Mystery surrounds Michael Jackson's sudden death !!!

Los Angeles: One day after Michael Jackson's sudden death, speculation was already turning on Friday to what killed the 50-year-old "King of Pop" just weeks before his long-awaited series of comeback concerts.

Jackson, a former child star who became one of the best-selling pop artists of all time before a descending into a strange and reclusive lifestyle, died on Thursday afternoon at a Los Angeles hospital, where he had been rushed in full cardiac arrest after collapsing at his nearby rental home.
Few details were known early on Friday about the circumstances surrounding his death, but the entertainer was reportedly unconscious and not breathing by the time he arrived at UCLA Medical Center, and doctors were unable to revive him.

His body was flown by helicopter from the hospital to the coroner's office late on Thursday.
Brian Oxman, a spokesman for the Jackson family, told CNN on Thursday that the family had been concerned about his health and had tried in vain to take care of him for months.
"Michael appeared at rehearsals a couple of times, he was very seriously trying to be able to do those rehearsals," Oxman said of Jackson's preparations for a series of 50 concerts that were scheduled to begin in London in July.

"His use of medications had gotten in the way, his injuries which he had sustained performing, where he had broken a vertebrae and he had broken his leg from a fall on the stage, were getting in the way," Oxman told CNN.

Authorities have scheduled an autopsy for Friday. But they cautioned that it could take weeks to determine a cause of death, which will likely have to wait for the return of toxicology tests.
Those tests will determine if Jackson had any drugs, alcohol or prescription medications in his system.

Detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department's Robbery Homicide division searched Jackson's home in the upscale Holmby Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles at the behest of Chief William Bratton.

But they called the investigation an "every day" event.

The London concert swing was billed as a comeback for Jackson, who dominated the pop charts during the 1980s with such hits as "Thriller" and "Billie Jean" and was credited with turning music videos into a costly and cinematic art form.

750 million records sold
He is considered one of the most successful entertainers of the past century, with a lifetime sales tally estimated at 750 million records and 13 Grammy Awards.

"Michael was and will remain one of the greatest entertainers that ever lived," said Motown Records founder Berry Gordy, Jackson's first label boss. "He was exceptional, artistic and original. He gave the world his heart and soul through his music."

But Jackson's reputation as a singer and dancer was overshadowed in recent years by his increasingly abnormal appearance, and bizarre lifestyle, which included his friendship with a chimp and a preference for the company of children.

He named his estate in the central California foothills Neverland Valley Ranch, in tribute to the J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan stories, and filled it with amusement park rides and a petting zoo.
Jackson was twice accused of molesting young boys and was charged in 2003 with child sexual abuse. He became even more reclusive following his 2005 acquittal and vowed that he would never again live at Neverland.

Facing a battered reputation and mountain of debts that the Wall Street Journal reported ran to $500 million, Jackson had spent the last two months rehearsing for the London concerts, including Wednesday night at the huge Staples Center arena, home to the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team.

Despite reports of Jackson's ill-health, the promoters of the London shows, AEG Live, said in March that Jackson had passed a 4-1/2 hour physical examination with independent doctors.
"I can't stop crying over the sad news," pop star Madonna said in a statement. "I have always admired Michael Jackson. The world has lost one of the greats but his music will live on forever."
Jackson was born on August 29, 1958, in Gary, Indiana, the seventh of nine children and first performed with his brothers as a member of the Jackson 5.

His 1982 album Thriller yielded seven top-10 singles. The album sold 21 million copies in the United States and at least 27 million internationally.

The following year, he unveiled his signature "moonwalk" dance move, gliding across the stage and setting off an instant trend, while performing "Billie Jean" during an NBC special.
In 1994, Jackson married Elvis Presley's only child, Lisa Marie, but the marriage ended in divorce in 1996.

"I'm so very sad and confused with every emotion possible. ... This is such a massive loss on so many levels, words fail me," Presley said in statement.

Jackson married Debbie Rowe the same year and had two children, before splitting in 1999, and he later had another child with an unidentified surrogate mother.

He is survived by three children named Prince Michael I, Paris Michael and Prince Michael II, known for his brief public appearance when his father held him over the railing of a hotel balcony, causing widespread criticism.

What is about MJ and Indians?

'Michael Jackson was the first international pop singer that many Indians heard,' Jaggu and Tarana, the well-known Mumbai [Images] radio jockeys, said on their farewell morning show on Friday morning. MJ was The King whose popularity in India did not rest with English-speaking-pop-music-listening Indians alone. Jacko was one pop singer known to Indians of all kinds. You could hear his music from a paanwallah's two-in-one or from a taxi driver's tape deck.

Many years ago when Robert Plant was visiting Mumbai, Rediff journalists rushed to get some pictures of the Led Zep star while he shopped in Fort. Seeing the commotion, one passerby remarked confidently: "Yeh Michael Jackson [Images] hain (He is Michael Jackson)."
For many in India, English music was Michael Jackson.

A youngster who used to live as a paying guest in Mumbai in the late 1990s remembers an interaction with his landlord who spotted a guitar in his room. His question: "Aap dancer ho? (Are you a dancer) Like Michael Jackson?"
What is about MJ and Indians?

The reason why Michael Jackson died !!!

Michael Jackson had been taking a cocktail of seven prescription drugs that caused the fatal cardiac arrest, if reports are to be believed.

The legendary star passed away last night at the age of 50 after he suffered a heart attack at his home in Holmby Hills, California, and failed to recover even after repeated resuscitation attempts.

Celebrity magazine Life & Style has now reported that Jackson was addicted to prescription drugs in the months before his death. A source has revealed that Jackson had been popping pills, including anti-anxiety drugs Xanax and Zoloft and painkiller Demerol, for weeks before he lost his life.

An insider has revealed that the Thriller hit-maker took a suspected overdose of drugs on Thursday morning, which caused respiratory and cardiac arrest.

In an interview with CNN, Jackson's family lawyer, Brian Oxman, commented that the icon was killed by an abuse of prescription drugs, and compared his death to that of tragic star Anna Nicole Smith .He has claimed that Jackson's death is down to the people who surrounded him before his untimely demise.

"I believe (his manager) Frank DiLeo was with him at the time (of his heart attack), that is what I have been told," Contactmusic quoted him as saying. "This family has been trying for months and months and months to take care of Michael Jackson .The people who have surrounded him have been enabling him.

"If you think the case of Anna Nicole Smith was an abuse, that is nothing compared to what has taken place in the life of Michael Jackson.

"I do not know what medications he was taking, but the reports that we have received within the family are that they were extensive.

"I don''t know the cause of all this. But this is something that I feared. This is a case of abuse of medications, unless the cause is something else. This was something which I feared and something which I warned about. Where there is smoke there is fire," he added.

Life of the King of Pop - Michael Jackson !

Michael Jackson was born on August 29 in Gary, Indiana, 1958. His father, Joseph Jackson, was a guitarist but was believed to be forced into giving up his musical ambitions following his marriage to Katherine.

Despite of giving up music, Joseph Jackson tried hard to provide for his family's musical interests at home. And by the early 60s the older boys Jackie, Tito and Jermaine had begun performing around the city; by 1964 Michael and Marlon had joined in.

A musical prodigy, Michael's singing talents were amazingly mature and he soon became the dominant voice and focus of The Jackson 5. It was Gladys Knight who officially brought The Jackson 5 to Berry Gordy's attention, and by 1969 the boys were producing back-to-back hits as Motown artists. Soon after, the talent of little MJ got known.

Success was inevitable for Michael, and by the 80s he had become far more popular than The Jackson 5. In 1979, Michael released his first solo album with the support of producer Quincy Jones. This was Off the Wall, featuring songs like Don't stop till you get enough. The album had four songs in the Us Top 10 hits.

1979 was also the year when Jackson had his first rhinoplasty following a fall during a concert. Among his multiple surgeries, Michael Jackson had a total of four rhinoplasties, as he was never quite satisfied with his nose after his fall in 1979.

The biggest year in Jackson's life was 1982, when he released the album Thriller. The album held its position in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 for 80 straight weeks and nearly half that time it remained on the number one position. The album had songs like Thriller, Wanna be starting something and Beat it. The album continues to be one of the top best-selling albums even today. Jackson won eight Grammy Awards for that album.

In 1983, Jackson did his famous moonwalk for the first time. He did it for a live performance for the stageshow Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever.

Michael Jackson has been involved with a number of charities and even been honoured for that in different way. The highlight of his charitable work came in 1984 when he co-wrote the song We are the world with Lionel Ritchie under the banner called USA for Africa and got together a huge number of singing sensations to contribute to the song. Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Tina Turner, Stevie Wonder, Kenny Rogers, Cyndi Lauper, Ray Charles and a host of others. Jackson has a number of other songs with a social message, like Heal the world and Black or white.

By the late 80s, stories of Jackson's obsession with his appearance made headlines repeatedly. Apart from all the nose-jobs, there were stories of him setting up an oxygen chamber to better his skin. It was in the 80s itself that Jackson says he was hit by diseases like Vitiligo and Lupus that made his skin lighter. Most people, however, don't always believe these stories and feel that Jackson changed his colour voluntarily.

Some doctors claim that Jackson suffers from body dysmorphic disorder that a mental disorder that disables the patient from making a connection with his mirror image. It is a result of this, doctors say, that he feels the need to change his appearance repeatedly.

In 1987, Jackson released the album Bad, which also became a superhit and topped the charts for weeks. Songs like Bad, The way you make me feel and Dirty Diana were featured on this album.

In 1988, Jackson built his infamous Neverland ranch in California. Due to his childhood fascination with Peter Pan, that character was the inspiration behind his mansion, which also has a theme park in it.

In 1991, Jackson released Dangerous with songs like Black or white, and Remember the time.
One of the worst years in Jackson's life was perhaps 1993 when he was accused on sexually abusing a child called Jordan Chandler. Since Jackson settled out of court, it raised speculations that the charges were true. Those were humiliating times for Jackson as the child in question described details of their relationship, which later were considered untrue, and Jackson had to agree to a 25-minute strip search apart from the search of his entire estate. To make things worse, one of his sisters called him a pedophile, a statement she later took back.

Jackson's mental and physical health took a terrible turn ever since the child molestation charges. He got addicted to painkillers and even illegal drugs. It was around this time that he got married to Lisa Marie Presley. The two divorced two years later.

In 1995, Jackson released HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I. and in 1997, Blood on the Dance Floor. Also in 1997, Jackson married for a second time. His second wife was a nurse by profession, named Deborah Jeanne Rowe. Together they have two children. The couple divorced in 1999 and Rowe gave Jackson full custody of the kids.

In 2002, Jackson had a third child whose mother is unknown. Jackson claims that the child is a result of artificial insemination.

Sadly, in 2003, stories of child molestation came back to haunt him as he was charged with seven counts of sexual abuse against children. A mental health professional testified in court saying that ackson had become a regressed 10-year-old and did not fit the profile of a pedophile. He was finally acquitted of all charges in 2005, after which he moved to the Middle-East.

In 2008, Michael announced that he has converted to Islam in a ceremony officiated by an Imam where he pledged his allegiance to The Koran.

In 2009, Michael decided to announce a grand comeback tour, under which he will travel across the world. Show tickets were sold-out within the hour of releasing.

It is also confirmed that Jackson now has the initial stages of skin cancer, which is treatable.
One of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, his other achievements include multiple Guinness World Records including one for Thriller as the world's best-selling album 13 Grammy Awards.

Despite all the controversies, Michael Jackson's skills as a singer, dancer, writer and businessman remain unparalleled. And that's what makes him a legendary artist.

Sarabjit a victim of Pakistani legal system !!!

The Pakistan supreme court on Wednesday dismissed a review petition filed by Sarabjit Singh and upheld the death sentence given to him for his alleged involvement in the Lahore bomb attacks of 1990. But there is a fundamental flaw in this. No criminal case can be heard ex parte, which means without representation from the other side. Unfortunately, this is exactly what has happened with the hapless Punjab man.

Justice Raja Fayyaz Ahmed dismissed Sarabjit's review petition "on merit" and upheld the death sentence awarded to him by an anti-terrorism court in 1991. Shockingly, the apex court gave its verdict after his counsel failed to appear in court.

By contrast, look at the way India has been dealing with the Kasab case, though it is an open-and-shut matter with hundreds of eye-witnesses and video footages. It has not only waited for someone to represent him, but has been giving him ample time and space to defend himself.

Even if we don’t take into account Sarabjit’s family’s protestations regarding his innocence, something which Pakistan human rights activist and former minister Ansar Burney seems more than convinced by, especially after he came to Punjab’s Bhikiwind to investigate personally, the fact that the poor man may head to the gallows because his counsel failed to appear in court is a travesty of justice.

In fact, Sarabjit should have got a new lawyer by now because his counsel, Rana Abdul Hamid, has failed to appear in court for the past few hearings, including the last one on Monday. Hamid, incidentally, has left Sarabjit in the lurch after he was appointed an additional advocate general last year.

Intermittently, even Pakistan seems to be convinced about his innocence because he has been saved from certain death many a time now. Sarabjit has been on death row since he was convicted for alleged involvement in four bomb blasts in 1990 that killed 14 people. Though he was set to be hanged on April 1, 2008, the Pakistani government put off his execution indefinitely after Pakistan PM Yousuf Raza Gilani intervened.

Later, even after then President Pervez Musharraf dismissed Sarabjit's mercy petition last year, his execution was deferred for 30 days. This was done to enable the PPP-led government to review his case following India's appeal for clemency.

Now only the Pakistan president has the powers to pardon or remit Sarabjit's sentence. But this raises a disturbing question: is Pakistan using Sarabjit, who most probably is really the farmer that he claims to be, as a pawn in its diplomatic game of oneupmanship? Is it trying to exert some psychological pressure on the Kasab trial? If that be the case, Pakistan would, unfortunately, forfeit its claim of looking at the Sarbjit Singh case with fairness and no mala fide intention.

Back in India, it’s time the government intervened with some force and appealed to Pakistan to at least give this death row convict a chance to defend himself and get himself a lawyer. That’s not asking for too much.

UN honour for Gujarat government body !!!

Water and Sanitation Management Organization of Gujarat has been conferred the 2009 Public Service Award by the United Nations for 'fostering participation in policy-making decisions through innovative mechanisms' in the field of 'institutionalisation of community management' and users' level participation in the drinking water supply.

The award was given away on June 23 -- designated by the General Assembly as the UN Public Service Day -- at an impressive ceremony at the UN headquarters in New York.

WASMO was among a total of 12 public organisations from various countries -- eight in the 'Winners' category and four in 'Finalist' category' -- that were honoured.

The awards are a prestigious international recognition for excellence. Since its institution in 2003, a number of public organisations from India have been conferred the Award in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008.

WASMO's programme involved improving access to water in rural areas by engaging citizens in water management, developed by the organisation in 2002. The programme has been also instrumental in playing a key role in achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

'This year's winners and finalists show that public services can be delivered more efficiently, effectively and equitably all over the world,' Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said at the awards ceremony.

He said the ingredients are simple -- commitment, hard work, innovation, talent and technological know-how.

'Combined, they make a powerful recipe. And together, these women and men make vital contributions to our efforts to build a better world for all,' he said.

Ban said the UN has long recognized that effective governance and efficient public administration are central to the global development agenda, and particularly in achieving the MDGs -- the set of anti-poverty targets world leaders have pledged to try to achieve by 2015.

On behalf of WASMO, the award was received by V S Gadhavi, secretary, water supply, Government of Gujarat. Other member of the delegation included Jaipal Singh, additional secretary and chief executive officer, WASMO.

In a brief statement at the ceremony, Gadhavi said the Gujarat government's 'out of box' initiative, has been able to create the enabling environment for strong community engagement and almost 75 per cent of the total villages of Gujarat have embraced the community-led development in WATSAN sector, one of the major agenda of the MDG.

He said that building working partnerships with reputed NGOs, other sector players and community has given effective institutional mechanisms for development besides a providing a great learning experience about the capacity of community led governance at local levels.
'We have been able to achieve a paradigm shift in role of governance form 'provider to facilitator' wherein community has demonstrated the philosophy that 'users are the best managers'.

He said that the issues of ownership and inclusion 'are prudently resolved' in the village meeting and that the initiative has a great impact on the overall Human Development Index in the state.
'In a water-scarce state like Gujarat, the governance model in the form of WASMO has tried to bring in sustainability for WATSAN sector.'

In 2008, Programme of Communitisation of Public Institutions and Services, Nagaland, was conferred the award in the winners category and District Lokvani Society, Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh ,was conferred the award in the finalist category.

Pak SC dismisses Sarabjit's review petition !!!

Pakistan's Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a review petition filed by Indian national Sarabjit Singh and upheld the death sentence given to him for his alleged involvement in bomb attacks in 1990.

A three-member bench led by Justice Raja Fayyaz Ahmed dismissed Sarabjit's review petition on merit and upheld the death sentence awarded to him by an anti-terrorism court in 1991.

The apex court gave its verdict after his counsel failed to appear in court.

Sarabjit's counsel had failed to appear in court for the past few hearings, including the last one on Monday.

Rana Abdul Hamid, the lawyer who was representing Sarabjit, had been unable to appear in court after he was last year appointed an additional advocate general by Punjab province.

Sarabjit has been on death row since he was convicted for alleged involvement in four bomb blasts in 1990 that killed 14 people.

Sarabjit was set to be hanged on April one last year though Pakistani authorities put off his execution indefinitely after Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani intervened in the matter.

Following an appeal by Sarabjit, the Lahore High Court had upheld his death sentence in 2003.
The apex court too had upheld his death sentence in August 2005.

Former President Pervez Musharraf dismissed Sarabjit's mercy petition last year.

Sarabjit's execution was initially deferred for 30 days by Musharraf last year.

This was done so that the Pakistan People's Party-led government, which had just assumed power at the time, could review his case following India's appeal for clemency.

In October last year, then Law Minister Farooq Naek met Sarabjit at Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore to examine his case so that President Asif Ali Zardari could decide whether to pardon him.

There has been no movement in this matter since then.

Naek, who is now Chairman of the Senate or upper house of parliament, had pointed out that only the President had the powers to pardon or remit Sarabjit's sentence as his mercy petition had been dismissed by the Supreme Court.

Air France crash: Black boxes located !!!

French military ships have detected a signal from the black boxes of Flight 447 in the Atlantic depths, newspaper Le Monde reported on Tuesday.

The report says a mini research submarine, the Nautile, dived on Monday to search for the boxes based on a "very weak signal" from the flight recorders picked up by the French ships.

The report on Le Monde's website on Tuesday gives no source or other details.

It is not clear whether the signal came from the flight's data recorder or the voice recorder.
The two so-called black boxes, key to helping determine what happened to the Air France plane that plunged into the ocean May 31, will only continue to emit signals for another eight days or so.

Officials with the French military and the French marine institute that operates the mini-sub, Ifremer, could not immediately be reached for comment on the report.

French air accident investigators and Air France officials did not immediately respond to phone calls. Brazilian and American officials said that as of Sunday evening no signals from the black boxes had been picked up.

The Airbus A330 plane fell into the Atlantic after running into thunderstorms en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris.

All 228 people aboard were killed.

The cause of the crash remains unclear.