White House and all of our viewers. We strive for a high level of discourse and comments like these have no place on our air."

Appearing on "Morning Joe" this morning, Halperin, senior political analyst at Time and MSNBC and co-author of the 2008 election opus "Game Change," sought to characterize the president's demeanor at a press briefing the previous day. You can watch the video below--though the term Halperin uses to characterize the president is vulgar, as the partial transcript after the jump will also show:




"Are we on the seven-second delay?" Halperin asked.

"We have it. We can use it. Go for it. Let's see what happens," co-anchor Joe Scarborough replied.

"I thought he was a dick yesterday," Halperin replied, sending the hosts into a brief moment of panic.

Halperin apologized later on in the show and issued his own mea culpa hours later via MSNBC.

"I completely agree with everything in MSNBC's statement about my remark," he said. "I believe that the step they are taking in response is totally appropriate. Again, I want to offer a heartfelt and profound apology to the President, to my MSNBC colleagues, and to the viewers. My remark was unacceptable, and I deeply regret it."

Halperin is the latest in a string of MSNBC suspensions this past year. Scarborough himself was suspended last November for violating the network's campaign contribution policy, as was Keith Olbermann, who left MSNBC several months later. More recently, Ed Schultz was suspended in May for calling pundit Laura Ingraham a "slut." And former MSNBC dayside host David Schuster also got a suspension in 2008 for complaining that Hillary Clinton had "pimped out" her daughter, Chelsea, on the presidential campaign trail.

UPDATE 12:30 pm: Time also has issued a statement reprimanding Halperin: "Mark Halperin's comments on air this morning were inappropriate and in no way reflective of TIME's views. We have issued a warning to him that such behavior is unacceptable."


*Not surprised with the suspension of Mark Halperin! It was coming and we all knew it. It seems after he wrote his book "Game Change" he's been a bit of "DICK" himself.

As I listened to his political mumbo jumbo about the President and the debt ceiling, I thought wow; what the hell is his problem? Did he wake up on the wrong side of the bed or hasn't gotten any "you now what" in a while?" 

As I kept listening it seems Joe, including the the crew in the control room was all for it, until he said it. Now it seems his ass wants to issue an apology! So tragic and so dumb!

At the end of the day, it's ok to talk politics and even bring the heat in your political convo. However; when your calling names to prove your point, then that's what makes the individual look like a damn idiot instead of a smart professional who they are aiming to be to the public.


Diva's Nation
*Join The "DICK: Mark Halperin" Conversation*

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Little Asset Shelter On The Prairie: More Than 2,000 Businesses Registered At This Wyoming House

(Reuters) You wouldn't know to look at it, but this small, unassuming home in Cheyenne, Wyoming, is a bustling center of American industry, with more than 2,000 companies registered to this single address.

Reuters had a look inside the house, home to Wyoming Corporate Services, a business-incorporation specialist, and found "walls of the main room are covered floor to ceiling with numbered mailboxes labeled as corporate 'suites'," while a lone employee answers the phone and sorts mail.

WCS helps other businesses establish shell companies, businesses that exist only on paper and often just to hide assets. They also sell "shelf" companies, which come with built-in credit histories and regulatory findings for added legitimacy.

This is all completely legal, but Reuters says some of the companies doing business out of this little house on the prairie are questionable. There's the shelf company sheltering real-estate assets controlled by a jailed former prime minister of Ukraine. And then there is the owner of two other firms banned from government contracting for selling counterfeit truck parts to the Pentagon.

Reuters calls this business, and others like it in corporation-friendly Wyoming, the Cayman Islands of the Prairie.




*It's business as usual for "big business." We all know that this sort of thing has been going on for so long, that it's no surprise that it's in prairie country...Wyoming.


It's one of those things that has now surfaced due to the enormous crackdown by the Obama administration. As we know, many more "front men" will come to the surface.


Corporate America has no secrets at this point, as the rest of us know what goes on behind closed doors. We often think why people seem to get away with so much stuff. Well here it is situated in Wyoming.


Listen to the report and form your own opinion America.*


Diva's Nation
Join The "Crooked Corporate World" Conversation*

Monday, June 27, 2011

America's flesh-eating cocaine problem

(The Week.com) Parents have long warned that drugs will fry your brain. Now doctors say cocaine might also rot your skin — literally

PHOTO: The veterinary drug can rot the flesh of the nose and ears

It's no secret that cocaine can be dangerous, but drug dealers might be making it more harmful than ever. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration recently reported that 82 percent of the cocaine it seizes has been cut with a veterinary drug that can rot away the skin on users' noses, cheeks, and ears. "It's probably quite a big problem," says dermatologist Dr. Noah Craft with the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Insitute. "We just don't know how big." Here, a brief guide:

How does levamisole end up in cocaine?
Drug dealers typically add fillers to cocaine to boost their profits. Cheaper cocaine may be upwards of 90 percent filler. Sometimes, the added powder is just baking soda or some other innocuous substance. But drug cartels in South America increasingly prefer to use levamisole, a veterinary antibiotic normally used to deworm cattle, sheep, and pigs. It's not clear why dealers don't just use baking soda all the time, although though studies in rats suggest that levamisole might tingle brain receptors in the same way cocaine does. If that's the case, adding it to the supply might be a way to enhance the effects of cocaine on the cheap.

And the user ends up paying the price?
Yes, in some cases, says Craft, who has published a case study in Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. Craft linked six patients with patches of dying flesh to tainted cocaine. The wounds typically surface a day after exposure due to an immune reaction that damages blood vessels supplying the skin. Without any blood supply, the skin is starved of oxygen, turns a dark purple, and dies off. While the contamination of the cocaine supply is widespread, not all of those using cocaine experience this adverse reaction. But, anyone who uses cocaine is at risk, Craft says. "Rich or poor, black or white."

Are doctors just discovering this problem?
No, levamisole has been on the radar screen of drug-prevention officials and doctors for a while. In 2009, there were reports of a handful of cocaine users in Canada developing hepatitis C and anemia after using cocaine mixed with levamisole. The killer agent hinders a person's ability to produce white blood cells, which are essential for fighting off sometimes deadly infections. But the DEA's report on the extent of the contamination, explains why some doctors are now seeing gruesome wounds linked to recent cocaine use. "It's important for people to know it's not just in New York and L.A.," says Craft. "It's in the cocaine supply of the entire U.S."


*This isn't anything new. Meth pretty much does the same thing. As for the cocain use in the United States; if an idiot wants to use it, then they will eventually suffer the consequences for using the drug.

We all know that using drugs is bad. When people do engage in using illegal drugs then, they can't blame anyone for their damn skin rotting and falling off but themselves.

Stupidity at it's finest!

If only people would wise up and don't do drugs, then maybe we wouldn't have articles like this telling us that this does exist.*


Diva's Nation
*Join The "America's Flesh Eating Cocaine Problem" Conversation*

Friday, June 24, 2011

Census shows whites lose US majority among babies

(AP) For the first time, more than half of the children under age 2 in the U.S. are minorities, part of a sweeping race change and a growing age divide between mostly white, older Americans and fast-growing younger ethnic populations that could reshape government policies.

Preliminary census estimates also show the share of African-American households headed by women — mostly single mothers — now exceeds African-American households with married couples, reflecting the trend of declining U.S. marriages overall.

The findings, based on the latest government data, offer a preview of final 2010 census results being released this summer that provide detailed breakdowns by age, race and household relationships.

Demographers say the numbers provide the clearest confirmation yet of a changing social order, one in which racial and ethnic minorities will become the U.S. majority by midcentury.

"We're moving toward an acknowledgment that we're living in a different world than the 1950s, where married or two-parent heterosexual couples are now no longer the norm for a lot of kids, especially kids of color," said Laura Speer, coordinator of the Kids Count project for the Baltimore-based Annie E. Casey Foundation

"It's clear the younger generation is very demographically different from the elderly, something to keep in mind as politics plays out on how programs for the elderly get supported," she said. "It's critical that children are able to grow to compete internationally and keep state economies rolling."

Currently, non-Hispanic whites make up just under half of all children 3 years old, which is the youngest age group shown in the Census Bureau's October 2009 annual survey, its most recent. In 1990, more than 60 percent of children in that age group were white.

William H. Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution who analyzed the data, said figures in the 2009 survey can sometimes be inexact compared with the 2010 census, which queries the entire nation. But he said when factoring in the 2010 data released so far, minorities outnumber whites among babies under age 2.

The preliminary figures are based on an analysis of the Current Population Survey as well as the 2009 American Community Survey, which sampled 3 million U.S. households to determine that whites made up 51 percent of babies younger than 2. After taking into account a larger-than-expected jump in the minority child population in the 2010 census, the share of white babies falls below 50 percent.

Twelve states and the District of Columbia now have white populations below 50 percent among children under age 5 — Hawaii, California, New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, Nevada, Florida, Maryland, Georgia, New Jersey, New York and Mississippi. That's up from six states and the District of Columbia in 2000.

At current growth rates, seven more states could flip to "minority-majority" status among small children in the next decade: Illinois, North Carolina, Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, South Carolina and Delaware.

By contrast, whites make up the vast majority of older Americans — 80 percent of seniors 65 and older and roughly 73 percent of people ages 45-64. Many states with high percentages of white seniors also have particularly large shares of minority children, including Arizona, Nevada, California, Texas and Florida.

In California, for instance, the median age for whites jumped from 40.3 in 2000 to 44.6 years old, even as the state's overall median age remained one of the nation's lowest at 35.2 due to minority births — a sign of the rapid race change under way, according to 2010 census data released Thursday. California's minorities now make up 58 percent of the state's population, up from 51 percent in 2000.

"The recent emergence of this cultural generation gap in states with fast growth of young Hispanics has spurred heated discussions of immigration and the use of government services," Frey said. "But the new census, which will show a minority majority of our youngest Americans, makes plain that our future labor force is absolutely dependent on our ability to integrate and educate a new diverse child population."

Kenneth Johnson, a sociology professor and senior demographer at the University of New Hampshire, noted that much of the race change is being driven by increases in younger Hispanic women having more children than do white women, who have lower birth rates and as a group are moving beyond their prime childbearing years.

Because minority births are driving the rapid changes in the population, "any institution that touches or is impacted by children will be the first to feel the impact," Johnson said, citing as an example child and maternal health care that will have to be attentive to minorities' needs.

The numbers come amid public debate over hotly contested federal and state issues, from immigration and gay marriage to the rising cost of government benefits such as Medicare and Medicaid, that are resonating in different ways by region and demographics.
 
Alabama became the latest state this month to pass a wide-ranging anti-immigration law, which in part requires schools to report students' immigration status to state authorities. That follows tough immigration measures passed in similarly Republican-leaning states such as Georgia, Arizona and South Carolina.
 
But governors in Massachusetts, New York and Illinois, which long have been home to numerous immigrants, have opted out of the federal Secure Communities program that aims to deport dangerous criminals, saying it has made illegal immigrants afraid of reporting crimes to police. California may soon opt out as well.
 
States also are divided by region in their attitudes about old-age benefits and gay marriage, which is legal in five states and the District of Columbia.
 
Among African-Americans, U.S. households headed by women — mostly single mothers but also adult women living with siblings or elderly parents — represented roughly 30 percent of all African-American households, compared with the 28 percent share of married-couple African-American households. It was the first time the number of female-headed households surpassed those of married couples among any race group, according to census records reviewed by Frey dating back to 1950.

While the number of black single mothers has been gradually declining, overall marriages among blacks are decreasing faster. That reflects a broader U.S. trend of declining marriage rates as well as increases in non-family households made up of people living alone, or with unmarried partners or other non-relatives.

Female-headed households make up a 19 percent share among Hispanics and 9 percent each for whites and Asians.

Other findings:
_Multigenerational households composed of families with grandparents, parents and children were most common among Hispanics, particularly in California, Maryland, Illinois, Nevada and Texas, all states where they represented roughly 1 in 10 Latino households.
 
_Roughly 581,000, or a half percent, of U.S. households are composed of same-sex unmarried couples, representing nearly 1 in 10 households with unmarried partners. Unmarried gay couples made up the biggest shares in states in the Northeast and West, led by the District of Columbia, Oregon, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maine and Vermont. The largest numbers were in California and New York, which is now considering a gay marriage law.
 
_Minorities comprise a majority of renters in 10 states, plus the District of Columbia — Hawaii, Texas, California, Georgia, Maryland, New Mexico, Mississippi, New Jersey, Louisiana and New York.
 
Tony Perkins, president of the Washington, D.C.-based Family Research Council, a conservative interest group, emphasized the economic impact of the decline of traditional families, noting that single-parent families are often the most dependent on government assistance.
 
"The decline of the traditional family will have to correct itself if we are to continue as a society," Perkins said, citing a responsibility of individuals and churches. "We don't need another dose of big government, but a new Hippocratic oath of `do no harm' that doesn't interfere with family formation or seek to redefine family."


*This is just another way of telling us how we are living as a society. It's not rocket science that whites are declining. It's not rocket science to see that the latino population has taken over. We all know what's going on, even if someone of us pretend that it's not happening. So; what we are left with is an American society that has changed and keeps on changing. It's something we all have to deal with or move to another country.*


Diva's Nation
*Join The "US Census" Conversation*

Missy Elliott Has Been M.I.A. for a Very Good Reason

(Music Blog Amplifier) Between 1997 and 2005, Missy Elliott put out six studio albums, never pausing for more than two years between LPs. But it's been six years since The Cookbook, and though the innovative rapper/producer guested on a handful of tracks including Ciara's "Work" and kept up with fans via Twitter, we haven't seen that much of Miss E for a very legitimate reason: She's been battling Graves disease, an incurable autoimmune disorder caused by an overactive thyroid.

Elliott will open up about her experience with Graves and other sticky subjects in a new episode of VH1's Behind the Music next week. In the latest issue of People, she explains she was diagnosed in 2008 after a scary moment in her car: "My leg was jumping," she said. "I couldn't keep the brake down and almost crashed." Graves symptoms include muscle tremors, mood swings, bulging eyes, and hair loss, and Elliott said her nervous system became so spastic, she couldn't even hold a pen to write music -- a crushing situation for an artist as prolific and wildly creative as Missy.



After receiving radiation and taking medication with unpleasant side effects like weight gain, Elliott's condition has stabilized and she's even shed the 30 extra pounds she picked up from her treatment. She has told fans on Twitter a new single is coming soon, and reminded them she hasn't been totally inactive the past few years: "I'm always making music:) yall gotta start peeping the credits on these cds:)." She promises she's not rusty, telling People, "My ear ain't gone bad yet!"

Elliott's Behind the Music will also address the sexual abuse she endured as a child, a topic the rapper hasn't spoken about much publicly before. By sharing my story, "I felt that I would be able to help other people," she told the magazine. Timbaland, Ciara and Mary J. Blige will chat about their friend and collaborator in the special, which premieres on VH1 Wednesday, June 29th at 10 p.m. ET/PT.


*Wow my girl Missy has graves disease. Who would of thought that would be the case as to why she's been off the grid. So sad to hear that, because graves disease is very serious. If you don't seek treatment it could be the death of you. However, not my girl Missy. She was still working and creating hits, even when folks thought she fell off the grid.

I remember meeting Missy way back in the day (1996) when she was just getting started. I was visiting my family in Virginia Beach, and kept hearing this song on the radio. The song was by Gna Thompson; "The Things You Do."

Listen!



This is the Missy Elliot along with Gina Thompson when they were promoting Gina's single, that I met. This amazing talent grew into the amazing talent that she continues to be.


We hear at Diva's Nation wish Missy Elliot mush success with her health and her music.



Diva's Nation
*Join The "Missy Elliot" Conversation*

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Beefs & Brotherhood: Michael Rappaport Calls A Tribe Called Quest Dynamic “Emotionally Complex”

(Indie Wire Blog)Director Says Hip-Hop Group’s Relationship Is Complicated Both Off And On The Screen

If you’re one of the lucky few that has seen the hip-hop documentary “Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest,” perhaps at either the Sundance or Tribeca film festivals, you know the film is a knock-out: a deeply insightful journey into the history of the seminal ‘90s rap group, their contextual legacy, that ventures very personally and intimately on the personal fissures and fractures that led to their break-up; lingering emotional issues that still cling to this day.

If you’re a fan of the group and haven’t seen the documentary, which is likely the norm—it doesn’t hit theaters until July 8th in limited release—you’re probably still fairly aware of all the behind-the-scenes drama that arrived even before the movie hit film festivals. It all started in early December 2010, almost six weeks before the film would make its world premiere at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. One of the group members, arguably its leader, Q-Tip, would tweet, “I am not in support of the a tribe called quest documentary.” This would set off a red light of alarm for fans in both the film and music communities and ignite a firestorm of controversy and beef that would extend over several months between various members of the group and the film’s director, actor-turned-filmmaker Michael Rappaport. A lot of this he-said, she-said back and forth was documented very well by MTV News. Q-Tip would voice his concerns deeper just a few days later in December, alluding to problems he had with the film, but never articulating them and Rappaport would fire back in several interviews, noting at Sundance that he was “disappointed” with the band for not showing up as a group to support the doc at the film festival.

The beef has since quelled. In March, Q-Tip said he encouraged fans to watch the documentary, even though he still had some issues with it and even as far as mid-January in the heart of Sundance the band released a press statement that they were supporting the doc. But it’s never been that easy or cut and dry. Just a week ago, Tribe rapper Phife Dawg told GQ magazine (not online) that if he had a chance to do it all over again, he wouldn’t have agreed to being in the film. “Nah, I wouldn’t. No way. As we speak there’s still a lot of craziness going on. A Tribe Called Quest is really a Tribe Called Difficult.” Why?

Well, as we noted in our review, the film is much more than your standard hagiographic music documentary and is, at times, “painfully honest….it’s a moving portrait of brotherhood, unity and how the strongest of friendships can be susceptible to breakdown if unacceptable levels of rising toxicity run unchecked.”

We recently had a chance to sit down with director Michael Rappaport and discuss the excellent documentary, the difficulties of bringing it to the screen and all the drama that ensued before its release. While Q-Tip and co. were opaque at the time when it came to articulating their problems with the documentary, all one needs to do is see the film to understand why. We said the film “nakedly depicts why the band collapsed in no uncertain terms” and that it “pulls no punches and is often hard to watch.” There’s a bitterness and animus among members of the group, particularly Tip and Phife and the film doesn’t shy away from it.

Rappaport told The Playlist he can understand why the band were initially upset about the documentary as it shows all of them in an incredibly emotionally vulnerable state.

“See the thing about friction, the stuff that’s happened between me and Q-Tip and in the press is that he’s not mad at me,” the director said. “I think he’s mad at the movie. Now, I think I might be the person he’s directed some of that energy to, and I’ve directed some of that back at him, but I think—listen if someone was making a documentary about me as intimate as this, I’d be freaked out too! I’d be like, ‘oh shit!’ ”

But Rappaport insists he didn’t know what he was getting into and didn’t realize the group had so many internal schizms going on.

“I didn’t intend the movie to be this way and I don’t think any of them thought the movie was going to be this way,” he said about finding the movie and its story along the way while he was shooting. “I think it’s emotionally, they’re emotionally vulnerable, that’s the thing about it. They’re not doing anything crazy. There’s not anything like defaming or embarrassing, just emotionally they’re vulnerable. More vulnerable and more exposed then they’ve ever been, and maybe more [exposed] then they thought the movie was going to be.”

While the director said he wasn’t trying to create sensationalism, he said he just had to follow the story that was unraveling in front of him. It would have been hard to ignore; there were explosive personal dramas from day one when Rappaport and his film crew arrived on the 2008 Rock The Bells tour. “I walked into a fucking storm, a shit storm,” he said of the
Phife/Tip altercation depicted in the film that took place backstage at the show.

“I had to make a decision of what I was going to do as a filmmaker and I knew that in regards to the strife that I could not back down,” he said. “I could not back down because John Cassavetes would roll over in his grave if he saw an independent filmmaker back down and I thought about that a lot. I thought, what would John Cassavetes do? Then it became like this tug of war to try to finish the movie—which I knew at some point was the movie that I intended to make and that surpassed my goals even for the film—and I just couldn’t [back down].”

Encapsulating the love/hate relationship of A Tribe Called Quest is difficult but it’s all captured remarkably well in ‘Beats Rhymes & Life.’ It’s a combustible mix of familial love, rivalry, boyhood friendships gone sour, outsized egos jockeying for position, misunderstandings grown out of proportion and to a certain degree, a refusal to just hug it out.

“It is a complex relationship,” Rappaport said, noting a colossal understatement. It’s a fascinating documentary, an engrossing story, both off and on the screen and it’s one that seems to have a life unto itself beyond the film. Even this interview is just the tip of the iceberg. “Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest” hits theaters in limited release on July 8. More from this conversation closer to release date.

Oh, and if you’re interested in Phife’s full words in GQ they conclude, “[Tribe] is like the Knicks. We can be down two points, but we act like we’re down twenty-two. We always make it hard on ourselves,” he said. “I’m a rapper, but I’m a human being. I felt disrespected. I was like, ‘You gonna come at me like that? Somebody that’s show you love from jump street?’ Enough is enough.”


*This is very difficult as this band is family. It seems to us here at Diva's Nation that a Tribe Called Quest let fame drive them apart and ruin the root of what they started out with.

What a hot mess!

As we all know, relationships can be difficult if you let them be. Things can go crazy. However, the little school yard tiff between Q-Tip and Phife is ridiculous! Q-Tip seems to me like his ego is blown way up over yawnder some damn where. He seems like he has a chip on his shoulder.

That's not a good thing!

In the end, I think what director Michael Rappaport was showing with this film is that, groups like a tribe called quest has staying power, and can teach a new generation about the business, but most of all about relationships in and out of the rap industry.  His message in choosing this group wasn't to exploit or open a can of worms, but to show the world that a band like a "tribe called quest" brought together unity for people from all different types backgrounds and cultures; especially black people. He also was showing the gritty and ugly side of how relationships can be affected by way of fame, forturne, stardom and just plain silliness.

This film shows just that!

It's amazing to see this on the big screen, because as we know, this doesn't happen for blacks all the time. I think Q-Tip needs to "shut the hell up" and enjoy the success that he's had with "a tribe called quest" for once.

One things for sure you should never forget where you've come from, even if you've moved on.*

Congrats to "A Tribe Called Quest and Director Michael Rappaport!*

Check out "Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest", in theaters July 8!


Diva's Nation
*Join The "A Tribe Called Quest" Conversation*

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

REMEMBER WHEN...UPGRADE U!

UPGRADE U BY: Beyonce Feat Jay-Z!



All ladies need to upgrade and why not do it with the type of man you choose to have in your life!


Diva's Nation
*Join The Conversation*

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Movie Interest In The Book: "My Panty Drawer Dilemma: How I Started The Fabulous Panty Drawer Intervention."

It seems there's quite a buzz about author Sahara Hill's book.

The book that's causing all the buzz and interest is about women and their panty drawers. 

No word who is interested but, from the looks of it, many are interested in making this a movie for women.

I have to say...I loved the book.

When the follow up comes out, I'm going to be the first one getting mine. I heard through the the literary grape vine, that it may include a first lady getting a panty drawer intervention.

Interesting...


Carmen For Diva's Nation
*Join The "Panty Drawer Intervention" Conversation

Edited by: Literary Diva "aka" Literary Babie

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Essentials That All Women Should Have All Times of The Year!

Essentials are things that all women can't go without. Here is our picks for any woman; whether a stay-at-home mom, or a working gal, these are things that a women should never go without.

1. A Great Pair Of Denim Jeans
*A woman should keep 3 pairs of great fitting jeans in her closet. All should consist of 3 different styles such as: skinny, boot cut, and flare. Our brand pick is "levi" because they cater to different body types which consist of: (jeans by rise, fit, curve, style, and special sizes like, petite and plus).*

 Modern Slight Curve Skinny Jeans - Bellflower Blue - Levi's - levi.com

512™ Perfectly Slimming Boot Cut Jeans - Deep Melody - Levi's - levi.com

Modern Supreme Curve Straight Jeans - Infinite - Levi's - levi.com

2. A fabulous 3/4 sleeve button down collar shirt
*Every woman should have this shirt in 3 colors: white, black and red. You can never go wrong with a fabulous button down collar shirt. Our brand pick is: "burberry", because, it's timeless and their clothing are well made. You can never go wrong with this pick.

burberry women shirts-burberry burberry brit pale pink stretch cotton shirt

3. A fabulous pencil skirt
*Every woman should have a pencil skirt in her closet. It says professional, sexy and fabulous. You can dress it up with a nice jacket or dress it down with a pair of flats and tank. Our brand pick is "Burberry" because it's well made and will last a life time.*

pencil skirt-burberry london paneled stretchjersey pencil skirt

4. Fabulous shoes...a must
*Every woman need a great pair of stilettos and a comfortable pair of flats. Stilettos can be worn with jeans and professional attire. You can dress then up and dress them down. Our brand pick is "Christian Louboutin" because, they are classic, fabulous and down right comfortable.

christian louboutin big stack 120 leather pumps
*Every woman need a great pair of flats. Flats is a way to rest your feet from your stilettos. Our brand pick is "Michael Kors" and Cole Hann", because both brands represent comfort and real women.

cole haan air tali ballerina flat

5. Shapewear...a must
*Every woman should have a piece of shapeware in her drawer. As we know shapewear keeps the lumps and bumps under control and helps your clothes to fit fabulously. Our brand pick is, "Spanx", because it works!

SPANX In-Power Line Footless Pantyhose

6. A comfortable pair of thong panties
*Every woman should have thong panties in her drawer. It keeps the panty line in check and allows you to move free in your clothes.  Our brand pick is "Spanx", because they are comfortable and fit like a dream!

Hanky Panky Original Rise Organic Supima Cotton Thong

7. A comfortable bra...a must
*Every woman should have a great bra that last a long time. Buying a bra can be a headache if you don't know how to shop. Seek outside help from a department store "bra whisperer" or ask a friend to help you take your measurements. Remember, a bra just like your panties can make or break your outfit. Our brand pick is, "Spanx", because they have bras that range in a variety of sizes for every woman of every size.

T-Shirt Bra

Minimizer Bras

Full Figure Bra

8. Common sense for what works for you in fashion.
*Every woman should use her common sense when it comes to fashion for her body type. Buying what works for you instead of what's on trend is more important. Take the time to get to know what body type you have, so that you can buy clothes that fit.

Make sure you take measurements, being the size you are right now and of course again, if you lose weight.

Remember, to take control of your body and dress it the way you want. Use the the essentials we just posted as a guide to buy what you need. In doing that, you can add tons of accessories to dress it up or down.



Diva's Nation
*Join The Fashion" Conversation*

Juneteenth fest emphasizes black heritage, health

(San Francisco Chronicle) San Francisco's Juneteenth Festival, which will be held through today in the historically African American Fillmore district, is considered the oldest and largest Juneteenth celebration outside Texas.

Although President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, it wasn't until June 19, 1865, when Union Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger announced in Galveston, Texas, that the Civil War was over, that blacks in the state actually knew slavery was abolished and that they were free.

California is one of 39 states and the District of Columbia that recognize Juneteenth - a blend of the words June and 19th - as either a state holiday or a state holiday observance. Texas, the first state to celebrate Juneteenth, was also the first to make it an official state holiday in 1980. It is typically celebrated on the third Saturday of June.

This 61st annual San Francisco celebration included a parade with vintage cars, cowboys and various community groups, along with a street fair with arts, music, dance and food.

But health is the theme of this year's celebration. African Americans are more than twice as likely as whites to experience hypertension and typically have higher rates of such health problems as heart attacks, cancer and stroke.

One of the busiest booths at the festival featured confidential health screenings and free testing for blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose levels and sexually transmitted diseases, or STDs.

"African American young women have disproportionately high rates of STDs, so that's why we're offering women 25 and under free chlamydia and gonorrhea testings," said Jacqueline McCright, services manager of the San Francisco Department of Public Health's STD prevention and control section.

So far, only one woman had taken advantage of the screenings, but McCright expected to test at least 50 through the weekend.

People were lining up at the table run by the Bay Area Black Nurses Association for on-the-spot cholesterol and glucose testing through finger pricks, as well as blood pressure screenings.

Registered nurse Gina Johnson said diabetes and heart problems are common in the black community. "A lot of times they can't afford services, don't have access or don't know how important it is," said Johnson, who grew up in the Fillmore district and was just hired to work at San Francisco General Hospital.

Matilda Foster, a retired kindergarten teacher, had a mammogram the day earlier and keeps on top of her health, but still wanted to check her levels.

"It's important to know because a lot of times African Americans don't know about health terminology and that there's help available, even if they don't have health insurance," Foster said.

Jackie Watt, 58, endured the quick finger prick and got a clean bill of health - with the exception of a slightly high glucose result she said may be attributable to the two soft drinks and a hard candy she had earlier in the day.

Watt said she regularly comes to San Francisco's Juneteenth festival, but the health fair isn't the draw. "I like to see all the different
arts and crafts and all the talent," she said.
*Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, is a holiday in the United States honoring African American heritage by commemorating the announcement of the abolition of slavery in the U.S. State of Texas in 1865. Celebrated on June 19, the term is a portmanteau of June and nineteenth, and is recognized as a state holiday in 37 states of the United States.*

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Join The "Juneteenth" Conversation*

Saturday, June 18, 2011

REMEMBER WHEN...DIGABLE PLANETS!

COOL LIKE DAT BY:  Digable Planets





Diva's Nation
*Join The "Digable Planets; Cool Like Dat" Conversation*

REMEMBER WHEN...KINA!

GIRL FROM THE GUTTER: Kina




Diva's Nation
*Join The "Kina Girl From The Gutter" Conversation*

Steak Made from Human Excrement: Is It Safe?

(Livescience.com) The mere idea is stomach-churning: creating food from human feces.

But researchers in Japan say they have done just that. They have synthesized meat from proteins found in human waste, according to news reports.

Poop Meat

While the concept of chowing down on steak derived from poop may not exactly be appetizing, we wondered: is this meat safe?

In theory, yes, experts say. But the meat must be cooked, which will kill any noxious pathogens before you eat it.

"In the food safety world we say, 'don't eat poop,'" said Douglas Powell, a professor of food safety at Kansas State University. "But if you're going to, make sure it's cooked."

The Japanese researchers isolated proteins from bacteria in sewage. The poop-meat concoction is prepared by extracting the basic elements of food — protein, carbohydrates and fats — and recombining them.

The meat is made from 63 percent proteins, 25 percent carbohydrates, 3 percent lipids and 9 percent minerals, according to Digital Trends. Soy protein is added to the mix to increase the flavor, and food coloring is used to make the product appear red.

The researchers came up with the idea after Tokyo Sewage asked them to figure out a use for the abundance of sewage in mud, Digital Trends says.

Powell is not familiar with the researchers' method, but said he guesses that they are first heat-treating the sewage before they reap its resources.

Powell said the idea is not all that different from eating plants that have been fertilized with manure or other excrement, because the nutrients in the poop become part of the plants.

"Theoretically, there's nothing wrong with this," Powell said. "It could be quite safe to eat, but I'm sure there's a yuck factor there," he said.

However, Powell said there is the potential for cross contamination in the laboratory where the poop meat is made. That's why it's a good thing the meat will eventually be cooked.

But what if the final product was not going to be cooked?

"I wouldn’t touch it, " Powell said.

Pass it on: Meat made from poop is safe, but you should cook it before you eat it.


*Can you say "YUCK, YUCK, and YUCK!! Why in the hell would someone create meat from poop? Who would eat that sh*t? Would you?

Again; what in the hell were these people thinking?

I have to say, this takes organic down a level. When you think about what they have to do in order to create the meat, and add different components to make it tasty, that is scary. I mean really scary!

As we think of waste, we think of it being "yucky" and not something to put back into our bodies for food cosumpution. It has to be something of a trial thing and hopefully not something they are putting on the market for human consumption.  If that's the case the then I will be a vegan for life.

Words to think of while reading this article: "POOP MEAT."


Diva's Nation
*Join The "Poop Meat" Conversation"*

Nazi grandma

(The Daily Caller) Most 81-year-old ladies do normal 81-year-old lady things. They play cards with friends. They spend time with their children and grandchildren. Maybe some volunteer at food banks or animal shelters.

Gudrun Burwitz, on the other hand, works to help keep the spirit of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Party alive.

Burwitz is the daughter of Heinrich Himmler, the man who was charged by Hitler with running the Gestapo, SS, and the extermination program which took the lives of millions of Jews. She continues her father’s legacy today, leading the German group Stille Hilfe, which translates to Silent Help.

The group, formed in 1951 by former higher-ups in the Nazi Party provides “quiet but active assistance to those who lost their freedom during or after the war by capture, internment or similar circumstance and who need help to this day,” reports the Daily Mail.

Today, with Burwitz at the helm, the group has recruited a new generation of women to aid Nazis who need financial help. The organization also provides resources for the neo-Nazi movement.

Burwitz is currently working on several cases, with the goal of preventing former SS officers from being extradited to Germany and Denmark, where they’d be charged with murder for crimes they committed against Jews during the Holocaust.

Burwitz, known as the “Princes of Nazism,” was contacted the Daily Mail, but refused to talk about her work in helping Nazis. “I never talk about my work,” she told the British paper, “I just do what I can when I can.”


*Wow, nazi grandma...crazy or is she really fighting for what she believes?

Well, maybe it's a little psychotic, but it's not much difference than the "Black Panthers" movement. 

In any event, God Bless her and maybe one day she will come to her senses.*


Diva's Nation
*Join The "Nazi Grandma" Conversation*

Nia Long Confirms She Is Pregnant and Reveals NBA Baller Is the Father!

Nia Long Confirms She is Pregnant with NBA Veteran's Ime Udoka's Baby

Udoka_crop_340x234

Actress Nia Long has reportedly confirmed that she is pregnant and her longtime boyfriend and NBA journeyman Ime Udoka is the father.

The couple told People magazine:
“This is the most exciting time in our lives. Words can’t explain how thrilled we are by the new addition to our family. We feel truly blessed and appreciate all the well wishes and prayers.”
Long already has had a child from a previous relationship, but this will be Udoka's first child.
Will this be the next Udoka to enter professional basketball?

Udoka, an undrafted guard/forward out of Portland State, saw his most game action with the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2006-2007 season, starting in 75 games.

Last year, Udoka appeared in 20 games with the Spurs, averaging 6.5 minutes per game. The 33-year-old was waived by the team in January.

Congratulations to the journeyman. With the NBA set for lockout mode, he'll be able to spend more time with his family on his spare time.

Long was most recently the voice of Roberta Tubbs in The Cleveland Show for 13 episodes in 2010.


*Congrats to the beautiful couple! Nia is one of the most beautiful and talented actresses in hollywood. Color has nothing to do withit.  It's all about talent. She is definitely keeping it moving. You go girl!*


Psss: Check out Nia and her baby bump! HOT HOT HOT!!!





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Join the Conversation*

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Heavy downloads for `Go the (Bleep)' audiobook

(AP) The world just can't get enough of Samuel L. Jackson and four-letter words.

A free version of the actor's cussing audio of the best-selling "Go the (Bleep) to Sleep" has been downloaded 160,000 times since becoming available two days ago, audio publisher Audible Inc. announced Thursday.

It's a huge number for audiobooks, but not a record. The final Harry Potter book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," sold more than 200,000 audio copies during its first 48 hours.

The hardcover of "Go the (Bleep) to Sleep," Adam Mansbach's adults-only bedtime lament, officially went on sale this week. It was No. 1 on Amazon as of midday Thursday.


*WOW! Who would of thought someone would actually write a book like this! Telling your kids to go the f*ck to sleep isn't exactly what a child should exprience from their parents.

I know parenting is hard and sometimes it gets exhausting, but thinking it is one thing,  but saying it is another. What parent needs damn bedtime story anyway? I give author Adam Mansbach props in creating a funny bedtime book for adults. It does give you a laugh when your tired and want your child to go the f*ck to sleep.

Hopefully no one's child gets a hold of it and takes it to school to share for show-n-tell!*


Diva's Nation
*Join The "Go The F*ck To Sleep" Conversation*

BITCHITUDE SERIES BY AUTHOR C.J. CALETT! A Hot Seller!

BEWARE OF MY BITCHITUDE

Congrats to author C.J. Calett for so far creating an interesting series; "Beware Of My Bitchitude!"

The ebooks are hot sellers over in the UK!

The series talks about all women who embody this "bitchitude" attitude. It's amazing how she seems to touch on all walks of life and women from many different backgrounds.

To find out more about this series check out the books so far: "BEWARE OF MY BITCHIUDE: Being Bitchy Is A Hot Mess", and "BEWARE OF MY BITCHITUDE: More Bitchitude For The Bitch's Soul."

Watch out for another installment coming your way soon.

Both are available at amazon.com now!


Diva's Nation
*Join The C.J. Calett "Bitchitude" Conversation*

MIAMI SOCIALHOLIC: A Hot Place To Be!

Want to socialize like with hottest and badest bitches in the world?






Head over to www.miamisocialholic.com for events, food, fashion, and so much more!

Once you get a taste of what this site has to bring, I'm pretty sure you bitches will be booking a flight to south beach; "I know I would!"

Check it out today@ www.miamisocialholic.com

By: Diva And Her Bitchitude@   www.bewareofmybitchitude.com


Diva's Nation
*Join The "Miami Socialholic" Conversation*

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Man admits to shooting Tupac

AllHipHop.com is reporting that imprisoned Dexter Isaac claimed to have shot rapper Tupac Shakur.

Isaac, an inmate currently serving life in prison for murder, robbery and more, says he shot Shakur in 1994 after allegedly being given $2,500 dollars by James “Jimmy Henchman” Rosemond.

“I want to apologize to his family [Tupac Shakur] and for the mistake I did for that sucker [Jimmy Henchman],” Dexter Isaac told AllHipHop.com. “I am trying to clean it up to give [Tupac and Biggie's] mothers some closure.”

Isaac told the online website about his involvement in Shakur’s shooting after Jimmy Henchman identified him in a statement, relating to Henchman’s indictment for dealing cocaine.

“If the government is relying on informants like Winston ‘Winnie’ Harris, a convicted drug dealer and Jamaican deportee, who came to me and motioned via hand signal that he was forced to wear a wire and begged me to skip town or Dexter Isaac who is serving life in prison plus 30 years, then I’m sure I will not be offered a fair trial,” Henchman told AllHipHop.com in May of 2011.

Isaac explained to AllHipHop.com that he chose to admit to the robberies to clear his conscious and prove Henchman’s involvement.

The November 30, 1994 shooting jump-started a sordid dispute that resulted in the killings of both Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G., who were heavily part of the East Coast/West Coast hip-hop music feud.
Shakur died after sustaining gunshot wounds on September 7, 1996 and B.I.G was shot dead the following year on March 9, 1997.


*Well well...look what this whole situation has come to. This is sick, dirty, low down, and not funny. I don't know whether to fall a sleep or hit the delete button. However since we're here and we've read it, here's our two cents.

This isn't a coincidence that someone is admitting to shooting Shakur. I'm pretty sure the gov't have known about this for quite some time, but of course didn't see fit for to tell the people who are fans of Shakur. It seems that if there's bigger fish to fry, then cases like the so-called unsovled death of Shakur and B.I.G. don't stand a chance.  Now that, this guy has come out seeking his "FIFTEEN MINUTES OF FAME", everyone tom, dick and harry will be reporting on it. 

Such stupidity!

Tupac was and forever will be a rap icon.  He was loved by his fans and his family.  What the mainstream media doesn't get is that, he was smart and had a lot of talent.  Even if he had gang banging tendencies, it still doesn't mean he deserved to be shot  and killed. He was apart the human race just like everyone else.

All in all, maybe this is a good thing for this case to resurface, given it's been a so-called unsolved case for many years. It just goes to show, that when there's bigger fish to fry everything else is dead to the gov't including Tupac.*


Diva's Nation
*Join The "Tupac Shakur" Conversation*

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

BEYONCE'S RUN THE WORLD (GIRLS)!

(http://www.bewareofmybitchitude.blogspot.com/) Beyonce is a genius when it comes to pumping up a crowd full of bitches! She knows her stuff and knows how to get it.












Her new song say's "power", and that women can do anything. It truly takes you on a journey of girls/women and says they can stand up for themselves and what they believe in. She is a walking "feminism" poster and it's fabulous!

We here at bitchitude believe that bitches from all walks of life can do and have what they want, no matter what the circumstances or what side of the tracks your from. It comes down to "how much do you want it in your life?"

Think about it?

As we have seen throughout time, women have stood the test of time and came back from death to create a nation full of people who has inspired many. It's something we bitches here are very proud of and will be forever.

All in all, when I hear Beyonce's song "We Run The World (Girls), it makes me happy and excited that women are still strong and doing the damn thing!


*This posting is dedicated to all of my bitches out there doing it up. Whether your doing it big or small; you have something in you to do anything that you set your "bitchitude" to do.* Take it away!*


By: Diva And Her Bitchitude
 
 
Diva's Nation
*Join The "Run The World Girls" Conversation*

LeBron’s failure warms Cleveland’s heart

CLEVELAND – From the old wooden bar at Flannery’s Pub you can look out the big front window, across Prospect Street and the East 4th parking lot, and see Quicken Loans Arena, former home office of LeBron Raymone James.



Late Sunday night, a crowd of Clevelanders gathered here to watch their onetime hero turned all-time traitor, and with each disinterested LeBron offensive possession, each failed LeBron chase down of Jason Terry notes, each embarrassing LeBron crunch-time turnover, the prevailing emotion was simple.

Laughter.

They weren’t hating LeBron here. They were laughing at him.
LeBron started it, of course, laughing at Cleveland nearly a year ago when he took himself to a Boys and Girls Club in Connecticut of all places to announce on national television that he was taking his talents to South Beach. That South Beach has about a million nightclubs and technically no basketball arena said it all.

So on Sunday, Cleveland laughed right back.

All over Flannery’s and places like it across Ohio, they cracked oft-told jokes. (“I asked LeBron for a dollar, he gave me 75 cents back. He doesn’t have a fourth quarter.”) They showed pictures on their cell phones mocking LeBron as a quitter. Bartenders rang bells and shouted things like, “Last call for LeBron.”

They mostly reveled in the beauty of a night right out of their wildest dreams, LeBron coming up small on the biggest of stages, standing around as lesser talents on the Dallas Mavericks blocked his shortcut to a NBA title, winnin the game 105-95, the series 4-2.

This was the girlfriend that dumped you getting dumped herself – only live in HD while an entire city toasted her comeuppance.

“He can’t blame the supporting cast,” Cavs fan Keith Clapacs said. “He can’t blame Mike Brown. There’s no excuses. Ball’s in your hand and you didn’t do it. It’s your elimination game, and Jaso Kidd notes, is diving on the floor for loose balls? You’re losing the hustle plays, committing turnovers?

“It’s the whole too-cool-to-care thing. He was too cool to care.”

From Miami, LeBron would later send his message to them, to the folks enjoying his failure.

At the end of the day, all the people that was rooting on me to fail – at the end of the day they have to wake up tomorrow and have the same life that they had before they woke up today,” James said. “They have the same personal problems they had today …

“They can get a few days or a few months or whatever the case may be on being happy about not only myself, but the Miami Heat not accomplishing their goal, but they have to get back to the real world at some point.”

A sentiment to which Ryan Smith, an insulation installer from Mentor, Ohio, with a Jameson on the rocks in front of him, offered this simple response:
“[Expletive] Lebron Notes."

And then there was this, LeBron James, the local kid from Akron, the one who claimed he understood your heartache, the one you defended for years, the one that was finally going to deliver sporting glory. He bails for some fair-weather sports town and an arena full of white-covered chairs with pretty people who can’t even be bothered to watch the game while it’s going on.

So, yeah, when LeBron James’ dream gets delayed, you bet you’re going to get regional schadenfreude like nothing we’ve ever seen.

Yet LeBron’s take, the same one that too often has been bandied about nationally, doesn’t begin to understand the emotions in Cleveland.

It’s too trite and small to view Cleveland as some bottomed-out, post-industrial postcard to the past. These aren’t all people trapped in awful times or terrible circumstances or living small lives in jealousy of LeBron’s big one.

There’s money here. There is success in Cleveland. There is contentment. As sure as there are poor in
Miami, as sure as the VIP area of the Mansion Nightclub isn’t the full reality of South Florida, neither is some boarded-up East Cleveland warehouse the story here.

There are doctors and lawyers and entrepreneurs and financial planners and artists and teachers and dreamers and, yes, insulation installers. (“In the column can you mention the company, Pure Seal Inc.?”)

There are happy families and neighborhoods and the American Dream in full view. There are plenty of people who don’t have any personal problems who are quite content to keep their talents in Cleveland, a place they love just the way it is.

“We get a bad rep,” said Pawel Wencel, who happily moved back from Washington, D.C., and watched the game at Flannery’s. “It’s not New York. It’s not L.A. And we don’t want it to be.”

Why New York or L.A. can never seem to get that is anyone’s guess.
The distaste for James didn’t come solely from the desperate and the depressed, and to suggest as much is to miss the entire point, to insult the entire region all over again.

The “bitter” storyline has been told so many times that fans here are as sick of it as they are LeBron. There’s been an overcorrection of late, a trend to say they are over LeBron, that they are better than to bother with him.

That’s not honest either, though. This mattered. No one should have to apologize for it.

It’s not just how LeBron left but how he operated when he was still here. He talked such a big game. He promised to end the title drought. He gave them all those endless playoff runs, all those spring nights of entertainment. He was good to them. Then he wasn’t, bailing before the proper Hollywood ending.

And for what? To stand around and watch J.J. Brea notes drive the lane?

Nothing angers fans like getting stood up by someone who had promised the moon. When college football coach Lane Kiffin bolted Tennessee for USC, there was a movement to name a local sewer treatment plant after him.

It’s human nature.

With LeBron, a championship felt inevitable.

That was the destination. What was also lost was the journey.

The Cavs drew people together, city and suburb, white and black, rich and poor. They also connected family and friends. They gave reason to send a text message to someone you had drifted away from. They provided a reason to share an experience with your parents or your children or both. They offered an excuse to catch a game with a high school buddy.

And it gave all those ex-Clevelanders who had to chase their professional and personal dreams elsewhere feel that pull to these old neighborhoods, those old sunsets over the lake, those old memories of days and people back home.

At its best, that’s what professional sports can do for a place. It makes a city come together in the shared pursuit of something simple and tangible, even if, in the end, it’s not all that important. It just feels that way in the moment.

And that’s what many here feel James stole when he left. In one swift Decision, it was gone.

Downtown was marked by desolate streets, empty parking garages and half-filled bars on Sunday. The place should’ve been popping. That game in Miami should’ve been that game right here at the Q. Those fans screaming in Florida should’ve been right here in Ohio.

LeBron left, and that’s what he took with him to South Beach. And maybe that’s too much of a burden to put on guy who simply chose to take a job in another town, but that’s what comes with all the millions, with all the commercials, with all the chutzpah of calling yourself “King.”

So watching his little plan blow up, watching him have to answer for the same failures he produced across the street, watching him find out that maybe it’s him, not them, yeah, that’s a good night here.

It just is.

LeBron James had the right to leave. And Cleveland has the right to laugh.


*WoW! People are so serious about sports it's not funny. It's almost psychotic. The interesting thing is that, the fans of Cleveland hate Lebron for leaving because it pretty much pissed on their dreams. The other interesting thing is; that Lebron could give a flying sack you-know what!

I think what it boils down to, is that, the people of Cleveland need to build a bridge and get over it. He's gone and what's done is done. He will continue to still be an amazing athlete on the court whether you love him or hate him.

Also, the fans will still love him.

So whether or not the Miami Heat won isn't the issue. Teams in every sport will lose whether they want to or not. It sure as hell doesn't mean you have to continue to hound someone over the loss.

I'm not a serious basketball junkie, but I know enough about team work and what good sportsmanship truly is.

The fans and the media is driving this tirade of Lebron being public enemy #1. This to me is getting so redundant and out of hand! Who the hell cares if they loss. As they say there is always next season...right?

"Seriously Cleveland; get over it!"

At the end of the day, Lebron will keep it moving, no matter what Cleveland thinks of him.*



Diva's Nation
*Join The "Lebron James" Conversation*

Monday, June 13, 2011

Racial hoax causes PR headache for McDonald’s

An online hoax that falsely suggests McDonald's discriminates against African-American customers is causing a PR headache for the Golden Arches.

Over the weekend, the photograph above circulated widely on the internet. The image shows what looks like an official McDonald's notice in the window of a restaurant, telling customers that blacks will be charged $1.50 extra "as an insurance measure due in part to a recent string of robberies."



Many internet users retweeted the photo, using the words "Seriously McDonald's," to express their disapproval of the burger chain.

In response, McDonald's sent a tweet of its own on Saturday: "That pic is a senseless & ignorant hoax McD's values ALL our customers. Diversity runs deep in our culture on both sides of the counter."

But that clearly wasn't enough to clear things up, because Twitter users continued to send out the picture, with that same message of condemnation: "Seriously McDonald's." Indeed, so many people sent "Seriously

McDonald's" Tweets that the phrase became a leading entry on Twitter's trend list.

That led to a second, blunter McTweet, on Sunday: "That Seriously McDonalds picture is a hoax."

The latest pushback effort seems to have helped keep the photo from spreading too much further--but there's no telling how many people out there still think the photo is for real.

This is hardly the only recent barrage of negative publicity for the burger behemoth--some of it more justified.

McDonalds CEO Jim Skinner recently was forced to defend the company's renewed use of the Ronald McDonald mascot to appeal to children, after critics said the restaurant's fat-laden burgers and fries endanger kids' health.

It's not clear who created the hoax image. It appears to have first showed up on the popular 4chan message board, and it was posted last year on an anti-McDonald's blog.

But there's no doubt it's fake. As some Twitter users have pointed out, the toll-free number given at the bottom of the sign is actually the number for ... Kentucky Fried Chicken.


*If this wasn't racist, it would almost be funny. Whoever did this is a racist and low down. We all know that McDonald's has diverse actions (although sometimes they be frontin), and have one of the most diverse corporations world wide.

 This is purely "McHater" mentality!

If people would find productive things to do on the web then to stir up hate, then the world would be a better place. Hating on McDonalds isn't going to solve anything and surely putting images up about a race of people won't solve anything either. It will only cause more controversy and hate. 

Twitter lingo-"McTweet" and "Seriously McDonalds" are all in fun or not!


Diva's Nation
*Join The Conversation*

Blogger admits 'Gay Girl in Damascus' hoax

(AFP) – Rights campaigners reacted furiously after a US student based in Scotland unmasked himself as the author of the "Gay Girl in Damascus" blogs, which charted the security crackdown in Syria.

Tom MacMaster, a 40-year-old Edinburgh University masters student, admitted Sunday that he was "Amina Abdullah", who had described "herself" as a Syrian political blogger.

The Abdullah character rose to fame with her reports on the pro-reform movement, posting as "an out Syrian lesbian's thoughts on life, the universe and so on".

Then last Tuesday someone claiming to be her cousin wrote on the website that Abdullah had been snatched off the street by three armed men and bundled into a car bearing a pro-government window sticker.

The report sparked a wave of alarm among her online followers. Supporters even set up a "Free Amina Abdullah" group on the social networking site Facebook, attracting nearly 15,000 followers.

MacMaster finally came clean in a posting on his blog Sunday, after doubts began to emerge as to whether Abdullah really was for real. He admitted that he was the sole author of the posts.

"I never expected this level of attention," MacMaster wrote in an "Apology to readers" posted on the blog.

"While the narrative voice may have been fictional, the facts on this blog are true and not misleading as to the situation on the ground.

"I do not believe that I have harmed anyone -- I feel that I have created an important voice for issues that I feel strongly about," MacMaster added.

"I only hope that people pay as much attention to the people of the Middle East and their struggles in this year of revolutions."

The Guardian newspaper said that in recent days, bloggers had uncovered evidence that pointed towards MacMaster and his wife Britta Froelicher.

MacMaster is a Middle East activist, while his wife is studying at Scotland's St Andrews University for a doctorate in Syrian economic development.
In his apology, MacMaster said he had been touched by the reaction of readers.

But the revelation of the hoax has sparked fury among some former followers of the blog, particularly those who had been campaigning for Abdullah's release.

"This just makes me so angry," said one comment on the Facebook group set up to press for her release.

"The situation in Syria is too dire for this sort of gameplaying!"

"Time and effort was taken away from other vitally important news stories happening in Syria," another contributor protested.

*This is a hot ass mess!! For someone to play games like this; is utterly haneous and ridiculous! People have to understand that "real issues" are as real as they come to real people. Playing games not only says "f*$k" your issues, but says "I have am not human and have no compassion for anyone!." This guy obviously isn't to smart if this is what he spends his time doing. It seems school isn't working for him.

Tom MacMaster who is to old (40 yrs old) to be playing games needs to take his stupidity and enroll in; "I will shoot myself now" school.

Games are for kids and not for some pernicious 40 year old man to play!*


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