TWEETS OF THE WEEK 8/22/10 - 8/29/10

50 Cent (@50cent)

The most talked about tweeting this past week came courtesy of 50 Cent, who regained control of his Twitter account. 50 went on a Twitter rant about everything from his grandmother to his last album not doing well to Ja Rule to firing his manager to childhood memories. TWEET: "My aunt sylvia didnt like me growin up cause she was the baby till I came. we had roaches so she put roach spray in a bowl and kill my dog." 

 

 

 

 

 

Kanye West (@kanyewest)

While 50 launched his attack on Twitter on what seemed like almost everybody (he even mentioned Kanye's Twitter page at one point), Kanye kept his tweets positive. TWEET: "As an artist with hopefully 100 years to create in this lifetime I hope to make a mark that will last forever."

 

 

 

 

Nicki Minaj (@nickiminaj)

Nicki Minaj and Drake almost started a Twitter revolution when Nicki jokingly tweeted about being married. TWEET: "Yes, it's true. Drake and I tied the knot." (She later tweeted that their marriage had been annulled)

 

 

 

 

 

Drake (@drakkardnoir)

Drake joined in on the fun. TWEET: "Please refer to @nickiminaj as Mrs. Aubrey Drake Graham and dont stare at her too long. She's finally mine. :) "

 

 

 

 

Floyd Mayweather (@floydmayweather)

Celebrity BFFs Floyd Mayweather and 50 Cent went back and forth a few times, tweeting about good times they've spent together. According to 50, Floyd once showed 50 a bag with 4 million dollars in it. TWEET: "@50cent while you just waking up, I ain't been sleep." 

 

 

 

 

 

Tony Yayo (@tonyyayo)

G-Unit member Tony Yayo acknowledged his friend 50 Cent's overuse of Twitter this week. TWEET: "Shame on u for teachin @50 Cent how to use twitter smh lol"

 

 

 

 

Wyclef (@wyclef)

The extremely politically active Wyclef also stood very active on Twitter this past week, IN ALL CAPS! TWEET: "WE WANT EQUAL RIGHTS AND JUSTICE! MY NEW SONG IN CREOLE CONTESTING THE CEP! CLICK HERE DOWNLOAD/ SHARE / BLAST." 

 

 

 

 

 

MC Hammer (@mchammer)

Though it's been a long time since MC Hammer has released a record, the rap veteran keeps himself busy. TWEET: "In the last year, I've spoke at Harvard, Stanford, Oxford, and Wharton School of Business. Today, I debate Skip Bayless on ESPN!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nick Cannon (@nickcannnon)

You never know what Nick Cannon is going to say next, especially when you don't know whether it is actually him or not. Hmmm... TWEET: "I don't know who keeps hacking into my twitter! I keep changing my password and they get it b4 I can even tweet!"

 

 

 

 

 

Ice Cube (@icecube)

Have you seen the film "Lottery Ticket" yet? Though Ice Cube is getting ready to release a new album, he's still heavily promoting the movie. TWEET: "If you ain't doing anything this weekend go see Lottery Ticket."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Diddy (@iamdiddy)

Diddy stays busy tweeting each week with inspirational quotes and words of support to his fans. TWEET: "God bless all the single mothers out there that don't get sat. Off to rest! Raising kids is a full time job! Yall the Greatest!" 

 

 

 

 

Chris Brown (@chrisbrown)

There was a heck of a lot of tweets about the movie "Takers" this week, which stars Chris Brown, who also made sure to do a little Twitter promotion himself. TWEET: "Thanks to everyone who is supporting my movie Takers. I love yall. Means a lot to me."

 

 

 

 

 

Jeremih (@jeremih)

According to Twitter, Jeremih stopped by to see 50 Cent and give him a preview of his album "All About You," coming out Sept. 28. But 50 wasn't the only one who got a sneak peek. TWEET: "headed to the private listening session for "All About You" at Greenhouse.. #NYC bahbey." 

 

 

 

 

Trey Songz (@songzyuuup)

On August 25, many celebs like Trey Songz took to Twitter to express their feelings about R&B songstress Aaliyah who died nine years ago on the same day. TWEET: #RIPAaliyah We all Miss You baby!!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Drake Reps Deny Drizzy and Nicki Minaj Marriage

It was all a prank! Nicki Minaj and Drake took to Twitter to announce a sudden marriage this past Friday (August 27).

Drake rose eyebrows when he rhymed, "I love Nicki Minaj, I told her I'd admit it/I hope one day we get married just to say we f*cking did it." While Nicki's downplayed Drake's crush before, she initiated the prank on Twitter.
“U scurred? @drakkardnoir u ready to make the announcement or wha?” Nicki Minaj tweeted. Drizzy, who rhymes about wanting to marry Nicki on his latest single, "Miss Me," replied, "Baby I am never scared. PROUD is more the word I would use. Please refer to @nickiminaj as Mrs. Aubrey Drake Graham and dont stare at her too long. She’s finally mine.” Nicki promptly confirmed, “Yes, its true. Drake and I tied the knot.”
The next day, Nicki tweeted, "Dear Barbz, My husband Drake and I have decided to have our marriage annulled. We'll maintain joint custody. Luv, HB."


While Drake and Nicki's followers immediately caught onto the prank, news of their supposed union quickly spread all over the internet. The story got enough traction that Drake's rep felt the need to deny the rumor

Akon Sued for Millions for Pulling No-Show

A promoter is suing Akon for pulling out of a concert eight days before the scheduled date despite allegedly receiving $125,000 from his booking agent for the concert.

According to a lawsuit filed in the Supreme Court of the State of NY, Lofraco Belgium contends Kon was slated to perform at the show alongside Kardinal Offishall and Colby O'Donis, but cancelled, citing "scheduling conflicts."

Kon is being sued for breach of contract, fraud and concealment and Belgium is seeking $250,000 in expenses and millions in punitive damages.

Facebook Sued in California Over Teen Endorsements

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Two Los Angeles County teenagers are suing Facebook, claiming the social network effectively sold their names and images to advertisers without parental permission.

The lawsuit filed Thursday in Los Angeles challenges a Facebook feature that allows members to note that they like an advertised service or product. Facebook broadcasts those endorsements to the user's friends.

The lawsuit also claims minors unwittingly endorse Facebook when people typing their names in a search engine are steered to a Facebook sign-up page.

The plaintiffs say Palo Alto-based Facebook is violating a California law that requires parental consent for children to make commercial endorsements. The teens seek unspecified damages.

Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes says the lawsuit is meritless. He notes Facebook doesn't allow users under 18 to let their profiles appear on public search engines.

I survived the flood - but I 'll starve.We are the walking dead

Devastation ... the floods affecting Pakistan are the worst in 500 years

 

 

THE Sun joined a military food drop mission over flood-ravaged Pakistan yesterday - and saw thousands of stranded families desperately clinging to life.

While their hero-worshipped cricketers are embroiled in a greedy betting scandal, more than 800,000 starving Pakistanis are marooned.
Some are utterly alone on rooftops surrounded by hundreds of miles of water in what disaster experts now say is the worst flood for 500 YEARS.
Malaria, scabies and diarrhoea are rife, and the confirmed death toll of 1,600 is expected to double in the coming weeks.
In the southern Sindh province most evacuees have been told it will be around two months until they can return home - and with nearly all of Pakistan's fertile agricultural land swamped, at least eight million people need emergency humanitarian aid.

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If you would like to make a donation to Save The Children's Pakistan floods appeal, visit the website savethechildren.org.uk or call 020 7012 6400

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Among those who face being trapped by 20ft waters until the end of October are 72,000 severely malnourished children, who the UN yesterday said are at "high risk of death".
Pakistan Air Force personnel have been switched from fighting the Taliban in the country's dangerous north-western province to aid the relief effort.

Isolated ... people cling to land not submerged by the rising flood waters

Yesterday we helped a PAF helicopter crew to drop high-energy biscuits to just some of the desperate survivors over the southern Shahdadkot region.
Airman Nomman Vink told us: "These people are imprisoned and live in hell. There is water as far as the eye can see and they are trapped on tiny pockets of land.
"But we only have biscuits to give them - which infants cannot digest. They need rice and water but flood waters are diseased. The children are the ones that are starving to death."

Child of the flood ... things look bleak for mum Basra and baby Sajid

A month after unprecedented monsoon floods first smashed across Pakistan, fresh flooding in Sindh over the past few days alone has brought new horror - with dozens crushed in mass stampedes in the rush to escape.
We saw lines of desperate families stretching down main roads for miles in what The Sun can reveal has become the biggest mass evacuation IN HISTORY.
More than 1.3million have joined the exodus in the past four days alone - either fleeing the deadly waters themselves, ordered out by authorities, or rescued by aid workers and the military.
Just yesterday, flood waters broke through defence barriers close to Fakir Goth, near the southern city of Thatta, with 175,000 people fleeing as water cascaded down the streets.
An estimated 17million Pakistanis are now displaced, with the homes of around six million people destroyed.
Many are living in makeshift shelters along the main road that links southern Karachi to capital Islamabad, with the stench of rotting animal corpses, disease and human waste heavy in the air.

Help from above ... Sun woman Virginia in Pakistan Air Force 'copter

Blackened flood water covering an area the size of England has destroyed more than 11,000 villages. Mum Shapana told how she fled her town of Ghouspur with her ten-day-old daughter Bachal in a horse and cart as 8ft flood waters swamped her house.
She said: "I am starving and my baby needs medicine but my home is gone and there is no hope for us.
"I survived the flood but will starve. We are walking dead."
The south of Pakistan, rather than the deluged northern Swat Valley, is the latest danger front, with new floods threatening to swamp vast areas as the surging River Indus balloons from its normal 200-yard width to two miles wide.
And new monsoon rains are expected early this week, which will result in even more destruction and deaths.

Grim ... Shapana and baby daughter Bachal

Scott Hornby

UN spokesman Maurizio Giuliano said more than a million people had been displaced by flooding in Sindh alone in the past three days. He said: "The magnitude of this crisis is reaching levels that are even beyond our initial fears.
"The number of those affected and those in need of assistance from us are bound to keep rising. The floods seem determined to outrun our efforts."
The number of people whose lives have been affected has been estimated at 20million - more than double the populations of London, Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester put together.
The Sun joined British teams from aid agency Save The Children as they battle to help in the disaster, which the UN has said is worse than the 2004 tsunami, the 2005 Pakistan earthquake and this year's Haiti earthquake COMBINED.
The charity's Ian Woolverton said: "This is a truly epic disaster requiring a truly epic response. In terms of the numbers of people needing urgent aid, this flood dwarfs other major disasters.
"And we now have two massive disasters on our hands - the problems facing those trapped by flood waters and the millions who have been displaced and are living in refugee camps.
"Just in the Sukkar district of Sindh alone, thousands of evacuees are living in informal camps or along the sides of roads.

Aid drop ... but 8 million people need immediate help

"We're working to deliver our largest ever food distribution - hoping to reach 85,000 families per month. The biggest problems are disease and lack of clean water. "It is a horrific situation."
The Sun visited one of 1,000 informal refugee camps set up in Sukkar district alone - a Save The Children site where 900 flood victims, mostly women and children, are sleeping in the classrooms of a former primary school.
There we met baby boy Sajid - born on July 29, the first day of the tragedy. He was just an hour old when the 7ft flood water smashed into the room where he was being cradled in the arms of his his 29-year-old mother, Basra.
She said: "I shut my eyes and thought I would be swept away and drowned. But a fisherman scooped us up and put us in his boat to take us to safety.
"My little boy is now called Sajid - meaning prayer. He is a flood baby and my only wish is that he will survive."
We also met a few of the hundreds of British Pakistanis who have flown in searching for missing relatives or offering aid themselves.

Obliterated ... village in Sindh province

Birmingham mum of three Samina Kauser said: "Six relatives of mine died in Muzaffarabad in Kashmir. I came to look for others who I can't reach, hoping they are alive. "I am from the same village as Sayeeda Warsi, the Conservative politician. I hope she will use her influence to help."
Abid Sharif, 25, from Blackburn, said he had spent all his savings flying to Gujarat after being "in tears" at news of villages swept away.
He said: "I couldn't stop crying. My best friend's family were washed away. There are 1.2million British Pakistanis in the UK - and I know their hearts have been broken by this
 

Spears has the look of love

Happy ... Britney has a giggle with Jason

 

 

THIS is the happiest I've seen BRITNEY SPEARS in years.

The mum-of-two was beaming like a Cheshire cat as she shared a joke with boyfriend JASON TRAWICK on the balcony of their Hawaiian hotel this weekend.
Was Britney still on a high from her shopping trip earlier in the day?
Or is there 'bigger' news to come?
Their recent holiday snaps have been heartwarming stuff.
Long may it continue.

Shopping trip ... Britney Spears

 

No Mercy for Madge tot 'dad'

 

Mum's the word ... Madonna and Mercy

 

THE man who claims to be the father of MADONNA'S adopted daughter MERCY will not be meeting her.

The singer has denied him access after disputing his claim on the four-year-old.

JAMES KAMBEWA was angling for a meeting with the little girl, who was adopted from a Malawi orphanage last year.

But Madonna's rep BARBARA CHARONE told a South African newspaper: "The extended family members had no knowledge of a father. The village leadership had no knowledge of a father... the mother was raped and left."

Kambewa, who works as a waiter in Durban, initially challenged the adoption but a Supreme Court of Appeal ruled that it could go ahead.

Mercy was born in January 2006 to a 14-year-old girl who died soon afterwards.

Jay-Z: I'm going to get very fat

 

Looking ahead ... Jay-Z and Beyonce

 

 

JAY-Z is planning to move from RAP to FAT.

The singer has revealed plans of a "Marlon Brando retirement plan" for himself and wife BEYONCE in the future.

It will involve living on a private island, with a "genius chef", cigars and fine wines.

Sounds great to me.

Jay-Z said: "Beyonce will be on the island too. But I don't think she plan to get as fat as me. I'm gonna be fat.

"That's what I enjoy.

"That's the payback for all the hard work."

Well they're not exactly short on cash.

LONG LIVE THE KING!

Long Live the King!

Sunday, August 29 would have marked Michael Jackson's 52nd birthday. Since his untimely death last June, some of music's biggest stars have spoken on the impact Jackson has had on their career. Simply put, your favorite artist wouldn't be here if not for Michael Jackson. See what superstars like Chris Brown, Usher, Lenny Kravitz and Beyonce have said about Jackson's influence.

 

 

 

 

 

Pharrell Williams

Legend has it that a bulk of the songs Williams co-produced and co-wrote for Justin Timberlake's "Justified" were first pitched to MJ's management. Thankfully for JT, Jackson's camp passed and the material helped Justin transition from a guilty pleasure to a hip-hop and R&B-approved pop star. Pharrell's falsetto hooks also sound MJ-inspired at times.

 

 

 

 

 

Jay-Z

Hov hardly ever passes on an opportunity to boast. Not only is he one of the few rappers to have worked with MJ, but he managed to bring him out as a surprise guest at Hot 97’s Summer Jam concert at Giants Stadium in 2001. Nine years later and he still feels the need to drop reminders. “MJ at Summer Jam, Obama on the text,“ he spits on “On to the Next One” off his “Blueprint 3.”

 

 

 

 

 

Kanye West

West would likely admit to being an MJ stan. He’s sampled the Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back” for Jay-Z’s “Izzo (H.O.V.A.)” and MJ's “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)” twice, once for Memphis Bleek’s “I Wanna Love U” and a second time for his own “Good Life.” While he’s no singer, Yeezy’s movements are at times Jacksonesque when on stage. He’s also referenced Michael countless times in his lyrics.

 

 

 

 

Lady Gaga

Not too many people can gloat of being handpicked by MJ. In the wake of his death, reports surfaced that he wanted to work with the new pop sensation and that their camps were already in talks for a possible tour."Michael's death was devastating for me regardless of whether or not I was supposed to tour with him," she said on "Larry King Live" earlier this year. "He is an inspiration and remarkable human being."

 

 

 

 

 

Chris Brown

The influence MJ’s had on C. Breezy’s career is undeniable. The general consensus is that Brown’s dance skills, as evidenced during his Jackson tribute at the 2010 BET Awards, come closest to the gloved one. “Michael Jackson is the reason why I do music and why I am an entertainer,” Brown said in a statement at the time of Jackson’s death. “I am devastated by this great loss, and I will continue to be humbled and inspired by his legacy.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Usher

Ursher goes as far as saying he owes his success to MJ. "He influenced me in so many ways, more than just music ... as a humanitarian, as a philanthropist, as an artist, as an individual who transcended culture," Usher said during CBS’s “Michael Jackson: Picking Up the Pieces” special last year. "I wouldn't be who I am today without Michael Jackson."

 

 

 

 

Beyonce

The metallic glove Bey wears in her “Single Ladies” video wasn't conceptualized out of thin air. It’s clearly MJ-inspired. BK eulogized Mike onstage a day after his death during a concert at Philly’s Wachovia Center. She told the crowd, “The reason I am here is due to Michael Jackson,” seconds before launching into Jackson’s “I Can’t Help It” from “Off the Wall.”

 

 

 

 

 

Justin Timberlake

This former boy bander turned heads when several records on his debut, "Justified" were so Jacksonesque, particularly “Rock Your Body.” "No one presented a song onstage like Michael," Timberlake told CBS. "To create the things that he created with his music, it's really untouchable."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ne-Yo

Ne-Yo says he learned how to sing by listening to Michael’s “Off the Wall” CD. The singer proved to be a capable pupil. His 2007 hit, “Because of You,” sounds like a lost MJ session.

 

 

 

 

Omarion

One of the new generation’s most talented dancers, O also channeled his inner MJ whenever hitting the stage. "[Jackson] did not just inspire everything that I do, but I really feel connected to him, just like the world does,” he told MTV. “And from an artist's standpoint, these are the things that I have to ask myself, like, 'Why did everyone draw to him the way that they drew to him? Why did everyone feel the way that I feel about him?' And I mean, like, not 10,000 people or 100,000 people."

 

 

 

Britney Spears

Britney’s another performer whose dance choreographies have Michael’s DNA all over it. “He has been an inspiration throughout my entire life and I'm devastated he's gone," she once told People Magazine.

 

 

 

 

Lenny Kravitz

The King of Pop touched artists in all genres. Like many others, Lenny Kravitz credits Jackson for giving birth to his musical ambitions. “He was the first live performer I ever saw,” Kravitz wrote in one of multiple tweets dedicated to Jackson last year. “I got to see him at Madison Square Garden when I was 8. If not for him, I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing.”    

 

 

 

 

Diddy

We may have MJ to thank for Puff's "Can't Stop, Won't Stop" motto. “There’s few things in life that change your life," Diddy told the Associated Press. "Michael Jackson changed my life when I saw him moonwalk, when I heard him sing, when I’ve seen him perform. He was life- changing. He’s the greatest artist of our time."

 

 

Q-Tip

The Abstract Poetic is one of countless MCs to have sampled Michael. His “Move/Renaissance Rap” single off “The Renaissance” samples Jackson 5’s “Dancing Machine.” He also threw an event to celebrate Mike’s 51 birthday last year.

 

 

Janet Jackson

JJ definitely took after her big brother from the dance moves and showmanship to the similarity in their vocal texture.

 

 

 

 

OBAMA WATCH: WEEK OF AUG. 16

Obama Vacation

Last Thursday, President Obama embarked on a 10-day vacation to Martha’s Vineyard. The president joined wife Michelle and daughters Sasha and Malia, who traveled separately.

 

 

 

 

 

Book Store Visit

On Friday, the president visited Bunch of Grapes bookstore while at the New England resort. Here, he and his daughters leave the store.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Afternoon Picnic

On Saturday, the first family had a private picnic at a beach in Edgartown.

 

 

 

 

 

Golf Buddies

House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-SC) played a game of golf at the Vineyard Golf Club with Obama along with friend Eric Whitaker and White House trip director Marvin Nicholson.

 

 

 

 

 

Welcoming the Motorcade

People line the roadside to wave at the president’s motorcade as it makes its way through Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts on Saturday.

 

 

 

 

 

All Things ‘Obama’

An Obama t-shirt is displayed for sale at a Martha’s Vineyard store on Sunday. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

 

 

 

Monday Evening Dining

Mr. and Mrs. Obama leave The Sweet Life Café in Oak Bluffs, Mass., after dining with Valerie Jarrett, Cheryl Whitaker, and Eric Whitaker Monday evening. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

 

 

 

 

When He Comes Home

After his vacation, the president plans to deliver a major speech on Iraq. Combat missions in the nation will officially end Aug. 31.

 

 

 

 

Nationwide Tour

The president will also continue to promote his jobs bill by visiting small businesses across the nation.

 

 

 

 

 

First Lady to Team Up with Laura Bush on 9/11

Current and past First Ladies Michelle Obama and Laura Bush will join forces to serve as keynote speakers at the future site of the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Penn. The ceremony, which will also include Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar and Gov. Ed Rendell, will honor the 40 people aboard United Flight 93 that crashed into a field near Shanksville on Sept. 11, 2001. The memorial is set to be completed on Sept. 11, 2011.