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SANTA MARIA, Calif. - The jury in the Michael Jackson trial watched a video Thursday in which the journalist who made a damaging documentary about the pop star actually praised him as a parent. "Your relationship to your children is spectacular," Martin Bashir said to Jackson during the making of the documentary. "It almost makes me weep." The videotape was recorded by Jackson's personal videographer as Bashir and his crew were interviewing the star for "Living With Michael Jackson," which aired in 2003 and caused a stir because Jackson stated that he let children sleep in his bed, though he...

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - A forensic accountant testified in Michael Jackson's child molestation trial Tuesday the pop star was spending $20 million to $30 million more every year than he earned, a deep financial problem the prosecution contends underlies conspiracy allegations in the case. The prosecution also tried to undermine earlier testimony from one of their own witnesses — Jackson's ex-wife Deborah Rowe — by calling an investigator who said Rowe told him last year Jackson was a "sociopath." The testimony came as the prosecution neared the end of its case. Jackson, 46, is accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy...

Michael Jackson wins 'Most Foolish American' title for third time Thu Mar 31, 4:08 PM ET LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Accused pop icon Michael Jackson has been crowned America's most foolish person for the third straight year, snatching the dishonour from the likes of a murderer and US President George W. Bush. Some 80 percent of 1,030 people who took part in an annual April Fool's Day survey felt that Jackson, on trial for molesting a 13-year-old boy, deserved the top spot on the 2005 list that also featured his bra-popping sister Janet Jackson and convicted domestic diva Martha Stewart....

I can't believe the King of Pop actually compared his child molestation prosecution to the persecution suffered by South Africa's Nelson Mandela and boxing champions Muhammad Ali and Jack Johnson. During a radio interview by the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., Michael Jackson's spiritual adviser, the singer declared himself "completely innocent" of child molestation charges and alleged that he is the victim of a "conspiracy." In fact, Michael Jackson said he believes he is one of several "black luminaries" to be tried unjustly. All right, I can understand why Jackson believes he is the victim of a conspiracy, and I'll tell...

Balding star's wiggo Jacko Don't crop till you get enough ... Jacko in what experts claim is wig       By THOMAS WHITAKER Showbiz Reporter EXPERTS yesterday claimed to have spotted the bald truth about Michael Jackson — he wears a WIG.Wacko Jacko’s mad dash to court in his pyjamas is said to have let the cat out of the bag on his syrup.Photos of the star’s bonce appeared to show a mesh cap with false hair sewn in.Top British hairdresser Feleny Georghiou — whose clients include Victoria Beckham and the Duchess of York — declared: “It is definitely...

The star playfully posed for the court photographer Pop superstar Michael Jackson arrived at court on crutches on Tuesday, saying he was bitten by a spider that made his foot swell up. The singer was giving further evidence in a $21m (£13.5m) case brought by a concert promoter who accuses Jackson of pulling out of two millennium concerts. The star turned up at the courthouse in Santa Maria, California, without his customary surgical mask, but also without one shoe because he said his swollen foot would not fit inside it. Jackson denies pulling out of the millennium concerts "It's a...

Per Fox News: Michael Jackson is late for his trial. His spokesman says that Jackson is in the hospital. The judge has issued an arrest warrent for Jackson.

6 minutes ago U.S. National - Reuters SANTA MARIA, Calif. (Reuters) - A jury of four men and eight women was selected Wednesday for pop star Michael Jackson's trial on charges that he molested a 13-year-old boy at his Neverland Valley Ranch. Reuters Photo Reuters Photo Slideshow: Michael Jackson Michael Jackson Returns To Court (Reuters Video) Prosecutors and lawyers for Jackson, 46, then began the process of selecting eight alternates, who will take the place of any jurors who are dismissed during trial. Opening statements could begin in the high profile case as early as next week.

THE most lurid testimony to be heard in Michael Jackson's looming child molestation trial could concern the bizarre appearance of his penis. Private investigator Ernie Rizzo, who was hired by the family of the boy who accused Jackson of molestation in 1993, predicts that Jackson's latest alleged victim could provide damning testimony about the pop oddball's uniquely marked manhood. Rizzo, a former Chicago police detective who has seen photographs of Jackson's genitals taken by cops in 1993, claims that because Jackson "bleaches" his body twice a week, distinctive markings on his penis are visible when he is aroused. "It looks...

Michael Jackson's ex-wife Debbie Rowe has agreed to be a star witness against the singer during his child molestation trial. Ms Rowe, 37, was married to Jackson for three years and is mother of his children Prince and Paris. But she has now formally been added to the state's list of witnesses. Insiders say her testimony is likely to "blow the lid" off Jackson's bizarre lifestyle. Since the allegations of child abuse first surfaced, the former nurse has filed to regain custody of their children. She was said to have signed all rights over to Jackson after their 1999 divorce,...

Was just watching the O'Reilly factor on the LA affiliate. They were doing an update on the wacko Jacko trial when they went to a commercial break which included a commercial to buy a Michael Jackson CD box set complete with DVD's etc. Somehow, going from the trial, FOR CHILD MOLESTATION to video of Jackson singing "Beat it, just beat it" is distastful in the extreme.

Michael Jackson predicts acquittal 11:14 AM CST on Sunday, January 30, 2005 Associated Press LOS ANGELES - Michael Jackson on Sunday condemned recent media leaks in his child molestation case as "disgusting and false," predicting on the eve of his trial that he would be acquitted. "In the last few weeks, a large amount of ugly, malicious information has been released into the media about me," the singer said in a court-approved video statement released on his Web site. "The information is disgusting and false. Jackson said he helps thousands of children and allowed the accuser into his Neverland Ranch...

(CBS) Sun., Jan. 29, at 10 p.m. ET/PT Michael Jackson: Critical Stage 48 Hours has new details about Michael Jackson's controversial lifestyle.

  Accused ... Michael Jackson   Michael Jackson 'fans fix'MICHAEL Jackson has been accused of organising fans’ demos at his first child sex hearing. The 46-year-old pop superstar claimed thousands came to Santa Maria, California, to support him voluntarily. But court records show the huge demo may have been organised by Jackson and his lawyers. The claims follow the seizure of phone records, emails and documents from the home of the singer’s personal assistant. Jackson denies nine charges, including six of molesting a 13-year-old boy. He is due to stand trial in January.

That's why I was caught a bit off guard when I read over the weekend about a scholarly conference that had taken place at Yale University about, of all things, Michael Jackson. Now, if I'd still been in school--taking film classes in which the instructor was willing to, with a straight face, interpret the bowling scene in Groundhog Day as a profound, self-referential cinematic metaphor about frames--then the whole deconstruction of Michael Jackson probably wouldn't have shocked me. But having been out in the real world for a while, I'd forgotten how absolutely silly academics can be, particularly when they're...

AP Michael Jackson. The mother of the 12-year-old boy who has accused Michael Jackson of child molestation implored her kids to call the pop singer "daddy." The woman told a British newspaper interviewer early last year that her son called Jackson "daddy," but made it seem like this was solicited by the singer. This was not the case, my sources insist. "You can call him 'daddy' since you don't have one," she reportedly told her children. The woman also encouraged them to become close to other father figures besides Jackson, close inside sources have told me -- people who know...

Jan. 30 — Michael Jackson encouraged the boy who later accused him of molestation into appearing in a British documentary with the suggestion of a movie career, a former lawyer for the boy's family tells ABCNEWS' Primetime. Jackson brought the boy to his Neverland ranch and "gave him some inducements about things that might happen if he did a good job on camera … like he might have a movie career," William Dickerman told Primetime's Cynthia McFadden. The interview took place before a judge issued a gag order in the case earlier this month. In the documentary, Jackson is seen...

Less than a month ago, I saw a picture that compared Michael J with Joan Crawford posted on a FR thread. We have been debating whether or not he trying to look like her on purpose.. If anyone has a copy, or knows where it is..will you please let me know! Thank you so much!

LOS ANGELES : Michael Jackson gets his first chance Friday to answer in court to a series of child molestation charges that could see the one-time "King of Pop" jailed for more than 20 years. Jackson will be formally arraigned on nine counts in a court in Santa Maria, a normally quiet Californian town north of Santa Barbara that is set to become the focus of a media feeding frenzy. Advertisement Hordes of reporters from around the world will join the massed ranks of the American press to watch the beleagured, 45-year-old superstar enter the courtroom and offer up his...

Jacko: Bailed Out of Financial Mess by Friends January 13, 2004 Jacko: Bailed Out of Financial Mess by Friends Michael Jackson is pretty lucky he still has good friends. Michael Jackson I am told that a $70 million payment that was due on Jackson's $350 million Bank of America loan was recently paid -- not by Jackson, but by a group of friends and advisers who saved him from financial disaster. The payment was due on Feb. 17 and has already been made by Jackson stalwarts Al Malnik, a Miami lawyer, and Charles Koppleman, a long-time respected figure in the...