Sony/ATV

Read this carefully...

Again, from JRT's book, beginning on page 617 and going over to 618: "A couple years ago, Michael used his one-half share of the Sony/ATV catalogue as collateral to borrow $200 million. Sony guaranteed the loan for Michael. However, if he defaults, the company can then move to claim his share of ATV. 'He's a financial time bomb waiting to explode,' said Myung Ho Lee, former financial manager. " JRT goes on to say the payment was due in 2006. "Also, he can take comfort in knowing that he can eradicate the entire manner by doing the one thing he most doesn't want to do: tour."

Isn't it safe to say that just about anyone in the business world, any business attorney, and any financial advisor saw this scenario unraveling, too? He was put in a situation to do nothing but fail, especially by Sony who was "guaranteeing the loan" yet stood to profit by gaining the entire share of his portion of the catalogue, if (or when in their minds) he defaulted. Doesn't that sound like a conflict of interest? It was like a steam-engine rolling towards him...with others waiting to collect the dollar bills as they went in every direction after the impact.

"'But it takes too much out of me, ' he told me of touring back in 1995. 'It's like a two hour marathon, every show. I swear, I must lose ten pounds a concert. The expectations are too high. It's hard.'"

Does that sound like a man that WANTED to do these 50 shows again? At 50 years old, after all the SHIT he went through each day for the past decade? After the scandals and accusation and the ridicule and humiliation? NO! He was bullied into it with no other option. "Comfort" out of touring to earn a living? PLEASE. Touring after the trial was an impossibility. He was not capable of performing at the level he would expect of himself and even Jack Wishna saw this, too.

If Michael lost his share of the Sony/ATV catalouge, which is essentially his most valuable asset, then what would he do to make a living? He was not under contract to release albums, and sales were not as they used to be for him. He was not capable of touring from an emotional or physical standpoint. Royalties are typically a sham compared to royalties paid in the film industry. (Michael should have gone into film after everything for that reason, too!) How did he stand to make a living for his children? He had little formal education. He could not go to work in a "normal" place. Hell, he could not even go shopping without being mobbed. How was he to feed his children, provide them with a house, with clothes, with schooling? His name and reputation had been ruined. His life was ruined. People should have been BEGGING to work with him, to collaborate with him across the world. Here was a man that loved to work finding himself in a position where he almost could not work anymore.

When I try to make light of what began unfolding concerning Neverland in 2007, I get utterly confused. Seems like he maintained ownership of an unknown portion and Tom Barrack the other portion, the majority portion. His items were set to be auctioned off to collect debts due. What could have been worse? To have your own personal items sold, never to see them again, to have them taken from you? To keep being thrown deeper and deeper into a hole when you should be coming OUT of it after being FOUND NOT GUILTY of crimes you know you damn-well did not commit? I sit here about to cry a river of tears while at the same time a fire is raging within me that will only be fed as I further put pieces together in this puzzle. I will not shut up, either. How could this happen to someone who gave back so much to the world? It is estimated he earned up to $500 million dollars during his lifetime, with one-fifth of that amassed after Thriller. It has been said he donated $300 million dollars to various charities during his life. Crunch those numbers and what do they tell you? I hope it fires you up as much as it fires me up. Justice is far from being in sight, and even if those responsible for his death go to prison, it still will not be enough.

Michael and Insomnia--a Deeper Look

I was thinking last night about Michael and his severe insomnia. I do not know all the causes of sleep disorders, and most doctors do not know either, as they just toss prescriptions for sleep aids to their patients and do not follow up to see if they have or have not worked. It does seem, however, most people's problems are either from lifestyle issues (being on the computer late at night, drinking too much coffee, exercising before bedtime, taking certain medications etc.) or sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a huge contributor to insomnia. Sleep apnea is usually something that affects middle-aged, overweight males. Just looking at Michael you would not think he suffered from sleep apnea. However, anyone can suffer from sleep apnea. Michael had a chronic lung condition as well that was disclosed when he passed. His lungs were found to be "chronically inflammed" which means they had been inflammed for a long period of time. This was not from a cold or something recent. I would like to know what it was from as he was not a smoker. Perhaps it was from lupus? I then began to wonder if Michael was having breathing problems while sleeping and did in some way have some form of sleep apnea. Most people who have sleep apnea do not know they have it. Their spouses are the ones to tell them they have it because they get no sleep from their partner's snoring. Michael told nurse Cherilyn Lee he would sometimes fall asleep only to awake in a couple hours and not be able to fall asleep again. He said he just wanted "eight hours of sleep". Could breathing problems be what woke him up? I know some people sometimes wake up as if they are choking and it jolts them so badly they cannot fall back asleep, yet they sometimes have a problem explaining why they woke up so suddenly. I know this is all speculation but it sounds highly possible to me and all things should be examined as Michael was taken from this world well before his time. I know he had a lot stress in his life, was working on the concerts until late at night sometimes and had a racing, active mind, but still, to be so sleep-deprived as to ask for propofol (which, while adminstered you cannot wake up), makes me think it was more than what meets the eye. Instead of doctors breaking down what was causing his sleep deprivation and working to try and correct or diagnose all the possible health issues contributing to his insomnia, in turn helping him get the sleep he needed naturally, they gave him propofol--an anesthetic, not a sleep aid. What about the strenous physical exams he supposedly passed with "flying colors" for AEG? Flying colors? He was not a marathon runner. If he had a chronic lung condition then that would have shown up and been a problem, maybe not enough to keep him from being able to perform on some level, but he was expected to sing live for a certain amount of time and then dance as well for I believe at least 2 hours. Have any of you tried dancing or jogging while singing at the same time? You have to FORCE the air out to even really be audible and to hit the right notes--at least I do and I have mild asthma. He really had no business doing this kind of concert with a lung condition and severe insomnia that obviously was not being treated properly. Maybe he needed a CPAP machine. Maybe he needed a new schedule that promoted better sleeping habits. He did NOT need to be doing the type of show he was preparing for and did NOT need propofol! Then, the question becomes, did someone take advantage of his desire for propofol and see it as a way commit murder? Doctors having a client like Michael should want to do anything to keep him alive (as is their duty as a doctor) and to keep him as a patient (if they want the profit). I am not a conspiracy theorist and I try to be as rational as possible and am by nature skeptical of all things, but if you look at ALL the facts, dating back to YEARS ago, looking at all aspects of Michael's life, his business transactions, his financial woes, his problems with Sony, AEG's motives for having him do 50 shows (when he agreed to 10 only) things are looking more and more suspicous. He needed to be treated and helped by people who cared about him, whether it personally or just professionally, not used, lied to and killed by people only seeking a profit which is looking more and more like the case each passing day.

Different Shades of Justice

A friend asked, mainly concerning Michael Jackson:

"What punishment, and to whom, would you consider justice? Use your imagination and express your feeling even if it is an impossibility."

My response:

This is a difficult question, one with infinite responses and none of them certifiably correct. You want people here to think and discuss and I enjoy it even if the topic is one to bring on pain to some, to many, actually. The "fairest" thing to me is to say "eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth". It would be nice if that could happen in all cases of injustice in the world and it just happen naturally without anyone having to do anything to anyone to "pay them back". Sadly, that is not how the world works and it is brutally unfair, usually the most unfair to those who seem to have the best of character. Concerning Michael , I could name some that I know took advantage of him, that took his livelihood away, that took his spirit to an early grave and the worst of all, left his children parentless and his mother (and father) without a son, something no parent should have to endure, especially from senseless acts of carelessness and the inability to have remorse. I won't name names, though yes, there are certain people who without a shadow of doubt hurt and in some form killed Michael not only in a private way but sadly in also a very public way allowing people who never even met him or saw him to take part in the demise of his spirit, his heart and his passions in life. We know who they are. There are those that are hidden in the shadows that hurt him, too, though. People we do not know about and sadly, may never know about. Michael was caught in a web of lies, pain and suffering that he was stuck in, a web with venomous spiders waiting to make a move on him, some working together and some not. With Michael, there is no "eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth" sort of justice available to him. No one else today is as globally known as he was and still is. No one that directly hurt him will ever be cast in the spotlight like him for people to judge, ridicule, or harass. To me, justice for Michael will be better done through love, getting people, the world,to simply know the real person that Michael was, to understand him, accept his differences and uniqueness, to care about him, love him. All he ever wanted was to be loved and praised upon like a small child. I do not mean I want people caring about him as superstar or sex symbol--I mean caring about him as your brother, your father, your son, or your friend. He deserves respect and recognition for his contributions to the arts as well as his contributions to humanity. Justice to me is erasing the allegations that were ultimately the sword in his heart and the direct cause of all the unbearable pain in his life. I do not want my children associating the false allegations with irrefutable proof of innocence with him, his name, or his accomplishments unless they read an in-depth biography about him and learn the entire picture and from that know the entire story of what happened to this man. I want them to see him first as a helper, a healer, a big-kid, an artist who sang and danced like no other, and innovator and a role model. I want his children to have a life where they are not taunted like their father. I want them to be respected and to be the given privacy their father never had. I want justice for his parents, especially his mother, in the fairest way possible. utilizing the court system. I want justice for Michael by people like us, people who genuinely care about Michael, to continue his work by helping the Earth and helping children and getting in touch with our inner-child and never letting go of it. Be a kid at heart sometimes and don't lose track of what can really make you happy in life. Live a life full of love...L.O.V.E. and never stop. Life is short. Sometimes really short. don't forget the best ingredient to a happy life is love and it really can get you through some of the hardest parts.

Now, I ask you the same question asked of me...