1. Posted on Saturday 27 June 2009 - 13:38

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   Murtala

   

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   Murtala Mohamed Kamara, AfricaNews reporter in Freetown, Sierra Leone

   The Sierra Leone "All Stars" - the musician union of that country - has said that the world will not recover soon from the death of Michael Jackson who is regarded as the king of pop music. The group said they want the family to know that they are mourning with them at the sad loss of the over 12 times Grammy Award winner.

   

   Speaking to AfricaNews, Abubakarr El Bah, President for Sierra Leone musicians said: “Michael changed the face of music in the world” and therefore “we will not recover soon from his untimely death”.
   
   The All Stars said they are planning series of activities in respect of the loss of Jackson among them a football match which is expected to be played at the Old School complex on Sunday June 28th.
   
   The African-American Civil Rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton said Michael promoted the acceptance of black people as celebrities even before Barack Obama, Opra Winfrey and Tiger Woods.
   
   Meanwhile, radio stations across the country are paying tributes to the late pop star. Some sections of the Sierra Leonean public appealed to Muslims to remember him in their Friday prayers.
   
   The death of Jackson was first announced on Thursday by the L.A Times which were confirmed by his senior Brother Jarmaine Jackson. Jackson who died at the age of 50 is probably the world’s most popular musician. Thriller - his most popular music album which was released in the 80’s is the highest selling album of all times.

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1. Posted on Saturday 27 June 2009 22:54

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   Yebbus

   

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   Michael Jackson, twice inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of fame , 13 Grammy Awards, 13 number one singles and over 750 million records worldwide. Yes, Jacko, the undisputed and unrivalled King of pop is dead and the world rightly mourns.
   
   I've no problem understanding the mourning of icons like Michael but what I take issue with, is the disproportionate, outrageous and gonzo-steroid outpouring of grief. Death is our common inevitable destiny, and it 'ain't matter whether you're black or white'. However, low lives and nincompoops can now make intelligent statements like 'the world would never be the same', 'This generation will have to live with this loss forever', etc. These expressions of latent personal inadequacy, upscaled and expressed through gross generalizations and utterances, is my problem.
   
   Michael Jackson never had a childhood! Yes, but so do millions of children in the third world. On the pluss side, Jacko wasn't given a gun and asked to obliterate his own family in order to demonstrate loyalty. Say nothing but good of the dead- I agree. But Jacko was estimated to be worth around 1 billion USD, and before his death, Jackson had announced a 50-date sell-out comeback tour, in London, England. The reason? Partly to cushion him out of a 500 million dollar debt.
   
   May Jacko rest in peace, and my condolences go solely to the Jackson family. My heartfelt condolences go to those children and adults around the world who can't make TV appearances, and for whom death remains the only surcease, not from a life of affluence, but one of destitution.
   
   Finally, until someone can show me a single child in Africa or Asia who would be having a meal less because of Jacko's death, I'll save some of my condolences for the true wretched of earth.
   
   See the same article on my blog http://istherebalmingilead.blogspot.com/

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