Michael Jackson Dead

[Wrlmy]

Waiting for the announcement of the autopsy result is just horrible.
Am I the only one wondering if autopsy was neccessary? I wish they could just let the man go without further butchering his body..

 

[Tonichelle]

all questionable deaths get an autopsy, whether we like it or not - unless religious reasons are brought up...

he's a celeb... he doesn't have those rights it seems. none of the others have either. I don't agree with Keith Olberman on MSNBC yesterday's statement that celebrities sell their privacy to become celebs. I don't believe it should be. The "press"/"media" hide behind the 1st ammendment, but celebrity life is not a NEED TO KNOW... it's a want to know that sells. It's disgusting, and one of the reasons I HATE the "news".

 

[OverTime]

Yes, I was totally shocked when I heard yesterday.

 

[Wrlmy]

all questionable deaths get an autopsy, whether we like it or not - unless religious reasons are brought up...

he's a celeb... he doesn't have those rights it seems. none of the others have either. I don't agree with Keith Olberman on MSNBC yesterday's statement that celebrities sell their privacy to become celebs. I don't believe it should be. The "press"/"media" hide behind the 1st ammendment, but celebrity life is not a NEED TO KNOW... it's a want to know that sells. It's disgusting, and one of the reasons I HATE the "news".

I guess you're right. It's just too much. The direct cause of his death is already a public knowledge, so I'm just baffled there are more "questions" to be answered.

 

[Tonichelle]

well the "Family attorney" didn't help with his comment about MJ abusing meds again.

 

[heyang]

well the "Family attorney" didn't help with his comment about MJ abusing meds again.

I'd be firing the 'family attorney'. I'd be very suspicious of anything this person says. Whatever happened to attorney - client confidentiality?

 

[Enero]

well the "Family attorney" didn't help with his comment about MJ abusing meds again.

If you're talking about who I think you're talking about that guy is not MJ's attorney. Someone said on the Today show this morning that Michael's attorney was in Atlanta at the time of his death and that the man claiming to be his attorney, who was there when he died was not his attorney. Perhaps a family "friend" but not an attorney. As someone stated earlier, there's no way his attorney would be putting his business out there like that and even some of his so called "friends" who were making the rounds to all the morning shows talking about how bad he looked a couple of months ago, wouldn't be talking publicly about him, especially in what some would consider a "negative" manner if they were truly close friends of his.

Anyway, I was a fan of Michael's. I grew up listening to his music and was stunned by the news of his death. He was an incredible musician and revolutionized so many aspects of the music industry. He's leaving behind an amazing legacy that will influence artists for years to come.

 

[Tonichelle]

well he was claiming to be the "Jackson Family atorney" which I took to mean the other Jackson's, not his personal attorney... his family relations have always been strained (though they seem to back him when it counts)...

 

[Particle Man]

I don't agree with Keith Olberman on MSNBC yesterday's statement that celebrities sell their privacy to become celebs.

Seems Olberman's lack of critical thinking ability extends into topics other than politics.

The "press"/"media" hide behind the 1st amendment, but celebrity life is not a NEED TO KNOW... it's a want to know that sells. It's disgusting, and one of the reasons I HATE the "news".

ITA. There is a solution which I think would work well, but it won't happen. Let the media follow celebrities in commercial zones only. Make it a crime for them to stalk celebrities in residential zones. That would let the celebrities relax when they want, but also let the media get their pictures when the celebs go out on the town, or to clubs etc. The trash-tabloid "getting the newspaper with no makeup on" picture is just filth sold to the lowest common denominator.

 

[heyang]

ITA. There is a solution which I think would work well, but it won't happen. Let the media follow celebrities in commercial zones only. Make it a crime for them to stalk celebrities in residential zones. That would let the celebrities relax when they want, but also let the media get their pictures when the celebs go out on the town, or to clubs etc. The trash-tabloid "getting the newspaper with no makeup on" picture is just filth sold to the lowest common denominator.

What do you do about the celebrities who cultivate bad behavior and actually tell the papparazzi where they will be? Rumor is that Lindsay and Paris are in snits because they were displaced from the tabloid headlines by Jon & Kate (of + 8). I still don't understand why people worship Paris Hilton - what ever happened some of the trash going Paris free?

 

[Tonichelle]

there's a difference between those that want it (the non talents, IMO) and those that all they want to do is make music/films/whatever and be left alone when they aren't "on the job"

 

[goldenpleasures]

He still owned his songs. He may still have owned the Lennon & McCartney catalogue (or maybe he had to sell that). The annual publishing income from both is substancial.
It is true that he had financial problems but part of that was from some bad business deals and the exceptionally high cost of his lifestyle. His legal fees alone in the past six years topped 20 million dollars.

Did Jackson ever give anything major in humanitarian aid, or do any serious charity work? If not, I think that's reprehensible, given the amount of money he made.

he's a celeb... he doesn't have those rights it seems. none of the others have either. I don't agree with Keith Olberman on MSNBC yesterday's statement that celebrities sell their privacy to become celebs.

Well, I don't think Michael Jackson did but some celebrities do, without question.

 

[Tonichelle]

yes some do, but Keith was suggesting ANYONE in the spotlight MUST sell in order to be a celeb. And that's just because Keith is a talking news head who has a major ego and thinks that the press should not hold itself to any set of standards.

 

[demarinis5]

yes some do, but Keith was suggesting ANYONE in the spotlight MUST sell in order to be a celeb. And that's just because Keith is a talking news head who has a major ego and thinks that the press should not hold itself to any set of standards.

:agree:

 

[Tonichelle]

and this is why I am taking a break from my major broadcast journalism drives me nuts in their perception of what makes news... I've had TWO professors in FOUR plus years that actually hear me out in my argument, the others just give me poor marks because my thoughts are outdated. BLAH!

 

[janetfan]

Did Jackson ever give anything major in humanitarian aid, or do any serious charity work? If not, I think that's reprehensible, given the amount of money he made.
.

What rock have you been hiding under?
The song, "We Are The World" was written by MJ, performed by an all star group of singers under the direction of Quincy Jones, and all proceeds were donated to charity. (The song hit #1 round the world and millions of dollars were raised and donated.
MJ basically invented the concept of pop music charity recording and concerts

Sorry to sound rude but it is late here and your question dumbfounded me.
Please look into "We Are The World" and I think you will be surprised by his generosity.

 

[goldenpleasures]

What rock have you been hiding under?
The song, "We Are The World" was written by MJ, performed by an all star group of singers under the direction of Quincy Jones, and all proceeds were donated to charity. (The song hit #1 round the world and millions of dollars were raised and donated.
MJ basically invented the concept of pop music charity recording and concerts

Sorry to sound rude but it is late here and your question dumbfounded me.
Please look into "We Are The World" and I think you will be surprised by his generosity.

Sorry, but writing a song for charity is not the same as giving away your own money. He must have made hundreds of millions of dollars -what I wanted to know was whether he'd given substantial chunks of that away to humanitarian causes.

 

[seniorita]

maybe he did gave from his own pockets, who knows, but you d prefer if he went out advertising it ??

Sorry, but writing a song for charity is not the same as giving away your own money.

And how a song written for charity is not the same?Part of this money would go to his pocket otherwise(and the artists involved) , instead of the route song-sales-pocket-charity, they short cut to song-sales-charity. And i suppose this act had had a lot of advertisement concerning africa aid which is good.
My only thought about charities is if the money are given to the in real need destination or the government bodies of these countries.

 

[janetfan]

Sorry, but writing a song for charity is not the same as giving away your own money. He must have made hundreds of millions of dollars -what I wanted to know was whether he'd given substantial chunks of that away to humanitarian causes.

You are 100% right. It is totally different. Writing a check for ten million dollars would take MJ what - about 5 minutes?

To come up with the idea to write a song for charity, and then to write it, to have it arranged, and to get many of the era's biggest Pop Stars to appear on the recording and video and have it produced by Quincy took more of his time and creative energy than you might be aware of.
Besides donating proceeds from the sale of the recording and video to charity, there was also the sheet music/publishing rights and distribution that had to dealt with.
In addition to the standard piano/vocal sheet music - various arrangements were made for organ, guitar and virtually all of the other instruments with a piano accompaniment. In the USA alone there were arrangements made of "We Are The World" for school/church choral groups in 4 different voicings, as well as many different instrumental arrangements for school and community bands and various chamber ensembles.
Besides publishing so many arrangements of the song special distribution deals had to be worked out so the music could be sold everywhere with few restrictions. This was easy in the USA market but a bit more complicated in Europe and Asia. But it was all worked out very successfully.
Besides raising millions and millions of dollars for charity, the song, through the effort MJ put into it did more to raise the awareness of the suffering in Africa then any check MJ could have ever written.
He gave alot of himself for this project and whether one likes his music or approved of his lifestyle - it should never be doubted that he was a generous and charitable person.

 

[dorispulaski]

janetfan, Thank you for a wonderful post.

For those who don't remember We Are the World, there's a wikipedia entry describing what it was and what went on.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Are_the_World

Michael also did work with orphans

http://www.examiner.com/x-7928-Char...s-charity-work-that-helped-the-worlds-orphans

Listed below are examples of Jackson's efforts to help these children:

September, 1992 - Jackson went to Bucharest, Romania to open a playground. He donated funds for at the Leaganul Pentru Copii Sfinta Ecaterina orphanage.

September, 1996 - Jackson visited a state orphanage in Bucharest, Romania prior to his concert in that city. He handed out toys to the children.

November, 1996 - Jackson visited an orphanage in Bangkok, Thailand. He left a donation of $100,000 dollars, as well as distributing toys and gifts to children.

April 1, 2004 - Jackson received the Humanitarian Award from The African Ambassadors' Spouses Association (AASA) for his worldwide humanitarian efforts, particularly in Africa. Michael financially supported programs in Africa to build and equip hospitals, orphanages, homes, and schools and financially supported programs for Child immunization, HIV-AIDS, Education, and Apartheid.

March 14, 2007 - Jackson gave complimentary tickets to orphans,so that they could attend a "Fan Appreciation" event in Tokyo. At the event, Michael went onto the balcony to greet them all.

A true humanitarian, Jackson was listed in the 2000 edition of the Guiness Book Of World Records as breaking the world record for the "Most Charities Supported By a Pop Star". He supported 39 charity organizations, either with monetary donations or through sponsorships of their projects.

So Michael was not only charitable, he had the world record for charity for a pop star, according to Guinness World Records.

This page has a list of the 39 charities:

http://www.allmichaeljackson.com/charities.html

This blog entry sums his charitable actions up very well:

http://jollypeople.com/blog/2009/06/27/michael-jackson-music-charity-legacy/

How many people recall that, in his heyday, Jackson wrote a number of hugely influential songs for remarkable charity events and campaigns? Gone Too Soon was in honor of pediatric AIDS victim Ryan White, We Are The World was written by Michael and Lionel Ritchie and the proceeds of the record were donated to those starving in Africa, while all sales of Man In the Mirror went to Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times for cancer children.

Finally, Heal The World was the flag song for the Foundation of the same name that Michael set up to hlep numerous international charity organizations combat poverty, hunger, abuse, cancer, AIDS, disease, racism and illiteracy