Sunday, July 28, 2013

Michael Jackson, The Addict ?


Being an an addict or drug dependent person doesn't mean the person is always a practicing addict or using and taking drugs. It Just means they have addiction or dependency health issues and can easily relapse back into that behaviour. Addiction is an illness, not a question of ones character. 

Michael himself admitted he had a problem with addiction and dependency in 1993 and with the help of his good friend Elizabeth Taylor checked into a rehabilitation center.


Sadly MJ would never be afforded the opportunity to attend a 12 step program group or similar programs to continue therapy and help . (He was too famous to have privacy in doing that) But one of the Drs' testified that Michael was given and following a 12 step program along with his narcan implant and he said it was helping him at that time.


We heard from several Doctors that Michael reached out for help and didn't want to be dependent on these pain medications. We know he wasn't always taking these drugs and was successful many times in getting free from them. but the sad truth is, because of his Great fame he wasn't able to get the proper help that is afforded to so many millions of others who also suffer from addiction or dependency. He was alone in fighting his battles. Michael said sometimes he felt like the loneliest person in this world. I believe he was most of the time, because of his great fame, he was alienated from the world and so many things we take for granted.


Based on evidence presented, Michael wasn't abusing pain medications in the later years of his life and at death his autopsy didn't show any signs of abuse from prescription drugs or any recreational drugs.


Regardless this has NOTHING to do with who he was as a person, as a humanitarian, Great artist and entertainer. With all the trials and tribulation he faced these are indeed awesome accomplishments, which should be awarded, lauded and applauded. 


Michael Jackson was a very kind, generous, gentle, genius and artist. The best entertainer to ever grace this planet with with childlike heart of gold to match... and truth be told,

 The World at large Loves Michael Jackson and always will. 


They drew a Line to shut him out - Heretic , rebel, a thing to flout.
But love and he had the wit to win: He drew a circle and took them In"


Paraphrased From the poem " Outwitted” 

~ Edwin Markham

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Michael Jackson Fans Scream For Justice with Open Letter to the media


Open Letter: Tired of Schemes: Michael Jackson Fans Scream For Justice



To the members of the media,



Re: The Sunday People’s Michael Jackson Fabricated Stories


A few days ago, The Sunday People, a well-known British tabloid, published a misleading and titillating report stating that Michael Jackson had paid off dozens of boys to keep quiet about abuse they suffered at his hands. The Sunday People cited the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as their source for these incredulous allegations, and very quickly, media outlets around the world (from People Magazine to Huffington Post) have copied and pasted the fabricated story without first vetting it. Had they read the story before pasting it onto their   own sites or papers, many would have noticed the inconsistencies in the Sunday People's story. Roger Friedman pointed this out first, while it took CNN mere days to debunk the original piece.


Following CNN’s lead, several legitimate media have since come out and challenged or dismissed The People Sunday’s fabricated FBI stories. These allegations are categorically false. The ONLY Michael Jackson files, which the FBI published a few months after his death in 2009, DO NOT corroborate the tabloid’s stories.Tom Mesereau, Jackson’s lead defense attorney in the 2005 molestation trial, confirmed this point, as he read Jackson’s released FBI files and none of the claims reported in the Sunday People, were true.


In fact, these very stories date back several decades.They were first published by another tabloid over two decades ago, only to be disproven by a handful of ethical journalists and Jackson’s activist fans. The People Sunday’s faux-FBI files are nothing more than statements made by a Jackson’s disgruntled ex-employee, who admitted on tape to fabricating and selling his stories to the tabloids. In addition, this former employee admitted to embellishing his version of events, based on how much the tabloids were willing to pay. The more outlandish the stories, the more money they would collect. Quite simply, The Sunday People have recycled an already debunked story from decades ago.


The Michael Jackson fan community will no longer turn a blind eye to these blatantlies, and outlandish stories. The lack of journalistic integrity coupled with the need for website hits and fierce competition for ad revenue, have allowed the media to forgo ethics for profit. This “break the news first and vet the story later” attitude is irresponsible, reprehensible and does a great disservice to the public and the profession.


We implore the media to apply due diligence and restore some level of integrity in their news coverage. Allow the public to have some confidence that the stories we are reading from our favorite newspapers, magazines or websites were vetted...not fabricated. If the tabloids continue to knowingly publish false stories about Michael Jackson, his fans will have no other choice than to contact their bottom line; their sponsors, advertisers and ultimately, their profit.



 Signed by the following seventy-two (72) Michael Jackson fan organizations











PDF File
https://www.dropbox.com/s/j84hff6js8tp115/Open%20Letter%20To%20Media%20Outlets%20FINAL.pdf


Join the discussion at MJJCommunity.com



Thursday, July 04, 2013

'Recycled tabloid reports' of secret Michael Jackson 'FBI files' questionable

Great to see the media come forward in defense of Michael.  A few journalist have been stepping up, hopefully more will come forward  to refute the bogus claims originating in Sunday People article. Seem it's a never ending battle for Michael's  fans.  It's not fun growing  rhinoceros skin, (our armour) but  with each battle we become stronger and more resolved in defending his innocence.  We come fully armed with facts and historical archives. To refute the lies and teach the Tabloid Junkies  who have been blinded  from the truth for years.  I feel hopeful seeing many comments on various articles from the general public, who also believe in Michael and grow tired  of the endless bogus attacks on him .  The tabloids and yellow media do  not represent the hearts of the people and as I stated  many times. The truth is "The World Loves Michael Jackson" ~ Qbee


"Lies run sprints, the truth runs marathons." ~ Michael Jackson

Tabloid report on Michael Jackson 'FBI files' questioned

By Alan Duke, CNN


STORY HIGHLIGHTS

* CNN's Drew Griffin: "None of this is new -- zero -- and there was no FBI involvement"

* "This stuff was not in the FBI files," former Jackson lawyer Tom Mesereau says


* "The paper took this old story and (made) it seem new," journalist Diane Dimond says


* A former porn actor whose investigator's license was revoked is linked to the material



Los Angeles (CNN) -- A London tabloid declared Sunday that "secret FBI files" reveal Michael Jackson paid millions to silence dozens of boys he abused.

The story quickly echoed throughout global media, perhaps in part because of the trial of the Jackson family's wrongful death lawsuit against a concert promoter and the recent suicide attempt by Jackson's teenage daughter.

A website can enjoy a sharp spike in traffic -- which can translate into advertising revenue -- with a sensational headline.

But journalists and others who have closely followed the controversies and legal fights surrounding the pop star found the description by the Sunday People newspaper of the documents as being from FBI files to be questionable.

'Recycled tabloid reports'

"None of this is new -- zero -- and there was no FBI involvement," said CNN Special Investigations reporter Drew Griffin. "It just sounds like recycled tabloid reports from 20 years ago."

Griffin saw and reported on the same material more than a decade ago as a local Los Angeles reporter.

"The bottom line is this stuff was not in the FBI files," said Tom Mesereau, the lawyer who successfully defended Jackson against child molestation charges in a lengthy trial in 2005. "The FBI closed the investigation. It sounds like a bunch of utter nonsense."

Journalist Diane Dimond, who is no defender of the pop icon, also attacked the Sunday People article.

"It is obvious the paper took this old story and proceeded to make it seem new by adding numbers to it -- 24 boys paid off $35 million by Michael Jackson," Dimond said. "The problem is there's no evidence to back up the claim that Jackson made that many payoffs."

Dimond's book "Be Careful Who You Love: Inside the Michael Jackson Case" details her coverage of allegations of improper relationships between Jackson and boys.

The tabloid report was published at a critical time for the Jackson family, as its wrongful death lawsuit against a concert promoter entered its 10th week and while Jackson's daughter, Paris, is being treated after a reported suicide attempt.

"The files will also dismay *****'s kids, Prince, 16, Paris, 15, and 11-year-old Blanket, who have not yet come to terms with losing their father," the Sunday People story said.

Michael Jackson considered the British tabloids' use of "*****" to be a derogatory term.

Griffin, Dimond and Mesereau each point to Paul Barresi, a former porn actor who lost his private investigator's license for fabricating evidence, as the person who possessed the material published Sunday.

It included an audio recording of an interview done by Jim Mitteager, a reporter with the U.S.-based Globe tabloid, with a couple who worked as chefs at Jackson's Neverland Ranch. Mitteager left the tape to Baressi when he died of cancer in 1997.

"Paul Barresi made it no secret over the years that he had come into possession of the Mitteager tapes and that they included a long interview with Philip and Stella LeMarque, the former live-in couple at Neverland," Dimond said. "He discussed the tapes and their contents with me on several occasions."

Griffin said Barresi also gave him access to the material years ago. It included reports Barresi wrote when he worked for now-disgraced celebrity investigator Anthony Pellicano. Pellicano is serving a 15-year federal prison sentence for a wiretapping and racketeering convictions.

Porn star turned P.I.

"Since Barresi has fairly recently been stripped of his P.I.'s license, I can imagine that money has been tight for him," Dimond said. "My best guess is that the UK paper offered Mr. Barresi several thousand dollars for his copies of the old Pellicano files."

When CNN called Barresi on Tuesday to ask if he sold the materials to the newspaper, he responded: "I have no comment and that's all I have to say."

But before the question could be posed, he asked if the reporter wanted to know how many times he's had sex in a hammock. He explained it was a common question people ask because of his porn film career.

Barresi's films, with titles such as "Married Men with Men on the Side" and "Leather Bears and Smooth Chested Huskies," won him the X-Rated Critics' award for best "group grope scene" in 1985 and he was inducted into the GayVN's Hall of Fame in 2008.

Barresi, now 60, retired from the porn business to focus more on his investigative work, but court records suggest he was not as successful in that work.

He obtained a California private investigator's license in 2009, but lost it three years later. He signed a "stipulated settlement" with the state admitting that he faked a report about an ex-girlfriend's drug use to get her fired from her hospital job as a nurse in 2011.

Federal court records also show Barresi and his wife filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2010.

Tabloid stands by story

A Sunday People spokesman would not confirm that Barresi was the paper's source or if it paid for access, but he did stand by the story.

"Our article clearly states that we have seen copies of reports, phone transcripts and interviews carried out by an agent working for private investigator Anthony Pellicano who had been hired by Michael Jackson," Rupert Smith said in an e-mail to CNN. "The files were seized by the FBI when Pellicano was himself investigated in 2002. The documents then became part of the FBI's files on Jackson case numbers CADCE MJ-02463 and CR 01046."

In fact, the FBI released files it collected on Michael Jackson in December 2009, six months after his death. Most of them related to the federal agency's support of the California investigations of child molestation allegations against the entertainer.

Los Angeles Police, who were investigating child molestation allegations against Jackson, called the FBI's Los Angeles office in September 1993 to suggest the agency look into a "possible federal violation against Jackson concerning transportation of a minor across state lines for immoral purposes (Mann Act)", one document said.

The Los Angeles County district attorney did not pursue criminal charges against Jackson, but the singer did reach a confidential financial settlement with the 1993 accuser, Jordan Chandler, and his father after they filed a lawsuit. Reports at the time said the Chandlers got between $16 million and $20 million from Jackson's insurance company.

The Chandler accusation became a key part of the prosecution's case when Jackson was tried and acquitted of molestation a decade later in Santa Barbara County, California.

Mesereau, who reviewed the 330 redacted pages released by the FBI, said the documents purported by the newspaper to have been included in the files were not there.

CNN also reviewed the files, which are still posted on the FBI website, and found none referring to other payoffs by Jackson. None of the file numbers matched those quoted by the newspaper.

"You can imagine what the prosecutor in Santa Barbara would have done with this information if they really had it," Mesereau said.

Phillip LeMarque did testify, telling the court that he once caught Jackson improperly touching then-child actor Macaulay Culkin while he worked as Jackson's self-described cook and "majordomo" for about 10 months in 1991.

Culkin, the second witness called in Jackson's defense, denied any improper touching by Jackson.

Jackson's guilt is 'inconsequential'
Barresi represented the LaMarques in an attempt to sell their story to tabloid media outlets, Mesereau said.

LeMarque admitted at the trial that he tried to make money from his story, even meeting with Barresi, who promised him $100,000 from the tabloid press, maybe more if the story were dirtier.

"He began to make the story more and more graphic as the price went up," Mesereau said, referring to Phillip LaMarque.

"Was it true that the broker told him the payoff might be higher if Mr. Jackson's hand was inside Culkin's pants?" Mesereau asked during cross examination.

"That's what he said," LeMarque said.

Barresi discussed his deal with the LaMarques in an interview for a PBS "Frontline" documentary in 1994.

"My interest in helping them was that they promised me a percentage of what they made," Baressi said. "I was not on any kind of crusade to bring anyone to justice. Whether Michael was guilty or innocent at that point was inconsequential. My interest was strictly for the money, as was theirs, I might add."

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/07/03/showbiz/michael-jackson-files/?hpt=en_c2


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