So, where does "Freedom of speech" end and hatemongering begin??

NEWSWEEK: In all the chaos surrounding the death of Heath Ledger last week in his lower Manhattan apartment, one reported detail stood out: that when his masseuse found him face down and unconscious on his bed, and then frantically called Ledger's fellow actor Mary-Kate Olsen, the 21-year-old star's immediate response was, "I'm sending my private security." Most people, upon hearing that a friend was unresponsive, with pill bottles nearby, would rush to dial 911. But the masseuse called Olsen two more times before finally calling 911 about 20 minutes later, the second time to tell Olsen that Ledger was cold to the touch and that she feared he was dead. Olsen's response? "I already have people coming over."

Her "people" arrived at the same time as the paramedics, nearly a half hour after Ledger's body was first discovered. So who are these "private security" providers? And why are they--and not public emergency services--the first call a celebrity would make?

It's freedom of speech,Look at bill maher has n't he mocked death people

I am mortified to see how inhumane our society has become. We can no longer distinguish between appropriate times to exercise freedom of speech and times of mourning a great tragic loss. My hope is that God is less brutal in his judgement of our actions than we are of each other. For me the only appropriate statement I must borrow from the Brad himself.
"Now cracks a noble heart. Good night, sweet prince,
And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest!" WS

Reality TV and Rush Limbaugh have taught us all that nothing is sacred and that people will believe whatever they see on TV or hear on the radio. With that said it is just about the numbers and the more scandal you create the more readers/listeners/viewers you have. The more of those you have the higher your advertising price tag. Soooo put that all together and it is just about the money.

Not like this David. Not like this

I'll add an amen to that Chadnnocal

Thanks for contributing Mike... I guess that'w why they put "in god we trust" on our money back in the late 1950s. Money surpassed God as a worship item...

Jet,

You reap what you sow. Your society has sown hatred and contempt in its media, and now you are reaping hatred and contempt in your media. Don't be surprised by what you see or hear. When the shock jocks got on the air, you all ran to listen. Now see what you are forced to listen to.

That explains the success of The National Enquirer, Ruvy

I swear that whenever I read one of Ruvy's comments these days, I can hear thunder rolling in the background.

It's probably just gas Doc...

All I can say is that the good die young the nuts are left here to torture the rest of us. Heath is in a better place no doubt with jerks like these people on Earth, they're the ones who have to live with themselves, which is a personal hell.

Rest in Peace Heath and God Bless Matilda and your family. You were a true talent and will be sadly missed.

It is reported that he is to be buried in his home city of Perth in Western Australia after a memorial service in Los Angeles.

A controversial US church described as a "hate group" has said it will protest at the LA service because he played a gay character in Brokeback Mountain.

The 28-year-old actor was found dead in his New York apartment on Tuesday.

Several prescription drugs were found in the flat and authorities suspect a possible overdose.

Some of the drugs were prescribed in Europe. Ledger was working in London last weekend on the latest film from director Terry Gilliam.

He has suspended work on The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.

In a statement, the film-makers said: "Heath was a great actor, a great friend and a great spirit. We are still in a state of deep shock, saddened and numb with grief.

"Over the coming days, Terry and the producers will be assessing how best to proceed."

From MTV: Ledger was slated to receive the Robert Altman Award with director Todd Haynes and the cast of "I'm Not There," a film in which Ledger was one of six actors to play the role of Bob Dylan. The 28-year-old actor was to be among the very first recipients of the award, named last year in honor of director Robert Altman.

Ledger's presence at the ceremony, which he attended last year with then-fiancee Michelle Williams, will be sorely missed and appropriately noted, sources said.

"Obviously it's on everybody's minds over here. It's been discussed: 'What are we going to do about Heath?' " another ISA source, who also did not want to be named, revealed to MTV News. "We're figuring out what to do, but we're working on something. Luckily, we've got a month."

Also planning to acknowledge Ledger is the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Awards, a show that honors individuals and projects for their positive representations of the gay community. Along with co-star Jake Gyllenhaal, Ledger was lauded for his portrayal of a homosexual ranch hand in Ang Lee's "Brokeback Mountain."

"GLAAD intends on acknowledging Heath Ledger's death at the 19th annual GLAAD Media Awards," publicist Nick Adams told MTV News. "We are still in the early stage of production, and do not know at this time what form that will take."

Representatives for the Academy Awards could not be reached by press time.

The most interesting tribute, however, may not come from colleagues. In the wake of Ledger's death, the Web site WhySoSerious.com -- which for months has been the primary location of online viral marketing for "The Dark Knight" -- was updated recently with a black ribbon. Ledger recently completed his role as the Joker in the highly anticipated sequel.

CHECK BACK HERE OFTEN MY FRIENDS AND I WILL UPDATE IN THE COMMENTS AS OFTEN AS IS WARRANTED..0

GRIEF-stricken family and friends of Heath Ledger vowed to give his two-year-old daughter Matilda the "beautiful life" he had planned for her, as the body of the 28-year-old Australian actor last night began a sad final journey to his home in Perth.

Tears flowed as his parents, Kim and Sally, and his older sister, Kate, arrived in Los Angeles yesterday to await the arrival of the casket carrying his body.
Ledger's body was dressed in a black suit before being placed in a simple wooden box for transport from New York, where he lived, back home to Australia via LA.

The funeral is expected to be held in Perth this week, but details have not been released. There also was speculation yesterday of a public memorial service in LA within the next few days, likely to be attended by many of Ledger's Hollywood A-list friends.

As Ledger's body was being placed in a hearse outside the funeral parlour on New York's East Side, his gorgeous daughter was less than 10km away in Brooklyn.

Toddler Matilda, who's tender age has protected her from fully understanding that she has lost her father, was being shielded by her actor mother Michelle Williams, who was engaged to Ledger until the relationship ended six months ago.

Matilda and Michelle were "the two true loves" of Ledger's life, friends said last night.

"He adored Matilda, and when Michelle called it quits, he missed Matilda so much that he was thrown into a deep, dark depression," a source said.

Heath was living in New York to be close to his daughter. He wanted to give her a beautiful life, a family friend said.

Ledger was determined to be a good father to Matilda, the friend said, and was regularly seen walking with her on the streets of SoHo, the trendy neighbourhood where he lived.

He regularly showered her with toys and gifts from chic stores in the area and dressed her in bright designer outfits.

It is not known if Ledger left a will, but family sources say he had set up a trust for Matilda. His estate is estimated by Hollywood insiders to be worth more than $A30 million thanks to his successful 12-year, 15-film career.

He also is thought to have invested wisely in property in Australia and overseas and had a financial interests in several businesses, including an LA-based record label.

In addition to his Manhattan loft and the Brooklyn house where Michelle and Matilda live, Ledger owned a prestige home in the Hollywood Hills that he bought from television host Ellen Degeneres and her Australian actor partner Portia De Rossi in 2006 for $A2.6 million.

The house was deserted yesterday though several fans stopped by to add flowers to a makeshift shrine at the gates.

It is not known if Michelle and Matilda will travel to Perth for the funeral, but Ledger's heartbroken family has pledged unwavering support for the little girl wherever she grows up.

"Your true legacy lives on in beautiful little Matilda, who will always remain in the greatest of care," the Ledger family wrote in a death notice.

As Matilda grows up, she also will have the comfort and support of a loyal and protective circle of Hollywood friends.

Her godfather, Jake Gyllenhaal, who starred alongside Ledger in the award-winning movie Brokeback Mountain, has vowed to help her keep her father's memory alive.

He said it was "an amazing honour" to be her godfather.

It is believed Gyllenhaal has told friends he has a "duty" to Ledger now to do all he can to help the two-year-old.

Williams' former Dawsons Creek co-star, Busy Phillips, is Matilda's godmother and was one of the first people to meet Williams when she rushed from Sweden to New York after learning of Ledger's death.

Meanwhile, Australia's Foreign Minister, Stephen Smith - who is in New York for meetings at the United Nations headquarters - said he was satisfied about the handling of the inquiry into Ledger's death by US authorities.

The authorities said they would not make a final determination on the cause opf Ledger's death until toxicology tests are completed.

JAKE Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledger's best friend and Matilda's godfather, has been left to grieve on his own and has not been seen since the actor's death.

According to TMZ, people on the set of his new film, Brothers, are helping the star keep it that way as he is too distressed to talk to media.

Gyllenhaal is currently filming in New Mexico and has been holed up in the studio. There are no plans to stop the film's production to give Jake time to fly to New York to be with Michelle Williams.

The set has been closed to non-crew members and extra security has been hired to keep photographers at bay and to ensure the actor's privacy, according to TMZ.

Now that two-year-old Matilda is left to grow up without her doting father, the responsibility to keep Heath Ledger's memory alive falls partly on her famous godfather, Jake Gyllenhaal.

Jake, Heath and Matilda's mom Michelle Williams, bonded on the set of their Academy Award-winning hit Brokeback Mountain, for which they all received Oscar nominations.

"Heath and I are best friends now making the film was very intense for us," said Jake, 27, who played Heath's sheep-herding love interest in the Blockbuster hit. He described being Matilda's godfather as "an amazing honor,"

All I can say is that the good die young the nuts are left here to torture the rest of us. Heath is in a better place no doubt with jerks like these people on Earth, they're the ones who have to live with themselves, which is a personal hell.

Rest in Peace Heath and God Bless Matilda and your family. You were a true talent and will be sadly missed.

Fox news radio host John Gibson has issued an apology for mocking comments made about the death of young actor Heath Ledger during his show. Initially Gibson had refused to apologize, but relented after continued calls for him to be fired.

Shortly after Ledger's death, Gibson played an audio clip from Brokeback Mountain of Jake Gyllenhaal's character, Jack, telling Ennis (played by Ledger), "I wish I knew how to quit you." Gibson then coldly quipped, "Well, he found out how to quit you." Then, after playing another audio clip from the movie of Ledger's character saying, "We're dead," Gibson mockingly said with a fake country accent, "We're dead" and played the clip again.

During Gibson's "My Word" segment on Fox News Thursday, Gibson issued an reluctant apology about the controversial comments made regarding Ledger's death.

"I'm sorry that some took my comments as anti-gay and insensitive," he said. "I'm aware that Ledger has a family and many fans who were grief stricken by his sudden death... Those who knew him say he was a great actor and loving man and what happened to him was terrible and evidently an accident."

"Once again, to anyone offended by my comments," Gibson stated. "But I'm also sorry that Heath Ledger is no longer with us and alive. That is my word."

Gibson had initially refused to apologize for his actions, saying it was just "a little Brokeback Mountain joke" and there is "no point in passing up a good joke," according to All Headline News

On MSNBC's Morning Joe, co-hosts Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski and Willie Geist characterized Gibson's comments as "unbelievable," "grossly inappropriate," and "hateful." The hosts called Gibson "sick," callous," and "totally out of line." Brzezinski said, "I don't know how you stay on the air after doing something like that, quite frankly."

Beyond his mockery of Ledger's role in Brokeback Mountain, Gibson called the actor a "weirdo" with "a serious drug problem," and callously speculated on the reasons Ledger might have committed suicide. Gibson had previously mocked Brokeback Mountain, calling it a "gay agenda movie" on his Fox News TV program in 2006.

GLAAD is asking people to contact Fox news and "ask its representatives why they continue to provide a platform for John Gibson's cruel and tasteless comments."

Taiwanese director Ang Lee mourned the death of Heath Ledger. He brought to the role of Ennis more than any of us could have imagined - a thirst for life, for love, and for truth, and a vulnerability that made everyone who knew him love him. His death is heartbreaking," Lee said.

Ledger's performance in Brokeback Mountain earned him a best actor Oscar nomination. Lee garnered the best director award for the film.

as far as I know that's all of the pertinent news bulletins... I was wondering why no one had heard from Jake, I'd like to offer him my condolences should he read this...

Fred Phelps: STOP IT RIGHT THERE! Your every effort in this endeavor pulls people AWAY from God, and brings suspicion and hatred towards christian people. Jesus knew helping folks when they are down IS the right way to bring forth the kingdom! How many converts have you heard that say "I didn't believe in God...until they told me he hated me!" I'm telling ya': God's not gonna be happy about this, and using his name in vain is NOT his Idea of fune, either! If you care about God at all...SHUT UP AND LISTEN TO HIM!

Batzarro while I'm sure your sentiments are shared by all here, I'm pretty sure it's falling on deaf ears to address it at Phelps.

It seems to me that there has to be a way to keep Phelps, his crazy daugher and followers away from those funerals.

Maybe the fact that it's going to ultimately take place in Austrailia will slow them down?

In the end, the only thing that will stop pigs like Phelps is his prescription for those he hates - a bullet. Believe me, someone, somewhere in America is fashioning that bullet with Phelps' name on it.

...or one could say that the Phelps group like any fanatic religious (bowel) movement worth its salt needs a few martyrs

Unfortunately, they're a breed that's learned that empowerment comes to them by breeding hate...

alas

The body of Heath Ledger was taken from a Manhattan funeral home on Friday, and police officers who had been assigned to the funeral home said the body would be flown to Australia for burial.

The medical examiner's office is awaiting the results of blood and tissue tests before announcing the cause of death.

About 100 fans, reporters and photographers spent hours on Friday waiting outside the funeral home, Frank E. Campbell, on Madison Avenue near 81st Street.

The police set up barricades there on Thursday and posted signs prohibiting parking on Friday along a two-block stretch of Madison Avenue around the funeral home.

Shortly before 4 p.m., a plain wooden box was loaded into a hearse, and the hearse pulled away. Officers who had been assigned to the funeral home said the box contained Mr. Ledger's body.

There had been speculation that a service would be held in Los Angeles. But Mara Buxbaum, the publicist who had represented Mr. Ledger, wrote in an e-mail message, "There are no plans for a public service."

It sounds like the Phelps hate-mongers aren't smart enough to figure out where the service was in Los Angeles yesterday, and missed their chance.

Let's hope they don't have the funds to fly to Australia. They still plan to picket outside the Academy Awards though...

Jet:

A) Since some of them have previously been charged with criminal offences, they probably wouldn't be allowed to enter the country (no, you don;t need a crimional record anymore to get into Australia), and b) we have laws in Oz that stop that kind of stuff.

You can protest all you like in Australia, but not at someone's funeral and certainly not in a way likely to cause harm or distress.

You get arrested, thrown in the slammer and charged with causing a public nuisance. If there's a scuffle, the cops usually thrown in resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer. In some cases, the police will even seek costs to cover the operation, especially if there is any damage caused. The West Australian police are pretty tough on that stuff too since Perth can be a really wild place sometimes.

Phelps and his crew would last about 10 minutes before getting bundled into a paddy wagon and carted off to the lock-up. The courts take a dim view of it as well, especially in a situation like that if it's caused distress. What's that saying? My rights end where my neighbours' begin?

One thing we're good at here is deciding whose rights come first in what situation.

Actually, maybe you should send them over here ... problem solved. Phelps would last about 20 seconds in an Aussie jail.

Thanks STM, maybe I'll send them a money order for the plane fare, if you say they'd get stuck in jsil there and not come back...

Stan, if they do get in I'll be on the next plane. Their reception by Australia would be a thing to behold. Come to think of it, you could probably make a fortune charging for ringside seats...

Yeah, imagine someone like Phelps and his mob in Australia.

They wouldn't know what had hit them.

Literally.

I'd sell my piano for a ringside seat!

Headline: Quantas flicht hijacked to Cuba by randical church group, thinking Australia was a city there...

Out of Curiosity, I just did an advanced search on Google asking how many copies of this article have been reproduced on other websites. Then I narrowed it to having to have the exact title and "Jet in Columbus" and was astonished...

Well, the answer was 30, until I noticed the little note saying the results were abreviated to save space, when I clicked on it I got this...

Results 151 - 180 of about 2,260 for FOX News's Gibson Mocks Ledger As Phelps Group Announces Hate Protests "FOX News's Gibson Mocks Ledger As Phelps Group Announces Hate Protests" "Jet in Columbus". (0.45 seconds

Finding that unbelievable, I clicked at the thousand copy mark and found that it'd been translated into Russian!!!

Yikes!

Jet "Quantas ... "

No U in Qantas, Jet ... a mistake commonly made even by American airline pilots!

QANTAS stands for Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Service Ltd, founded in the 1920s.

Somehow, it grew to become the national flag carrier, although it's no longer government-owned.

Oh... well... my bad! (this has been a recorded announcement)

The anti spam thing won't let me post a link for some reason so I will present it in longhand for thos who are skeptical...

You'll just have to copy and paste...
Then go to the bottom of the first page and click expand search, it's up to 2,800 in just those few minutes!
Search Results

No personal attack here - just wondering how these people get the cash to fly to Aussie on such short notice. They swore (under oath) that they were struggling to pay their bills, and had a collective net worth of less than one million US. Did they win the lottery? Anyway, you have to be a person to suffer a personal attack, which kind of let's them out here.......

just wondering how these people get the cash to fly to Aussie on such short notice.

You never heard of a credit card, Ed? That's what most airlines want anyway, these days..... You come up to a ticket counter with $15,000 or $20,000 in cash and the clerks start looking at you like "whattya got to hide?" It's not that they won't take the money. They most certainly will. But they may not be able to make change.... And what do you secure the seat with?

Thanks Ruvy, I was scratching my head trying to figure out what point he was trying to make...

Good grief!!! I just clicked the link in #41 and found over 8000 copies of this article worldwide!!!

Update:
New York, Jan 27 (ANI): Mel Gibson may have called Heath Ledger's death a "tragic loss," but the actor/director is said to have distanced himself from the late actor.

Private investigator Paul Barresi has revealed that Gibson had stated neglecting Ledger after the he ignored his advice about not to play a gay cowboy in Brokeback Mountain.

According to Barresi, a "major Hollywood producer told him that "Ledger asked Gibson whether he should take the role of Ennis Del Mar in Brokeback.

"Gibson strongly counselled against it. The role apparently ran counter to Gibson's morality. And he felt that it would ruin Heath's career.

"When Gibson parted ways with Heath, it broke his heart," Barresi added.

However, Ledgers role did win critical acclaim and an Oscar nomination, reports the New York Daily News. (ANI)

Update
Reports that a homophobic church plans to picket the funeral of actor Heath Ledger is drawing criticism from a Jewish group.

Westboro Baptist Church, in Topeka, Kansas, insists that Ledger, the 28-year-old movie star who was found dead in his New York apartment on Tuesday, supported homosexuality because of his highly acclaimed performance in the film "Brokeback Mountain."

The Anti-Defamation League issued a statement slamming the church.

"Heath Ledger's funeral should be no place for haters," said the ADL's national director, Abraham Foxman. "It is outrageous that the Westboro Baptist Church would attempt to turn the untimely and sad death of a Hollywood celebrity into a homophobic spectacle."

Members of the churched gained national notoriety when they appeared at the funeral of Matthew Shepard bearing signs reading "No Fags in Heaven" and "God Hates Fags."

Can someone explain the concept of a spider website to Jet -- again -- before he seriously thinks 8,000 websites care about his article?

update
Police investigating the death of Heath Ledger believe the young actor may have died of a heart attack, and not a drug overdose, it has been reported. TMZ, the celebrity website that broke the news of the actor's death last Tuesday, quoted sources "intimately connected with the investigation" saying that the 28-year-old may have died from natural causes, as the level of toxicity (from prescription drugs) in Ledger's body was too low to cause his death. Initial tests on the actor's body have proved inconclusive, but Ledger's family has insisted that he would not have taken his own life.

The Brokeback Mountain star's body has been flown from New York to Los Angeles where a private memorial service was held on Saturday for family and close friends. Ledger's ex-fiance, Brokeback co-star Michelle Williams, and former girlfriend, actress Naomi Watts were among the mourners at the ceremony. The actor's body is expected to be flown to Australia today, where a funeral will be held in Perth, his home town, this week.

Meanwhile Hollywood actors paid tribute to Ledger at the the annual Screen Actors Guild awards in Los Angeles [see separate report on awards]. A montage of film clips to honour those stars who died over the past year ended with a scene from Brokeback Mountain. Daniel Day-Lewis, star of There Will Be Blood, dedicated his best actor award to Ledger, saying the young Australian's work had inspired him to keep acting. Day-Lewis said Ledger's challenging performances encouraged other actors to keep "regenerating... There are many actors in this room tonight including my fellow nominees who've given me that sense of regeneration. Heath Ledger gave it to me," he said, to loud applause.

However, outside the Shrine auditorium where the SAG awards ceremony was held, anti-gay protesters, still angry over Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal's depiction of a homosexual relationship between two cowboys in Brokeback Mountain, waved placards that read "Heath's in Hell".

Thank you Mr. Sussman... I knew you'd crawl out from under your rock eventually to piss on my campfire.

What was the harm of my being proud, that you had to insist on doing that?

Note to the Suss monster: this article has consistantly been in the top five sidebar since it was published.

I guess that's meaningless too.

It took me almost a fucking year to begin writing articles again and to get myself out of the depression I've been in and two heart proceedurs.

Why you consistantly find ways to put me down in my own article's comments section is a mystery.

If it 's a personality conflict get over it.

Otherwise leave me and my articles alone. Just because you're a BC editor DOES NOT give you the right.

Jet

Jet, I don't want to piss on your campfire, but I thought I'd look up the last article I submitted here, and lo and behold, it got over 1,400 mentions of various kinds on Google. Most of them linked back to here. In all truth, I was very pleasantly surprised. My article on Hurricane Katrina was also in the top read list sidebar for a few days, which was the reason I took the trouble to look....

Well Ruvy, I'm proud of my work. Apparently Mr. Sussman thinks that's a crime, or at least thinks I'm too stupid to realize.

I've counted over 100 SEPARATE websites so far in the last five minutes that quote in full this article and another 200 or so that quote the first few paragraphs and refers it back to here.

This generates traffic to BC's website here, I thought an editor would encourage my enthusiasm, but instead...

oh forget it...

Jet,

Don't let Matt get to you. He may be an editor, but too often, as a commenter he is a troll, and a member of the Discouragement Fraternity....

Thanks Ruvy.

Sweet Jesus. When was the last time I commented on one of your articles, Jet? It's been a while.

Your campfire is pride is based on 8,000 Google results, including omitted results (which are omitted for good reason). I did the same thing with another BC Culture article, "Diamonds are DeBeers' Best Friend" and got 26K results.

Now Jet, I'm pretty sure we've explained the concept of aggregators and splogs and spiders to you, because you complained of sites like this plagiarizing your work.

So yes, thanks for writing the article because this was a newsy subject and lots of people do searches for FOX News and Heath Ledger and that brings traffic and all that jazz. But when you say ridiculous things like "Apparently Mr. Sussman thinks that's a crime" to be proud of 8,000 Google results (including omitted listings), well that's just blatant exaggeration.

"but too often, as a commenter he is a troll"

Show examples before you accuse.

Jet; Matt...

Stand back to back.

Take twelve paces forward.

Handbags at the ready... And - turn!

Damn... And I don't have one that matches my tennis shoes any more!

(:p~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ahhhh....peace