Joe Jackson granted access to Michael Jackson's medical records

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff ruled that Joe Jackson can receive his son, Michael Jackson’s, medical records from the UCLA Medical Center. Joe Jackson's attorney, Brian Oxman, sought the records as part of an effort to obtain a $15,000 montly stipend for Joe from Michael's estate; Michael provided for his three children and his mother, but excluded his his father from his will. The judge will review the records first before releasing them to Oxman. Beckloff also ruled Jackson can only review records generated on or after the date of Michael's death so as to not violate doctor-patient confidentiality. Anyone granted review of the medical records will be required to sign a confidentiality agreement. Jackson and Oxman stated they are also considering filing a wrongful death lawsuit in Michael's death.

Nas is $200,000 behind in child support

Nas is allegedly over $200,000 behind in his child support payments to Kelis for their infant son together; Nas has a court order to pay $51,000 a month in support.  He faces criminal contempt charges if he doesn't pay up.  I bet that milkshake is tasting pretty sour right about now.

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Diddy's got it like that

Supposedly Diddy gave his son Justin Dior Combs (he needs his ass whooped for naming him Dior) a $350,000 Maybach for his sixteenth birthday along with a $10,000 check to deposit in a bank account.  What did you get for your sweet sixteenth?  I just had a party.  I think I would have been more impressed if he had given him a $10,000 car and $350,000 to deposit in the bank, but I guess I have my priorities screwed up.  That must be it.

Wyclef Jean defends himself against accusations of grift for YELE

Wyclef Jean defended himself against allegations he misappropriated funds from his charity, Yele Haiti.  Critics have alleged Wyclef used hundreds of thousands of dollars from the charity to pay for studio recording time, trips, hotels, and even a $100,000 appearance fee for himself to appear at a concert.  Wyclef defended the foundation and his commitment to Haiti relief efforts.
"Let me be clear: I denounce any allegation that I have ever profited personally through my work with Yele Haiti," Jean said in a statement released Saturday. "These baseless attacks are simply not true."

Wyclef has been hard at work on the ground in Haiti assisting with rescues, medical attention, and recovery efforts.

Tiger is costing you money

Superstar golfer Tiger Woods' sex scandal involving upwards of 17 alleged mistresses may have cost shareholders of the companies he endorsed as much as $12 billion in losses.  Research by economics professors Christopher Knittel and Victor Stango of  the University of California, Davis, released a study Monday estimating the economic losses of Woods' main sponsors since revelations of his extramarital affairs surfaced around Thanksgiving.

“We estimate that shareholders of Tiger Woods’ sponsors lost $5-12 billion after his car accident, relative to shareholders of firms that Mr. Woods does not endorse,” the researchers wrote, adding that millions of shareholders were affected. Tiger Woods is estimated to earn around $100 million a year through endorsements alone.  Many of his sponsors have pulled their endorsement deals in the wake of the scandal.

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It's all going up in smoke, so Tiger may as well take advantage

As Tiger Woods' personal and professional life goes up in smoke, an Orlando, Florida-based cigar company has offered him an endorsement deal for their tobacco products.  Here is an open letter from their company:

While Corona Cigar Company does not condone Tiger Woods’ extra-marital affairs, there is no denying that Tiger Woods is one of the greatest golfers of all time. (And let’s not forget all the good that Tiger has done with his generous charitable contributions.)
We respect the Woods family’s privacy and wish the best for them as they go through this difficult time. With support from the community including local businesses such as Corona Cigar, we hope the healing process may begin.
With that said, we believe that Tiger Woods will soon return to the golf course. Nothing pairs quite as well as enjoying a premium cigar on a golf course. Many of our customers are golf enthusiasts and many golfers are cigar enthusiasts.
We hope Tiger Woods accepts our offer to be the official spokesperson for Corona Cigar Company.

The company has offered Woods a $100,000 endorsement deal.  Too bad they don't realize that won't even cover his monthly data plan bill for texting all those women...

Michael Jordan sues two grocery stores

Sports legend Michael Jordan has initiated a $10 million lawsuit against two Chicago area grocery stores for using his identity without permission. The two stores, Dominick's Finer Foods and Jewel Food Stores, published ads in a commemorative Sports Illustrated issue, "Jordan: A Hall of Fame Career" that associated his name with congratulatory messages from the stores. Jordan's shoes were used in one ad while his name was listed above a steak in another ad. Apparently he was really burned up about the steak ad given he is an investor in a chain of steakhouses. He seeks $5 million in damages from each store.

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Michael Jackson has sold over 20 million albums

Barely one month after its release, Michael Jackson's posthumous album "This Is It" is currently the 6th best-selling album for 2009. He currently has 8 albums in the TOP 25 best selling albums of the year. Only with those 8 albums MJ sold 17,560,000 albums. The total is near 20,000,000 now making Michael Jackson best selling artist/group of 2009

Michael's Top Selling Albums In 2009:

003) Michael Jackson Thriller (25th Anniversary Reissue) *since july 2009 counted together at "Thriller" 3.342

007) Michael Jackson Number Ones (since 2009) 3.150.000

011) Michael Jackson The Essential (since 2009) 2.583.5

015) Michael Jackson King Of Pop 1.957.5

017) Michael Jackson Bad (since 2009) 1.769.00

018) Michael Jackson This Is It 1.745.00

024) Michael Jackson Dangerous (since 2009) 1.515.50

025) Michael Jackson Off The Wall (since 2009) 1.497.50

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Chris Henry passed away

The Cincinnatti Bengals' player Chris Henry died last week following major trauma sustained in a fall from a flatbed truck. The truck was being driven by his fiancee Loleini Tonga during a domestic argument between the two that had begun in a home and continued outside.

According to TMZ, Henry had turned over control of his personal finances to the Bengals due to his notorious difficulties managing his own money. He has previously had a car repossessed and last year his own attorney declared him "broke".

Google fined 10,000 Euros a day

A Paris court ruled Friday that Google Inc.'s expansion into digital books breaks France's copyright laws, and a judge slapped the Internet search leader with a euro10,000-a-day fine (USD14,300) until it stops showing small snapshots of its library of books..

Great Britain is doing away with checks

After a 300 year run, the lowly check is set to be phased out in Great Britain. Due to high processing costs and the sagging economy, banks are encouraging consumers to turn towards paperless and electronic means of transferring funds to creditors.

If you absolutely just HAVE to floss

Image and flossage courtesy of Computer-choppers.com

If you absolutely just HAVE to floss this holiday season, consider buying this 24-karat gold-plated SONY Playstation 3 console. It comes complete with two controllers and a one year warranty for $4999 USD. If that doesn't do it for you, you can also purchase a gold and black Blackberry Tour 9630 for $899 or a platinum plated iMac. Here's to the flosser in you.

Tiger Woods must be hemorrhaging money

Tiger Woods must be hemorrhaging money now that many of his sponsors have pulled his prime time ads. Since June, Woods has appeared in 15 different product spots that aired regularly during prime time evening television, but they have all disappeared. His last spot was a November 29th commercial for Gillette razors. This is bad news for Woods who is easily the most recognized sports figure in this country and possibly in the world; according to Bloomberg polling 86% of U.S. consumers over the age of six years old recognized Tiger Woods. Maybe his wife can get an endorsement spot for Safelite Auto Glass.

Original master to Michael Jackson's "Thriller" to be auctioned

The original master test proof recording of Michael Jackson's hit song 'Thriller' will go under the hammer at a Bonhams Auction on December 20th. The recording is expected to fetch USD $4,000-6,000. The acetate disc features the title song from the Thriller album along with the instrumental version. The record was used by Grammy-winning master recording engineer Bruce Swedien to check the sound quality before Jackson released the single version of his hit song in January 1984. The record has only been played once. The album is being sold to benefit scholarships for students at California State University Summer Arts. Other items up for sale include a T-shirt Michael wore in the 'Beat It' video (estimate sale price USD $10,000-12,000) and a collectible item (estimate: USD $500-700).

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Is Ma$e a hipocrite?

One of Ma$e's former church members is airing him out for hipocrisy. Christian rapper Legacy the Jesus is upset with Pastor Mason Betha for very publicly getting saved and preaching God's word then going back to the street life--and asking church members to fund it. For me, I’m an investor dog,” he continued, airing out Mase’s alleged shady ways when it came to getting money from church members. “Because I’m sewn into your ministry, you pulling us in the back room asking us to help fund your music projects because he didn’t have his label situation yet. So he literally asking people from the church to support that so I’m an investor at this point … you understand. And if you taking my money to do something contrary to what you told me then we got a problem. We got to sit back at the roundtable and talk about what your motives are.”

Source: the YBF

Flava Flav owes back taxes

What time is it? Time to pay the tax man. Public Enemy member and reality TV star Flava Flav is said to owe more than $38,000 in back taxes to the IRS. If Flav is unable to come up with the money in a timely manner it is possible he may do jail time. 9-1-1 may be a joke in his town, but the IRS breathing down your back is no joking matter. Ask Wesley Snipes and Ron Isley.

The King of Pop's funeral cost $1,000,000

Michael Jackson's family wanted to give him a proper send off so they paid upwards of US$1 million for the private family funeral before his interment at Forest Lawn-Glendale Cemetery.

Costs included $855,730 for cemetery and funeral charges including the purchase of other plots within the same mausoleum where Jackson now rests; $35,000 for burial garments; $2,000 for usher uniforms; $1,975 for clothing for the family; $3,682 for framing of a photograph of Michael to display next to the casket; $959 for embroidery; $11,716 for invitations and programs; $16,000 for flowers; $30,000 for cars and security; and $15,000 for a funeral designer. There was also a charge of $21,455 for the "funeral repast" at a local Italian restaurant after the interment. The estate also paid $5,000 a month to store Michael's body in the months leading up to the funeral. Janet, Randy, and Katherine (and interestingly, NOT LaToya or Jermaine) were involved in the funeral arrangements and Janet paid a $49,000 to Forest Lawn-Glendale.

"Mrs. Jackson and her family wish to honor her son by a funeral that seeks to offer solace to his multitude of fans and by which the family also may be comforted," the Mrs. Jackson's attorneys said. [The costs were] "entirely commensurate with the decedent's worldwide status as an entertainer and the world's grief over his death."

Source: AP

Dwight Howard was fined $15,000

Dwight Howard was fined $15,000 for blogging about an NBA game. Click here to read the most expensive blog post to date. This really puzzles me because plenty of people are paid to blog about certain industries to drive up interest. It would stand to reason a player posting personal thoughts about his performance and the game--as long as he isn't revealing sensitive team strategies or information--would further draw in the fans. The NBA might want to reconsider this policy.

Joe Jackson got shut down

Following on the heels of his recent filing demanding support from his late son, Michael Jackson's estate, Jackson 5 patriarch, Joe Jackson, filed a motion claiming John McClain and John Branca should be removed as executors of Michael's estate. The elder Jackson claims his son believed Branca and McClain had defrauded him and accused the two administrators of conflicts of interest. Joe Jackson's attorney Brian Oxman said in a phone interview with the Associated Press that his client is allowed to challenge the executors as "an interested party who has the right to be an executor or personal representative." Michael Jackson's 2002 will left his entire estate to his three children and his mother with a portion going to support children's charities; the will omitted Joseph Jackson entirely.

Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff said Joe Jackson could not challenge the executors of the estate. "I don't think he gets to step into this and create further litigation," the judge decreed. "Joe Jackson takes none of this estate. This is a decision his son made." He did, however say Joe Jackson could petition the court for an allowance from the estate since his son had been supporting him for many decades.

In a surprise move, the lawyer for Michael Jackson's mother and heir of his estate, Katherine Jackson, withdrew Mrs. Jackson's objection to the Branca and McClain as special administrators saying she felt they could "enhance the legacy of Michael Jackson in the best interest of his children." This reversal ends months of legal wrangling the executors from Mrs. Jackson and her adult children, however it swept the legs from beneath her husband's legal objection to their appointment. Mr. Jackson's attorney Oxman called the abrupt about face despicable and hinted at a possible lawsuit against his client's wife for her failure to support his motion.

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Jordan's son cost UCF the entire adidas contract

Michael Jordan's son played Wednesday night for UCF wearing his father's trademark Air Jordans instead of the adidas shoes stipulated by the schoolwide contract with the company prompting them to take drastic measures: adidas will not renew the university's contract when it expires next June. “The University of Central Florida has chosen not to deliver on their contractual commitment to adidas,” the company said in a statement given to CNBC. “As a result, we have chosen not to continue our relationship with them moving forward.” As of yet, the university has no prospects to replace the lucrative contract which extended to all its athletics. Nike and Jordan have made no comment on the matter. adidas should hit up Rev. Run's fam.