MY FINAL BLOG ENTRY

Dear Readers,

This is my final blog entry and I really appreciated everyone who supported my journey into the world of blogging. For those of you who got me and commented, I am glad that you did. For those of you who didn't get it and commented...oh well. It was all good!

I have become a partner in a new nightclub venture in Oakland California in the San Francisco Bay Area, and have expanded my business activities in Southern California...SO I AM BUSY!

I am also involved in many community activities that prevent me from finding the time to post.

I hope to see some of you at the new nightclub or at my annual event in Palm Springs California
BLATINO OASIS.

Until then...Don't take things so seriously and enjoy life to the fullest.

Joe Hawkins
http://www.clubrimshot.com/

Miss Cleo Vs. Milan

Ritchie Family - Give me a break 1980

Racism In Upscale Store - What Would You Do?

Blacks Against Obama

THE POLARIZING FACES OF BLACK AMERICA
Black Republicans Against Obama

Brooklyn Ready to Get "Deep" for Michael Jackson's Birthday

Brooklyn might not be able to get the MTA to honor Michael Jackson at a subway station, but Kings County can still throw down for the King of Pop.

As many as 10,000 people are expected at the Nethermead meadow in Prospect Park -- rain or shine -- on Saturday to honor MJ on what would have been his 51st birthday.

Even if the weather doesn't cooperate, the event promises to be a “Brooklyn style block party,” Spike Lee, the organizer of the event told The Root. “It’s going to just be how we do it, Brooklyn style, I’ll leave it at that. It’s going to be a joyous, festive, celebratory party.”

The initial crowd estimate of 2,000 swelled to more than 10,000, prompting police and organizers to settle upon Prospect Park instead of Fort Greene Park as initially planned, The New York Times reported Friday.

The Rev. Al Sharpton will say a prayer at the party; Borough President Marty Markowitz will present a proclamation declaring Aug. 29 Michael Jackson Day in Brooklyn, and Brooklyn's own DJ Spinna, famous for his Wonderful and Michael Jackson versus Prince parties, will play all things Michael.
Complete story at source>>>

Celebrity Disc Jockey 'DJ AM' Found Dead in New York Apartment

Celebrity disc jockey Adam Goldstein, known as DJ AM, was found dead Friday evening in his New York City apartment, and media reports say drug paraphernalia was found nearby.

Goldstein, 36, was a DJ for hire who performed at Hollywood's most exclusive parties. He became a celebrity in his own right with a glamorous lifestyle and high-profile romances, including with Nicole Richie and Mandy Moore.

Paramedics had to break down the door to his Manhattan apartment before they found his body at about 5:20 p.m., a law enforcement official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. There was no evidence of foul play, the official said.

Goldstein had talked openly about past addictions to crack cocaine, Ecstasy and other drugs, but he claimed he had been drug-free for years.

He died nearly a year after surviving a South Carolina plane crash that killed four people and seriously injured rock musician Travis Barker.


"This comes as a complete shock. I will miss him forever. He was a great friend to me," DJ AM's friend, actor Simon Rex, who was at his welcome home party after the tragic plane crash, told FOXNews.com.

Source>>>

Will New Mexican Law Make It A Haven For Drug Tourism?

MEXICO CITY — Mexico now has one of the world's most liberal laws for drug users after eliminating jail time for small amounts of marijuana, cocaine and even heroin, LSD and methamphetamine.

"All right!" said a grinning Ivan Rojas, a rail-thin 20-year-old addict who endured police harassment during the decade he has spent sleeping in Mexico City's gritty streets and subway stations.

But stunned police on the U.S. side of the border say the law contradicts President Felipe Calderon's drug war, and some fear it could make Mexico a destination for drug-fueled spring breaks and tourism.

Tens of thousands of American college students flock to Cancun and Acapulco each year to party at beachside discos offering wet T-shirt contests and all-you-can-drink deals.

"Now they will go because they can get drugs," said San Diego Police Chief William Lansdowne. "For a country that has experienced thousands of deaths from warring drug cartels for many years, it defies logic why they would pass a law that will clearly encourage drug use."

Enacted last week, the Mexican law is part of a growing trend across Latin America to treat drug use as a public health problem and make room in overcrowded prisons for violent traffickers rather than small-time users.

Brazil and Uruguay have already eliminated jail time for people carrying small amounts of drugs for personal use, although possession is still considered a crime in Brazil. Argentina's Supreme Court ruled out prison for pot possession on Tuesday and officials say they plan to propose a law keeping drug consumers out of the justice system.

Colombia has decriminalized marijuana and cocaine for personal use, but kept penalties for other drugs.

Officials in those countries say they are not legalizing drugs — just drawing a line between users, dealers and traffickers amid a fierce drug war. Mexico's law toughens penalties for selling drugs even as it relaxes the law against using them.

"Latin America is disappointed with the results of the current drug policies and is exploring alternatives," said Ricardo Soberon, director of the Drug Research and Human Rights Center in Lima, Peru.

As Mexico ratcheted up its fight against cartels, drug use jumped more than 50 percent between 2002 and 2008, according to the government, and today prisons are filled with addicts, many under the age of 25.

Complete story at source>>>

Texting While Driving PSA Causes Internet Stir

Woman Beat At 50's Mansion For Refusing Oral Sex

A man employed by 50 Cent’s G-Unit Records is accused of attacking a woman last Sunday (August 16), after she refused his requests for oral sex.

News broke last week that Dwayne McKenzie, 28, and Michelle Krzykowski, 21, were accused of assaulting a woman on 50 Cent’s sprawling mansion in Farmington, Connecticut.

The incident began after McKenzie made the request, which resulted in an argument between McKenzie and one of the woman’s friends.

When the two women and their friends attempted to leave, Krzykowski attacked one of the women, striking her in the head with a hard object, as McKenzie held the woman down.

The unknown woman, who had danced in music videos in the past, managed to pepper spray McKenzie, Krzykowski, flee the scene and call 911.

According to the Hartford Courtant, the woman’s head wound was serious, requiring a total of 9 staples to close the gash.

Krzykowski has told police that she was intoxicated during the assault and only remembers that the women had called her a “cracker.”
Source>>>

Ted Kennedy dead at 77

WASHINGTON -- In the quiet of a Capitol elevator, one of Edward M. Kennedy's fellow lawmakers asked whether he had plans for a family Thanksgiving away from the nation's capital. No, the Massachusetts senator said with a shake of his head, and mentioned something about visiting his brothers' gravesites at Arlington National Cemetery.

In his half-century in the public glare, Kennedy was, above all, heir to a legacy - as well as a hero to liberals, a foil to conservatives, a legislator with few peers.

Alone of the Kennedy men of his generation, he lived to comb gray hair, as the Irish poet had it. It was a blessing and a curse, as he surely knew, and assured that his defeats and human foibles as well as many triumphs played out in public at greater length than his brothers ever experienced.

He was the only Kennedy brother to run for the White House and lose. His brother John was president when he was assassinated in 1963 a few days before Thanksgiving; Robert fell to a gunman in mid-campaign five years later. An older brother, Joseph Jr., was killed piloting a plane in World War II.

Runner-up in a two-man race for the Democratic nomination in 1980, this Kennedy closed out his failed candidacy with a speech that brought tears to the eyes of many in a packed Madison Square Garden.
Complete story at source>>>