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Friday, July 3, 2009

Soothsayer, ex-bodyguard tell of Jackson drug abuse

MJ's

Two of Michael Jackson’s former confidantes, medium Uri Geller and ex-bodyguard Matt Fiddes, say they tried in vain to keep the pop superstar from abusing painkillers and other prescription drugs suspected of leading to his death — but others in the singer’s circle kept the supplies flowing. ‘When Michael asked for something, he got it. This was the great tragedy,’ Geller said Thursday in a telephone interview with The Associated Press from his suburban Londonhome.Geller, who said he suffered a terrible falling-out with Jackson several years ago over the issue, said he often had ‘to shout at Michael, to scream at Michael’ as he sought to confiscate the singer’s stocks of medication during his travels in England. Geller said he slept on floors or sofas in Jackson’s hotel suites in a bid to talk sense into his sometimes-incoherent friend.‘Most of the people around Michael could not say ‘No!’ to him. He desperately needed someone there all the time who could say ‘No!’ and mean it, who could warn him of the dangers ... and tell him the truth,’ Geller said. ‘The big problem was that many people wanted to help Michael, to save his life, but we could not be there all the time.’Geller said Jackson relied on medications to help him cope with relentless pressure and media criticism in his later years. ‘With his sanity buffeted and health wracked by global bullying nonstop, I think it’s actually incredible that Michael held up as well as he did,’ he said.Fiddes, an English karate instructor who worked as a senior bodyguard during Jackson’s travels in Britain for a decade, said the pop idol abused prescription medications, not recreational drugs, and took so much that it could be difficult to wake him for engagements.‘I confiscated packages and Uri did too. I mean, Uri confiscated injection equipment from his room,’ Fiddes said in an interview broadcast Thursday by Sky News. ‘And Uri would scream at Michael, you know, intensely, to stop doing this. But we just were getting pushed out.’Fiddes recalled one occasion when Jackson planned to visit London Zoo to see the gorillas, chimpanzees and other primates — but was too spaced out to go anywhere.The bodyguard said he and Geller ‘were both shaking him trying to wake him up. It was clear that he had taken something that morning and he was hard to wake. We were extremely concerned ... We couldn’t get him in a state that would portray him in a good light.’Fiddes said both he and Geller told others supplying medications to Jackson to stop, but when their efforts ‘got back to Michael, he would have a screaming fit that we were interfering with his private life. He was in denial.’Several other Jackson confidantes have expressed concern since his death at the volume and mixture of medications he was taking. Self-help guru Deepak Chopra said he rejectedJackson’s 2005 appeals for painkillers and that their relationship suffered lasting damage because of it.Geller said he was fearful that Jackson could not have completed his planned 50-concert run in London, which was due to start July 13. Stress over the imminent comeback, as well as drug misuse, combined to kill his friend, he said.‘Whatever the autopsy will come back with, part of what made Michael Jackson’s heart stop involved the stress and the anxiety that, ‘My God, in a few days I have to get on a plane and fly to England.’ But he could have done it,’ Geller said.

More provinces? By Ayesha Siddiqa

Sources suggest that the PPP government would support this formula so that the power of the Sharif brothers can be diluted. - File photo
Sharif brothers
THAT Pakistan must be divided into smaller and more manageable administrative-cum-political divisions is an argument that one has heard for many years. After all, if India can have new states based on linguistic divisions, why can’t Pakistan have more provinces? It makes a lot of sense if newer and more manageable administrative divisions are carved out of the existing four provinces with the objective of catering to the political sentiments of the people. Smaller units will mean the decentralisation of power, which should appease those who are worried about the concentration of power. The application of the above formula should make at least two groups happy: Punjab’s Seraiki and urban Sindh’s Urdu-speaking Mohajir communities. They have been struggling for years for recognition of their political and social rights. Unfortunately for the Mohajir community, it is demographically not in a position to make such a demand. Its political representatives might try to join forces with Sindhi nationalists to stop the inflow of the Pathans or Punjabis. But this will only work as long as they share political objectives, especially when one considers their history of animosity. More importantly, there is less discussion of a division of Sindh or other provinces and more about the division of Punjab — especially in the context of a province for Seraiki speakers — not to mention divisions within the Seraiki-speaking area and the issue of making Bahawalpur a province. None of the above means that Punjab today is more prepared for a division than other provinces. However, this indicates the weakening of the elite consensus in Punjab which may eventually move towards the breakdown of the agreement of the ruling elite in the largest province. Although smaller administrative divisions are absolutely logical, one must not be labouring under the misapprehension that the debate we are hearing has anything to do with the betterment of ordinary people. The Seraiki-speaking elite dwelling mainly in southern Punjab is weary of the concentration of power in Lahore, especially in the hands of the PML-N and the Sharif brothers. A new Seraiki province with its capital in one of the larger cities of southern Punjab will dramatically change Punjab’s political scene. But the role played by central forces is critical. Sources suggest that the PPP government would support this formula so that the power of the Sharif brothers can be diluted. Electoral results show that PPP support is concentrated in rural Punjab which is basically south Punjab versus PML-N’s following in the urban centres. A new political division will dilute the Punjabi urban versus rural division. Another province will also mean that Punjab would not be directly and totally controlled by the Sharifs and their party. Shahbaz Sharif can only be chief minister in one province, not two. Not to mention the fact that the success of the Seraiki movement will result in the possible creation of the Potohar province or some other division. The Bahawalpur province debate is inextricably linked to the demand for a Seraiki province. One explanation for a smaller province is that it is bound to kill the movement for a larger province. From a particular perspective, the demand for a Seraiki province versus a Bahawalpur province is the battle between two political poles, one more centrist and pro-establishment than the other. The entire debate is interesting because it indicates the weakening of elite consensus in Punjab, a province which is considered critical to Pakistan and its power politics. It must also be mentioned that the subcontinent has taken a newer shape every time elite consensus broke down. Starting from the independence of India and Pakistan to the breakup of Pakistan in 1971, this will probably be the third time in our history that the breakdown of consensus might give a new shape to the political division of territory. Of course, this time it will be done in a more decent manner, which is to be expected since there is no grass-roots demand for a new province. There are many who believe that this is about the betterment of the people. Surely, people in Multan, D.G. Khan, Bahawalpur and other places are bothered by the long trek to Lahore whenever they need to get things done. It is also a fact that there is greater development work in north and central Punjab than in the south. There are three issues worth considering in this regard. First, the south versus north and centre is also a story of uneven urban development. Second, the lack of development is not just about the concentration of power in Lahore but the peculiar concentration of capital and industrial development in the province. North and central Punjab are better developed because most industries, including defence, are located there. While this is because the bulk of the military is from the north and centre, the majority of dynamic entrepreneurs are also located here rather than in the south. Third, the comparative lack of industrialisation is also because the large landowners and politicians of southern Punjab have stuck to the more traditional industries and methods of capital formation. This varied pattern is not surprising since the relatively poorer agriculture of north Punjab led to other forms of money-making. In any case, the Seraiki-speaking elite attached itself to the larger Punjabi elite including the military to get their share of resources. I remember Makhdoom Khursheed Zaman Qureshi of Bahawalpur, interim minister for agriculture in Punjab during Musharraf’s tenure, talk about the benefits of giving free land to the generals in south Punjab. There are others like the Legharis with links to the ISI through the Mehran Bank scandal. The stories are endless. The fact of the matter is that the Makhdooms, Legharis, Abbasis, Gilanis etc from south Punjab see the division of the larger province as an opportunity to build their own stronghold. In a nutshell we might see a new shape of Punjab but such a change must be planned properly to divert benefits to the people rather than to the predatory elite.

Fans must register for tickets to Jackson memorial

Fans wishing to attend singer Michael Jackson's memorial service next week will have to register for the 11,000 free tickets, organizers said Thursday.Details on how to register for the 10 a.m. (1 p.m. ET) service at the 20,000-seat Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, Tuesday are to be announced Friday.Jackson's family will hold a private ceremony before the public memorial service, his brother said Thursday.Speaking to CNN's Larry King, Jermaine Jackson said the ceremony will be held Tuesday morning, but he did not say where.Jackson rehearsed at Staples Center two nights before he died, and he appeared healthy in a video clip of the rehearsal obtained by CNN. Jackson died June 25 after collapsing at his rented home in Los Angeles.AEG, promoter of Jackson's planned London, England, shows, released the short video of Jackson rehearsing in the arena on June 23.Jackson sang "They Don't Care About Us," a song from his "HIStory" album, as he danced along with eight male dancers.