Per June7: Photos are fine, I love seeing what you guys have posted... just try to stray from reposting them... slows things down.

previous thread in the series: http://www.prince.org/msg...=822295557




[Thanks for handling the 9th thread, sos... I've been busy! - June7]

first

jayaredee said:

pizza!!

sosgemini said:

This first thing never gets old.

I'll miss it when the trial is over.

I gotta get 1 first before it's too late.

NakedPreacherLady said:

What u mad about.

thesexofit said:

That I wasn't first.

alright folks..back on track:


Focus: The Jackson trial

-----
Courting disaster

Americans are recoiling as the shocking details of the Michael Jackson case unfold. But can the singer survive the litany of charges against him? Paul Harris reports

Sunday April 17, 2005
The Observer

Janet Arvizo sat in Santa Maria's modest court room facing a barrage of criticism. Defence lawyers for Michael Jackson were testing her claims to have been kidnapped along with her family and held prisoner by the singer. The questions kept coming and coming, probing her story and that of her son, who she says Jackson sexually abused.
Arvizo's voice become more breathless inside the chamber as she tried to explain how she had never managed to raise the alarm, never managed to call the police or tell a friend. She spoke quickly and was agitated. Eventually she blurted out her explanation: 'Who could possibly believe this?'

Quite. Lying was the theme of defence lawyer Thomas Mesereau's attack. He played videos of Arvizo praising Jackson and he forced her to admit she had lied under oath in a previous compensation case. She said she was a 'bad actress'. Mesereau shot back: 'I think you're a good one.' Later she got her own back. 'Neverland is all about booze, pornography and sex with boys,' she said.

But the only real truth to emerge from Santa Maria is that the ongoing train wreck that is the Jackson trial is simply beyond belief. For weeks Jackson has sat in the courtroom watching his carefully guarded life fall apart. If Neverland, his fantasy hideaway in the southern California hills, was meant to be a private retreat where he could shun a mocking world it has never been more horribly exposed in all its garish weirdness.

Prosecutor Tom Sneddon has relentlessly pursued his case that Jackson is a serial paedophile. The jury has been spared no lurid detail in the quest to show that Jackson created Neverland as 'bait' to procure unsuspecting children. From a former cook to an ex-housekeeper, former Neverland employees have engaged in a brutal parade of testimony about Jackson's alleged abuse at the secluded ranch.

Added to that have been the alleged victims themselves and their relatives. The picture they have built up is a consistent one. It shows Jackson targeting boys, often with absent fathers and mothers susceptible to flattery and lavish gifts. He would then pressure them into his Neverland bedroom and sexually molest them. One was even paid cash and told not to tell his mother.

And with row upon row of TV cameras camped outside like an occupying army, it is all taking place in the glare of the world's media. No wonder Jackson's lawyers are feeling the strain.

Recently one of his team, Brian Oxman, was recorded by a TV crew's microphone making a furious phone call in the car park of his Santa Maria hotel. Oxman yelled as he furiously debated the possibility of someone being fired from Jackson's team. 'This is going to get intolerable!' he barked.

But the picture of a doomed Jackson is far from true. The prosecution has now fired most of its big guns and Jackson is still standing. The defence phase of the case has yet to begin and will probably last until the end of June at least. Already there are hints that the prosecution's best days could be behind it. The defence will rely on two main tracks. Firstly, that Jackson's accusers are after his money. Secondly, that all the witnesses so far are disgruntled former employees who have sold their stories to the tabloids. There is ample evidence for both.

For in the Jackson trial, there are few innocents. The prosecutor is unrelenting. The defence is unbending. Who is the accuser and who is the victim depends on what you choose to believe. Each witness has a horrific story. Yet, rather than calling the police, each appears to have sold that story to a supermarket tabloid cashing in on the true American currency: 15 minutes of fame.

Arvizo wore a pink dress for her first day in court last week. She theatrically recalled sitting on a plane and watching Jackson lick her child's forehead like a cat. 'Like this, over and over,' she told the court as she demonstrated by licking her own arm.

That awful animalistic image, of the king of pop licking the head of a young boy, was just one of many direct hits on Jackson in the past two weeks. There had already been two other mothers with devastating testimonies. June Chandler, whose son Jordie was the subject of a $20 million out-of-court settlement in 1993, has also taken the stand. As has an El Salvador-born cleaning woman testified that she saw Jackson take a shower with a young boy and added that her own son had also been abused.

All three mothers described a similar pattern. It is, prosecutors argue, classic evidence of a predatory paedophile. They claim that Jackson uses Neverland, with its array of free amusement rides, endless supply of sweets and his own private bedroom as a honeypot into which to lure his victims. They are young boys whose fathers are usually absent. The mothers are then showered with gifts and pressured to allow their children to share Jackson's bedroom. Eventually the boys are abused. 'There's a pattern here,' said Steve Cron, a legal analyst and California defence attorney.

Chandler gave classic testimony. She was in the middle of divorcing her second husband when Jackson befriended her son Jordie. Gifts were commonplace and eventually Jackson became angry that she would not let Jordie share his bedroom. In court testimony, she described a trip to Las Vegas in 1993 where things came to a head. 'He (Jackson) was sobbing, crying, shaking and trembling,' Chandler said, describing how Jackson told her: 'We're a family. Why don't you allow Jordie to be with me... Jordie is having fun. Why can't he sleep in my bed. There's nothing going on. Why don't you trust me?' Astonishingly, she gave in. In return, she was given a gold Cartier bracelet.

It seems almost to have been a conveyor belt of abuse in the faux wonderland of Jackson's home. Certainly that is the picture the prosecution is painting. It has brought forward witnesses to describe abuse against at least three young boys, aside from Jackson's actual accuser. The alleged victims include the then child actor Macaulay Culkin, star of the Home Alone movies, and another boy, Wade Robson, who now works as a choreographer for Britney Spears. Much of the evidence comes from Jackson's former Neverland staff, including his cook, Phillip Lemarque, and security guard Ralph Chacon.

In surreal testimony Lemarque said he was once summoned to make Jackson some food at 3am with the order: 'The Silver Fox wants some French fries.' When he entered Jackson's bedroom he saw him and Culkin playing an arcade game with Jackson's hand down the young boy's underpants. 'I was shocked. I almost dropped the French fries,' Lemarque told the court. Chacon, meanwhile, said he saw Jackson performing oral sex with another boy. As he described the scene, Jackson stared at him across the court room and slowly shook his head.

It is damning stuff. But in this trial, resting on two specific charges of abuse against a 13-year-old cancer sufferer, the accuser's testimony itself has been no less graphic. He described Jackson plying him with wine (which the singer dubbed 'Jesus Juice'), showing him pornographic magazines, simulating sex with a mannequin and then finally sexually assaulting him. To back it up the jury was shown porn taken from Jackson's bedroom and subjected to protracted technical testimony that revealed both the boy's and Jackson's fingerprints were on the magazines.

But already holes in the prosecution case have begun to appear. Jackson's lead attorney, Thomas Mesereau, is a brutal cross-examiner and has not backed off from attacking the accuser.

His cause has been greatly helped by stuttering performances from all the prosecution's key witnesses. The accuser, dubbed John Doe, gave an at times bizarre display. He yawned repeatedly, prompting even Sneddon to ask him: 'I'm keeping you awake, am I?' To which the boy replied: 'All I need is a pillow.' John Doe was also questioned about how his initial complaints of five acts of abuse had turned into just two. His brother, known as James Doe, also gave changing testimony, describing events differently at different times.

Yet the worst performance was by the mother. At one stage, she dubbed Jackson and his entourage as 'killers'. She pointed at Jackson every time she mentioned his name, frequently burst into tears yet cracked jokes just as often. Mesereau raised few objections to disturb her flow. Even prosecutor Ron Zonen betrayed his exasperation. 'Anyway...' was his sarcastic response to a long reply that failed to answer his question.

Mesereau was brutal in attacking her. On Friday the judge struck so many remarks from the record (both hers and Mesereau's) that he had to suspend court to explain to the jury they should forget any such comments. She was erratic and rambling. At one stage she claimed Jackson's side had faked a receipt that showed she had had a leg, eyebrow and bikini wax at a local salon. 'I'm telling you, it was only a leg wax,' she said. She then turned to look at Jackson and said accusingly: 'He has the ability to choreograph everything.' 'How about you?' Mesereau shot back. The remark was struck.

But the witnesses that were not there were also crucial. Both Culkin and Robson have previously insisted they were never abused by Jackson. Jordie Chandler has also refused to testify. It is perhaps telling that he has not spoken to his mother, who was so willing to take the stand, in more than 11 years.

Finally there is the issue of money. It is this that is emerging as the dominant thread of the defence. The collision of celebrity and crime and chequebook journalism has undermined swathes of the prosecution's case. 'The Achilles heel is these low-life witnesses who sold their souls to the tabloids,' said Laurie Levenson, a former prosecutor and professor at Loyola Law School.

Jackson's cook Lemarque, who says he saw him molest Culkin, had talks with a tabloid about selling his story for $100,000. He admitted to Mesereau that he had been told the story was worth more if Jackson's hands were inside Culkin's underpants, not outside. Another staff member, maid Adrian McManus, confessed that several employees had banded together to hire a 'media broker' to peddle Jackson sex stories that they made up.

Chacon, the security guard, was part of a failed lawsuit to sue Jackson by ex-Neverland staff. That suit ended in disaster and each plaintiff was forced to pay Jackson more than $1m in legal fees. 'This is a good way to get even with him, isn't it?' Mesereau bluntly asked as Chacon squirmed. Chacon has also sold his story to the tabloids to pay the legal bills.

The Salvadorean cleaner (whose name cannot be revealed) is not free of tabloid taint either. She was paid $20,000 to appear on a TV show in a deal arranged by another Jackson maid. The accuser's father has talked to British tabloids about selling his story, though no deal was ever struck. Behind it all is the possibility of a civil suit of the kind that won the Chandler family $20m. Mesereau grilled John Doe on the prospect. 'You're aware that if Mr Jackson is convicted you could automatically win a civil suit, right?' he asked him. 'No,' the boy said, which prompted Mesereau to repeat: 'No one's ever discussed that with you?' Again the boy said no. 'We've said things like, 'Oh, we don't want his money' and stuff like that.' It remains to be seen if that will convince a jury.

But tellingly the family's civil lawyer, Will Dickerman, and attorney Larry Feldman, who first brought the boy's charges to light, have entered into a fee-sharing arrangement, so that if any future civil suit is launched they will share the reward. When Feldman was on the stand, Mesereau made sure the jury was made aware of the situation and that the accuser will have until he is 20 years old to decide if he wants to pursue compensation. That produced a testy exchange between Mesereau and Feldman. 'If at the end of this trial, they decide they'd like to sue, they'd have plenty of time, wouldn't they?' Mesereau asked icily. 'If they'd like to, sure,' was Feldman's calm response.

It is hard to escape the notion that money could be key to the trial. At no stage did any witness or victim report Jackson to the police. Or try to stop the alleged abuse. They went to lawyers, tabloid editors and television reporters, but never to social services. 'These witnesses are alleging heinous behaviour and not a one of them seems to have done a damn thing about it while the acts were being committed. Who are these people?' said show business columnist Richard Roeper. Mesereau was more subtle. 'Did you ever take your son and leave?' he asked Chandler. 'No,' she replied.

Guilty or innocent, Jackson is almost certainly finished as a pop star. 'At this point the case is looking like a smear campaign. It's a legal free-for-all,' said Levenson. But the trial has also seemed to be a 'high-water' mark for celebrity trials too. From Scott Peterson to Robert Blake and Kobe Bryant, America has become awash with high-profile scandals over the past year. Perhaps, at long last, it appears to be tiring of them too.

The Jackson trial is rarely front-page news. Even the most salacious testimony is on inside pages. The 're-enactments' shown each night on some TV channels have failed to catch the imagination. Mesereau is not a household name. It seems America has, so far, spared itself another OJ Simpson trial. That is the only good thing to emerge from Santa Maria so far.

Wasn't this article already posted?

Is this thread 9 already?

wow thread 9...


we've had alot of good times people

alot of good times

MILESTONE!

a picture from today

dag said:

Singing FEEEEEDOM!!!!

[Don't repost photos, please. Thanx - June7]

Luv4oneanotha said:

are those guys fruit of islam?
[Edited 4/20/05 11:12am]

lilgish said:

no, thats Carl Weathers, Ving Rhames and the guy from Boston Public is in the back.

what are you talking about?

Mesereau deserves to have a picture over here as well.

dag said:

someone lost stripes on their michael badge.

Prosecution Calls Ex-Neverland Guard

7 minutes ago Entertainment - AP Gossip/Celebrity

http://news.yahoo.com/new...jackson_16

By TIM MOLLOY, Associated Press Writer

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - A former security guard at Michael Jackson's Neverland ranch testified in the pop star's child molestation trial Wednesday that there was once a notice posted in a guard station that the boy who is now the singer's accuser not be allowed to leave the estate.

But the witness, Brian Barron, also said under defense questioning that it would have been appropriate to keep child guests on the estate if their parents weren't present and that they probably would not let any children leave if they were unsupervised.

Barron, a police officer for the town of Guadalupe, moonlighted at Neverland for about three years until leaving after the ranch was raided by Santa Barbara County sheriff's investigators. He said his superiors in Guadalupe suggested he not work there any longer because of the criminal investigation.

The witness also said that after the Nov. 18, 2003, raid — for which he was not present — the Sheriff's Department asked him to go back to work at Neverland as a law enforcement informant but that he refused.

The witness said the directive concerning the boy was written on a guard station greaseboard for a weeklong period in January or February 2003. Barron said he did not know who wrote the directive.

Under cross-examination by defense attorney Robert Sanger, Barron acknowledged that as a police officer he would have been required to report anything illegal he saw at the ranch and that he never had grounds to do so.

Sanger asked whether the directive might also have appeared in a log of activity at Neverland's gate. The attorney produced a page of the log dated Feb. 19, 2003, that stated, "The kids are not to leave per Joe."

The notice said "kids" referred to the boy, his brother, "etc." The name Joe referred to a ranch manager.

The Feb. 19 date has surfaced previously in the trial as the day when the accuser, his brother, sister and mother were taken to Los Angeles to record a so-called rebuttal video in which they praised Jackson as a father figure.

Jackson, 46, is accused of molesting a 13-year-old cancer patient in February or March 2003, giving him alcohol and conspiring to hold his family captive to get them to make the rebuttal video after the airing of a TV documentary in which the boy appeared with Jackson, who said he let children sleep in his bed but that it was non-sexual.

Under questioning by Deputy District Attorney Gordon Auchincloss, Barron was asked whether there was a difference in attitude of employees when Jackson was present at Neverland.

Barron agreed, describing the mood as "tense."

Asked to elaborate, Barron said, "He's like a perfectionist. Everything has to be right. There was a lot of work to be done. Everyone was walking on pins and needles a little more to make sure everything was right."

Auchincloss also asked Barron to identify pictures of three boys from the community of Los Olivos who were frequent visitors to the ranch and to describe their conduct.

"Destructive," Barron said. "Whenever they were there we would have broken golf carts. They egged my security chief's car, and I mean a lot of eggs."

The prosecution informed the court Tuesday that it planned to rest its case next week.

The announcement followed the end of testimony by the accuser's mother, who underwent a final around of vigorous cross-examination Tuesday that sought to undermine her credibility by raising questions about the authenticity of photographs showing her covered with bruises after an alleged beating by store guards in 1998.

The photos were made in connection with a lawsuit that resulted in a settlement of more than $150,000 for the woman's family. Jackson's defense suggested that the woman exaggerated claims against the guards as part of a history making false allegations to get money.

what?

I don´t get this. Oh just ignore me. I am off to watch Bridgit Johnson´s diary...

dag said:

NO.....Um Jermaine is in the Nation of Islam. Their body guards are called fruit of Islam. They where there on the first court appearance. I'm teasing you for not knowing ..

Motions for tomorrow


Plaintiff's Motion in Limine re: Admission of Expert Testimony on "Battered Women's Syndrome" (Initially heard on January 28,2005. Ruling deferred.)

Plaintiff's Supplemental Motion for the Admission of Additional Evidence Pursuant to Evidence Code Sec. 1108 and 1101(

Plaintiff's Memorandum re: Admissibility of Certain Testimony of Several of Defendant's Proposed Witnesses

Plaintiff's Emergency Motion to Quash Defendant's Subpoena for Manual Ramirez

Defendant's Motion to Admit Evidence of Alleged Sexual Conduct (Initially heard on March 11, 2005. Supplemental Memorandum to be considered.)

Mr. Jackson's Request for Clarification of Media Decorum Order

Access Proponents' Motion Requesting Clairfication of Media Decorum Order
Plaintiff's Motions on Other Evidentiary Matters (To Be Filed April 20, 2005)

I just can't understand y MJ can't hold his own umbrella.

klhk said:

if i was paying people 1,000 dollars an hour to guard me, THE LEAST they can do is hold my unbrella!!!


luck i don't make em give me a Blow...


mmm i digress...

klhk said:

he does, he has.

oh....well...um.... MJ SUCKS!!!!

I think if he walked into court everyday holding
his own umbrella it would look fruity.
It would be an invitation to make fun of him.
A bodyguard holding an umbrella for him makes him
look like a rich powerful important person.

Luv4oneanotha said:

Would anyone care to summarise the first eight threads.

I wasn't paying attention.

doctormcmeekle said:

ummm..lets see:


1) boy gets cancer. crazy mother attempts to leech onto a celebrity for money by using cancer.

2) mj is dumb enough to take the cancer bait and becomes far too close far to fast with the lil boy with cancer.

3) bashire documentary is made

4) public freaks out. crazy mother walks around with a lit light bulb for a bit.

5) young boys, jesus juice and porn

6) the trial starts and people testify to the above

7) crazy mother goes crazy on the stand

thread IX

sosgemini said:

Was there a bit where they all turn into monsters and start dancing?

Or did I dream that?