EDDY PRASETYO

LOS ANGELES - Michael Jackson, the "King of Pop" who once moonwalked above the music world, died Thursday as he prepared for a comeback bid to vanquish nightmare years of sexual scandal and financial calamity. He was 50.
Jackson died at UCLA Medical Center after being stricken at his rented home in Holmby Hills. Paramedics tried to resuscitate him at his home for nearly three-quarters of an hour, then rushed him to the hospital, where doctors continued to work on him.

"It is believed he suffered cardiac arrest in his home. However, the cause of his death is unknown until results of the autopsy are known," his brother Jermaine said. Police said they were investigating, standard procedure in high-profile cases.

Jackson's death brought a tragic end to a long, bizarre, sometimes farcical decline from his peak in the 1980s, when he was popular music's premier all-around performer, a uniter of black and white music who shattered the race barrier on MTV, dominated the charts and dazzled even more on stage.

His 1982 album "Thriller" — which included the blockbuster hits "Beat It," "Billie Jean" and "Thriller" — is the best-selling album of all time, with an estimated 50 million copies sold worldwide.

At the time of his death, Jackson was rehearsing hard for what was to be his greatest comeback: He was scheduled for an unprecedented 50 shows at a London arena, with the first set for July 13.

As word of his death spread, MTV switched its programming to play videos from Jackson's heyday. Radio stations began playing marathons of his hits. Hundreds of people gathered outside the hospital. In New York's Times Square, a low groan went up in the crowd when a screen flashed that Jackson had died, and people began relaying the news to friends by cell phone.

"No joke. King of Pop is no more. Wow," Michael Harris, 36, of New York City, read from a text message a friend had sent him. "It's like when Kennedy was assassinated. I will always remember being in Times Square when Michael Jackson died."


The public first knew him as a boy in the late 1960s, when he was the precocious, spinning lead singer of the Jackson 5, the singing group he formed with his four older brothers out of Gary, Ind. Among their No. 1 hits were "I Want You Back," "ABC" and "I'll Be There."

He was perhaps the most exciting performer of his generation, known for his backward-gliding moonwalk, his feverish, crotch-grabbing dance moves and his high-pitched singing, punctuated with squeals and titters. His single sequined glove, tight, military-style jacket and aviator sunglasses were trademarks, as was his ever-changing, surgically altered appearance.

"For Michael to be taken away from us so suddenly at such a young age, I just don't have the words," said Quincy Jones, who produced "Thriller." "He was the consummate entertainer and his contributions and legacy will be felt upon the world forever. I've lost my little brother today, and part of my soul has gone with him."

Jackson ranked alongside Elvis Presley and the Beatles as the biggest pop sensations of all time. He united two of music's biggest names when he was briefly married to Presley's daughter, Lisa Marie, and Jackson's death immediately evoked comparisons to that of Presley himself, who died at age 42 in 1977.

As years went by, Jackson became an increasingly freakish figure — a middle-aged man-child weirdly out of touch with grown-up life. His skin became lighter, his nose narrower, and he spoke in a breathy, girlish voice. He often wore a germ mask while traveling, kept a pet chimpanzee named Bubbles as one of his closest companions, and surrounded himself with children at his Neverland ranch, a storybook playland filled with toys, rides and animals. The tabloids dubbed him "Wacko Jacko."

"It seemed to me that his internal essence was at war with the norms of the world. It's as if he was trying to defy gravity," said Michael Levine, a Hollywood publicist who represented Jackson in the early 1990s. He called Jackson a "disciple of P.T. Barnum" and said the star appeared fragile at the time but was "much more cunning and shrewd about the industry than anyone knew."

Jackson caused a furor in 2002 when he playfully dangled his infant son, Prince Michael II, over a hotel balcony in Berlin while a throng of fans watched from below.

In 2005, he was cleared of charges he molested a 13-year-old cancer survivor at Neverland in 2003. He had been accused of plying the boy with alcohol and groping him, and of engaging in strange and inappropriate behavior with other children.

The case followed years of rumors about Jackson and young boys. In a TV documentary, he acknowledged sharing his bed with children, a practice he described as sweet and not at all sexual.

Despite the acquittal, the lurid allegations that came out in court took a fearsome toll on his career and image, and he fell into serious financial trouble.

Michael Joseph Jackson was born Aug. 29, 1958, in Gary. He was 4 years old when he began singing with his brothers — Marlon, Jermaine, Jackie and Tito — in the Jackson 5. After his early success with bubblegum soul, he struck out on his own, generating innovative, explosive, unstoppable music.

The album "Thriller" alone mixed the dark, serpentine bass and drums and synthesizer approach of "Billie Jean," the grinding Eddie Van Halen solo on "Beat It," and the hiccups and falsettos on "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'."

The peak may have come in 1983, when Motown celebrated its 25th anniversary with an all-star televised concert and Jackson moonwalked off with the show, joining his brothers for a medley of old hits and then leaving them behind with a pointing, crouching, high-kicking, splay-footed, crotch-grabbing run through "Billie Jean."

The audience stood and roared. Jackson raised his fist.

By then he had cemented his place in pop culture. He got the plum Scarecrow role in the 1978 movie musical "The Wiz," a pop-R&B version of "The Wizard of Oz," that starred Diana Ross as Dorothy.

During production of a 1984 Pepsi commercial, Jackson's scalp sustains burns when an explosion sets his hair on fire.

He had strong follow-up albums with 1987's "Bad" and 1991's "Dangerous," but his career began to collapse in 1993 after he was accused of molesting a boy who often stayed at his home. The singer denied any wrongdoing, reached a settlement with the boy's family, reported to be $20 million, and criminal charges were never filed.

Jackson's expressed anger over the allegations on the 1995 album "HIStory," which sold more than 2.4 million copies, but by then, the popularity of Jackson's music was clearly waning, even as public fascination with his increasingly erratic behavior was growing.

Jackson married Lisa Marie Presley in 1994, and they divorced in 1996. Later that year, Jackson married Deborah Rowe, a former nurse for his dermatologist. They had two children together: Michael Joseph Jackson Jr., known as Prince Michael, and Paris Michael Katherine Jackson. Rowe filed for divorce in 1999.

Cardiac arrest is an abnormal heart rhythm that stops the heart from pumping blood to the body. It can occur after a heart attack or be caused by other heart problems.

Billboard magazine editorial director Bill Werde said Jackson's star power was unmatched. "The world just lost the biggest pop star in history, no matter how you cut it," Werde said. "He's literally the king of pop."

Jackson's 13 No. 1 one hits on the Billboard charts put him behind only Presley, the Beatles and Mariah Carey, Werde said.

"He was on the eve of potentially redeeming his career a little bit," he said. "People might have started to think of him again in a different light."

___
Associated Press Writers Derrik J. Lang, Solvej Schou and Thomas Watkins in Los Angeles and Virginia Byrne, Hillel Italie, Nekesa Mumbi Moody and Jocelyn Noveck in New York contributed to this report.

Sources : http://omg.yahoo.com/news/michael-jackson-king-of-pop-dead-at-50/24346?nc

Tajuk Rencana Suara Merdeka Cyber News

Jum,at, 17 April 2009

Bupati Purworejo Kelik Sumrahadi akhirnya ditahan di Lembaga Pemasyarakatan Kedungpane, Semarang dalam kasus dugaan korupsi APBD. Maka satu dari sejumlah pertanyaan tentang ke mana arah penanganan perkara-perkara korupsi yang melibatkan empat kepala daerah di Jawa Tengah, terjawab sudah. Selain Kelik, perkara serupa sedang ditangani Kejaksaan Tinggi Jateng, yakni menyangkut Wali Kota Semarang Sukawi Sutarip, Wali Kota Magelang Fahriyanto, dan Bupati Batang Bambang Bintoro. Sejumlah elemen kritis publik sejauh ini juga mendesak Kejati untuk menuntaskan dan meningkatkan penanganannya.

Kita menilai ada kemajuan dalam penanganan, karena sejauh ini selalu berputar-putar pada masalah izin dari Presiden yang belum turun. Publik yang skeptik pun memaknai keterhambatan proses dari sisi perizinan itu lebih beraroma politis ketimbang terkait prosedur hukum. Apakah penahanan Kelik merupakan isyarat segera disusul oleh tiga kepala daerah lainnya, tentu masih harus ditunggu. Pertama, sejauh mana konsistensi langkah kejaksaan. Kedua, sejauh mana pula faktor-faktor energi politik yang biasa memancar lebih kuat ”diberi tempat” untuk memasuki ranah perkara yang melibatkan orang-orang penting itu.

Bagi Kejati, tentu akan ada pertimbangan komitmen, mengingat bukan tidak mungkin empat perkara yang mengendap lama karena masalah izin pemeriksaan itu diambil alih oleh Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi (KPK) jika tidak segera diproses, sedangkan kini penanganan salah satu kasus dugaan korupsi itu sudah ditingkatkan. Kita tidak melihatnya sekadar dari faktor harga diri korps, melainkan terkait dengan komitmen-komitmen penegakan hukum, khususnya perkara korupsi. Apalagi Kajati Winerdy Darwis sudah menegaskan komitmen akan menahan semua tersangka korupsi di wilayahnya, termasuk para kepala daerah.

Pada sisi lain, penahanan Bupati Purworejo itu kembali merefleksikan tentang betapa tipis batas antara kekuasaan dengan kemungkinan penyimpangan di dalam menyikapinya. Kita boleh saja berdalih kesalahan-kesalahan di ranah kepejabatan itu bisa diakibatkan oleh proses, prosedur, atau ketidaktepatan pengambilan keputusan yang sebenarnya tidak bermaksud memperkaya diri. Tetapi bagaimanapun, kecenderungan-kecenderungan keterkaitan kekuasaan dengan penyalahgunaannya merupakan pemicu alamiah yang sejak ratusan tahun silam sudah diingatkan melalui tesis Lord Acton, ”Power tends to corrupt...”

Bukankah kita menyaksikan betapa banyak orang yang menduduki jabatan tertentu harus berurusan dengan hukum karena keliru menyikapi hakikat kekuasaan? Ada bias pemaknaan, justru sebagai peluang untuk memperoleh sesuatu lebih dari hak-hak yang melekat pada jabatannya. Ada upaya-upaya untuk ”mendapatkan lebih” dengan mengkreasi kewenangan di luar yang sudah diberikan oleh undang-undang. Kisah sejumlah politikus Senayan yang berurusan dengan KPK menggambarkan fenomena tersebut. Intinya, selalu ada kecenderungan lupa, kehilangan sentuhan keamanahan, lalu bermain-main dengan kekuasaannya.

Kita tentu berharap, hukum tidak kehilangan kekuatan pancaran energinya ketika berhadapan dengan nama-nama besar, apalagi yang berkemungkinan membangun akses ke pusat-pusat politik kekuasaan. Penahanan Kelik Sumrahadi memang memberikan isyarat positif mengenai independensi hukum, namun itu belum cukup jika ketiga kepala daerah lain yang sedang dalam penanganan Kejati Jateng tidak mendapat perlakuan serupa. Selebihnya masyarakat tentu menunggu jangan sampai ada diskriminasi dalam proses-proses hukum yang seharusnya sama terhadap orang-orang dengan bobot kasus yang sama.

Sumber : Suara Merdeka Cyber News

Purworejo, Jum;at, 17 April 2009, CyberNews. Pasca penahanan Bupati Purworejo H Kelik Sumrahadi SSos MM, di Lembaga Pemasyarakatan (LP) Kedungpane Semarang, puluhan massa pendukung Bupati Kelik yang menamakan diri Forum Peduli Masyarakat Purworejo mendatangi kantor Kejaksaan Negeri Purworejo, Jumat (17/4) sekitar pukul 09.00 WIB.

Diterima langsung oleh Kasi Intel Kejaksaan Negeri Purworejo, Pulung Riandoro SH, massa yang belakangan diketahui merupakan para anggota Polosoro Kabupaten Purworejo datang dengan beberapa tuntutan, diantaranya menuntut kasus Bupati Kelik segera dilimpahkan ke Kejari Purworejo dan disidangkan di Pengadilan Negeri Purworejo.

Mereka mengaku cukup kaget dan merasa empati dengan kasus yang menimpa bupati Kelik. Selain mencari kejelasan dan dasar hukum penahanan bupati Kelik, massa juga mendesak Kejari agar bereaksi paling tidak bisa memfasilitasi dalam pengajuan penangguhan penahanan Bupati Kelik. Mengingat, selain sebagai Bupati Purworejo, Kelik juga merupakan ketua DPD Partai Golkar Kabupaten Purworejo.

“Kami sebagai masyarakat Purworejo ingin mengetahui secara langsung, apa dasar penahanan dan ingin mengetahui secara terbuka apakah Bupati Kelik bersalah atau tidak,” ungkap Koordinator Aksi yang sekaligus ketua Polosoro Purworejo, Slamet Riyanto kepada sejumlah wartawan usai pertemuan.

Dikatakan Slamet, mereka hanya menuntut dua hal, yakni pelimpahan kasus dan penangguhan penahanan. “Kami meminta kasus ini segera dilimpahkan secepatnya dan untuk diusahakan penangguhannya, karena beliau saat ini menjabat sebagai bupati Purworejo aktif dan juga ketua Partai kami,” terangnya.

Proses audensi sempat berlangsung tegang, salah seorang pendukung sempat menuntut keras kepada Kasi Intel Kejaksaan Negeri Purworejo agar semua tuntutan mereka segera disampaikan ke Kejati.

Bahkan, dia sanggup untuk menggantikan posisi Kelik Sumrahadi yang saat ini ditahan di LP Kedungpane, Ia juga sempat menuding bahwa penahanan Kelik sarat nuansa politis.Pertemuan itu, sempat mendapatkan penjagaan ketat aparat kepolisian Polres Purworejo, meski demikian proses audiensi berlangsung cukup damai.

Sementara itu, dari pantauan Suara Merdeka dilapangan susana Pendopo Kabupaten Purworejo nampak terlihat lebih ketat penjagaan aparat kepolisian didepan dan belakang rumah dinas bupati. Hal itu, nampak berbanding terbalik dengan suasana lengang yang justru tampak di ruang kerja bupati di komplek Setda Kabupaten Purworejo, nyaris tak ada aktivitas apapun di ruangan tersebut.

Wakil Bupati Purworejo, H Mahsun Zain mengatakan, kendati bupati tengah berada di Jateng, roda pemerintahan tetap berjalan seperti biasanya, “kita hormati proses hukum yang ada, pelayanan kepada masyarakat tetap berjalan seperti biasanya,” tandasnya

Seperti dilansir dalam pemberitaan sebelumnya, penahan Bupati Purworejo H Kelik Sumrahadi SSso MM terkait tindak lanjut Laporan Hasil Pemeriksaan (LHP) Badan Pemeriksa Keuangan (BPK) yang menemukan adanya dugaan penyimpangan dalam penggunaan Apbd Purworejo 2006 senilai 2,7 miliar. (Nur Kholiq /CN13)

Sumber : Suara Merdeka Cyber News

KOMPAS.com, Jum;at, 17 April 2009 - BlackBerry atau sering disingkat BB, smartphone asal Kanada buatan Research In Motion (RIM) telah membuat kecanduan para penggunanya di seluruh dunia. Sampai-sampai, Presiden AS Barack Obama pun tak rela melepaskan diri dari gadget kesayangannya itu.

Koran New York Times Edisi 15 Desember 2008 memasang foto Obama dengan ukuran yang besar saat memegang BlackBerry. Kontan saja hal tersebut mengguncang dunia. Sejak ekspos aktifitas itu, demam BlackBerry yang tengah menyerang seluruh dunia, seakan makin menemukan justifikasi.

Demam BB, ternyata juga menyerang Indonesia. BB tidak hanya menjadi gadget pilihan kaum profesional, namun juga kalangan artis. Banyak artis ibukota yang dengan bangga menenteng BB. Bukan hanya untuk pamer, karena fitur BB yang dicari. Push Email yang mengantarkan email secepat SMS menjadi kebutuhan dasar profesional. Buat artis, chatting lewat BB makin menjadi aktivitas wajib.

Reni Sutiyoso salah satu korbannya. Semenjak menggunakan BB jenis Javeline, putri dari mantan Gubernur DKI Sutiyoso yang juga pengusaha ini semakin jarang menelpon. Ia lebih sering berhubungan dengan teman-temannya dengan cara chatting.
"Kadang-kadang walaupun ngumpul dengan teman-teman, tapi pada sibuk sendiri dengan BB masing-masing," terangnya saat launching buku BlackBerry for Everyone, di Gramedia Grand Indonesia, Jumat (17/4) malam.

Buku yang ditulis Muhammad Sufyan, seorang jurnalis ekonomi di harian bisnis, itu mengupas seluk beluk BlackBerry hingga menyihir banyak orang di dunia. Buku tersebut berisi mengenai sejarah, cerita para pengguna, sampai tips and trik mengoptimalkan BB.

Buku tersebut juga berusaha mengungkap fenomena BB dalam kehidupan. Misalnya munculnya pijat khusus pengguna BlackBerry yang dibuka di Hotel Hyatt Chicago. Layanan pijat yang diberi nama Blackberry Thumb itu muncul karena banyak pengguna BB yang mengeluh ibu jarinya sakit. Pijat yang menggunakan BB balm ini, berlangsung selama setengah jam. Selain area jempol, pijatan unik itu diarahkan ke wilayah pergelangan tangan yang menjadi sandaran gengaman.

Rupanya terlalu sering menggunakan BB bukan tanpa resiko, ibu jari pun dapat mengalami cidera. Seperti yang dikutip dari BBC, keypad pada prinsipnya tidak cukup fleksibel sehingga penggunaan yang berkali-kali dapat mengakibatkan kerusakan tandon jempol. BB sangat memungkinkan hal tersebut sehingga sebaiknya pengetikan dibatasi 50 kata saja.

Masih banyak pengaruh BB dalam mengubah gaya hidup modern. Bukan tidak mungkin sepasang kekasih yang tengah dimabuk asmara pun bisa-bisa saja bakal diam seribu bahasa meski berhadapan di meja kafe karena asyik berkomunikasi lewat BlackBerry. Bagaimana dengan Anda?