By Bill Zwecker June 3, 2012 9:08PM
NEW YORK - JANUARY 23: Sean "Diddy" Combs and son Justin Dior Combs attend Justin Dior Combs' 16th birthday party at M2 Ultra Lounge on January 23, 2010 in New York City. (Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Sean "Diddy" Combs;Justin Dior Combs
Updated: June 3, 2012 9:58PM
The decision by UCLA to award a full-ride scholarship to young football star Justin Combs — son of multimillionaire entertainment mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs — has generated a huge debate online and on the campus of the Southern California university.
While many argue the younger Combs earned the scholarship on his merits, I’ve learned there’s considerable backlash among key UCLA alumni and fund-raising honchos. During this time of tough economic challenges, many UCLA alumni who play major roles in Hollywood’s showbiz world believe that need should trump everything else.
“I know it seems unfair to Justin, but clearly he has had so many advantages in his life. … Those funds should have gone to a kid who otherwise might not be able to attend UCLA,” said a top studio executive and university alum Sunday, who also said, “Everyone I’ve spoken to is on the same page about this.”
† Diddy’s camp believes that Justin is entitled to the scholarship, and no one’s intending to give it back. That said, there also is word that Combs Sr. will be very, very generous to UCLA fund-raising efforts.
“I’ll bet he’ll end up giving the university more — over a period of time — than Justin is getting over the next four years,” said a close Combs associate.
DEJA VU? Is Charlie Sheen slipping back into his old ways — partying wildly, drinking heavily and surrounding himself with a bunch of porn stars? That was the contention of some weekend reports the actor was laughing off, claiming he’s well in control of himself. Sheen blasted the unnamed “friends” who gossiped about him to several celebrity magazines and websites, saying, “Consider the sources.” My own sources close to Sheen do express concern that he seems to be repeating the behavior that caused him problems in the past. “Charlie now thinks he’s able to control himself and won’t be pushed over the edge by surrounding himself with booze, drugs and porn stars,” said a longtime Sheen associate, who did add, “so far he’s doing OK. “I just worry, he’ll go crazy all over again — and totally lose control.” “I don’t care what anyone says,” added a second source. “Charlie has always been a trigger for Brooke’s addictions. Always has been. Always will be. I’m sorry, I just don’t think that will ever change.”
Forex: US Dollar rules as HK tracks risk off sentiment - FXStreet.com
Money to invest: Obama or Romney? - Jackson Clarion-Ledger
If I were investing my own money, whom would I trust to run a company and make a profitable return?
If the choice were between someone who had been successful and made buckets of money for others who had invested with him, or someone who had not only lost money but who had also actually taken investors' money and given it to some of his cronies ... well, whom would you trust?
Let's face it: Mitt Romney has made buckets of money for those who have invested their own money with him in his business ventures. Even the Obama camp admits that.
On the other hand President Barack Obama has invested hundreds of billions of dollars in the auto sector, energy sector and "stimulus" sector of our economy ... that is, none of his own discretionary money we are aware of, but hundreds of billions of tax dollars the IRS demands from us every paycheck. But he didn't stop there. In our name - USA taxpayers - Obama has borrowed trillions of dollars to invest in many sectors. What are the results?
To save GM and Chrysler, he invested $82 billion tax dollars. Surely this hefty amount would "save" Detroit? No, both companies declared bankruptcy anyway. By the way, those two companies still owe about $24 billion.
Union workers didn't lose a nickel, but those of us who had GM or Chrysler stock in our pension plans lost our shirts. Oh, and 2,500 non-union autoworkers lost their jobs not counting the closings of hundreds of dealerships and workers who lost their jobs.
In the energy arena, Obama not only shut down a hundred thousand or so jobs through his moratorium on drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, but he also invested tens of billions of taxpayer dollars in green energy, promising to create 5,000,000 new jobs. So, how's that working? Can you say Solyndra, Beacon Power or Ener1? Not any more, since they've all filed for bankruptcy.
And, let's not forget the nearly trillion-dollar investment in "shovel-ready jobs" poured into an abyss at the beginning of his presidency.
How many jobs have all of Obama's investments created? Checking the Bureau of Labor Statistics, we have fewer Americans working today than we had before he took over investing in our economy.
We have to give the president credit - literally. He's spent trillions of taxpayer dollars trying to rev up the economy, and he's borrowed nearly $6 trillion more that our grandchildren will have to repay. If I were investing my own tax dollars, whom would I want to run this country? If you earn a paycheck, you're investing too. Choose carefully. Our grandchildren will judge our choices.
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