truesee's Blog

Tue, Feb. 8, 2011

Woman dead after buttocks-enhancement procedure

STEPHANIE FARR
Philadelphia Daily News

A British woman who came to Philadelphia to enhance her buttocks met an untimely end when the illegal injections she received at an airport hotel room this week caused complications that led to her death Tuesday, according to police.

Now, local and federal authorities are looking for the two young women who administered the injections at a room in the Hampton Inn on Bartram Avenue. Authorities don't yet know who they are, let alone if they were licensed, said Southwest Detectives Lt. John Walker.

Felmont Eaves III, president of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, said it's highly unlikely that they were.

"No physician that cared about being safe and providing care would do a procedure in a hotel room," he said. "That is just a huge red flag."

The victim, identified by a source as Claudia Adusei, traveled to America Saturday with three friends from England, all of whom are in their early 20s, Walker said.

Adusei and one of her friends received injections. The surviving woman, who has been medically cleared, received hip and buttocks injections, while the victim received only injections to her buttocks, according to police.

It's unclear when the injections were administered, but around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday medics responded to the hotel when the victim experienced chest pains and trouble breathing, Walker said.

She was taken to Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital, in Darby, where she was pronounced dead. As of last night, the Delaware County Medical Examiner's Office had not released an official cause of death.

It also will be up to the Medical Examiner's Office to determine what Adusei was injected with, police said. That will most likely be determined by toxicology reports, which can take anywhere from six to eight weeks.

Buttock-enhancement procedures typically involve silicone injections, but Eaves, who is based in Charlotte, N.C, said that he's heard horror stories in which unlicensed people who administered buttocks-enhancement injections have used substances like caulk. He said that the most likely cause of death could be if the injected substance got in to the blood stream and traveled to the heart or lungs.

Walker said that it's unknown how big of an industry underground body enhancements is in Philadelphia.

"It's the first one we've had, we're looking into it with other agencies  . . . to determine how big this problem actually is," he said.

A message board on an online forum is full of people seeking to get enhancements in Philadelphia, or who claim to have already done so.

"I'm so happy I finally got mine done Friday in philly," wrote Beautiful 2010 in a forum on Sept. 29. "I'm so happy with my results going back for more soon can't wait."

While the British tourist's death here may be the first authorities can recall, deaths have occurred across the world from bad buttocks enhancements. The most notable was a former Miss Argentina, Solange Magnano, who died from complications of a procedure in Buenos Aires in 2009.

In January, a Bronx woman, who was not licensed, was charged with illegally injecting liquid silicone in women's breasts and buttocks in her home.

"It's just sad people get preyed upon," Eaves said. "Because done in the right way, the risk is incredibly small."

He said that there is no way of knowing just how many of these illegal and highly dangerous procedures go on in this country.

"Sadly enough, we only hear about this when a tragedy like this happens," he said.

LINK TO PHOTO AND UPDATED STORY:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1355080/British-woman-20-dies-flying-America-illegal-buttock-enhancement-surgery.htm

EDITORIAL: Obama proves Osama was right

When the chips are down, Barack abandons U.S. allies

The Washington Times 11:02 p.m., Monday, February 7, 2011

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, left, greets U.S. President Barack Obama upon his arrival at Qubba palace in Cairo, Egypt, Thursday, June 4, 2009. President Obama is due to address the Muslim world in a speech during his visit to Egypt. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

Osama bin Laden warned Arab regimes that the United States always abandons its friends when the going gets tough. President Obama is proving bin Laden was right. 

MSNBC's Chris Matthews admits he feels ?ashamed as an American? for the way Egypt?s President Hosni Mubarak is being treated. ?We?re not handling it the way Americans should handle matters like this,? he said Friday. ?I don?t feel right about it. And Barack Obama, as much I support him in many ways, there is a transactional quality to the guy that is chilling.? Mr. Matthews explained that in relationship politics, ?You treat your friends a certain way. You?re loyal to them. And when they?re wrong, you try to be with them, you try to stick with them.? 

On Saturday, former Vice President Dick Cheney reminded us that Mr. Mubarak is a reliable U.S. ally. His government received billions in U.S. aid over the last 30 years and consistently lived up to expectations. During the first Gulf War, Egypt helped us get boots on the ground in Saudi Arabia rapidly and contributed over 33,000 troops for the liberation of Kuwait. That was more than twice the number sent by France, our fair-weather friend that Mr. Obama somehow views as America?s strongest ally. Cairo assisted during the second Iraq war in less visible ways but paid a price. In 2005, members of al Qaeda in Iraq kidnapped and killed Egypt?s former ambassador to Baghdad, Ihab al-Sharif. 

Mr. Mubarak?s government has been stalwart in the war on terrorism. In the 1990s, Egypt was one of the front-line states combating the rising wave of Islamic radicalism. The emergency laws the Obama administration is pressuring Egypt to lift are tools the regime used to clamp down on groups like the al Qaeda-affiliated Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Cairo works closely with Washington rounding up terrorist suspects, and the mere threat of being turned over to the Egyptians was sometimes enough to get terrorist detainees to talk. 

One of the most dependable, pro-American members of the Mubarak regime is recently appointed Vice President Omar Suleiman, who since 1993 has been director of the Egyptian General Intelligence Service. Mr. Suleiman has a long-standing relationship with the United States dating back to his training at the U.S. Special Warfare School at Fort Bragg and has worked closely with the CIA on critical issues such as the increasing radicalization of Hamas in Gaza and blunting Iranian influence operations in the region. He holds a dim view of Islamist parties ? particularly the Muslim Brotherhood ? and wants to keep his country on the path of Westernization and modernization. 

Mr. Suleiman is spearheading current talks with opposition groups in an attempt to forestall a complete political meltdown. The Obama administration has undermined his position through inept political signaling and obdurately insisting regime change in Egypt must happen as fast as possible. ?Now means now,? White House spokesman Robert Gibbs hectored last week. When special envoy and former ambassador to Egypt Frank Wisner suggested the United States should help Mr. Mubarak find a face-saving way out, the State Department quickly disowned his comments. If alacrity leads to destabilization and chaos, so be it. 

What if the hardline Muslim Brotherhood actually takes power? The State Department simply shrugs that the brotherhood is ?a fact of life in Egypt.? Unfortunately, no matter what government succeeds Mr. Mubarak?s administration, Egypt and the rest of America?s beleaguered allies will know one thing: They can?t trust Barack Obama.

http://www.kdvr.com/news/kdvr-pregnant-woman-giving-wrong-meds-20110204,0,5536174.story

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gabriel-a-feldman/the-legal-issues-behind-t_b_820579.html

Judge must take twice-daily blood alcohol tests to stay on the bench

4:41 p.m. EST, February 7, 2011

Dan Rodricks

Baltimore Sun       

Moses Lake woman runs over herself

Wednesday, January 26, 2011 9:35 am

Amy Phan
Herald staff writer

Columbia Basin Herald

MOSES LAKE - A Moses Lake woman was allegedly run over by the truck she was driving while attempting to elude police Monday.

An officer contacted Jona Zeigler, 40, Moses Lake, who reportedly has a felony warrant, according to Moses Lake police Capt. Dave Sands.

As the officer approached Zeigler to arrest her, while she was parked near West Broadway Avenue and South Locust Lane in Moses Lake, she reportedly drove away, according to Sands.

Zeigler allegedly drove through downtown Moses Lake, ending up on Lakeview Drive near South Barbara Avenue, where she got out of her truck to start running.

"She tried getting out of her car as it was rolling and tripped and was dragged underneath her vehicle," said Sands.

The truck stopped on a lawn by a chain link fence.

Zeigler was taken to Samaritan Hospital for reported injuries sustained from the incident.

A Moses Lake Fire Department ambulance transported Zeigler.

Police intend to arrest Zeigler for the felony warrant and felony eluding, once her health condition stabilizes, according to Sands.

Moses Lake police did not know the status of her health condition.

An elderly woman reportedly foiled a jewelry heist in the UK. Watch as this gang, armed with mopeds and sledgehammers try to break into a jewelry store, when a little old lady in a red jacket comes running up...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfbgbU27ugU&feature=player_embedded

Originally Published:Tuesday, February 8th 2011, 3:00 PM
Updated: Tuesday, February 8th 2011, 7:52 PM

Sciulli/GettyLindsay Lohan was accused of stealing a necklace from a Los Angeles jewelry store last week.

Lowly Lindsay Lohan will make a familiar cameo Wednesday  - in a Los Angeles court.

The "Mean Girls" actress will be hit with a felony charge for stealing a $2,500 gold necklace from a Venice jewelry shop, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office said Tuesday.

Lohan, 24, will be arraigned on a single count of felony grand theft, officials said. The spiraling starlet is not expected to be paraded in handcuffs in front of the cameras, TMZ.com reported.

Instead, she  will surrender  to the court and is expected to be freed on bail after her arraignment. If convicted, she could face up to three years in the slammer on the grand theft charge.

Surveillance video reportedly captured Lohan inside Kamofie & Company on Jan. 22, the day the necklace disappeared. A week later, she was snapped wearing the "one-of-a-kind" piece.

The boutique's owner reported the theft to cops, who gave evidence to prosecutors last week. Lohan insists she took the bauble on loan and intended to return it.

Her lawyer, Shawn Holley Chapman, has denied the allegations. The new charges represent the most serious Lohan, who is on probation for a 2007 drunken driving case, has ever faced.

She is also the subject of a criminal probe involving allegations that she assaulted a worker at the Betty Ford Center.

Lohan was arrested twice in 2007 on drunken driving and drug possession charges, but both were misdemeanors.

Pictured: Lindsay Lohan wearing the $2,000 necklace she is accused of...

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2011/02/08/2011-02-08_lindsay_lohan_to_be_charged_with_felony_grand_theft_for_allegedly_stealing_2500_.html#ixzz1DQCoKvNv

Sarah Palin's Kind Of Hot, But Obama Will Make Me Money in 2011

Jan. 31 2011 - 7:54 am | Gene Marks

Image by AFP/Getty Images 

I'm really not a political guy.  I don't watch Glenn Beck or Sean Hannity.  I don't care that Keith Olbermann left his job.  I'm a registered Republican but I don't chew tobacco, own a pickup truck or carry a gun. 

I do, however, think that Sarah Palin is kind of hot.  But that has nothing to do with my politics.  I consider myself right of center, but not too far right.  I voted for George Bush twice.  And'gasp' I also voted for Obama.  I don't know if I'm going to vote for him again.  But I do know one thing:  as the owner of a technology company and a small business, President Obama will make me money in 2011.  As long as I know how to make money from him.

Yes, I know the President does some things that make small business owners like me worry.  A lot.  The size of the deficit is freaking me out.  The rhetoric about taxing the 'rich' is perplexing.  The cost of healthcare reform is a big concern.   His love of labor unions is disconcerting.  And inviting Barbara Streisand to a state dinner for the Chinese Premier?  My God man, don't you know she prefers take out?

Even so, there are plenty of ways for a business owner like me to make money this year, thanks to the President. 

For example, I'm going to follow the money.  The President, even before he became President, made it clear where he wants to invest the government's money.  Healthcare.  Energy.  Construction.  Education.  And he's a big believer in big government too.  These themes were reinforced not a week ago in his State of the Union speech.   Do I agree?  Who cares?  From Caesar to Churchill, smart business owners I know who want to do things quicker and better don't let politics get in the way of making money.  They follow the money, and keep their personal opinions separate from their business.

Which is why in 2011 I'm going to step up my marketing to these industries.  I'm going to buy a few lists.  I'm going to kick off some email campaigns.   I'm going to hire a few telemarketers to make a couple of calls.  And we're going to target those industries where the money is flowing.  My technology firm sells accounting, customer relationship and service management software.   Companies in education, energy, construction and healthcare need this stuff just like any other business.  So why not buy it from me?

I'm also going to market more to the government too.  I'll be spending more time on FedBizOpps, the site where all government contracts are listed.  I'm going to create a few customized searches to target potential branches of the government that may also need the technology that my company sells.  I'll save the searches and have new opportunities emailed to me every week.  At some point I may need to get Government Services Administration (GSA) certified, but I'll worry about that when the opportunity is right.  The point is that if the government, under Obama, is a growing business then I'm going to grow my technology firm right along with it.

In 2011 I'm going to take advantage of the Section 179 deduction, which was not only extended for a couple of years, but also significantly increased as part of the Jobs Bill that Obama signed last fall.   The Section 179 rule allows most small businesses to deduct up to $500,000 of qualified capital expenditures (like software, hardware and equipment) against their income.  It's meant to stimulate investment and that's exactly what I'm going to do.  I'll purchase some new software this year and upgrade some computers'all at a big discount after I figure in my tax savings. 

I like the Section 179 deduction because not only can it save me money, but it can make me money too.  Being a technology firm, I'll use this deduction as a carrot to persuade prospective clients to purchase the business software that we sell.  Many small businesses aren't fully versed on the particulars of this rule.  Once they understand that they too can realize a huge tax savings when they buy my products they're more apt to buy.   Because the President pushed to extend this rule for the next couple of years I'm expecting to make money on both the income and expense side.  So thank you President Obama.

Speaking of taxes, I'm grateful that the President finally caved and extended all of the Bush tax cuts through 2012.  This is another way he's helping me make money in 2011.  If these tax cuts were allowed to expire I would have had to not only pay more taxes on the money my company made but also on the interest, dividends and capital gains I earned on many of my company's investments.  If I were to get hit by a bus my family would have had to pay a boatload in estate taxes.  That worry has passed.   Our tax rates did not go up so I don't have to pay more taxes in 2011, which means I'll be putting more in my pocket.   And this also explains why, suddenly, my wife has been encouraging me to eat more fatty foods and exercise less. 

This year I may borrow a few dollars to fund some growth and generate more profits.  Thanks to the President, more capital has been provided to the Small Business Administration, banks and to the states so that they can loan more money to small companies like mine.  Many business owners have complained that banks haven't been lending this money over the past couple of years.  But considering the mistakes they made in the past I understand why today's banking executives are only offering credit to companies that pass tougher due diligence.  Which is fine by me.  The money's there, thanks to the President, but even I don't want it unless both my bank and I feel comfortable that I can pay it back.

Obama's doing other stuff to help business owners like me generate more profits in 2011.  I've never considered selling my products overseas but now I'm thinking about it.  He said he wants to double exports by 2015, so the U.S. Export-Import bank just launched new initiatives to help us accomplish this.  And new legislation passed last year allows tax free capital gains from investments in small businesses if held for more than five years. 

Obama will also help me make more money in 2011 because the 2012 election is only next year.   Since his shellacking in the last Congressional elections, the President has obviously shifted more towards the center.  And his approval ratings have gone up.  Which puts the heat on Sarah Palin to wear sexier outfits.  So everyone's a winner.

This also means that at least for the next year, I don't expect the President to be doing much of anything that will negatively impact my business.  He's no dummy.  He wants to get re-elected.  And he doesn't have a Democratic majority in Congress any more.  I don't have to worry about any big schemes, like stimulus bills and healthcare reform, at least for the next two years.  Instead I can watch him make nice to the business community, promising to decrease regulations and hug our lobbyists while I just focus on selling more product. 

So thanks President Obama.  Keep doing what you're doing, at least for this year.  And I'll make sure to profit.

A 51-year-old Baltimore man has been charged with leaving a fake "destructive device" outside a Baltimore County government building in Towson. The device � a toilet festooned with newspaper clippings, an electronic transmitter and a cell phone � triggered a bomb scare that closed surrounding streets. Duane G. Davis is also charged with making a false statement.

Nick Madigan

The Baltimore Sun

4:21 p.m. EST, February 8, 2011

Charges filed vs. man accused of leaving toilet outside Towson building

Duane G. Davis charged with leaving fake 'destructive device'

Mississippi Man, Earl Scriven, Jailed After Stealing a Can of Vienna Sausage

February 05, 2011 09:55 AM EST 

Do you lke vienna sausage?  Mr. Earl Sciven does, but he didn't buy his.  Things are bad with the economy, and people are going to unusual lengths to make ends meet, including stealing littel cans of sausage.   Shoplifting is up, petty theft is up and crooks are taking a risk for even a small amount of month.  How much does a can of sausage cost?  If you guess that it to costs$1.28 in one store in Mississippi you are right!

Earl L. Scriven, a 50-year-old Mississippi man, must have had a burning desire for a can of vienna sausage.  He was arrested on Wednesday after being spotted by an employee who says he saw Scriven grab the can of sausage and leave the store.

This $1.28 can of sausage may possibly land Scriven in prison. Mississippi State law declares that anything under $500 is a misdemeanor, unless it is the third offense.  And it is his third offense for shoplifting, which makes it a felony.  He may be having his next bologna and white bread sandwich in prison due to this felony.  It is possible he will have to pay a $5,000 fine or he may even have to do 5 years in prison, according to Mail Online.

Not a wise choice to steal that can of vienna sausage now was it Mr. Scriven? He is out on $2,500 bail and hopefully staying out of the grocery stores.

http://www.myfoxboston.com/dpp/news/local/woman-arrested-at-logan-for-allegedly-smuggling-cocaine-on-flight-20110206#

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/07/aol-huffington-post_n_819375.html

GALVESTON — The crushing news came last month as Maria Sanchez was being prepared for surgery to remove a banana-size tumor along her spine that had crept between her vertebrae.   Unable to use her right hand because of the growing tumor, Sanchez, 24, had been at the University of Texas Medical Branch's John Sealy Hospital for six days when, she said, a Spanish-speaking doctor told her she had to leave the hospital immediately because she was an illegal immigrant.   The doctor said she should have surgery in Mexico, according to Sanchez.  Sanchez's hospital records state that she was discharged because she was "an undocumented pt (patient) with no insurance."   Records show that Sanchez underwent at least one medical procedure and surgery was scheduled before she was dismissed without warning Jan. 12.  After being discharged, Sanchez called her husband, Luis Aguillon, a legal U.S. resident, who arrived at the hospital to find his wife and his mother sitting on her bed crying.  "They treated us like animals, like dogs or something," said Aguillon, 36, an unemployed welder.  Sanchez's abrupt expulsion raises ethical and legal questions about the treatment of low-income patients with life-threatening conditions.   A doctor who reviewed Sanchez's medical records for the Houston Chronicle said they showed that UTMB ejected a woman with a potentially fatal condition because she was unable to pay.

Losing use of limbs

"The longer the delay, the more loss of function she is likely to get," said Dr. Bill Nealon, a former UTMB general surgeon now at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn.   Medical records describe a nonmalignant but potentially life-threatening tumor.Aguillon said the growing, painful tumor is causing loss of his wife's ability to use her arms and walk.   UTMB doctors, Aguillon said, told him his wife would eventually be unable to walk and that the tumor would grow so large it would make it impossible for her to breathe without a tube piercing her chest.  "If we are going to be brutally honest, this is a practice that takes place at other hospitals," Nealon said.   "The real problem for UTMB is that it was documented, and they have a commitment for care to the indigent.  "Nealon said there is no legal basis for discontinuing treatment because of a patient's inability to pay.  No law either prohibits or requires hospitals to accept illegal immigrants as patients outside the emergency room, experts said.   In cases where a patient's immigration status is an issue, it's generally in the context of the patient's inability to pay, they said.  However, a hospital is ethically obligated to provide care after accepting a patient regardless of immigration status or ability to pay, said Laurence B. McCullough, Dalton Tomlin chair in medical ethics and health policy at Baylor College of Medicine.  "Every hospital knows this," McCullough said.   "This is not rocket science ethics."  A statement issued by UTMB said federal privacy laws prevented the hospital from commenting on a specific case.  "All patients are financially screened, although the timing at which the screening occurs may differ depending upon the patient's medical condition when admitted," the statement read.   "In cases of financial hardship, patients are referred to several potential sources of financial assistance."

Told to go to Mexico

Aguillon said his wife's ability to pay was never mentioned and he was handed an application for charity care on his way out after his wife was refused care.  Under a heading for follow-up appointments, Sanchez's discharge order states, "With PCP (primary care physician) in one week, NS (neurosurgery) as scheduled in Mexico.  "Aguillon said he was upset about being told to take his wife to Mexico, a country he left when he was 13.   "It's like saying to that black lady, because she is black, go to Africa," he said.  Exactly how UTMB decides who gets charity care is unclear, said Dr. Merle Lenihan, author of "Clearing the Fog," a 2009 report on hospital charity care policies in Galveston County.  State law requires hospitals to have a charity policy prominently posted in waiting rooms, but Lenihan says UTMB's policy is so vague that there is no way to know how decisions to deny charity care are being made.   She said it was especially troubling that the public has no way to know how a taxpayer-funded institution decides how it uses tax money designated for charity care.  "If you put it in the larger context, these are thousands of people who are either accepted or denied based on totally unknown criteria," Lenihan said.  UTMB spokesman Raul Reyes declined to respond to the criticism.

Accepted as patient

Medical records show that Sanchez was admitted to the emergency room at Clear Lake Regional Medical Center on Jan. 5.   The next day she was transferred to UTMB because Clear Lake doctors lacked the neurosurgical skills needed to treat her, the records state.  The records show that a Clear Lake doctor spoke by phone with a UTMB neurosurgeon who accepted Sanchez as a patient.  McCullough said that once a patient is accepted, a hospital has an ethical obligation to continue that care.   Legally, the hospital could determine that the patient was stabilized and no longer needed treatment, he said.  A doctor can terminate care by sending a patient a return-receipt letter and giving them reasonable time to find alternative care, according to Texas Medical Association guidelines.   Aguillon said he and his wife received no referral other than what was noted on the discharge document."I even asked the social worker, where I can go, because a social worker is supposed to help people," Aguillon recalled.   "She said nowhere.  "Aguillon eventually took his wife to at least five hospitals and three clinics.   Aguillon finally moved from Galveston to Houston so he could qualify for care at Ben Taub General Hospital, where she is being treated.

LINK TO PHOTO OF SANCHEZ:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7416070.html

Obama: Haters don’t know me

Darlene Superville

Chicago Suntimes

Feb 7, 2011 02:35AM

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama says he doesn’t take it personally when people say they hate him. 

And the thing he dislikes most about being president is the constant, intense scrutiny.  “The people who dislike you don’t know you.   The folks who hate you, they don’t know you,” Obama said Sunday in an interview broadcast during Fox’s pre-game coverage of the Super Bowl.   “What they hate is whatever funhouse mirror image of you that’s out there.   They don’t know you.”  Asked by Fox News Channel host Bill O’Reilly whether his critics annoyed him, Obama said:   “By the time you get here, you have to have had a pretty thick skin.   If you didn’t, then you probably wouldn’t have gotten here.”

The 14-minute, live interview sought Obama’s views on a range of timely matters, including the unrest in Egypt and the ultimate fate of the new health care law. 

O’Reilly also probed Obama on lighter topics, including which team would win the NFL championship game and the worst part of his job.  Obama lamented anew about “being in the bubble.”   He is followed practically everywhere by staff, Secret Service agents and the media.  “It’s very hard to escape,” said Obama, seated in the Blue Room of the White House.   “Every move you make — and over time, you know, what happens is, is that you feel like you’re not able to just have a spontaneous conversation with folks.   And that’s a loss.   That’s a big loss.”

Asked what surprised him after he took office, Obama said it’s that he has never been asked to solve an easy problem.  “I think that the thing you understand intellectually but that you don’t understand in your gut until you’re in the job is that every decision that comes to my desk is something that nobody else has been able to solve,”  he said.   “The easy stuff gets solved somewhere by somebody else.   By the time it gets to me, you don’t have easy answers.  ”Obama said he has to use his best judgment knowing that “you don’t have perfect information and you know that you’re not going to have a perfect solution.  ”As for the game, Obama declined to choose between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers.“  Here’s the thing, once my Bears lost, I don’t pick sides,” he said. AP