A son of the king of Bahrain is suing U.S. pop star Michael Jackson for backtracking on an agreement to record a new album and write an autobiography as repayment for the million-dollar loans he received from the prince, press reported Monday.
"Sheikh Abdullah began to support Mr. Jackson financially after 2005 when it became clear that Mr. Jackson was in very serious financial difficulties, much to Sheikh Abdullah's surprise," Khalifa's lawyer, Bankim Thanki, told London's High Court.
" Sheikh Abdullah began to support Mr. Jackson financially after 2005 when it became clear that Mr. Jackson was in very serious financial difficulties, much to Sheikh Abdullah's surprise. "
Lawyer Thanki
The two men had a "close personal relationship,"
Sheik, you actually paid a lawyer to say this in open court?
and even discussed the possibility of Jackson moving to Bahrain after his 2005 child sexual molestation trial, Thanki said.
The court heard that the sheikh forked out $35,000 to pay utility bills at Jackson's Neverland Ranch and also gave him one million dollars in April 2005 after Jackson asked for the money through an assistant. "Sheikh Abdulla made many more payments on his behalf or to others," including Jackson's $2.2 million legal bill for his criminal trial, he said.
The early financial support coincided with Jackson's 2005 trial on child molestation charges. Despite his acquittal, the case left the 50-year-old performer's reputation and financial status in tatters.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/18/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Wel-l-l, methinks its safe to say none of the Prince's Milyuhns and Zilyuhns and Tilyuhns went for "the Nose"???
Malaysian activists have threatened to stage a naked protest over a sudden hike in rental rates for government housing, drawing criticism from Muslim leaders and police Tuesday.
Ramlan Abu Bakar of the Malaysian People's Reform Movement said its members were prepared to strip off outside the offices of the chief minister of Selangor state, after it more than doubled the cost of low-income housing. "Protesting naked is our final act of desperation as the state government is literally stealing the clothes off our backs with this price increase," Ramlan told AFP. "They are not helping the poor people here who barely make enough to afford the present rental of 124 ringgit (34 dollars per month) so how can we afford to pay 250 ringgit?" he said.
The hardline Islamic party PAS, which is part of the opposition alliance, criticised the plans, with its spiritual leader Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat saying only "uncivilised" people would resort to such an act. "Even an animal like a cow which is stark naked, God created a tail to hide its genitals and here we are talking about human beings who have been given a mind," he told state news agency Bernama.
Ramlan said his group would submit a memorandum to opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, whose alliance runs Selangor state, and that if it failed to bring about any change they will push ahead with the nude protest.
State police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said action will be taken against anyone staging an illegal assembly. "We will take firm action against any NGO (non-governmental organisation) that holds a gathering without a permit, and even more so if they are nude," he told Bernama.
#1
Do they mean "nude" as it is commonly understood here in the West, or "nude" as in "that little harlot is parading around without a headcover!" nude?
#1
ION WORLD MIL FORUM > [IIUC] ONE-HALF OR MORE OF CHINA'S POPULATION COULD STARVE TO DEATH IN 70 YEARS DUE TO LACK OF PHOSPHATE-BASED FERTILIZER FOR AGRICULTURE. US Financial Crisis is inducing China to sell large quantities of its non-renewable and scarce strategic phosphorous/
phosphate rock natural resource, and at cheap world prices. China needs same as a major or key component in the phosphorous/phosphate-based fertilizer required for its domestic agriculture = food production, to help feed its 1.3Bilyuhn domestic population. World only has enuff [agricultre]usable natural phosporous/phosphate reserves for roughly 100 years, of which China per se has only enuff domestic deposits [mines]for 70 years.
* IOW, ARTICLE > IN 70-100 YEARS, OR SHORTLY AFTER, IT MAY NOT BE JUST THE CHINESE WHOM WILL STARVE DUE TO LACK OF FOOD???
#3
They print the stuff on one side only. People carry it in sacks. The country now operates largely on foreign currency for travel in and out, major items etc. Difficult to exchange inside the country and no one outside of the Zim will accept the Zim script. You simply cannot exchange it. The wildlife are being slaughtered for food. From all accounts, it is pathetic. This is precisely the Change Ian Smith predicted.
#5
i thought somalia ddn't have money. they just shoot you too get what they need or want don't they
Posted by: chris ||
11/18/2008 10:44 Comments ||
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#6
Why do they have a picture of Indonesia's....whateverthehellitis in place of the Vietnamese Dong? (The currency beloved of goofy teenage boys everywhere.)
#1
Whoa, so CHEETAH THE CHIMP[Tarzan] + BIGFOOT + KING KONG must by definition be also related to RALPH/ROY THE 'ROO, thus explaining why Humans + Simians have no belly pouch nor 'Roo-type legs.
#3
If by "closely" you mean breathes air, bears live young and has eyes, a backbone, and more thane one cell, yeah. Considering that the line that kangaroos came from split out 80 million years before the mouse and the human diverged, I wouldn't exactly call it "closely" related. Sure it will have some of the same genes ... it grows lungs just like we do and has a brain. But "closely" related?
#14
And 75% of their genetic material with cabbage. CABBAGE, n.
A familiar kitchen-garden vegetable about as large and wise as a man's head.
The cabbage is so called from Cabagius, a prince who on ascending the throne issued a decree appointing a High Council of Empire consisting of the members of his predecessor's Ministry and the cabbages in the royal garden. When any of his Majesty's measures of state policy miscarried conspicuously it was gravely announced that several members of the High Council had been beheaded, and his murmuring subjects were appeased.
(SomaliNet) Calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Geir Haarde, around 6,000 Icelanders took to the streets in protest against the effects of the financial crisis. The demonstrators threw eggs, tomatoes and toilet paper at the parliamentary building.
The state of Iceland may go bankrupt now that the country's three largest banks have collapsed. The state treasury can only be rescued by money from the International Monetary Fund.
Inflation has increased 15 percent and unemployment has rocketed. The turnout of 6,000 people was high as Iceland only has 320,000 residents.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/18/2008 00:00 ||
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Iceland reportedly invited Russia to take over a former NATO airbase, but Russ declined.
#2
I'm not interested in the IMF bailing them out. Let them go bankrupt. Maybe they'll re-write themselves a constitution that let's them have make money instead of friends.
What I would be interested in however, is buying it. Let's see if they all want to become millionaires and we can snap it up and stop Russia cold for a cool 320 billion.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
11/18/2008 0:52 Comments ||
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#3
What I would be interested in however, is buying it.
Or at least the fairer half of the population. I'll throw in some extra money for the scenery and the aurora borealis , etc.
Little Known But True Fact: The Icelanders dislike Americans. I spent a year there one night, arriving just after the curfew they imposed on us (the only one of our 'allies' to do so, BTW) .
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
11/18/2008 7:08 Comments ||
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Text: REYKJAVIK: Iceland jacked up its key interest rate to 18 percent and announced a request for help from the European Central Bank and the US Federal Reserve in twin moves on Tuesday to stave off national bankruptcy. "Iceland's central bank sent a request to the ECB, the Fed and the Nordic banks on Friday," Icelandic Prime Minister Geir Haarde told reporters in Helsinki where Nordic leaders were meeting.
Haarde claims he only needs $ 6B to recover, but he can't get a loan. An interest rate of 18%. Can the Carter years be far behind?
#7
Little Known But True Fact: The Icelanders dislike Americans.
My experience (much less than a year-long night lol!) was that they are in the main no more xenophobic than any monoethnic island race with high state-coherence. FWIW
It used to be verboden for black airmen to leave the base.
A stupid, patently racist rule put in place in the 1950s. There was a lot of stupid racism back then. Again, FWIW.
#11
Frank, I was thinking this same thing over the last week. What would we do if they just decided to elect some senators and send them to DC for the bailout $$$. There's 3 times as many people living there speaking English than in Wyoming. It would be hard to say no.
"Promote then as an object of primary importance, Institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge. In proportion as the structure of a government gives force to public opinion, it is essential that public opinion should be enlightened."
--George Washington, Farewell Address, September 19, 1796
On November 4th, 2008 millions of Americans were shocked that a man of Barack Obama's limited experience, extreme liberal positions and radical political alliances could be elected President of the United States. For many of these Americans, the explanation was rather simple... the news media, completely enamored with Obama, simply refused to do their job.
On Election day twelve Obama voters were interviewed extensively right after they voted to learn how the news media impacted their knowledge of what occurred during the campaign. These voters were chosen for their apparent intelligence/verbal abilities and willingness to express their opinions to a large audience. The rather shocking video below seeks to provide some insight into which information broke through the news media clutter and which did not. Video at link.
A Saudi civil court has ordered an Asian immigrant to clean mosques next month during this year's Hajj pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca after religious police caught him skipping Friday prayers several times, Saudi daily al-Watan reports. The man will have to clean five mosques along the highway into Mecca twice daily for eleven days, the court ruled.
The Ministry of Islamic Affairs will be tasked with checking if the immigrant obeys the court order. If he fails to do so, the court has warned that he will be tried before a criminal court.
Instead of handing out custodial sentences, a number of Saudi judges have recently ordered minor offenders to clean buildings and cars, memorise the Koran (the Muslim holy book) or do community work. Earlier this month, a judge ordered a young man to memorise part of the Koran and 40 sayings of the Prophet Mohammed as a punishment for appearing in public with a woman who was not a relative.
This year's Hajj is taking place in the first half of December. Last year, two million Muslim pilgrims attended.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
A son of the king of Bahrain is suing U.S. pop star Michael Jackson for backtracking on an agreement to record a new album and write an autobiography as repayment for the million-dollar loans he received from the prince, press reported Monday.
Malaysian activists have threatened to stage a naked protest over a sudden hike in rental rates for government housing, drawing criticism from Muslim leaders and police Tuesday. 
