Carol's pretty much right. It's entirely appropriate for people to express sadness and discuss the circumstances/career of a deceased celebrity, or of anyone. But when it dominates the news channels to the exclusion of 'real' news happenings, then it starts being inappropriate. IMO.

It's a matter of priorities. Michael Jackson (and the others) are dead, and nothing can bring them back. Meanwhile, protestors in Iran are being killed, and it's possible (not guaranteed, alas) that more world attention would stop or slow the brutality going on. Lives are at stake, and when major news-gathering organizations are ignoring that in favor of obituaries, well, it looks wrong to me.

Again, threads like this one are perfectly appropriate, and I didn't mean to sound like I was snapping at anyone on here.

PJ
who is having a really really really bad weekend... <sigh>

"You told me you weren't like other men," she said, shaking her head at him when the storm of laughter had passed.
He grinned at her - a goofy, Clark Kent kind of a grin. "I have a gift for understatement."
"You can say that again," she told him.
"I have a...."
"Oh, shut up."

--Stardust, Caroline K