Reporters stake out the Los Angeles' Staples Center, where fans will gather Tuesday for Michael Jackson's memorial service. Click below to see footage captured by CNN's Don Lemon outside the venue.
ENOUGH Michael Jackson. Our soldiers are dying in an offensive in Afghanistan. Jackson's early demise is unfortunate, but wWhat are you thinking to generate/pander to this mass overkill coverage about a pop singer?
July 3, 2009 at 2:28 pm |
Robert
Can we lay off all the attention around this and analyzing every angle. There are more important things to report on that need immediate action. Maybe Sanjay can report on how messed up and unhealthy our food supply is which is one of the causes of the american health condition and the rising cost of health care or would that make an advertising client mad causing a drop in CNN revenue.
July 3, 2009 at 3:23 pm |
David
PLEASE....We are all Jacksoned out! Enough already. The world is full of real newsworthy items that people really need to be aware of!
Jackson was not the last man on earth......
July 3, 2009 at 4:40 pm |
r.Will
Please, please, please -no more info on Michael Jackson. TMI
July 3, 2009 at 4:44 pm |
Dan M
If my family member dies, I have to pay for any memorial expenses I may incur.
If the Jacksons want to have a Memorial for Michael, (thay certainly can afford the expense), they should pay all costs to include traffic control, etc., especially at a time when the state of California is in such a financial mess.
July 3, 2009 at 4:47 pm |
michael armstrong sr.
be cool people you only get to die once this guy left something behind for all of us which is great music all the ongoing media will transfer to nancy grace after he's burried and the fans can watch her for the next several years because that lady weres a story out big time .
July 3, 2009 at 5:12 pm |
Kevin
My Opinion,
Since this will such a file high profile viewing of the Mr. Jackson, it will either be a closed casket or open with a WAX CASTING inside.
I highly believe the real body will not be on site!
The last great LIP SINK of all time
July 3, 2009 at 8:22 pm |
Abdul
Hey Don, I figured I'd post here instead of flooding your twitter.
I understand MJ wasn't a perfect man, no one is perfect. I don't idolize him as such, I don't know him personally, only the things I know publicly. But based on what is out there in the public its easy to draw a conclusion that hes garnered some wacky treatment. I also am not a fanatic of his, but his story has interested me over the last 7 or 8 years due to the differences between the way he was portrayed by the media and the way he was portrayed by those who knew him.
Has there anyone else in the history of mankind to have been rumoured to sleep in a hyperbaric chamber? Even up to his death there were lies being spread about his health, when we can all see he was perfectly healthy in the rehearsal video of his. So keeping in mind that plus the fact he was likely the most popular living person in our time, its not hard to imagine a lot of people making crazy conspiracies about him. And thats really where most of the Wacko-Jacko stuff comes from.
As far as his appearance goes, yes his nose is not the same nose he was born with. He claims he had 2 plastic surgeries on it, God knows if he had more or not but you can't believe any claim of a plastic surgeon– anyone who claims they did 13 plastic surgeries without evidence is just looking to get a plug in for their clinic.
Nonetheless, the way his face looked in the Thriller video is the same way he looked when he died. The white makeup he had to wear to cover his vitiligo changed the way light reacted to his face (normal skin has a translucent property) and gave him a creepy look under certain conditions, but you can take a side by side comparison of him in the Thriller video (after he already had the nose done) and a recent picture and outside of some weight and skin colour differences the structure of his face is exactly the same. He didn't have any surgeries for the last 25 years in my estimation, contrary to the public picture painted of a man who was obsessed with his looks.
I have a deviated septum and I deal with breathing and sinus issues day to day so I don't blame him getting surgery on it after he broke it. I'd do it in a heartbeat if I had the money.
As far as Vitiligo goes, I did send you some links to youtube videos which show his condition. There is one clear as day picture where you can see that the pigment from all of his neck is gone during a performance. He regularly covered it up with makeup. There are pictures floating around on the internet of the makeup rubbing off on his costume and microphone as well. Once his skin lost most of it's pigment he started using light makeup to cover the dark spots. If anyone took the effort to go through stock photos of MJ it wouldn't be too hard to spot. Even on some of his officially released photos from the 90s you can see the remaining pigmented spots around his wrists.
My father had vitiligo so I know how serious it is and I know how untreatable it is. The local doctors (Canada) really had no answer for my father. It covered his arms within a matter of a few months. He did end up going to Pakistan for some treatment they had there which wasn't done here, and he changed his diet and it did cure his problem and the pigment came back to his arms. That being said it was initially devastating to my father as is any visible skin disease. He felt he had to hide his arms and hands everywhere he went until it got better.
I just wish that someone would actually take their time and do some real reporting by diving through the various photos of MJ during the 80s rather than just talk about speculation and rumours.
Like I said no the man wasn't perfect and I am not looking for anyone to make him infallible to error, but for the stuff that's obvious to prove/disprove, it should be done as a service to his memory.
July 3, 2009 at 10:13 pm |
Shari, Florida
HERE WE GO AGAIN. Today the documentation from the CIA's interview with Saddam Hussein about his non-existent WMD program was released....there is still the big push in Afghanistan, (and I'd like to know how our troops are doing). One of our soldiers is a POW of the Taliban (and I want to know what's happening with him-or her)....or maybe all this happened YESTERDAY, I'm not completely sure because I'm having a difficult time hearing the REAL NEWS over all that michael jackson music. AND just like the overwhelming media coverage of the overdose-relate death of that Anna WHOEVER ex-stripper who became infamous by marrying an 80 year old man and appearing on a reality TV show obviously high as a kite-WHOEVER....I AM GOING TO HAVE TROUBLE AT THE PHARMACY AGAIN THIS MONTH because the good doctors and good pharmacists in this country are scared to death they are going to get arrested if he give a vicodin to someone who was just run over by a bus because of these unethical doctors who essentially sell their prescription pads to emotionally-stunted wealthy idiots.
I am a REAL chronic pain patient. I NEVER take my medicine inappropriately, I take it exactly as it says on the bottle because I DON'T FIND IT THAT DIFFICULT TO FOLLOW HEALTHCARE RULES, because the goal is to make myself feel Well and Normal, not HIGH...but no one ever reports any good news, like those of us who are pain management success stories-those of us who don't doctor shop, abuse prescription drugs and kill ourselves because of our own stupidity...and calling Dr. Gupta–Hey!!!! While you were agreeing with all of the journalists joining in the fray that yes, too much demerol (or whatever d-word drug it was that came up in the toxicology report) can kill a person (really?) you should have ALSO said something about the importance of good pain control for a person's quality of life when it's administered by an appropriate professional in an appropriate environment-you are a real, and I think, a good doctor who knows that inadequate pain control is as real of a health issue as is substance abuse in this country...I also imagine you know that the US has something like 80% more people in our hospitals who are receiving inadequate post-surgical pain management than any other industrialized nation. That's pathetic....just like all of this ridiculous coverage of an entertainer and how millions of strangers are supposedly feeling grief over his death. All I can say to that is Good Grief!!!!!
I think this is the first time I've actually been GLAD to see Sarah Palin on TV!
July 3, 2009 at 10:44 pm |
Cathie
Michael Jacksons memorial service is important to alot of people. I am GLAD he is being seen off in such a manner as the KING OF POP should be. **Sometimes I am really suprised at how cold and sinicle peopel cal be. The man is an ICON to the world...and loved by millions of people.
As far as the taxes or what have you that may or may not be used to 'pay' for his memorial...NO BODY mentions ANYTHING about other events that require more security or police when other big events are happening. And how do we know that the Jackson Family isn't providing moneies for this occasion!
Anyway...alot of people, millions, CARE about seeing Michael Jackson off and getting closure to what meant alot to them. IF YOU DON TLIKE IT OR WANT TO WATCH IT....then TURN THE CHANNEL!! There will be aday when there is something on of interest to YOU that the rest of the world could give two flips about. THen it will be their turn to turn the channel!
July 4, 2009 at 10:24 am |
Larry
Hello,
Providing you do not have this information already, you should talk to former anesthesiologist Neil Ratner. He was Mr. Jackson's anesthesiologist during his HIStory touring. He was a qualified anesthesiologist that administered and monitored Diprivan to Jackson to aid with his sleeping habits. I do not know how legal that is or isn't in administering that drug outside of a hospital setting, but nonetheless, Ratner was at least 'qualified' to do such a task.
Conrad Murray was a Cardiologist. Not an anesthesiologist. He was not qualified to administer such a drug through IV sedation. Murray also knew the address to Jackson's house because he had been there too many times to count. (As he told authority's he did not know the address). That is just a diversion to account for the time lapse before 911 was dialed and 'get rid' of any incriminating material.
July 4, 2009 at 10:24 am |
Cathie
Michael Jackson surley deserves a formal send off and farwell. He was loved and adored by millions of people and he deserves it!
As far as tax money being used....so what!!? Nobody says anything about other big events that require additional police or security. THIS event, is deservedly so, worth it!! Besides, nobody knows whether the Jackson family is giving monies to the state or city to help cover that.
And finally....if you dont want to WATCH the Michael Jakcosn coverage, then TURN THE CHANNEL when it's on!! There are millions of people who do CARE, and who are following it to the end. **Someday, there will be something going on that YOU want covered from start to finsih...and others wont give one flip about it! Then, it will be their turn to turn the channel!!
July 4, 2009 at 10:30 am |
Dnnie
There are plenty of news hours to cover all the news. Its not Michael Jackson fault if news people leave other news out. If they wanted to cover it, then I guess they would!
July 4, 2009 at 10:33 am |
christa
I loved his music and I still do, but he was no hero and only heroes should have this coverage. America you just don't know when to stop it. The reality is, he was an addict and a few other things I will not mention. Enough is enough. What about the kidnapped soldier, or the soldiers who were killed. These people are HEROES, not M.J. Stop it now.
July 4, 2009 at 10:40 am |
guy
No wonder the american people is mostly brain dead, the spectacle of CNN about MJ`s death is a good exemple on how to take the sheeps to the slaughter house..... Discusting!
July 4, 2009 at 7:21 pm |
Angela
I am wondering why Don Lemon allowed Toure's comments concerning Michael's marriage to Lisa Marie Presley to go unchallenged. I would ask what would Toure have know about their life together? What right did he have to say what he said? I think Lisa Marie answered a question that no one should ever have been asked best in her blog. Maybe Toure should have taken a moment to read what she said. NOT A SHAM! I would love to know when people are going to stop the lies about Michael Jackson.
July 7, 2009 at 12:33 pm |
Kevin
Back on July 3rd, I noted to the world that MJ would not make his final appearence. How do you make a gold plated casket seeming disappear? If CNN, ABC, NBC and CBS review all their video tapes combined they just might see something odd, probably right in front of the camera... There where more cameras around there then any other event in history!
Lets Get Mike Home!
Please:
If anyone has home video of what seems to be something strange at the JACKSON FUNERAL at the STAPLES CENTER send it to CNN,, tell me KEVIN to YA.
ENOUGH Michael Jackson. Our soldiers are dying in an offensive in Afghanistan. Jackson's early demise is unfortunate, but wWhat are you thinking to generate/pander to this mass overkill coverage about a pop singer?
Can we lay off all the attention around this and analyzing every angle. There are more important things to report on that need immediate action. Maybe Sanjay can report on how messed up and unhealthy our food supply is which is one of the causes of the american health condition and the rising cost of health care or would that make an advertising client mad causing a drop in CNN revenue.
PLEASE....We are all Jacksoned out! Enough already. The world is full of real newsworthy items that people really need to be aware of!
Jackson was not the last man on earth......
Please, please, please -no more info on Michael Jackson. TMI
If my family member dies, I have to pay for any memorial expenses I may incur.
If the Jacksons want to have a Memorial for Michael, (thay certainly can afford the expense), they should pay all costs to include traffic control, etc., especially at a time when the state of California is in such a financial mess.
be cool people you only get to die once this guy left something behind for all of us which is great music all the ongoing media will transfer to nancy grace after he's burried and the fans can watch her for the next several years because that lady weres a story out big time .
My Opinion,
Since this will such a file high profile viewing of the Mr. Jackson, it will either be a closed casket or open with a WAX CASTING inside.
I highly believe the real body will not be on site!
The last great LIP SINK of all time
Hey Don, I figured I'd post here instead of flooding your twitter.
I understand MJ wasn't a perfect man, no one is perfect. I don't idolize him as such, I don't know him personally, only the things I know publicly. But based on what is out there in the public its easy to draw a conclusion that hes garnered some wacky treatment. I also am not a fanatic of his, but his story has interested me over the last 7 or 8 years due to the differences between the way he was portrayed by the media and the way he was portrayed by those who knew him.
Has there anyone else in the history of mankind to have been rumoured to sleep in a hyperbaric chamber? Even up to his death there were lies being spread about his health, when we can all see he was perfectly healthy in the rehearsal video of his. So keeping in mind that plus the fact he was likely the most popular living person in our time, its not hard to imagine a lot of people making crazy conspiracies about him. And thats really where most of the Wacko-Jacko stuff comes from.
As far as his appearance goes, yes his nose is not the same nose he was born with. He claims he had 2 plastic surgeries on it, God knows if he had more or not but you can't believe any claim of a plastic surgeon– anyone who claims they did 13 plastic surgeries without evidence is just looking to get a plug in for their clinic.
Nonetheless, the way his face looked in the Thriller video is the same way he looked when he died. The white makeup he had to wear to cover his vitiligo changed the way light reacted to his face (normal skin has a translucent property) and gave him a creepy look under certain conditions, but you can take a side by side comparison of him in the Thriller video (after he already had the nose done) and a recent picture and outside of some weight and skin colour differences the structure of his face is exactly the same. He didn't have any surgeries for the last 25 years in my estimation, contrary to the public picture painted of a man who was obsessed with his looks.
I have a deviated septum and I deal with breathing and sinus issues day to day so I don't blame him getting surgery on it after he broke it. I'd do it in a heartbeat if I had the money.
As far as Vitiligo goes, I did send you some links to youtube videos which show his condition. There is one clear as day picture where you can see that the pigment from all of his neck is gone during a performance. He regularly covered it up with makeup. There are pictures floating around on the internet of the makeup rubbing off on his costume and microphone as well. Once his skin lost most of it's pigment he started using light makeup to cover the dark spots. If anyone took the effort to go through stock photos of MJ it wouldn't be too hard to spot. Even on some of his officially released photos from the 90s you can see the remaining pigmented spots around his wrists.
My father had vitiligo so I know how serious it is and I know how untreatable it is. The local doctors (Canada) really had no answer for my father. It covered his arms within a matter of a few months. He did end up going to Pakistan for some treatment they had there which wasn't done here, and he changed his diet and it did cure his problem and the pigment came back to his arms. That being said it was initially devastating to my father as is any visible skin disease. He felt he had to hide his arms and hands everywhere he went until it got better.
I just wish that someone would actually take their time and do some real reporting by diving through the various photos of MJ during the 80s rather than just talk about speculation and rumours.
Like I said no the man wasn't perfect and I am not looking for anyone to make him infallible to error, but for the stuff that's obvious to prove/disprove, it should be done as a service to his memory.
HERE WE GO AGAIN. Today the documentation from the CIA's interview with Saddam Hussein about his non-existent WMD program was released....there is still the big push in Afghanistan, (and I'd like to know how our troops are doing). One of our soldiers is a POW of the Taliban (and I want to know what's happening with him-or her)....or maybe all this happened YESTERDAY, I'm not completely sure because I'm having a difficult time hearing the REAL NEWS over all that michael jackson music. AND just like the overwhelming media coverage of the overdose-relate death of that Anna WHOEVER ex-stripper who became infamous by marrying an 80 year old man and appearing on a reality TV show obviously high as a kite-WHOEVER....I AM GOING TO HAVE TROUBLE AT THE PHARMACY AGAIN THIS MONTH because the good doctors and good pharmacists in this country are scared to death they are going to get arrested if he give a vicodin to someone who was just run over by a bus because of these unethical doctors who essentially sell their prescription pads to emotionally-stunted wealthy idiots.
I am a REAL chronic pain patient. I NEVER take my medicine inappropriately, I take it exactly as it says on the bottle because I DON'T FIND IT THAT DIFFICULT TO FOLLOW HEALTHCARE RULES, because the goal is to make myself feel Well and Normal, not HIGH...but no one ever reports any good news, like those of us who are pain management success stories-those of us who don't doctor shop, abuse prescription drugs and kill ourselves because of our own stupidity...and calling Dr. Gupta–Hey!!!! While you were agreeing with all of the journalists joining in the fray that yes, too much demerol (or whatever d-word drug it was that came up in the toxicology report) can kill a person (really?) you should have ALSO said something about the importance of good pain control for a person's quality of life when it's administered by an appropriate professional in an appropriate environment-you are a real, and I think, a good doctor who knows that inadequate pain control is as real of a health issue as is substance abuse in this country...I also imagine you know that the US has something like 80% more people in our hospitals who are receiving inadequate post-surgical pain management than any other industrialized nation. That's pathetic....just like all of this ridiculous coverage of an entertainer and how millions of strangers are supposedly feeling grief over his death. All I can say to that is Good Grief!!!!!
I think this is the first time I've actually been GLAD to see Sarah Palin on TV!
Michael Jacksons memorial service is important to alot of people. I am GLAD he is being seen off in such a manner as the KING OF POP should be. **Sometimes I am really suprised at how cold and sinicle peopel cal be. The man is an ICON to the world...and loved by millions of people.
As far as the taxes or what have you that may or may not be used to 'pay' for his memorial...NO BODY mentions ANYTHING about other events that require more security or police when other big events are happening. And how do we know that the Jackson Family isn't providing moneies for this occasion!
Anyway...alot of people, millions, CARE about seeing Michael Jackson off and getting closure to what meant alot to them. IF YOU DON TLIKE IT OR WANT TO WATCH IT....then TURN THE CHANNEL!! There will be aday when there is something on of interest to YOU that the rest of the world could give two flips about. THen it will be their turn to turn the channel!
Hello,
Providing you do not have this information already, you should talk to former anesthesiologist Neil Ratner. He was Mr. Jackson's anesthesiologist during his HIStory touring. He was a qualified anesthesiologist that administered and monitored Diprivan to Jackson to aid with his sleeping habits. I do not know how legal that is or isn't in administering that drug outside of a hospital setting, but nonetheless, Ratner was at least 'qualified' to do such a task.
Conrad Murray was a Cardiologist. Not an anesthesiologist. He was not qualified to administer such a drug through IV sedation. Murray also knew the address to Jackson's house because he had been there too many times to count. (As he told authority's he did not know the address). That is just a diversion to account for the time lapse before 911 was dialed and 'get rid' of any incriminating material.
Michael Jackson surley deserves a formal send off and farwell. He was loved and adored by millions of people and he deserves it!
As far as tax money being used....so what!!? Nobody says anything about other big events that require additional police or security. THIS event, is deservedly so, worth it!! Besides, nobody knows whether the Jackson family is giving monies to the state or city to help cover that.
And finally....if you dont want to WATCH the Michael Jakcosn coverage, then TURN THE CHANNEL when it's on!! There are millions of people who do CARE, and who are following it to the end. **Someday, there will be something going on that YOU want covered from start to finsih...and others wont give one flip about it! Then, it will be their turn to turn the channel!!
There are plenty of news hours to cover all the news. Its not Michael Jackson fault if news people leave other news out. If they wanted to cover it, then I guess they would!
I loved his music and I still do, but he was no hero and only heroes should have this coverage. America you just don't know when to stop it. The reality is, he was an addict and a few other things I will not mention. Enough is enough. What about the kidnapped soldier, or the soldiers who were killed. These people are HEROES, not M.J. Stop it now.
No wonder the american people is mostly brain dead, the spectacle of CNN about MJ`s death is a good exemple on how to take the sheeps to the slaughter house..... Discusting!
I am wondering why Don Lemon allowed Toure's comments concerning Michael's marriage to Lisa Marie Presley to go unchallenged. I would ask what would Toure have know about their life together? What right did he have to say what he said? I think Lisa Marie answered a question that no one should ever have been asked best in her blog. Maybe Toure should have taken a moment to read what she said. NOT A SHAM! I would love to know when people are going to stop the lies about Michael Jackson.
Back on July 3rd, I noted to the world that MJ would not make his final appearence. How do you make a gold plated casket seeming disappear? If CNN, ABC, NBC and CBS review all their video tapes combined they just might see something odd, probably right in front of the camera... There where more cameras around there then any other event in history!
Lets Get Mike Home!
Please:
If anyone has home video of what seems to be something strange at the JACKSON FUNERAL at the STAPLES CENTER send it to CNN,, tell me KEVIN to YA.