Sunday, July 12, 2009

Obama distances himself from Jackson saga

They were the two most famous African-Americans in the world: President Barack Obama and Michael Jackson.

But when millions of people paused this week to watch Jackson's memorial service in Los Angeles, the president was about as far away as he could get.

That President Obama was in Moscow at a summit -- negotiating weapons limits and other agreements -- was obviously no sleight to the late entertainer.
But even before Obama left the country, the White House seemed to be keeping its distance.

There was no public gesture from the president's office when Jackson died, no official tribute to one of the most remarkable Americans of our time.

The White House spokesman, Robert Gibbs, said Obama had "written to the family and has shared his feelings with the family privately."

When the president was pressed by reporters for a public statement, there was careful nuance in his words.

"He became a core part of our culture," the president said in a July 7 interview with CNN ahead of the Jackson memorial service. "His extraordinary talent and music mixed with big dose of tragedy and difficulty in his private life." Did Barack Obama strike the right tone in his understated response to Michael Jackson's death?
The "big dose of tragedy and difficulty" was a gentle phrase to address unproven allegations of child abuse, the odd changes Jackson made to his appearance and the still unexplained circumstances of his death.

Republican Congressman Peter King wasn't as delicate about the deceased.

"This guy was a pervert, he was a child molester," King said.

"I just think that we're too politically correct, no one wants to stand up and say we don't need Michael Jackson."

But Jackson had his defenders. Democrat Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee praised him at his funeral and alluded to the problems in his past.

"As members of the United States Congress, we understand the Constitution, we understand laws, and we know that people are innocent until proven otherwise."

Obama apparently didn't want to be part of the debate.

He said a few words, offered his sympathies and left Michael Jackson to the people who wanted to mourn him.

Michael Jackson Case Could Turn Criminal, LAPD Chief Says

The investigation into the death of Michael Jackson could turn into a criminal matter depending on the results of pending toxicology tests. Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton told CNN on Thursday that his department is awaiting the coroner's final report to decide whether to proceed with the investigation as either a homicide case or an accidental drug overdose.

A source also told the news channel that the late singer's family has been informed that the probe into the sudden death of the pop icon at age 50 on June 25 could turn into a criminal case. "The family is aware of a potential criminal prosecution," the anonymous source said.

After an initial autopsy on the singer was inconclusive, toxicology tests were ordered. With results expected in several weeks, Bratton said police have continued their investigation by speaking to a number of doctors who have treated Jackson over the years as they probe the singer's prescription-drug history.

"We are still awaiting corroboration from the coroner's office as to cause of death," Bratton said. "That is going to be very dependent on the toxicology reports that are due to come back. ... And based on those, we will have an idea of what it is we are dealing [with]: Are we dealing with a homicide, or are we dealing with accidental overdose?"

A source told CNN that doctors who refused to cooperate with investigators were issued subpoenas, and, if necessary, authorities will issue more as their probe widens. While Bratton would not elaborate on what investigators found at Beverly Hills-area home Jackson was renting, he confirmed that "a number of items" that will assist in the investigation were seized. CNN has reported that numerous bottles of prescription drugs were taken into evidence following Jackson's death, and other media outlets have claimed that among the drugs found was the powerful anesthetic Diprivan, which is not intended for private use outside a doctor's office.

Just days after the world paid tribute to Jackson in an emotional ceremony at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, more sordid details about Jackson's alleged prescription drug use continue to emerge. According to CNN, based on a confidential document from the Santa Barbara Country Sheriff's Department that was part of the probe into allegations of child-molestation against the singer — of which he was acquitted in 2005 — former employees of the singer said Jackson took more than 10 anti-anxiety Xanax pills a night to get to sleep. The document also said he often obtained the medication under his employees' names.

The 2004 document contains comments from one of Jackson's security guards, who told sheriff's deputies that he expressed concern about the amount of medicine Jackson was taking to get to sleep to another staffer, who reportedly replied that this was an improvement "because he was down from 30 to 40 Xanax pills a night."

The document from the sheriff's office investigation also reportedly relates a story from a security guard who said he quit working for the singer after Jackson "fell on his face" in a hotel room and hurt himself. The employee allegedly told Jackson around that time that he was not comfortable getting prescriptions for him and left his employ.

In 2006, when Jackson was first considering a plan to re-launch his career with a string of shows in Las Vegas, a promoter named Jack Wishna described simply as "deal-maker Jack Wishna" by CNN was trying to help the singer reemerge from a self-imposed silence following the 2005 acquittal. Wishna told CNN that while he was trying to land Jackson a regular engagement at one of the Las Vegas casinos, the singer would appear "drugged up" and "incoherent" during meetings and was often so weak and emaciated, he had to use a wheelchair to get around. Wishna said the attempted comeback shows were then allegedly canceled because of the star's weak condition.

It was around that same time that two anonymous sources told CNN that sister Janet Jackson attempted to stage an intervention on Jackson with the rest of his family, but was rebuffed.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

MICHAEL JACKSON'S GHOST

CNN live from Neverland Ranch, just watch



And here the LIVE feed from CNN where you can see the ghost too! (Start at 23:37
min)

Goodbye Michael Jackson

An 11-year-old girl who lost her father made the world cry with her on Tuesday.

Paris Jackson speaks at Michael Jackson Memorial, watch the video:




"Ever since I was born, daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine," said Paris Katherine Jackson, the second of Michael Jackson's three children, as a massive memorial service for her father neared its end in downtown Los Angeles.
"And I just want to say that I love him so much," Paris added, before breaking down in tears and burying herself in the arms of her aunt, Janet Jackson.

Her aunts, uncles and two brothers who were on stage at the Staples Center arena reached over to console Paris. Thousands of mourners in the audience dabbed their eyes with tissues.

It was the first time they had heard from a girl who, along with her two siblings, have often been hidden by veils or blankets when seen with their father.

"Everybody just broke down," said Tracie Laymon, a filmmaker from Los Angeles, who was in the audience. "Wow, it was really powerful."

It was the same refrain from other fans as they left the star-studded service or watched the broadcast on their television sets or online.

At some points during the 90-minute program, global Web traffic was 31 percent above normal, said Akamai Technologies, which monitors Internet traffic.

His brothers, who served as pallbearers, wore single white sequined gloves, a tribute to Jackson's signature look. Singers and sports celebrities took the stage and shared what Jackson meant to them. Between them, the performers have 40 Grammy awards -- a fitting tribute to a man who alone earned 13 in his lifetime.

"How much pain can one man take?" Marlon Jackson asked. "Maybe now, Michael, they will leave you alone."

Michael Jackson memorial draws crowds online

In death as in life, Michael Jackson continues to light up the Internet.



Millions of people around the world watched coverage of Jackson's memorial service on the Web, although the event appeared to fall well short of online viewership records.

Global Web traffic was at least 19 percent above normal, and as high as 33 percent above normal, during most of the star-studded memorial at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles, California, according to Akamai Technologies, a Massachusetts-based firm that monitors Internet traffic.

CNN.com reported 9.7 million live video streams Tuesday between 12 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET -- which included the entire memorial service -- according to CNN spokeswoman Jennifer Martin.

Jackson's startling June 25 death nearly brought the Web to a standstill, with several sites buckling under the sheer weight of traffic. The Internet appeared to fare better during Tuesday's memorial service, however.

"So far we are seeing some slowdowns ... [but] overall the Internet is performing OK," said Dan Berkowitz, spokesman for Keynote Systems, a mobile and Internet monitoring firm based in San Mateo, California, midway through the Staples Center event. Keynote monitors the 40 most popular news Web sites from major cities around the United States.

"This event will almost certainly shatter records for the biggest single live stream ever, and could be one of the biggest worldwide media events in history," wrote blogger Ben Parr on Mashable, the social media news site.

The 10 most popular topics on Twitter Tuesday afternoon were all connected to Jackson's memorial. Google Trends rated the Jackson memorial's online popularity as "volcanic," while on Web-traffic monitoring site Alexa, most of its hottest stories Tuesday were Jackson-related.

"It may be impossible to say for sure how many people watched once all is said and done, because there's still no comprehensive way to measure Web viewing," said Toni Fitzgerald, managing editor of Media Life.
During the sign-up period for the memorial ticket lottery, the Staples Center Web site took down all non-essential materials to ensure that it coped. Jackson family spokesman Ken Sunshine said the computer servers hosting the registration site counted 500 million "hits" -- 120,000 a second -- in the first 90 minutes on Friday.

About 17,500 fans were randomly selected to watch the memorial live at the Staples Center -- only a small fraction of the 1.6 million fans who applied for tickets.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Michael's body to be at Staples Center




Michael Jackson's body will be brought to the memorial service at Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday, a source involved in the planning said.

They poured in to Los Angeles from places far-flung, an army of Michael Jackson fans hoping to collectively mourn their idol in a massive ceremony at the Staples Center downtown Tuesday.

Police put up concrete barriers around the center, allowing only fans with tickets to the star-studded event to enter -- beginning at 6 a.m. (9 a.m. ET).

Parking lots in the area raised their prices, some as high as $30. Airports in Southern California saw a spike in bookings. And several movie theaters in the area announced special screenings of the event, which will also be carried live by some television networks and Web sites.

"I guess the crowd estimate is the $64,000 question that everybody is wondering about, and we are as well," Jim McDonnell, assistant police chief for Los Angeles, said Monday.

"I anticipate the crowd here will be well-behaved. It will be a crowd that gathers for the right reasons and keeps the reason they're there in mind."

Police would not say what kind of security measures they have put in place. The cash-strapped city has said it will foot the bill for law enforcement.

Until the last minute, the Jackson family remained tight-lipped about where the singer will be buried, but signs pointed to Hollywood Hills Forest Lawn cemetery.

Several carloads of people, Michael Jackson's sister La Toya among them, came and went from the heavily secured cemetery after sunset Monday. But it was not immediately clear whether they were there for a private viewing.

Shortly before the cars began arriving, a hearse drove up, with at least five police cars in tow.

The hearse backed partly in through the door of the Hall of Liberty -- a 1,200-seat auditorium on the grounds -- so that any casket unloaded and loaded would not be visible to the media helicopters overhead.

The Jackson family would not comment on the after-hours gathering. Neither would cemetery officials.

A preview of Tuesday's events

Tuesday will begin with a private gathering of Jackson family members at the cemetery at 8 a.m. (11 a.m. ET).

The California Highway Patrol will escort Jackson family members from his parents' Encino, California, home to the cemetery and then to the Staples Center, sources close to the planning said.

Michael Jackson's funeral will be Tuesday, said Jackson lawyer Burt Levitch. But he did not say what time or place.

It is not known whether Jackson's body will be taken to the Staples Center. However, an official with AEG Live -- the concert promoter handling the memorial -- said there would be no funeral processional.

The Staples event is expected to feature singers Mariah Carey, Usher and Stevie Wonder.Also participating will be basketball stars Kobe Bryant and Magic Johnson; singers Jennifer Hudson, John Mayer and Smokey Robinson; and activists Martin Luther King III and the Rev. Al Sharpton, according to an announcement released on behalf of the Jackson family.

Two notable absences will be actress Elizabeth Taylor, a longtime Jackson friend, and Debbie Rowe, Jackson's former wife and the mother of his two older children.

Taylor, in a message posted on Twitter, said she declined an invitation to speak because she "cannot be part of the public whoopla."

"I just don't believe that Michael would want me to share my grief with millions of others," Taylor tweeted. "How I feel is between us. Not a public event."

Rowe planned on attending but decided against it, said lawyer Marta Almli.

"The onslaught of media attention has made it clear her attendance would be an unnecessary distraction to an event that should focus exclusively on Michael's legacy," Almli said.

Fans flock to Dodger Stadium

All day Monday, fans who won tickets to the memorial service through a lottery swarmed to Dodger Stadium -- some in smart cars, some on scooters and even one in an airport shuttle.

They entered giddy with anticipation and exited shaking with excitement, holding two priceless tickets and sporting wristbands that organizers put on them to prevent resales.

"It's sparkly," said Alex Jugant, a student from Pasadena, California. "Michael would have liked that."

Organizers used a computer to choose 8,750 names from 1.6 million people who registered online. Each received a pair of tickets, for a total of 17,500 tickets.

Just 11,000 of those are for seats inside the Staples Center. The other 6,500 are for viewing the memorial telecast across the street at the Nokia Theater. AEG Live owns and operates both venues.

The Jackson family set aside an additional 9,000 Staples Center seats to give out to people they choose, organizers said.

The distribution process at the stadium was orderly and smooth, said Los Angeles Police Capt. Bill Murphy. One person tried to pass off a photocopied voucher; he was ejected, Murphy added.

Friday, July 3, 2009

New Jacko hits found in vaults

MICHAEL Jackson's influence in the charts could last another 30 years thanks to "dozens" of unreleased tracks.

A mountain of Jacko's work has been discovered in record company vaults and reportedly there's enough to make 30 NEW albums.

The tracks range from unused songs recorded during studio sessions for some of his mega-selling albums to recent collaborations with acts including Will.I.Am and Akon.

Tommy Mottola, former boss of Sony Music - who owned distribution rights to Jacko's music until 2003 - said: "There are dozens of songs that did not end up on any of his albums.

"People will be hearing a lot of that material for the first time ever. There's just some genius and brilliance in there."

He predicts the mystery tracks will ensure his music will outsell, and outlive, Elvis Presley.

Tickets to Jackson memorial to be free

Fans must register online for a lottery to win tickets to the Michael Jackson memorial Tuesday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, organizers said Friday.


REGISTER HERE


People who do not have one of the 17,500 free tickets to be handed out should stay away and watch the event on television, the Los Angeles acting mayor, Jan Perry, and a Los Angeles police official said.

Jackson family spokesman Ken Sunshine said no details would be released Friday about what fans will see at the memorial.

"It's still be being developed," Sunshine said about the Jackson memorial.

REGISTER HERE

MJ 's memorial may be a world event

Thousands are expected to swamp Los Angeles, California, to mourn him Tuesday at the Staples Center, and the accompanying media crush will be enormous.




The tribute to the King of Pop at Harlem's Apollo Theater earlier this week drew coverage from all over the world, along with a public turnout in the thousands.

Given the feverish interest in all things Jackson, the Los Angeles memorial could be one of the most-viewed events of all time.

"This will obviously be a huge media event, and with Web streams of the funeral, it may be impossible to say for sure how many people watched once all is said and done, because there's still no comprehensive way to measure Web viewing," said Toni Fitzgerald, of Media Life, in an e-mail interview.

A handful of events have earned the kind of worldwide coverage to put the world on pause, if only for a moment. The 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy "had the nation locked in a trance for two or three days," recalled TV critic Ed Bark of UncleBarky.com.

It was first believed the event would take place at Jackson's Neverland Ranch. But the family announced Thursday that it will hold a private ceremony Tuesday, and then a massive public memorial service at the Staples Center. Fans must register for 11,000 tickets that organizers will give out for the latter event.

Read the whole article on CNN

Larry King and Jermaine talk about Michael at the Neverland Ranch