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The Truth About Benjamin Nicholas' 15 Minutes


Doug69
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At the top of Benjamin Nicholas' blog, it says "15 Minutes...by Benjamin Nicholas." But a more accurate title would be: "15 Minutes...by Benjamin Nicholas, Dave Barry, Andy Borowitz, and assorted other victims of his serial plagiarism."

 

Allow me to explain. And before you conclude that this is just a Benjamin-bashing thread, read through to the end because all assertions are factually based and backed up with links to the source materials.

 

A few days ago, I was reading the February issue of GQ magazine and the Talk Back column struck me as being strangely familiar. Had I read this issue already and forgotten about it? I was puzzled. The more I thought about it, the more it bugged me, but then I remembered. I went to my computer and opened Benjamin's blog, of which I am an avid and loyal reader. In his latest entry dated Feb. 27, 2007, that entire column from GQ was copied verbatim (with just a few subtle word changes in the opening) without any reference or credit to its source. Benjamin states, "I've come up with a nifty 8 point-plan" to help the Democrats, presented as if it were his own original writing, but it is completely ripped off from Gentleman's Quarterly. Here is the link to the online version: http://men.style.com/gq/talkback/openletter/archive/0702

 

This made me wonder how much of what Benjamin writes comes from other sources, so I started googling sentences from his most recent blog posts, and then further back through the archives. What I found was shocking. Entire portions of our beloved Benjamin Nicholas' blog, for the past 2 years, have been lifted directly, in their entirety, from other peoples' COPYRIGHTED material.

 

Now, I know a bit about copyright law and it is considered fair use to copy a portion of a text, provided you put it in quotes, properly cite the source/author, and use it for the purpose of critique or review. But Benjamin did none of this. Instead, he copied ENTIRE columns and essays, NEVER using quotation marks or putting the author's name, and passing it all off as his own work. That is plagiarism, and he has been perpetrating this fraud on a regular basis since 2005. If you take away the "Eye Candy" (which he gets from other websites) and the plagiarized writing, the only original content are the bits of escort gossip and theater/diva chat.

 

And in case you are thinking (or in case Benjamin is planning to claim) that maybe dear, sweet innocent Benji has just been so busy traveling the globe and pleasing his "guys" that he merely forgot to use quotation marks and include the author's name, keep this is mind: He often changes one or a few words to make it seem that he is in fact the writer of the piece. For instance, where someone will say, "As a journalist, I...," Benjamin changes it to "As a blogger, I..." Where someone will write "In last week's column," Benjamin changes it to "In last week's 15 Minutes." In the most bizarre example that you will see below, Benjamin actually took Dave Barry's 1981 account of helping his wife through childbirth and, while leaving the entire essay unaltered, he simply changed it from "my wife" to "a single-mother friend." When I first read that blog entry in July of last year, I thought how wonderful it was for Benjamin Nicholas, a busy world-traveling escort, to take the time to help this poor unfortunate unmarried girl go through the difficult process of childbirth, but now, to find out that it was all a lie, and that Benji stole the entire essay, I am appalled and disgusted.

 

Benjamin sometimes refers to readers emailing him with information, but now that, too, is highly suspect. On Feb. 9, 2007, he began the piece about the car harpoon with "I found out about the car harpoon from an Associated Press item, sent to me by many alert readers, concerning the police in the town of Oulu, Finland." I recall wondering why multiple readers of an escort blog would email Benjamin about something as obscure and unrelated as a Finnish car harpoon. But now, it makes sense, as you will see in the link below, because the "alert readers" were really readers of Dave Barry's syndicated newspaper column, not readers of Benjamin Nicholas' blog.

 

Benjamin steals mostly from satirist Andy Borowitz and Pulitzer Prize winner Dave Barry, but there are other victims of his theft. Amazingly, much of what he steals was written 10, 15 and in one case 25 years ago. One thing that I have always been in awe of is Benjamin's ability to reference things that exceed his stated age. I've wondered, "Is he really a 50 year old man pretending to be a young 20-something?" I was always impressed that someone that age (he continues to claim on his website, for 5 years running, that he is 21) could, for example, have memories of things like The Merv Griffin Show when it has been off the air for over 20 years, or of airplane travel in the 1980's. So much of what Benjamin writes seems like the firsthand experience of a middle-aged man, or just something that was written years ago. Now it all makes sense.

 

On Feb. 7, 2007, Benjamin wrote: "I've been a bit stumped lately. A form of bloggers-block, but i feel the end of it is near and churning out another edition is for certain in the next day or so. I apologize to my readers for the hold up: It's not as easy as it looks to craft something witty on a weekly basis. In fact, it's downright daunting at times." However, he seems to have figured out that the secret to churning it out is ripping it off.

 

Ironically, on May 18, 2004, Benjamin also wrote, "It's come to my attention that my journal writings are being cut & pasted onto other escort forums in a more unauthorized manner. It's not a huge issue really, but just keep in mind that this along with all of my websites are copyright protected. That includes all writing as well. Just a thought..." One wonders if Dave Barry, Andy Borowitz and the other writers Benjamin routinely steals from feel the same way about their copyrighted work. Maybe somebody should contact them and find out.

 

Below you will see just some of the blatant plagiarism that Benjamin has committed. I have cross referenced his blog posts with links to the actual sources so you can easily see the truth for yourself. And remember, this is not a complete listing - it's just as many references as I could bother to find. Once you become as familiar with the writings of Barry and Borowitz as I am now, you will easily be able to pick them out yourself.

 

Feb. 9, 2007: http://www.benjaminnicholas.com/journal/2007_02_09_archives.html

The first 17 paragraphs, from the opening line "Here's the problem" all the way to "The light is green" are all lifted word for word, and presented as if they were Benjamin's own words, from a copyrighted article entitled "Road warrior specials" by Dave Barry from the Miami Herald, Dec. 1, 1996: http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:zuTHTmZS3d8J:www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/columnists/

This is the one where he mentions the alert readers who wrote in about the car harpoon!

 

Immediately after that, in the same post, Benjamin goes on to talk about the Apple iPhone, but once again the whole thing is stolen, every word, from the first line "In what could prove to be the most embarrassing misstep in consumer electronics history" right down to "the Fish and Wildlife Service said that it would remove wolves from the endangered species list and add Republicans." It was all stolen from writer Andy Borowitz, published Jan. 28, 2007: http://www.borowitzreport.com/archive_rpt.asp?rec=6682&srch=

 

Jan. 22, 2007: http://www.benjaminnicholas.com/journal/2007_01_22_archives.html

First 9 paragraphs from the first line "A furious Osama bin Laden" through to "according to an article published today in Duh magazine" were all stolen again from Andy Borowitz, published Jan. 11, 2007: http://www.borowitzreport.com/archive_rpt.asp?rec=6671&srch=

 

Right after that, the very next section is plagiarized from Dave Barry again, starting with "Our first example of guys doing stuff comes from the University of Washington Daily" and going all the way through to "If the USDA ever has a shortage of inspectors, it should definitely consider recruiting members of Theta Delta Chi", all of it, every word is from Dave Barry's May 12, 1996 column "There is nothing like a male (guys)" published in the Miami Herald: http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:qVdxdYXoQY0J:www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/columnists/

 

Dec. 19, 2006: http://www.benjaminnicholas.com/journal/2006_12_19_archives.html

Benjamin's list of 21 "things out there that rate as 'much worse' than having to endure the Christmas Holiday", located just below his youtube video of himself, is stolen directly from Esquire magazine: http://www.esquire.com/junk-drawer/ESQ0107torture

 

Nov. 7, 2006: http://www.benjaminnicholas.com/journal/2006_11_07_archives.html

Take away the Eye Candy, and this day's post is almost completely plagiarized. The whole first part, 8 paragraphs about the GOP backing same-sex "massage", was stolen from Andy Borowitz, published the day before: http://www.borowitzreport.com/archive_rpt.asp?rec=6624&srch=

 

Oct. 31, 2006: http://www.benjaminnicholas.com/journal/2006_10_31_archives.html

Where it says "Daily Quiz!" Benjamin says "let me present the 15 Minutes Quiz to determine your current financial health" but it was stolen again from Dave Barry, and the book is called "Dave Barry's Money Secrets": http://www.alibris.com/search/detail.cfm?bid=8944377192&full=1

 

Oct. 23, 2006: http://www.benjaminnicholas.com/journal/2006_10_23_archives.html

Right off the bat, the whole first 6 paragraphs starting with "A new survey released today indicates that a majority of Americans are more afraid of being instant-messaged or emailed by a Republican" is plagiarized directly from Andy Borowitz again, published Oct. 8, 2006: http://www.borowitzreport.com/archive_rpt.asp?rec=6601&srch=

 

The very next section, about Paul McCartney's divorce, starting with "Former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney's divorce from Heather Mills is on the brink of a civil war" all the way to "Elsewhere, 32% of Americans approve of President Bush's handling of Iraq" was again stolen entirely from Andy Borowitz, Oct. 19, 2006: http://www.borowitzreport.com/archive_rpt.asp?rec=6609&srch=

 

THE VERY NEXT SECTION is also completely plagiarized, the whole part starting with "Most Americans are pitifully ignorant of geography" and going all the way down 15 paragraphs to "In closing, I wish to apologize to any readers of Czech descent" was all stolen once again from Dave Barry, Sept. 20, 2006: http://www.poly.rpi.edu/article_view.php3?view=4958&part=1 The bizarre part is that Benjamin changed Dave's sentence "That is why, in a recent column about nude TV weather forecasts in the Czech Republic, I made the following statement" to "That is why, in a recent edition of 15 Minutes about nude TV weather forecasts in the Czech Republic, I made the following statement." Did Benjamin really think nobody would notice that he hadn't written about such a topic before? I guess nobody's paying attention after all.

 

Sept. 9, 2006

http://www.benjaminnicholas.com/journal/2006_09_09_archives.html

The whole first half of this post, 14 paragraphs about planning travel, from the opening line "Planning is a very important part of travel. Just ask Amelia Earhart" right down to "we've also got Wayne Newton" was all lifted entirely from the website Cheap Hotels Booking, Jan. 1, 2006: http://cheapbookinghotels.com/2006/01/01/how-to-planning-travel/

 

August 11, 2006: http://www.benjaminnicholas.com/journal/2006_08_11_archives.html

The whole 17 paragraph section about air travel, starting with "You're probably not going to believe this, but there are still some people in this modern day and age who are afraid of air travel" all the way through to "Ladies and Gentleman, this is your captain speaking" was all stolen again from Dave Barry, from his 1991 book "Only Travel Guide You'll Ever Need,", p. 34. http://www.imb.org/newsletter/thETASK/march2003.htm (scroll down to "Comic Relief") Note that when Benjamin writes of people being edgy about flying these days because of scary newspaper headlines, such as "Engine falls off plane! Wing falls off plane!" he fails to mention 9/11 because this stolen column was written a full 10 years before 9/11 occurred!! He also makes reference to the Lockheed L-1011 airplane, which has been out of use commercially in the U.S. for years. He couldn't even take the effort to try to update this outdated stolen material.

 

July 25, 2006:http://www.benjaminnicholas.com/journal/2006_07_25_archives.html

This is the most outrageous one. This is where Benjamin relates how he helped his single female friend go through childbirth. The first 16 paragraphs, from the opening line all the way down to "I now have a greater respect for certain members of the flatworm family, who when reproducing, simply divide in two" were stolen once again from Dave Barry, from an article entitled "Natural Childbirth: My Least Favorite Spectator Sport", published over 25 years ago in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Aug. 2, 1981:

http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:gdyagr0WKewJ:www.ibiblio.org/pub/docs/humor/fionavar/info_cobol+In+the+old+days Benjamin merely added the opening 9 words: "Yeah, I know I'm just South-of-straight, but" and he also changed a couple lines to make it more believable, hence, the sentence "I recently had to watch my wife have a baby in Bryn Mawr" was changed by Benjamin to read "I recently was asked to watch a single-mother friend have hers." So, there was no single-mother friend who asked Benjamin to help her through childbirth, it was really Dave Barry's wife, the entire plagiarized episode was a lie, but presented to us as fact!

 

June 17, 2006 http://www.benjaminnicholas.com/journal/2006_06_17_archives.html

The whole section about religion, starting with "The problem with writing about religion is that you run the risk of offending sincerely religious people") is also lifted from Dave Barry.

http://thinkexist.com/quotation/the_problem_with_writing_about_religion_is_that/204031.html

 

June 1, 2006 http://www.benjaminnicholas.com/journal/2006_06_01_archives.html

The section about elegant dinner parties, all 8 paragraphs, are taken from the Dave Barry book, "Dave Barry Talks Back", p. 158. http://www.amazon.com/Dave-Barry-Talks-Back/dp/0517588684

 

April 8, 2006 http://www.benjaminnicholas.com/journal/2006_04_08_archives.html

Contains, word for word yet again, a humor essay about pop tarts by, you guessed it, Dave Barry, published 14 years ago in the Miami Herald on June 27, 1993. Starting with "The thing I like best about being a blogger, aside from being able to clip my toenails while working" (in the original, Mr. Barry wrote "The thing I like best about being a journalist, aside from being able to clip my toenails while working") and ending with "the missiles would either burn up or get knocked off course and detonate harmlessly in some place like New Jersey", it is all plagiarized. http://www.davebarry.com/natterings_files/poptarts.htm

 

March 28, 2006: http://www.benjaminnicholas.com/journal/2006_03_28_archives.html

Starting with "I'm in an airplane, strapped into my seat, no way to escape", the whole plane part is once again the work of Dave Barry, complete with his quote about "Blithers Disease" from his 1999 book "Only Travel Guide You'll Ever Need" http://www.amazon.com/Dave-Barrys-Travel-Guide-Youll/dp/0345431138

 

Nov. 15, 2005 http://www.benjaminnicholas.com/journal/2005_11_15_archives.html

The entire section about close-knit families, starting with the opening line "Back in the old days, close-knit, grown children and their parents continued to live together" is also stolen from Dave Barry: http://www.quotedb.com/quotes/774

 

Feb. 28, 2006 http://www.benjaminnicholas.com/journal/2006_02_28_archives.html

From the opening line "Mankind has always had a yen to travel the world" all the way down to "Rule of thumb" (this is the story about the travel agent) is also from Mr. Barry's book on travel. Benjamin changed the part where he phones his travel agent and instead of saying "You're on a business trip, Dave" he changed her line to "You're on a business trip Ben." The whole story makes no sense, because he claims to be alone on a business trip (where's the client?) in a strange city and unsure of where he'll be heading next. This is because the story was originally about Dave Barry's book tour, not Benjamin Nicholas' escorting work.

 

It goes on and on and on. Dec. 19, 2006: the section on travel, Dec. 5, 2006: the section on car buying, May 23, 2006: home decorating, Jan. 18, 2006: the Tax Code. Take a look for yourself and see how easily you will now recognize the work of Dave Barry. Dec. 14, 2005: the whole section about shopping for a computer... in this case Benjamin got sloppy because in the passage, he is shopping with his wife (Ben changed it to "friend") and the salesperson pulls Benjamin aside and advises he get the extended warranty because "You know how women can be with machines." !!

 

There you have it. Two years of a sham perpetrated against us, Benjamin Nicholas' faithful and trusting readers. He has now proven himself to be a fraud. I, for one, will be extremely reticent about ever believing anything he says again.

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I don't know what is more amazing...that Benjamin would plagiarize like that or that Doug69 would spend all of that time researching it! At least we know what he's been doing since he stopped posting here!

 

Welcome back, Doug...if you ever left!

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I'm reminded of one of the Algonquin Hotel wits (I forget which one)who wrote a review that said "Your work is both good and original. Unfortunately, the parts that are good aren't original, and the parts that are original aren't good." Ben may not be a good and original writer, but he shines as an compilation/editor person.

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this isn't exactly a "front-page of the New York Times" scandal now being exposed, but it is important for readers of this forum to hear about this, if true.....

 

BN markets himself well and he could very well be a smart, good guy...but based SOLELY on reading his blog (occasionally) and his posts here and around, he seems a little full of himself and appears to fancy himself an ultra-hip, ultra-savvy cosmopolitan guy...on the other hand, he has made very good observations and offered good ideas over the years.....

 

gee, this thread is going to be FUN!!!!!

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Personally I want to avoid the drama here bc this thread will definitely be that, but I love the comment, about this thread being "fun" because I completely agree. And to the idea that this isnt the New york time front page, if I am correct Benjamin's blog has quite the recognition, not just in the escort world. Not taking sides because I honestly dont know Benjamin, nor do I read his blog, but I think a few quotation marks are fairly easy to insert.

 

Brett Mathers

http://www.brettmathers.blogspot.com

http://www.rentboy.com/soccerjock6242

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Guest ncm2169

Doug, welcome back!! :-)

 

(Bet you thought you'd never hear that from me).

 

EXCELLENT homework here. HUGE KUDOS!! }(

 

There are enough fakes and frauds online. I know that BN's devoted clients (whether drunk - see Chuck50 - or sober) find him a demigod, eventually people will see through his bullshit. In the meantime, caveat emptor.

 

Seriously, Doug, thanks again!! :+

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Guest ncm2169

< Do you think he copies anyone when he fucks?

 

ROFLMFAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :+ :+ :+

 

Probably not, unless he uses a used condom. }(

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This is THE SCANDAL OF THE YEAR!

 

I'm certainly no fan of BN, but I've occassionally looked at his blog for fun, especially when it's referenced here. I also had my questions about what he referenced and his choice of words. It all makes sense now.

 

Aside from the legal issues surrounding this (if it gets to the original writers they are very much in a postion to sue) I am appalled at the blatant abuse of his readers. This situation brings up very serious credibility issues about BN, and I don't think I have to mention them specifically here.

 

What a shame that someone so popular has shown himself to be a hoax. I hope all the giggles he got deceiving people with his fake blog was worth the backlash he's about to get for it now.

 

I CAN'T WAIT to hear what Rick Munroe has to say about this!!

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Until recently, there seemed to be tacit policy among posters to ignore BN. But they've started taking the bait once again.... OTOH, it's amazing how MER has truly become the mirror image of this site, batshit discussions & all.

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I seem to recall BN bragging not long ago about the corporate support his blog was receiving. He may not only be in trouble with those he has plagiarized from, but his sponsors may have a case as well. I would not be surprised to see BN go underground for a while until his liabilities are clarified.

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Doug this is incredible and disturbing research, but my hat is off to you.

 

During last week's unfortunate circus of events after the untimely passing of Lynden Thomas, I made a accusation that a certain blogger hadn't checked his sources before going to print, resulting in a firestorm that could have been prevented had he exercised basic journalistic procedure. I commented that even Dan Rather had lost his job because he, too, failed his responsibility of veracity in the quest to be out there first with the real story.

 

Doug has done some homework. The blogger has been exposed. Again, Doug, good work.

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The Benjamin Nich0las in question should come forward as inquiring minds want to know the truth. Er NO JOAN OF ARC halo being applied to Benjy.

 

Congratulations to Doug for providing food for thought as to thinking mind of one Mr Benjamin Nicholas.

pete555

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BN occasionally jokes about himself and others using "air quotes".....

 

gee, I guess those quotes around all those blog passages just disappeared into thin......air??

 

BEN: if you read this post, take the high, mature, professional road and make a sincere apology everywhere you post and on your blog....then move decisively on....

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Guest EuropTravl

"Forgive my skepticism, but I'm not a huge fan of apologies that come only after an evident threat to one's livelihood; I have difficulty believing that they spring spontaneously from a troubled soul."

 

I thought I'd read that before (talking about the "Grey's Anatomy" guy who made the "faggot" slur). It's the lead in the latest column on 15 Minutes, but also was an editorial in EW. Even Perez Hilton at least reposted it, but gave credit where credit was due.

 

Is there a new "BN Game" - cut and paste into Google and see what happens?

(try it with the quote I used here)

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Guest EuropTravl

"BEN: if you read this post, take the high, mature, professional road and make a sincere apology everywhere you post and on your blog"

 

See the above quote I "borrowed" about "apologies" and "one's livelihood" :p

 

Woops! to be fair, at the end of numerous paragraphs copied directly, BN does actually say

Entertainment Weekly's Mark Harris has that view. Just a strange way to go about using someone else's work, not to have it in quotes from the start.

 

(You can tell I usually "skim" his blog and often just want to shout "Enough with the black and white!!!" As he ages, I think we'll never see another color portfolio of BN, just black and whites and soon they'll be enough vasoline on the lens that he'll just be this ghostly blur.....we all age out of twinkdom, Ben

}( )

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Outstanding Dougie, absolutely outstanding.

 

Guess who said this in a recent thread? "Lying about something so life-changing is a selfish and cowardly thing to do. It's sure as shit not a 'understandable mistake.' "

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First of all, my compliments to Doug69 on his outstanding research. Well presented and well documented.

 

As on of Ben's "guys", I have enjoyed his company on the few times I have been with him and I read his blog rather regularly. The information exposed by Doug69 is very disturbing on many levels and it has really made me reconsider the type of person I thought Ben was (or at least presented himself to be). I find it hard to imagine anything that Ben could say that would make me feel better about this situation. The omission of quotation marks and appropriate reference to the original author might be forgiven on one or two instances but not on the vast amount indicated (plus whatever others that have not been stated by Doug69). An apology at this point (after being exposed here), while certainly appropriate under the circumstances, would seem less than genuine. It raises questions about the true integrity of what the individual would say and write in the future. Integrity may or may not seem like a rather odd word to raise considering the profession of being an escort, but Ben has certainly tried to create an identity that includes values/virtures such as this.

 

Beyond the possible legal issues of copywrite infringement, I am saddened at the prospect that a person who I once believed to be a genuine person has let me down. I am also saddened as my belief that I was a good judge of character may have been self delusional.

 

I do hope that Ben will show some good judgement and address this thread in a way that helps create closure (if people will allow that, perhaps wishful thinking on my part). Let us always be willing to hear his side and give him an opportunity to express himself (although it is sure that what he says now will be viewed in a different light by most, including myself).

 

I believe it may be time for him to hang up the blog and I would suggest to him that he needs to take some personal time to reconsider many aspects of who he is and where he is going in life.

 

Wayno

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I digress, but does anyone know what happened to the "Eye Candy" galleries BN used to maintain? It seems he has removed them. There are several galleries accessible through "15 Minutes" all of which feature pics of himself, but the "Eye Candy" galleries- which had lots of hot pics- apparently have been taken down.

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Guest arbee

(I'm a frequent reader but an infrequent poster,so... )

 

I'm not sure why people have their panties in a twist about this stuff; hell, it's not like it's a Ph.D.thesis posted... just a dull (IMO), self-congratulatory stream of, of... what? Prattle?

 

It's certainly not the first time BN has shown a lack of character, at least as I recall. Didn't he 'out' some people previously or something like that?

 

I guess for me, the interesting thing will be how or even whether BN attempts damage control. (Might be fun.)

 

(On an off topic, does anyone else get annoyed with how some posters deconstruct, on a sentence-by-sentence basis other's posts? Summaries are nice...)

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First off, MAJOR congratulations to Doug on his first rate research and for uncovering, what many have known for some time, that Benjamin Nicholas is a fraud, cheat and a thief.

 

This is one of those stories that are just so offensive and so repulsive that it’s hard to know just where to begin. Perhaps we should wait for Rockhard to chime in, after all, he’s been publicly rimming Ben’s ass crack non-stop for almost a year now, not to mention drooling over every word Ben has ever posted here and over at the scene of the crime.

 

[p]This is the kind of story that kept me up all night long [del]partying[/del] searching for answers and wondering how someone could be so fucked up as to defraud EVERYONE he was trying to reach.[p]

 

This is the kind of story that ruins and destroys trust and decency toward others, by decent, respectful people, simply wanting and trying to do the right things in life to make our world a better place for all of us living in it.

 

This is the kind of story that should make people angry. Victims of fraud and deception, as we all now are, can certainly move on, but the damage has already been done, and will always be there, if only in the back of our minds when we’re asked to trust and believe once again.

 

This is the kind of story that will ultimately generate more questions than answers when all is said and done. How many of Ben’s reviews are fraudulent as well? How many usernames and email addresses and isp’s has he created solely for the purpose of reviewing himself so that he can fly under the radar screen at processing time? And when it comes to greater matters of importance, such as safer sex practices, health status and his commitment to client privacy, how can anyone again, ever believe anything he states as fact.

 

This is the kind of story that will most likely spread to the other “gossip” columnists, both gay and straight (how fitting), the hard working career journalists who were stolen from, and, perhaps even a mention on page six.

 

This is the kind of story that ends up making EVERYONE look like suckers.

 

This is the kind of story that EVERYONE should have seen coming.

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