Just as controversy swirled around Michael Jackson’s life, so too his death is shrouded in mystery, with numerous unanswered questions.

Michael’s father, 80 year old Joe Jackson, who used to beat his boys if they sang off key, claims that his son’s death was ‘foul play’.

Leaked details of the first autopsy claim the King of Pop was bald headed, weighing a mere 112 pounds, was barely eating one meal a day and hardly sleeping.

A legacy of narcotic painkillers being injected three times a day into hips, arms and thighs, fuels rumours that the star could no longer sing and would make use of the O2 Arena’s state of the art lip synching technology. This would have limited Jackson’s personal contribution to each concert to just 13 minutes. Yet other reports said Jackson did a full rehearsal in front of some 50 technicians, businessmen and performers, in the Staples Centre arena in Los Angeles, without even taking a break, the night before he died, in preparation for the upcoming concerts.

Jackson had been due to head to London on the day of his death, in preparation for what he had believed to have been 10 concerts, which his enablers had manipulated into 50. Yet some reports say the singer was far too fragile to even contemplate the journey. One source inside the Jackson camp is reported to have said, “He has no choice. He needs the money. His people are pushing him hard.” The first of the concerts had already been postponed for five days.

Other reports say that the singer’s $600 million stake in Sony/ATV Music Publishing company, that has the copyright to all the Beatles’ songs, had fine print that will protect his share from his creditors. If that is true, the sale of Jackson’s share would go to his three children, ensuring them financial security for the rest of their lives. Others say that Sony is now in a position to regain full control of Jackson’s half share of the copyrights to The Beatles’ catalogue, as Jackson was in hock to Sony for hundreds of millions of dollars. Sony is reported to have been picking up the tab for all of Jackson’s bills.

There are reports that Jackson has left his children an inheritance of 200 original songs. Jackson was the song writer of the family, for the songs that he and his brother’s performed in the early part of his career. Others believe that Jackson’s estate will make more money during the coming 12 months, than the star made in the last decade of his life.

Rumours continue to swirl, of a huge debt that teetered on the edge of bankruptcy, to pill pushing ‘enablers’ with ties to the black militant organization, the Nation of Islam, through the children’s nanny,  Grace Rwaramba. Some believe that Jackson no longer had control over his own life and was in fact longing for death.

There are reports that the 911 call for an ambulance was deferred for 50 minutes and Jackson was dead long before he left his rented mansion. Whatever the truth is about Michael Jackson, no one will ever deny that the iconic singer died a lonely and deeply troubled man, even while people around the world perform elaborate tributes of mourning to the icon.

Ruth Madoff, the wife of Bernhard Madoff, the creator of the $65 billion ponzi scheme, the largest ever recorded, has agreed to give up her claim to more than $80 million worth of assets, for being allowed to keep just $2.5 million cash. This amount of money would have been considered only pocket change by the couple, a few months ago.

The agreement was arrived at with the federal prosecutors. The Madoff’s were claiming the nearly $70 had been accrued independent of the ponzi scheme and were in Ruth Madoff’s name.

71 year old Bernard Madoff is to be sentenced to 150 years imprisonment and is facing the rest of his natural life in prison. Madoff has not named any accomplices, though few believe he acted alone.

Ruth will be forced to look for a new home, as their $7 million apartment in Manhattan and $11 million Palm Beach house in Florida, plus a $3 million home on Long Island are all sold, besides their boats and cars. Ruth could have been facing both criminal and civil charges, though her involvement in the ponzi scheme is hard to prove. Ruth says she is betrayed and confused by the actions of her husband. “The man who committed this horrible fraud is not the man whom I have known for all these years.”

At the time of Madoff’s arrest, Ruth Madoff held $45 million in municipal bonds, plus $17 million in a bank account. She also withdrew $15.5 million in the weeks leading up to her husband’s arrest. The couple was caught trying to pass pieces of expensive jewelry to family members, at the time of the arrest.

Currently Ruth has been dubbed as the ‘Loneliest women in New York’, as past acquaintances distance themselves from the beleaguered couple. “She wants enough to live on the rest of her life in peace,” said one of the legal sources who didn’t want to be named.

The questions remain – Surely the Madoff’s did not hold all their assets in one place? And is the $2.5 million a payoff for not being prosecuted alongside her husband?

The 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein song said, “Climb every mountain, ford every stream, follow every rainbow, till you find your dream.” 49 year old Clyde Persley, married with a 4 year-old daughter, just found his dream. He won the $39 million California’s SupperLotto Plus.

If he had not taken out a lottery ticket, Persley would have continued to work hard for all his productive life. He worked as a limousine driver, picked up extra hours at the El Palomar restaurant as a fill-in and operated a candy-making machine for Santa Cruz Nutritionals.

Persley will collect his $16 million cheque in four to six weeks time, the amount he will receive after paying Federal taxes. Persley is proof that dreams can come true. Like most of us, Persley “Just wants to live a stress free life”.

Keep a Dream

Dreams keep us going and your dream could come true. Just like Persley, you could be financially secure for the rest of your life. You have a really great chance of winning the Super Draw in Win a Resort, brought to you by the YouMe Support Foundation, a non-profit charity.

When you’re the lucky winner of Seachange Lodge, a $1.8 million dollar tropical island getaway, in the South Pacific, you’ll be able to retire with an income for life, (tax free).

You could either run the property as a small 6 apartment boutique resort, or rent the apartments out long term. There is always a shortage of good long term rental properties in Port Vila, Vanuatu, one of the most stable nations in the South Pacific.

You may choose to move to the tropical island getaway and enjoy the pristine waters, wilderness and slower pace of life, or just loan the apartments to your friends and family.

Or you could walk away with a one-time fat cheque, after selling the prime, absolute waterfront real estate. You would then be free to do all those things you have only ever dreamed of doing up to now.

Well before the end of 2010 you could be a millionaire, retiring on a tropical island getaway, a world away from stress, with a regular tax free income for life.

The Odds

Your odds of winning in the Win a Resort Super Draw are a whole lot better than the California SuperLotto Plus, which were 1 in 41,416,353. You’ve got a super chance of winning because there will be only 200,000 entries, before Seachange Lodge, changes hands. Isn’t that a dream worth reaching out for, just as Persley did?

Making A Real Difference

The California State Lottery is mandated to provide 84% of all funds to be given back to the public. 50% must be given back in the form of prizes and the remaining 34% of its revenue must be given in the form of money towards education.

‘Make Me A Millionaire’ is California’s Lottery’s second television show, succeeding ‘The Big Spin’. The Lottery also funds dozens of instant-lottery Scratchers Games.

YouMe Support Foundation is not mandated to give back only a portion of funds raised, it is mandated to put all funds raised into giving high school education grants, to kids who will never otherwise have the opportunity to go to high school. No one else is helping these kids.

YouMe Support Foundation will give grants wherever there is no free education, beginning with the South Pacific nation of Vanuatu.

Life Changing

YouMe Support Foundation is not into just raising funds for giving kids the chance to fulfill their dreams, it is into changing lives. As Nelson Mandella said, “Education is the only way to make a lasting change.”

Your $49 Australian dollars will make a real difference to these kids. You only have to talk to Maimona Silas, the first student to enter the grant program. Her winning smile proves that giving these kids a chance is the best investment you will ever make.

Don’t miss out on this once in a lifetime opportunity. You could win a 7 day holiday for two to visit Seachange Lodge and check the place out, in the Monthly Draw. You could win a holiday, plus be the proud owner of a million dollar tropical island getaway for just $49 Australian dollars!

Next draw closing on 12th July. Hurry get your entry now, it could be the winning ticket at Win a Resort

Worldwide there is a deep concern over the number of people infected with the global outbreak of H1n1 virus, commonly known as swine flu – a blend of bird, human and pig flu genes. There have been 3,065 hospitalizations and 127 deaths recorded.

However, an estimated 15 million to 60 million Americans are infected with the seasonal flu each year, and around 36,000 deaths. Common flu is classed as endemic –  with seasonal epidemic recurrences. In the United States alone it is estimated that common flu results in

• 3 million days hospitalization,
• 30 million outpatient visits
• medical costs of $10 billion annually
• $15 billion lost earnings annually
• Total economic burden over $80 billion annually

Compared to the annual influenza epidemics, the effect of H1n1 is mild. Starting in Mexico, there has now been an estimated 1 million people infected in America alone by the swine flu. However, for the most part the illness is mild and the patients quickly recover, according to the U.S. health officials.

Lyn Finelli, a flu surveillance official from the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said, “The estimate of 1 million victims is based on mathematical modeling”.
Symptoms of the H1n1 are similar to the regular flu. Severe symptoms of swine flu are

• trouble breathing,
• pain in chest or abdomen,
• recurring fever with rash,
• confusion,
• severe or consistent vomiting.

Swine flu has been officially called a pandemic – an epidemic of a new infectious disease that spreads through humans across a large region, to which there is little or no immunity. A widespread endemic disease that is stable in terms of how many people are falling sick, as in the common flu, is not classed as a pandemic.

The World Health Organization raised the level from phase 5 to phase 6 (more than three regions affected with the disease) on the 11th June. The last level of phase 6 was the Hong Kong flu of 1968, which killed around 1 million people.

However WHO states the severity of the swine influenza pandemic to be moderate, but the full clinical spectrum of the disease is as yet unknown. The major concern has been the number of young healthy people, with no pre-existing medical conditions, who have died from the virus.

The greatest fear is that the virus will mutate, there will be underlying conditions that will increase the effect of the virus and that health systems may not be able to cope.

WHO is not recommending travel restrictions, nor does WHO have any evidence that there is a danger in eating pork products.

Dr Ira Longini, from Vaccine and Infectious Disease institute, Hutchinson Research Centre in Seattle, Washington, says “Things such as ’social distancing’, (including wearing masks in crowded places) and seeking medical treatment can reduce the sickness by nearly two-thirds”.

Perhaps more notice should be given to the effects of the ordinary everyday variety of flu, which is the true killer lurking in our neighbourhood.

A group of nearly 26 Saudi women finally gained permission to attend a 10-day course on how to fit, stock and sell underwear. The organizers hope this will help the campaign to allow women to take their place as saleswomen in the lingerie shops.

Graduates held a small celebration in the western seaport of Jiddah, commemorating 40 hours of instruction. The major hurdle for the organizers, was to overcome the women’s embarrassment at fitting bras and learning how to deal with customer complaints, besides learning how to display the stock in an attractive manner.

Thirty-two year old coordinator of the course said, “It was a beautiful experience, but the most shocking thing for me was the bra sizes. We didn’t know how to get proper measurements before.”

Many Saudi women said they are sick and tired of being forced to discuss intimate details with male staff and having to put up with their scrutiny when they asked for a particular cup size.

A law in 2006 was passed permitting only female staff to be employed in women’s clothing stores. However, the law was never put into effect, because hard-liners in the powerful religious establishment opposed employing women in mixed environments, such as shopping malls. Almost all shops in Saudi Arabia are staffed by men, apart from one or two women-only boutiques.

In Saudi Arabia women are forced to completely cover themselves in public, not permitted to drive cars, or have a vote and must obtain permission to travel overseas. However the women are slowly finding ways to gain a small measure of freedom, from blogging on the Internet, to a campaign boycotting man-staffed lingerie stores.

The former ruler King Fahd opened a state school for girls in 1960, even though what the girls could learn was strictly regulated. However, this has led to a generation of elite educated Saudi women, while  just under a third of the nation’s women still remain illiterate. Many of the educated women are now pushing for political rights and job opportunities.

The sexes are still strictly segregated in this oil rich country. Only close relatives can stand in the same line at fast-food outlets, or travel in the same car together. Traditionalist clerics exert a very strong influence on both government and society, banning anything they think might lead to the emancipation of women.

The Saudi women live in one of the nations listed in the 54% of the world’s countries that are not rated as free, according to the annual report released by Freedom House. Countries where basic human rights and political freedom are either severely repressed, or totally unknown.

There were times when he may not have been the most loved person in the world, but he certainly was one of the most controversial, has died at the age of 50, having collapsed at his home in Los Angeles. Michael Jackson was taken to hospital in a coma, he was announced dead.

It is thought Jackson’s death could possibly be related to a large injection of Demerol, given to the singer for pain, after a rehearsal for 50 comeback concerts. It was believed that Jackson had managed to kick a morphine and Demerol addiction, but has experienced health concerns since the early 1990’s.

Dr Conrad Robert Murray, cardiologist from Houston, Texas, was reportedly with  Jackson when he lost consciousness. Murray had been living with Jackson in his rented mansion, in the role of a personal physician. Police are now searching for Murray, who has disappeared, leaving his car outside Jackson’s house.

Entertainer extraordinaire, businessman and recording artist, the seventh of nine children of the Jackson family, whose sensational singing gift was discovered when he was just 6 years old. He was later referred to as the ‘King of Pop’, just as Elvis Presley has been dubbed the ‘King of Rock and Roll’.  Some likened his unique dancing style to Fred Astaire and in particular Jackson’s ‘Moon Walk’. Jackson’s entertaining life spanned almost four decades.

Jackson revolutionized the music world, being the first to make music visual through videos, rather than merely audio. Jackson was also the first African-American entertainer to successfully break the black and white barriers on MTV, an American music cable television network, based in New York. His very distinctive high tenor vocal style heavily influenced hip hop, pop, as well as many contemporary artists. Jackson sold 61 million albums in the US alone.

Jackson supported 39 charities, as well as donating and raising millions of dollars for benefits and his own charity. Oprah Winfrey’s interview with Jackson in 1993 became the most-viewed non-sport program in the history of the United States.

Changing his appearance to a lighter skin, narrower nose, as well as controversial and at times bizarre behavior in his private life, drastically damaged his public image. Jackson made an out of court settlement when accused of molesting a child in 1993.  Reports of the the singer suffering financial difficulties surfaced in 2006, after the child sex abuse trials of 2005.  It is believed the musical icon died around $400 million dollars in debt.

Twice married, having fathered three children, another cause for controversy, Jackson’s closest companion was a pet chimpanzee named Bubbles. Elizabeth Taylor has always been a high profile friend of Jackson.

Jackson is one of the few artists to be twice inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Jackson also appears several times in the Guiness World Book of Records, including an entry as the ‘Most Successful Entertainer Of All Time’ and the biggest selling album of all time.

From July 13, 2009 – March 6 2010, Jackson was to perform concerts to over one million people, at London’s O2arena. Sales for the tickets to the concerts broke several records. The first ten concerts alone would have earned the iconic singer around $100 million. The concerts were organized by entrepreneurs who recently bundled Jackson’s debt into one place. Reports say that Jackson’s finances were getting back in order, but the concert promoter, AEG Live, is facing the task of refunding $85 million in ticket sales, for the sold-out concerts.

The question is what will happen to Jackson’s three children - Prince Michael Jackson aged 12, Paris Michael Katherine aged 11 and Prince Michael Jackson11 aged 7? Children who never went to school, living a nomadic life with their famous father. Michael Jackson was the only parent the children knew.

“Hilary Clinton’s a monster,” blurted out one of Barak Obama’s top advisers during the run up to the presidential election, in March 2008, after Clinton attacked Obama’s inexperience in foreign policy.

This was the furtherest thing from the minds of the people who gathered at a recent private dinner party at former Secretary of State Madeline Albright’s Washington home. Diplomats from five previous administrations,  joined together to honour the current Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton. Henry Kissinger, George Shultz, James Baker, Lawrence Eagleburger, Warren Christopher, Albright, Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice. The only one missing was Alexander Haig.

It is still not clear if 61 year-old Clinton will continue with her scheduled visit to Italy and Greece after undergoing surgery to her elbow which was fractured in several places in a fall, as she headed for her car, in the basement of the State Department. Clinton was on her way to a meeting at the White House, officials said.

Obama may have been kept waiting on this occasion, but it is doubted that Presidents’s right hand woman will be held back by any damage to her right elbow, as she heads the battle for ‘women in high places’, as was witnessed when Clinton was the guest speaker for the Emily List luncheon. Emily List is a 24 year-old organization dedicated to increasing the power and presence of women in politics. Emily List came into being around the same time Clinton entered the political arena.

Having weathered the Clinton-Lewinsky White House scandal, an impeachment, a failed health reform and 8 years as First Lady, one can only wonder what really goes on in the State Secretary’s head as she walks one step behind Michelle Obama. One thing is for certain, Hilary Rodham Clinton has no intention of going away quietly. Ellen Malcolm introduced Clinton at the Emily List luncheon as “An exceptional figure in American life and a powerful role model for women for our country and for the world.”

June 10th 2009
With the life savings of an elderly woman and $1million in American dollars and Israeli shekels thrown out with the trash, a frantic daughter and three rubbish dumps placed off limits, mattresses have been on everyone’s mind lately.

June 19 2009
An Italian man claimed to be using an inflatable mattress as a means of getting a comfortable night’s sleep. It contained several pounds of cocaine.

June 18th 2009
Central District police reported that a Curry Walk resident had $3,000 stolen when a burglar entered her home and found the cash neatly tucked underneath her mattress.

June 18 2009
The Coast Guard headed out to pick up a man, who was happily reclining on an inflatable mattress late at night, around 60 yards from the shore, at Presque Isle Bay, in the north-west area of the state. The man was promptly handcuffed and taken into custody. He had not completed his probationary obligations on a theft conviction and the police were looking for him.

June 2nd 2009
Police arrested a man who had stolen a mattress from a local outlet store, Weston Mercury, in Weston-super-Mare. The man was transporting the mattress home in full view, on his car.

29th May 2009
Jessica, a full grown hippo in South Africa, throws herself onto a king-size mattress in her den, when she wants to relax. Jessica is believed to be the only known domesticated hippo in the world.

May 28 2009
A 45-caliber Glock handgun was used in an accidental killing, when three year-old Ariana Soto shot her two year-old brother, Ruben Soto III, in the chest. The children’s mother was in another part of the apartment at the time of the shooting. Their father was at work.

The wounded boy was taken to Kern Medical Center where he was later pronounced dead. Bakersfield police Sergeant Greg Terry said the gun was in a holster between the mattress and box spring. “This gun was for self defense and ready to fire,” Terry said.

The law makes it a crime punishable by up to three years in prison as a felony, or up to a year in jail as a misdemeanor, to improperly store a weapon in a way that the parent or guardian reasonably should know “that a child (could) gain access to the firearm.”

Mattress Trivia:
Recent studies by the University of California in San Diego revealed that more time in bed can improve problem-solving for a vast majority of people.

That is of course provided you:

• Don’t bank roll a mattress
• Don’t smoke in bed
• Don’t have a hippo for a pet and
• Don’t keep loaded guns handy.

The last piece of mattress advice comes from a Choosea Mattress salesman: “People must ‘get physical and have fun’ when replacing a mattress. They need to throw themselves into the activity with gusto and approaching the bed in the same manner as they would when they were curling up for the night at home.”

If you have any other Mattress Tall Stories, please share them with us by taking a few minutes to add a comment. We’d love to publish what you have to say.

China is the world’s workshop, turning raw materials into an avalanche of consumer goods. Numerous new factories open across China daily. Many of the Chinese-made products pose a serious health threat.

Poisoned baby milk, contaminated pet food, dangerous toys, bad toothpaste, unsafe seafood - the list of problematic Chinese imports grows. Prices for Chinese products are low and production cycles short. After making products that match buyer’s specifications, innovation inside the factory turns to cutting costs, in ways that range from unsavoury, to dangerous.

Scott Wolfson, spokesperson for the U.S. Consumer Product and Safety Commission said “Chinese-made products account for more than 60% of recalls this year, with a return of 338 products.”

Most producers claim their products are safe and deny any responsibility. The Chinese government has published a black list. A few get caught but the cleverer ones stay ahead, by using products not yet on the prohibited list.

Large, modern factories outsource work to smaller, grittier, facilities, even though this means forgoing the production benefits from economies of scale. The smaller outfits are better able to skirt environmental controls and safety standards, both for the products and the workers.

“Many production problems are well-known within local manufacturing circles,” says Mr Midler, a consultant for the growing number of Western companies in China. “But collusion is rampant and there are no rewards in China for whistle-blowing.”

In 2008, China’s food and drug safety inspectors claim they closed 180 food factories in the first half of the year, seizing tons of candy, pickles, crackers and seafood tainted with formaldehyde, illegal dyes and industrial wax.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has placed a ban on five types of Chinese farmed fish and seafood, containing traces of antifungal and antibiotic drugs that are potentially harmful to humans.

Chinese-made  toothpaste tested to an ingredient used in antifreeze in the product. The chemical has been used as a low-cost, but sometimes deadly substitute for glycerin – a sweetener commonly used in drugs. The same chemical found in the toothpaste was blamed for the deaths of 51 people in Panama, after they ingested tainted cough medicine.

In Beijing, officials banned the use of 10 types of drugs as a result of their makers’ exaggerated and false claims, and could not be supported in clinical testing.

Not only are the roles of ‘married couples’ being blurred, with the continuing argument over same sex marriages, the traditional role of breadwinner and caregiver has also undergone a dramatic change. Gone are the days when the father-figure was a remote, ‘gone to work’ person whom the children barely had time to relate to.

Three major factors causing this evolution are:

• one-third of wives in America alone, earn more than their husbands
• ‘lifetime male employment’ is now a thing of the past – in the current recession
• rising instability in the job market.

Females are finding out what it is to have to take the major responsibility for the finances of the family, while the males are experiencing the full and often overwhelming responsibility of having to be the 24×7 care provider. More and more men find themselves staying at home and doing nappy duty, while their wives rush off to the office.

Even in same sex relationships, there still appears to be a strong orientation to male and female roles. It is becoming more and more vital in any relationship, that both partners are capable of taking on the other partner’s role at a moment’s notice.  For both roles to succeed, they need to be in a constant flux of negotiation.

Who the breadwinner is still depends largely on:

• the economic situation of the nation
• a couple’s economic circumstances
• what the cultural background is.

Eighty percent of all layoffs in the recession have been male, as male dominated industries get hit the hardest. Yet, for either partner, trying to keep the balance between being both a caregiver and a provider, creates stress. Perhaps circumstances are now spreading the stress a little more, as more and more couples move to sharing the positions.

While the initial caregiver is the mother,  that can change as quickly as 6 weeks old, if the mother is forced to return to work, either by choice, or in  order to keep her job. Either way, the changing roles have to be of benefit to the children, who get to see more of their father, than was customary a couple of generations ago. No longer is it seen as wrong for young boys to play with dolls, or young girls to play with trucks.

The celebration of Mother’s day (caregiver) and Father’s day (provider) almost needs to undergo a change also. Maybe they should now be called Caregiver and Provider Days, in order to keep up with the evolving changes.