Pistorius And South Africa's Culture Of Violence

Four days before Oscar Pistorius shot her in the elbow, hip and head through the bathroom door at his home in Pretoria, Reeva Steenkamp tweeted a message about violence against women in South Africa. "I woke up in a happy safe home this morning," the 29-year-old wrote. "Not everyone did. Speak out against the rape of individuals." As Valentine's Day broke with the news that the 26-year-old who became a global icon in 2012 by running in both the Paralympics and the Olympics had killed his girlfriend, Steenkamp's words--repeated around the world--only added to the sense of improbability. I checked Steenkamp's words on Twitter. Then I found myself scrolling back through her life in 140-character snippets.

3D Realistic Paintings Pictures and Images

3D painting instead of happy kid make, it's requiring a high skill and patience. Cuba try korang look under ni kat 3D paintings that seem quite realistic right? Kinda seems brapa-old boy he learned diorang camni for painting.

Is al-Qaeda on the Offensive in Africa?

What's in a Name?

The recent terrorist attack at a natural gas plant in Algeria--which, together with the counterstrike by Algiers, left 38 hostages and 29 militants dead--has aroused fears that we are watching the resurrection of al-Qaeda, no longer just in Southwest Asia but in virtually every corner of Africa as well. British Prime Minister David Cameron reacted to the events in a way that evoked the days after 9/11. "This is a global threat, and it will require a global response," he said. "It wants to destroy our way of life. It believes in killing as many people as it can."

Lessons for a Good Marriage, from the Divorced Who Finally Got It Right

With the divorce rate in the U.S. hitting 30% to 50%, it’s inevitable that in the course of dating, you’ll run into someone with an ex (or two). And somewhere into that first or second date, you’ve probably asked what went wrong. I know I have. And when my date begins his answer with the words my wife, I’m ready to duck out.

What You Missed While Not Watching Yesterday’s Presidential Inauguration

11:26 a.m. Barack Obama is already president–again. The oath was administered on Sunday. But now comes the fun part, the public display. Left unexplained is Charles Schumer, the senior senator from New York, who is now standing on the Capitol steps, before hundreds of thousands, giving what sounds like an inaugural address of his own. “Far too many doubt the great future of this nation,” he says. “Americans have always been and still are a practical, optimistic, problem-solving people.”

Man of His Word: Obama Likely to Deliver on His Inaugural Promises (Again)

 

 U.S. President Barack Obama listens as First Lady Michelle Obama delivers remarks at the Inaugural Reception at the National Building Museum on Jan. 20, 2013 in Washington, D.C.

As Chinese Debate the Need for Political Reform, an Outspoken Blogger Is Attacked

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China is suffering its coldest winter in decades. But the chill didn’t stop some 10,000 fans from lining up in three cities to get a signed copy of Li Chengpeng’s latest book, Everybody in the World Knows. With 6.6 million followers on Weibo, China’s version of Twitter, the former investigative journalist is one of China’s most trenchant social critics — even if his latest book had thousands of words excised by censors. Yet on his book tour this month, Li was silenced by authorities who told him that he could take “no questions from readers, no talking at all — not even ‘happy new year’ or ‘thank you.’” At a book signing in Chengdu, the southwestern Chinese city that is his hometown, Li responded to the gag order with sartorial subversion, wearing a black face mask.