any parent whose son to abused receiving money in Exchange, also think that it was a mistake by Michael have reached this agreement.
any parent whose son to abused receiving money in Exchange, also think that it was a mistake by Michael have reached this agreement.
This change placed all such cases under the auspices of Cardinal Ratzinger, who served as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith from 1981 until he was named Pope Benedict XVI in 2005.[9] The Dallas Morning News did a year-long investigation, after the 2002 revelation that cases of abuse were widespread in the Church.[1] The results made public in 2004 showed that even after the public outcry, priests were moved out of the countries where they had been accused and were still in "settings that bring them into contact with children, despite church claims to the contrary."[1] Among the investigation's findings is that nearly half of 200 cases "involved clergy who tried to elude law enforcement."[1] In July 2010, the Vatican doubled the length of time after the 18th birthday of the victim that clergymen can be tried in a church court and streamlined the processes for removing "pedophile priests."[10][11][12]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_sex_abuse_cases
The cases received significant media and public attention in Canada, Ireland, and the United States, and throughout the world.[7] In response to the attention, members of the church hierarchy have argued that media coverage has been excessive and disproportionate.[13] According to a Pew Research Center study, media coverage mostly emanated from the United States in 2002, when the Boston Globe began a critical investigation. By 2010 much of the reporting focused on child abuse in Europe.[14][15] From 2001-2010 the Holy See, the central governing body of the Catholic Church, has "considered sex abuse allegations concerning about 3,000 priests dating back up to 50 years" according to the Vatican's Promoter of Justice.[16] Cases worldwide reflect patterns of long-term abuse and the covering up of reports.[note 1] Church officials and academics knowledgeable about the Third World Roman Catholic Church, say that sexual abuse by clergy is generally not discussed, and thus is difficult to measure.[7][17] In the Philippines where as of 2002 at least 85% of the population is Catholic, revelations of child sexual abuse by priests followed the United States' reporting in 2002.[18]
In the United States, which has been the lead focus of much of the scandals and subsequent reforms,[19] BishopAccountability.org, an "online archive established by lay Catholics," reports that over 3,000 civil lawsuits have been filed against the church,[20] some of these cases have resulted in multi-million dollar settlements with many claimants. In 1998 the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dallas paid $30.9 million to twelve victims of one priest ($44.1 million in present-day terms).[21][22] From 2003 to 2009 nine other major settlements involving over 375 cases with 1551 claimants/victims, resulted in payments of over $1.1 billion USD.[note 2] The Associated Press estimated the settlements of sex abuse cases from 1950 to 2007 totaled more than $2 billion.[23] BishopAccountability puts the figure at more than $3 billion in 2012.[6][20] Addressing "a flood of abuse claims" five dioceses (Tucson, Arizona; Spokane, Washington; Portland, Oregon; Davenport, Iowa, and San Diego) got bankruptcy protection.[23] Eight Catholic dioceses have declared bankruptcy due to sex abuse cases from 2004-2011.[24]
International dimension of problem
Catholic Church - Percentage by country.
Sexual abuse of children under the age of consent by priests receives significant media and public attention in Canada, Ireland, the United States, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Belgium, France, Germany and Australia, while cases have been reported throughout the world.[7] Many of the cases span several decades and are brought forward years after the abuse occurred.
Although nation-wide enquiries have only been conducted in the United States and Ireland, cases of clerical sexual abuse of minors have been reported and prosecuted in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and other countries. In 1994 allegations of sexual abuse on 47 young seminarians surfaced in Argentina.[25] In 1995 Cardinal Hans Hermann Groër resigned from his post as Archbishop of Vienna, Austria over allegations of sexual abuse, although he remained a Cardinal.[26] Since 1995, over one hundred priests from various parts of Australia were convicted of sexual abuse.[27][non-primary source needed]
The Phoenix Gazette, Section A, Tues November 30, 1993It goes on in sordid detail... :-[
Dozens of reported abused by Catholic friars
By Jeff WilsonThe Associated Press
GOLETA, Calif. — For more than two decades, Roman Catholic priests sexually abused boys aged 7 -to 16 at a boarding school in a Santa Barbara seminary, a panel organized by a Franciscan order concluded. A board of inquiry for the St. Barbara Province of the Franciscan Order said Monday that 12 priests engaged in nude games, fondling and other sex acts with students at St. Anthony's Seminary from 1964 to 1987, when it closed because of financial problems. So far, 34 boys, mostly teenagers, have been identified as victims.
"The abuse perpetrated by our own brothers on the victims and their families is truly horrific," said the Rev. Joseph Chinnici, minister of the Oakland-based Province of St. Barbara and leader of Franciscans in seven Western states. "We totally abhor what has occurred," Chinnici said.
At a news conference Monday night, the chairman of the order's panel said they were stunned by the results of their investigation. "We found that in the years in question, a serious problem of sexual abuse of minors by friars existed at the seminary," Geoffrey Stearns said. He said the investigation would continue and that the panel expects other alleged victims to come forward.
A message left after business hours Monday at District Attorney Thomas Sneddon's office was not immediately returned. Lt. John Thayer, a police spokesman, said prosecutions of the priests were unlikely because of the statute of limitations, which is six years on child molestation cases in California. Of the 12 priests, whose names weren't disclosed in a 72-page report, eight were being treated by therapists. One left the order, one died and another priest's case was being investigated by the panel. The other priest served six months in jail after pleading no contest in 1989 to oral copulation of a minor at the seminary. After the case, the order sent out letters to former students asking if they had been abused. When some of them came forward the order decided to investigate. The panel, organized in 1992, included an attorney, three psychotherapists, a member of the order and a victim's parent....
Hey Hes.......yes I totally get every word you have written........I guess that's why I have backed off a little in posting......Hes and Wishing --- after your posts, I am quite without words...I so loved your words..you said it all in a couple of paragraphs/phrases. You are both so right! Every time I revisit things, I feel I understand things a little bit more, and everything becomes clearer each time...
this revisiting the past is just so blood curdling. It makes me want to scream (to quote someone : ) ) ........ I have
hoped, prayed and begged for part of this hoax to expose the truth in all it's glory. Whatever it takes, I always
believed Michael would find a way for the entire world to understand him and these nasty allegations. I think we
have been able to share amongst ourselves, a glimpse of his genius. Michael never rested, never stopped, never
gave up in the pursuit of the truth....this I believe fully. We can read, dissect, write all these words and still, in the end
it comes down to Michael. It's his adventure..... he is the puppet-master of sorts. I think he has wanted us to revisit things.....
and open our eyes fully. That way, when this trial finally hits, we will be braced and ready....cause it's gonna be big.
I can't help but think there is much going on behind the scenes. Like we have been told all along......the truth will prevail.
There is so much more to know, to learn......
Thanks hoax family....you're awesome and very much appreciated.
Blessings to each of you always!
Thanks for these articles as I was about to ask what other important news was ongoing during 1993 when Michael was again at the epitome’ of his career everywhere but in America. :confused: This was during the Dangerous era aboad, no, and Michael was off the charts. He was touring, did the big super bowl halftime show and…that interview with Oprah (where she asked about the crotch grabbing & his skin color) :icon_rolleyes: which seems coincidental that the 2 biggest interviews he ever gave, first with Oprah and then with Bashir resulted in his being accused of terrible crimes against children. If I remember correctly during this period is also when Oprah really started lambasting the Catholic church for molesting young boys. And in 2005 she formulated her infamous child predator watch list.
The following statement was taken from Oprah.com:
"Oprah's long-standing commitment to children led her to initiate the National Child Protection Act in 1991, when she testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee to establish a national database of convicted child abusers. On December 20, 1993, the "Oprah Bill" was signed into law. In 2005, Oprah launched Oprah’s Child Predator Watch List and her pledge to provide a $100,000 reward per case to those individuals whom the FBI or local law enforcement officials say provided critical information leading to the capture and arrest of fugitives featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show or Oprah.com. Since its launch, nine of the featured fugitives have been captured.”
Who knows who else was on it and who’s assistance was relegated(Bashir).
Here’s some interesting thoughts to ponder from the New York Post: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/pulling_back_the_curtain_on_oprah_o8pmz6I4T3lZ8san4GHvlN/1 (http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/pulling_back_the_curtain_on_oprah_o8pmz6I4T3lZ8san4GHvlN/1)
…and then this article from 1992
Airing Sexual Exploitation Of Children While Claiming To Expose It Incites The Impressionable To Make Up Things That Never Happened
By NICHOLAS VON HOFFMAN
POSTED: September 09, 1992
If Jerry Lewis uses muscular dystrophy to perpetuate his career, Oprah Winfrey is using child abuse to further hers.
Of late it has been nearly impossible to turn on a television set without being treated to Ms. Oprah's sobersided delectations over adults touching children in their no-no zones. Mr. Lewis is tasteless while Ms. Winfrey is tasty in her disguising the essential prurience of her program content under the guise of addressing a social problem.
That the sexual abuse of children is an important social problem remains to be convincingly proven. That it occurs, even outside the confines of the Roman Catholic Church, there is no doubt, but that it is a serious problem when stacked up against all the other difficulties facing the nation and its children seems improbable.
In trying to ascertain what the facts of the matter are it is a mistake to
put much reliance on the suspect "studies" turned out by people from the psychology industry which has a palpable, material interest in nailing down the proposition that millions of child molesters are to be found in home and school. Statistics on this topic may be taken only with a grain of salt.
Counting child abuse cases is like counting a bucket of wriggling eels. No common definition of what constitutes child abuse exists and none can say when it may have occurred and therefore should be counted - not in an era of sexual McCarthyism. Television to the contrary, the United States probably has not become a nation of vile adults taking lustful advantage of its children.
Oprah Winfrey, and the television networks that have aired her child-abuse special, Scared Silent, cash in on her game. They are spreading hysteria and encouraging the juridical lynching of people falsely accused of having sexual congress with children.
The last years have seen enough Salem show trials of people ruined by the accusations of deranged adults speaking through children whom they have coached and controlled.
Thanks to the Oprah Winfrey Watch and Ward Vigilante Association other lives will be destroyed as new people are dragged to the bar of injustice.
Having show business personalities on prime time glamorizing the subject of sexual exploitation of children while claiming to fight it is an incitement of the impressionable to make up things that never happened. Winfrey and the networks who put this nonsense on the air are facilitating hysterical contagion and building an atmosphere that makes growing up a little harder, a little more lonely, than it otherwise might have been.
Thanks to Oprah and her confederates an increasing number of adults, especially men, are steering clear of any contact with children. Outside of formal situations where contact is sanctioned, men are keeping their distance
from children of all ages. Increasingly, they don't touch them, they don't talk to them, they don't help them in distress, they don't even smile at them.
Once upon a time the rearing of children was regarded as something of a communal responsibility. Older people bothered with youngsters who weren't their own. You're asking for a lawsuit, if not an arrest, today if you look crosswise at a child. Their care and rearing is left to their parents, their teachers and those Rasputins of modern life, the psychologists.
The child abuse scam is backed by the psychology industry. A sharp line is drawn here between the psychology business and psychiatry, a licensed profession practiced by people trained in medical art and science.
Psychology is another matter. Counseling the innocent, mugging pedestrians and pushing drugs may be the last areas of unfettered free enterprise.
Anybody can hang up a shingle, call him or herself an expert and make a living off the child abuse scare. Given the growing reputation of therapists for taking sexual advantage of their patients, there is a certain irony in calling on their services in these matters.
There's a lot of money to be made because everybody becomes a potential paying patient. The candidates for "help," "treatment" and/or "therapy" include: a) the putative victim, b) the victim's family, classmates and chums and c) the alleged perpetrator. All aboard, everybody goes to group therapy!
For the "treatment providers," this deal is better than buying an annuity. The need for their services never ends, because the new shibboleth of this racket is that no one is ever cured. The patients or clients or marks are taught to think, say and believe that they are always "recovering," never recovered. Therapy ad nauseam, payments ad perpetuum.
To help keep the money rolling in, judges have been persuaded to sentence persons convicted of sex offenses to treatment. But sentencing people to therapy raises new questions.
If a person is suffering from a disease that deprives him of the power to control his acts, why was he convicted? Don't send him to a law court, send him to a doctor. Conversely, if a person has committed a crime, why is he being treated for an illness? He's a criminal, punish him. Heads I win, tails you lose, but always pay the shrinkologist.
If I didn't know better I would suspect George Bush and the Republicans of putting Oprah and the networks up to unleashing this storm on the nation two months before election day. Those Oprah introduced offered titillating, first person accounts of what Daddy did to me and how it felt. These couldn't be better calculated to distract attention from what our children need.
When is Ms. Oprah going to devote a weekend of network television to parents making enough money so that one of them has the time to stay home and rear their children? And while she's at it, let's not have a weekend but a month consecrated to schools and schooling.
Yes, some children are injured by sex molesters, but more of them are victims of celebrity abuse and media molestation. Now that, Ms. Oprah, is a problem you are in a position to do something about. You can even do it quietly, off camera.”
Some things just make me wonder :icon_e_confused: :Crash: :ghsdf:
It’s also an interesting timing for Oprah’s first real efforts towards a show about molestation being 2/21/03 - Confessions of Molestation right around the time of Michael’s accusation although he was officially indicted in December 2003.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/12/18/jackson.case/index.html?_s=PM:LAW (http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/12/18/jackson.case/index.html?_s=PM:LAW)
Michael Jackson formally charged in molestation case
Thursday, December 18, 2003 Posted: 10:35 PM EST (0335 GMT)
District Attorney Tom Sneddon announces charges against Michael Jackson.
SANTA BARBARA, California (CNN) -- Setting the stage for a contentious legal battle played out in the world's media spotlight, California prosecutors on Thursday formally filed molestation charges against pop star Michael Jackson in a case involving a cancer-stricken boy invited to the singer's Neverland Ranch.
Jackson was charged with nine counts -- seven of child molestation and two of administering an intoxicating agent for the purpose of a committing a felony. The charges involve incidents alleged to have occurred in February and March of this year, District Attorney Tom Sneddon said.
In addition, the complaint includes special allegations that could make Jackson ineligible for probation in the case, Sneddon said.
In a prepared statement released Thursday, Sneddon said the alleged victim would take the stand at a trial. "The family is committed to this process," the district attorney said.
Later Thursday, Jackson attorney Mark Geragos again asserted Jackson's innocence and told reporters that the entertainer's legal team would "take no quarter" in their defense of the accused singer.
The charges against the 45-year-old singer were filed nearly a month after local authorities raided his Neverland Ranch home. He was booked November 20 on suspicion of multiple counts of child molestation and has been free on $3 million bond.
The singer and his lawyers maintain he is innocent, and contend that the boy in the current case and his family have brought the allegations for financial gain.
Geragos -- who acknowledged he was brought into the case soon after Jackson appeared with the cancer-stricken boy, the alleged victim, in a documentary in February -- said his client will "fight these charges with every fiber of his soul."
"Michael Jackson is unequivocally and absolutely innocent of these charges," he said.
"I'm telling you right now that there is absolutely no way that we will stand for this besmirching of this man with these horrible, horrible allegations, and I will tell you right now that there is no way that the prosecution will prevail in this case."
Geragos called the case "an intersection between a shakedown" -- the alleged victim's family looking for money -- and an investigator who's "got an ax to grind."
Jackson was accused of child molestation in 1993, but the case was settled, reportedly for millions of dollars, and no charges were filed. Sneddon was the district attorney who looked into that case. Later Jackson released a song widely considered to be an indictment of Sneddon for his efforts to prosecute Jackson in the 1993 case. Sneddon denies that the current case stems from a personal animus against Jackson.
Thursday evening, Katherine Jackson, the singer's mother, released a statement proclaiming Michael's innocence.
"On behalf of the Jackson family we know these vicious lies are totally untrue, malicious and motivated by pure greed and revenge," the statement said. "We proudly stand next to Michael who we know could never commit any of the acts he is accused of. We will fight with every ounce of our energy to reveal the truth behind these false allegations and the motivations behind those who have falsely accused Michael."
Dates may be crucial to case
A complaint filed with Santa Barbara County Superior Court accused Jackson of having "substantial sexual conduct" with a boy under the age of 14 in incidents alleged to have occurred in February and March of this year.
Five of the child molestation counts accuse Jackson of a "lewd act upon a child," a felony, "on or between February 7, 2003, and March 10, 2003, in the county of Santa Barbara." The other two molestation counts allegedly happened on or between February 20 and March 10, according to the complaint.
The two counts of administering an intoxicating agent allegedly happened on or between February 20 and March 10 of this year, according to the complaint.
A source close to the investigation told CNN the "intoxicating agent" was wine.
The specific dates could be significant for both prosecutors and defense attorneys. In mid-February, Los Angeles County child welfare officials found there was no evidence Jackson had had inappropriate contact with the boy. (Full story)
Additionally, Jackson's attorneys played for a CNN legal analyst an audiotape from mid-February in which the boy and mother said there had been no inappropriate contact.
Sneddon said prosecutors were aware of the agency's report before seeking a search and arrest warrant for Jackson, but he contended the welfare officials did not conducted interviews, or any investigation.
On the audiotape, sources told CNN that a Jackson representative was present when it was recorded by a private investigator hired by Jackson.
Jackson to travel to Britain
Jackson attorney Mark Geragos speaks to reporters Thursday.
Thursday's charges were filed in Santa Maria, a working-class town close to Jackson's Neverland Ranch.
The filing came after Sneddon had agreed to delay Jackson's arraignment a week to January 16, and return Jackson's passport to allow him to travel overseas. Sneddon said prosecutors agreed to return to Jackson his passport for a planned trip to Great Britain, because Jackson could face "significant economic problems" if he missed the trip.
Stuart Backerman, spokesman for the 45-year-old pop star, said Jackson planned "to relax and enjoy the surroundings of the Christmas season."
On Thursday, Sneddon denied suggestions that the state waited to file charges in hopes of finding evidence in the interim. "That was never, never, never the intent of our office," he said.
Given the intense interest in the case, he said, prosecutors wanted to wait until a Web site was in place, he said. "They're having technical difficulties. I told the court we're not going to wait any longer."
In another development, Geragos told CNN in a phone interview that reports of famed attorney Johnnie Cochran joining the Jackson defense team are false.
"I have known Johnnie Cochran for many years as an attorney and personal friend but he has already expressed publicly that he is not on this case," said Geragos.
The attorney also dismissed other reports that Jackson replaced his management staff with representatives of the Nation of Islam as "tabloid trash.”
:animal0017: Too many coincidences to actually be coincidental for my taste
This is judgement night, execution, slaughter...
any parent whose son to abused receiving money in Exchange, also think that it was a mistake by Michael have reached this agreement.
It wasen't Michaels decision to pay and settle, it was Michaels insurance company who desided to pay and go on leave this behind.
I have seen a interview with Katherine where she says not exact quote, and i can't find the interview or part of the interview where Katherine declares, but going to continue to search for it.
Aussie, Welcome Back :bearhug:any parent whose son to abused receiving money in Exchange, also think that it was a mistake by Michael have reached this agreement.
It weren't his Laywers who gave the advice to settle , it was his insurance company who did, against the laywers advice and against Michaels will. I think it's important to know how things really went, that's why i did repost it, not that i want to be right and have the last word , but only for the importance of this matter.
It wasen't Michaels decision to pay and settle, it was Michaels insurance company who desided to pay and go on leave this behind.
I have seen a interview with Katherine where she says not exact quote, and i can't find the interview or part of the interview where Katherine declares, but going to continue to search for it.
I have too seen this interview.
MJ employed the best lawyers to make expert decisions for him to risk manage the situation. Morally, MJ would to be proving innocence in court, but career / business wise, it was far less risky to settle. a) to make it go away and move forward then go in to damage control mode and b) considering who was REALLY behind Chandler Snr / Tom Sneddon, there was no point going to court to prove innocence, as the same PTB would have infiltrated the court situation and corrupted evidence and outcome. It was in MJs best interests to settle, against all his moral fibre.
Death hoax is where he gets to have his day and show how the world was fooled by evil media and higher sources that he was a Chil>>> Mol>>>>
News of the Chandlers’ domestic dispute comes as Jackson remains on the down-low somewhere in Europe, either in London or Dublin, ....
News of the Chandlers’ domestic dispute comes as Jackson remains on the down-low somewhere in Europe, either in London or Dublin, ....
Sorry if this is a bit OT but this part of the article really caught my eye! At the time when no one on earth would have disputed the fact that Michael Jackson was alive, even THE MEDIA didn't know precisely where to locate him. Now the media would say that he's dead, but that's only because they can't find him. They have no photographic evidence. My point is, if it happened once already, it could happen again. It's happening now.
Insurers / Lawyers, whichever professional hat made the decision / pushed for settlement, did it in the interests of reducing risk and from a business perspective as well as to reduce financial damages as much as possible. Right thing to do? yes, for KOP, yes! For MJ morally / ethicaly? No. Now is his time!
Kaboom! Bring it!
Again, we don't know *really* what happened. But I hope to God upcoming vindication and justice is on the cards! (not that I subscribe to tarots, lol)
We love you MJ xx
News of the Chandlers’ domestic dispute comes as Jackson remains on the down-low somewhere in Europe, either in London or Dublin, ....
Sorry if this is a bit OT but this part of the article really caught my eye! At the time when no one on earth would have disputed the fact that Michael Jackson was alive, even THE MEDIA didn't know precisely where to locate him. Now the media would say that he's dead, but that's only because they can't find him. They have no photographic evidence. My point is, if it happened once already, it could happen again. It's happening now.
Could you explain a bit more what are you saying? I find it very interesting.
News of the Chandlers’ domestic dispute comes as Jackson remains on the down-low somewhere in Europe, either in London or Dublin, ....
Sorry if this is a bit OT but this part of the article really caught my eye! At the time when no one on earth would have disputed the fact that Michael Jackson was alive, even THE MEDIA didn't know precisely where to locate him. Now the media would say that he's dead, but that's only because they can't find him. They have no photographic evidence. My point is, if it happened once already, it could happen again. It's happening now.
Could you explain a bit more what are you saying? I find it very interesting.
I just mean that when this article was written, in 2006, MJ was still officially alive. Yet whoever wrote this article wasn't sure of his whereabouts (EITHER London or Dublin), so it doesn't surprise me that even today MJ is still able to avoid being found. If he didn't plan the hoax well, some tabloid would have snapped photos of him already post June 25, 2009 and the hoax would have been blown. Just goes to show that he is good at hiding when he doesn't want to be found. :Michael_Jackson_dancing_smile
Insurers / Lawyers, whichever professional hat made the decision / pushed for settlement, did it in the interests of reducing risk and from a business perspective as well as to reduce financial damages as much as possible. Right thing to do? yes, for KOP, yes! For MJ morally / ethicaly? No. Now is his time!
Kaboom! Bring it!
Again, we don't know *really* what happened. But I hope to God upcoming vindication and justice is on the cards! (not that I subscribe to tarots, lol)
We love you MJ xx
Chandler was "extremely ill" with cancer, the report said.
He was working as a dentist in Beverly Hills, California, in 1993 when he said his son, who was 13 at the time, told him that Jackson had molested him. His son revealed it, he said, when he put him under anesthesia to pull a tooth.
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/11/18/jackson.accuser.suicide/
Makes me wonder about this insurance company--could they have been the ones together with higher ups who wanted MJ 'destroyed' and set the Chandler's up for the job. Like Jermaine said about Murray, I think Evan Chandler was the "finger of a bigger hand", like in the lyrics of the song you quoted, LoveUnited.
Strange/ironic the hotel Even died in was Liberty Towers, in sight of the Statue of Liberty. MJ sang, "In what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of the nation." TS mentioned V for Vendetta's the 5th of November, and Emerald City, same initials as Even Chandler, the same day as the suicide news came out.
Despite originally being set for 30 October, the film's release date was rescheduled for 28 October 2009, due to a strong demand by Jackson's fans.Oh just a coincidence! :icon_lol: "We have 4 years to get it right!"
From and including: Thursday, October 28, 188646,386 adds to 27 = 999 or 666 overthrown
To, but not including : Monday, October 28, 2013
It is 46,386 days from the start date to the end date, but not including the end date
Or 127 years excluding the end date
The Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World; French: La Liberté éclairant le monde) is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886. The statue, a gift to the United States from the people of France, is of a robed female figure representing Libertas, the Roman goddess of freedom, who bears a torch and a tabula ansata (a tablet evoking the law) upon which is inscribed the date of the American Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776. A broken chain lies at her feet. The statue is an icon of freedom and of the United States: a welcoming signal to immigrants arriving from abroad.Wiki
News of the Chandlers’ domestic dispute comes as Jackson remains on the down-low somewhere in Europe, either in London or Dublin, ....
Sorry if this is a bit OT but this part of the article really caught my eye! At the time when no one on earth would have disputed the fact that Michael Jackson was alive, even THE MEDIA didn't know precisely where to locate him. Now the media would say that he's dead, but that's only because they can't find him. They have no photographic evidence. My point is, if it happened once already, it could happen again. It's happening now.
News of the Chandlers’ domestic dispute comes as Jackson remains on the down-low somewhere in Europe, either in London or Dublin, ....
Sorry if this is a bit OT but this part of the article really caught my eye! At the time when no one on earth would have disputed the fact that Michael Jackson was alive, even THE MEDIA didn't know precisely where to locate him. Now the media would say that he's dead, but that's only because they can't find him. They have no photographic evidence. My point is, if it happened once already, it could happen again. It's happening now.
What the heck? Now what caught my eye of the article is the use of "down-low". This article must not be an American media outlet because everyone knows "down-low' is the definition of a closeted gay man.