Tag Archives: culture

Michael Jackson and the ‘extreme’ price of fame

The celebrity flameout is a Hollywood cliché — a mantel worn tragically by the likes of Lenny Bruce and John Belushi and handed down through the years to tabloid-populating stars such as Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears. But Michael Jackson, dead at 50 after a life marked by unrivaled heights of pop brilliance and bizarre behavior that threatened to overshadow it, stood at the pinnacle of celebrity and embodied all the turmoil it can entail. It’s a perch experts say played a major role in his troubles in life and, perhaps, his untimely death

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Hate groups riled up, researchers say

Hate groups have intensified their rhetoric in recent months, but this new energy hasn’t necessarily translated to an increase in the rate of hate crimes in the U.S., according to some researchers. They also say that many white supremacist groups have been energized by a sour economy and the election of a black U.S

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Viewpoint: The Case Against Omar al Bashir

Friday is a defining moment in the history of justice. The members of the United Nations Security Council will be presented with the results of the International Criminal Court’s Darfur investigation — an investigation that they requested. Their response will determine whether there is going to be an international standard of justice that holds perpetrators accountable for the worst crimes in the world

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How Twitter Will Change the Way We Live

The one thing you can say for certain about Twitter is that it makes a terrible first impression. You hear about this new service that lets you send 140-character updates to your “followers,” and you think, Why does the world need this, exactly? It’s not as if we were all sitting around four years ago scratching our heads and saying, “If only there were a technology that would allow me to send a message to my 50 friends, alerting them in real time about my choice of breakfast cereal.” I, too, was skeptical at first.

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Army base shuts down for anti-suicide event

A major United States military base is shutting down for three days following a rash of suicides, the base announced. Fort Campbell, home of the Army’s 101st Airborne Division, is holding a three-day “suicide stand-down training event” starting Wednesday — the second one it has held this year, a base spokeswoman told CNN. At least 11 deaths of Fort Campbell soldiers this year are confirmed or suspected suicides, spokeswoman Kelly Tyler said.

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