Gaddafi: All my people love me

Washington – Libya’s beleaguered strongman Muammar Gaddafi insisted on Monday “all my people love me” in an interview with ABC television.

“All my people love me. They would die to protect me,” the veteran Libyan leader said, according to ABC’s Christiane Amanpour in a message sent on her Twitter account.

Gaddafi, who has ruled his north African country for more than 41 years, also refused to acknowledge there were any demonstrations on the streets of Tropoli, Amanpour added.

Gaddafi’s forces hit back on Monday against opposition demonstrations, launching bombing raids in areas held by pro-democracy forces, witnesses told AFP in Libya.

Fighter jets bombed ammunition stores in the eastern town of Adjabiya, around 100km south of the city, a witness told AFP by telephone. Two planes also attacked a munitions dump at Rajma, just south of the city, a military reservist said.

A brutal crackdown by the regime on opposition protests that began nearly two weeks ago has killed at least 1 000 people and set off a “humanitarian emergency”, the UN refugee agency UNHCR said, as almost 100 000 migrant workers fled the North African state.

Govt. on alert over militia threats-Kenya

The government has taken precautionary security measures following threats of attacks by the Somali militia group Al-Shabaab.

Police Commissioner Mathew Iteere says the threats by Alshabaab cannot be taken for granted considering they issued a similar warning to Uganda before bomb attacks that killed more than 70 people in July last year for which they claimed responsibility.

Addressing journalists in Nairobi on Monday Iteere said security has been beefed up on the Kenyan borders to avert entry of any illegal groups.

However, Iteere urged Kenyans not to panic and assured them that security personnel are on high alert. Ha called on the public to cooperate with security agents in case they encounter any suspicious individuals or groups.

The police boss also said calm has returned to the border town of Mandera following a week-long fighting on the Somalia side between Al -Shabaab militia, troops allied to the Somali transitional Government and Ethiopian troops.

During the fighting, one person was killed by stray bullets fired from Somalia and ten others injured.

The Al Shabaab have threatened to launch an attack against Kenya for assisting the Somali Transitional government by allegedly allowing Ethiopian forces to stage raids from its territory.

Meanwhile the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) has embarked on registration of Somalia refugees in Mandera town.

Following heavy fighting between Al-Shabab militants and forces allied to the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia, along the Kenya-Somalia border, hundreds of refugees are scattered in Mandera town and its environs.

A lull in the fighting on Sunday enabled the KRCS personnel to start registration of refugees that would facilitate distribution of relief aid.

A team comprising the Provincial Administration, KRCS and medical officers has identified a site for a temporary refugee camp. KRCS has also deployed to Mandera relief items for 1000 households (6,000 people.

On 25th February 2011, gunshots hit KRCS Mandera Offices where six staff members were holed up.

A woman was killed at Border Point One and 10 casualties treated at Mandera District Hospital.

At least 17 people who sustained injuries following the conflict have been treated in various health facilities in the district.

tragedy Intervening in the Libyan

The unfolding situation in Libya has been horrible to behold. No matter how many times we warn that dictators will do what they must to stay in power, it is still shocking to see the images of brutalized civilians which have been flooding al-Jazeera and circulating on the internet. We should not be fooled by Libya’s geographic proximity to Egypt and Tunisia, or guided by the debates over how the United States could best help a peaceful protest movement achieve democratic change. The appropriate comparison is Bosnia or Kosovo, or even Rwanda where a massacre is unfolding on live television and the world is challenged to act. It is time for the United States, NATO, the United Nations and the Arab League to act forcefully to try to prevent the already bloody situation from degenerating into something much worse.

By acting, I mean a response sufficiently forceful and direct to deter or prevent the Libyan regime from using its military resources to butcher its opponents. I have already seen reports that NATO has sternly warned Libya against further violence against its people. Making that credible could mean the declaration and enforcement of a no-fly zone over Libya, presumably by NATO, to prevent the use of military aircraft against the protestors. It could also mean a clear declaration that members of the regime and military will be held individually responsible for any future deaths. The U.S. should call for an urgent, immediate Security Council meeting and push for a strong resolution condeming Libya’s use of violence and authorizing targeted sanctions against the regime. Such steps could stand a chance of reversing the course of a rapidly deteriorating situation. An effective international response could not only save many Libyan lives, it might also send a powerful warning to other Arab leaders who might contemplate following suit against their own protest movements.

I don’t have any illusions that the outside world can control what happens in Libya, if the regime really wants to try to hold power by force. I don’t call for a direct military intervention. And I am keenly, painfully aware of all that could go wrong with even the kinds of responses I am recommending. But right now those fears are outweighed by the urgent imperative of trying to prevent the already bloody situation from getting much, much worse. This is not a peaceful democracy protest movement which the United States can best help by pressuring allied regimes from above, pushing for long-term and meaningful reform, and persuading the military to refrain from violence. It’s gone well beyond that already, and this time I find myself on the side of those demanding more forceful action before it’s too late. The steady stream of highly public defections from the regime suggest that rapid change is possible, yesterday’s speech by Saif al-Islam Qaddafi and today’s events suggest that so is terrible violence.

There is no avoiding what is happening in Libya. Al-Jazeera Arabic has been covering the Libyan situation heavily for the last couple of days and has powerfully conveyed the gravity of the situation, including broadcasting some truly
disturbing images and video of protestors. I’ve been stunned by what Libyans inside the country and outside have been willing to say on the air about the regime — prominent Libyan diplomats declaring Qaddafi to
by a tyrant, major tribal leaders calling for his overthrow, Yusuf al-Qaradawi calling on the air for someone to shoot Qaddafi, and more. The Arab world’s attention is focused on Libya now, after several days of a fragmented news agenda divided among Libya, Yemen, Bahrain, Egypt and more. Voice after voice, Libyans and other Arabs alike, denounce the silence of the international community and call for action. Qaddafi has few friends, and Qatar has called for
an urgent Arab League meeting to deal with the crisis. While history doesn’t suggest we can expect all that much from that club, their public support for international action could go a long way towards overcoming any suggestion that this is an imperialist venture.

That’s all for now.

Protesters - security clash in capital

Massacres Reported.. Dozens Killed.. Mourners Attacked in Libya

CAIRO — Witnesses say Libyan protesters and security forces battled for control of Tripoli’s city center overnight, with snipers opening fire and Moammar Gadhafi supporters shooting from speeding vehicles.

The protests appear to be the heaviest in Libya’s capital after days of deadly clashes in eastern cities.

Three witnesses say protesters Sunday night moved into Tripoli’s central Green Square and nearby squares. Plainclothes security forces and militiamen attacked in clashes that lasted until dawn.

One witness says snipers opened fire from rooftops. Two others say gunmen in vehicles with photos of Gadhafi sped through, opening fire and running people over. The witnesses reported seeing casualties, but the number could not be confirmed. AP

Malcolm Campbell mine death New Zealand

Fiancee Amanda Shields (left) greets mourners after a thanksgiving service for Malcolm Campbell

A British miner who died in the New Zealand mining disaster has been remembered as a "real character" and a "true friend" as more than 600 people gathered for a thanksgiving service in his memory.

Malcolm Campbell, of St Andrews in Fife, was one of 29 miners who lost their lives last November following a series of explosions at the Pike River mine in Atarau on the country's South Island.

He was one of two Scots killed in the tragedy. Fellow Briton Pete Rodger, 40, from Perthshire, also died at the mine.

Hundreds of Mr Campbell's friends and family gathered for a remembrance service at St Leonard's Parish Church in St Andrews, on what would have been his 26th birthday. Among them were his fiancee Amanda Shields, 23, whom he was due to marry in December last year.

About 500 people packed into the church, where many people had to stand, and around a hundred more filled a side room from where they could listen to the service in which a sombre roll call of the 29 names of those who perished in the disaster was read out.

Leading the service, the Very Rev Dr Alan McDonald said of Mr Campbell: "We shall remember him with joy as a vital living presence and a true friend, as a boy whose roots in this part of the north-east of Fife and in the parish and community of Cameron are strong and enduring."

He recalled the former Madras College student's early fascination with motorbikes, which grew to see him compete throughout the UK in motocross and become the Scottish champion, and the minister spoke of Mr Campbell's sense of adventure, which saw him travel to Australia and then New Zealand, where he met "the love of his life".

Rev McDonald, a former Moderator of the Church of Scotland, said: "Hand in hand with our sense of loss, sorrow and bewilderment, goes an awareness of great gain, for it is people like Malcolm who bring friendship, fun, human warmth and good humour into a world that is all too short."

The ceremony, which began with the sound of a lone piper and included hymn-singing, prayers and readings, also featured a traditional New Zealand Haka, performed by three Maori rugby players based in Scotland.

Doug White, the mine's general manager, travelled over from New Zealand to speak at the service. He paid tribute to Mr Campbell, describing him as a "model employee", adding: "Malky was always smiling, always laughing and always keen to get the job done. Nothing was ever a problem. He was never afraid to have a go."

Day Of Ashura

The tragedy of Egyptian opposition

Most of Mohamed ElBaradei's support comes from the affluent and educated urban bourgeoisie. Photograph: Khaled Desouki/AFP/Getty Images

The final results of the recent parliamentary elections in Egypt promise five years of political irrelevance for the institutional opposition. With only 16 seats out of 504, opposition parties achieved the worst electoral result since 1990, when Egypt was experiencing a severe balance of payments crisis combined with widespread discontent over its alignment with the US in the war against Iraq.

The most important element in this disappointing outcome is the most obvious: the combination of systematic vote rigging and violence by security forces in support of the president's National Democratic party (NDP). But that does not entirely explain the patent failure of Egypt's institutional opposition.

Egyptian society is as vibrant as ever, we are often told. However, when discussing this vibrancy and the related desire for change, it appears that internal and external observers are talking of quite different things. On the one hand, the attention of external observers has been catalysed by Mohamed ElBaradei and by the ever-increasing power of new media. On the other hand, within Egypt, a similar function has been played by the waves of strikes and protests affecting urban centres, the industrial towns of the Nile delta and the countryside.

This mismatch in perceptions is closely related to the fact that Egyptian society is still deeply influenced by two traditional – and resilient – cleavages. The first separates upper classes from lower classes, and the second opposes urban and rural forces. The fourfold matrix resulting from the combination of these two distinctions helps us in understanding why my friend Khaled in Fayoum and I in London perceive things so differently, and why this disconnect between institutional and popular opposition harms the prospects for political change in Egypt.

The phenomena attracting external attention have consistently involved only the upper-urban section of Egyptian society. In the case of ElBaradei, it is no secret that most of his support comes from the affluent and educated urban bourgeoisie, and that one of his main weaknesses is his perceived elitism. When it comes to the supposed pervasiveness and thus real power of the Egyptian blogosphere, a quick glance at the ICT development report by the UN telecoms agency tells us that, while overall internet penetration in the country has increased dramatically over the last decade (reaching about one in five Egyptian households), the digital divide between the city and the countryside is far from being bridged, as only 3% of rural households had internet access by 2008.

This figure tells us a lot about the profile of most of the 160,000 Egyptian bloggers: again, they are affluent and educated city dwellers who enjoy what, for the vast majority, is the privilege of internet access.

In much the same way, the institutional opposition – in the form of political parties – is deeply entrenched in the same milieu, finding its core support in either upper-urban groups (the leftist Tagammu' and the liberal al-Ghad party) or in the upper-rural sections of society (as with the Wafd party, which historically represented large landowners). The Muslim Brotherhood, despite its huge potential for mobilisation, is still very much an upper-middle class conservative movement rooted among wealthy professionals and graduates in the larger cities.

Coming from and being largely limited to these social groups, the institutional opposition has been unable to comprehend, let alone represent, the two most relevant movements arising from lower social strata.

On one hand, the movement for workers' rights has gained significant concessions from the government since the first strikes in the textile sector in Mahalla al-Kubra in 2007, and has since gathered momentum and progressively extended its reach towards other manufacturing sectors. On the other hand, following the full implementation of Law 96 of 1992 – also known as "the law for throwing peasants out of their land" – that has to date led to the eviction of more than one million farmers, a peasant movement has emerged in the countryside, though it faces continued repression, as reported by Land Centre for Human Rights.

By its glaring inability to take these grievances serio

usly, the institutional opposition has condemned itself to continuing irrelevance in parliamentary life and has prevented a credible political articulation of the economic and social demands of both industrial and agricultural workers, ignoring that these movements could indeed constitute the much-needed popular support for a political opposition to the Mubarak regime.

Thus, it is not the split between secular and religious opposition, but rather the one between institutional and popular oppositions that constitutes the foundation for the survival – that's what it is: mere survival – of Egyptian authoritarianism. And whereas the positive reaction to ElBaradei's call for a boycott of the 2011 presidential elections is an encouraging sign, its impact will be minimal unless it resonates with those groups whose voice is rarely heard in Cairo's corridors of power.

John F. Kennedy with his wife

A photo dated 1950's shows John F. Kennedy with his wife Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy. Traditional black and white is sharing the spotlight with color and new digital formats at a major international photography show that runs through Sunday in New York.

John F. Kennedy's Biography

John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963.

Oswald's Ghost

Past and present collide as Detectives L.C. Graves and James Leavelle escort Lee Harvey Oswald through the basement of Dallas Police Headquarters, as it appears today.

Oswald, Jack Ruby, Leavelle and Graves stand precisely where the murder occurred on November 24, 1963.

Jim Leavelle is the only key player still alive today.

In a twist of belated irony, the posted sign warns that firearms are prohibited.

Threatening - Kennedy tumour life

AT LEAST one of his Senate colleagues was moved to tears, and the presidential hopeful Barack Obama declared himself shattered at the news that Edward Kennedy's seizure last week resulted from a malignant brain tumour.

The President, George Bush, said he would pray for the long-serving Democratic senator, who has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer.

Doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston have yet to decide how they will treat the Kennedy family patriarch, who was said to be in good spirits despite the diagnosis.

Ashen-faced Democrat leaders appeared unprepared for the diagnosis, and Senator Obama described the news as heart-breaking. "Obviously we are all shattered by the news today," he told CNN.

"I think you can argue I would not be sitting here as a presidential candidate had it not been for some of the battles that Ted Kennedy has fought.

"Not only has he been one of my most important supporters … but he is somebody who battled for voting rights and civil rights when I was a child. I stand on his shoulders."

The only senator to have served longer than Senator Kennedy, Robert Byrd, broke down when paying tribute to him on Tuesday.

Doctors identified the tumour as a glioma. The US Society for Neuroscience said that most people diagnosed with a glioma died within 18 months.

Senator Kennedy, 76, collapsed at the family compound in Hyannisport last Saturday. He has shepherded his family through numerous tragedies, beginning with the assassination of his eldest brother, president John Kennedy, in 1963.

He became the family patriarch after his second brother, Bobby, was assassinated in 1968 while running for the presidency. In 1999, John Kennedy's son, John jnr, 38, and his wife, Carolyn, died when a plane piloted by John jnr crashed into the ocean off Massachusetts.

Doctors are expected to begin treating the senator with chemotherapy and radiation.

The President said that he was saddened by the news. "Ted Kennedy is a man of tremendous courage, remarkable strength and powerful spirit," he said. "Our thoughts are with Senator Kennedy and his family during this difficult period."

Senator Obama's rival, Hillary Clinton, said Senator Kennedy was "one of the greatest leaders in our party's history, and one of the most effective senators in our country's history".

She said his career was devoted to improving the lives of millions of Americans as a lifelong champion of social justice.

Letters of condolence on the death of President Kennedy

In her recent book Letters to Jackie: Condolences From a Grieving Nation (New York: Ecco, 2010), historian Ellen Fitzpatrick published 250 letters from ordinary Americans written to Jackie Kennedy following the assassination in November 1963 of her husband, President John F. Kennedy. The letters in Fitzpatrick’s book were culled from thousands she discovered at the Kennedy Library in Boston. The letters detail in deeply personal ways how Americans from all walks of life were touched by the death of their young president.

This photo of Foy Kohler, U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union, and President John Kennedy in the Oval Office is part of Kohler’s papers housed in the Ward M. Canaday Center for Special Collections.

Perhaps a more astonishing story of the impact of tragedy can be found in the papers of Foy D. Kohler that are housed in UT’s Ward M. Canaday Center for Special Collections. The collection contains more than 100 similar letters written in 1963 to Kohler, who was then serving as the United States ambassador to the Soviet Union. These letters were not from Americans, however, but rather were written by citizens of the Soviet Union.

Coming at the height of the Cold War, just a year after the Cuban Missile Crisis when the United States and Russia had aimed nuclear warheads at each other, these letters show a surprisingly different side of the Soviet Union. Rather than a Cold War, they reveal the great warmth of the Soviet people and the profound sense of tragedy they felt on the death of America’s president.

“Allow me to present my deep and sincere condolences and sympathy in connection with the death of the president of your country, John F. Kennedy. I am only an ordinary Russian citizen, but nevertheless I presume to convey to you my sympathy, since I am so deeply shaken by the tragic death of your distinguished compatriot, a good, wise and great man,” stated A. I. Odintzov, in a letter penned Nov. 23. The letter humbly ends, “Excuse me for bothering you.”

Leonid Victorov, who identified himself only as “a reader,” wrote, “In a period which was critical for the world, this man overcame the most difficult obstacles and took the road toward improving relations between our great peoples. Let us remember the words of another distinguished American, Franklin Delano Roosevelt: ‘Hope springs eternal’ and lead ourselves to this great truth.”

The letters are from Russians of all walks of life, from a class at a middle school to students at Moscow University. One contained a poem:

As a soldier at the battle post
In the prime of his life and creative deeds
He was slain by a villain.

Deserted is Kennedy’s family,
Deserted are the people,
Deserted is all the earth.
Grief and pain are left.

The Frenchman is grieving.
Italy goes into mourning.
Chairman Khrushchev stood silent minutes in Sadovaya
In memory of him —
He stood for us, for Russians.

The poem was simply signed “Iazarev.”

The Canaday Center for Special Collections holds letters received by Foy Kohler following the assassination of President Kennedy.

Most of the letters convey a common theme. In addition to the senselessness of the tragedy, there is the fear that any hope for world peace was lost. Many of the Soviet citizens appear to have seen President Kennedy as a voice of reason in an unreasonable world. “For us, ordinary peoples of the world, he was the defender and the protector of the peace, the defender and protector of our rights, of our liberties, of our dignities. With these human values his name will always be linked,” wrote M. Mandossian. “We and the Soviet people knew Mr. Kennedy as a very good realist. He saw that the people of the whole world want only the peace,” wrote Igor Yova. Tamara and Volodya Kulishov noted President Kennedy was “known as a great statesman, as a prominent fighter against racism, who has done so much for peace, to promote further cooperation between our two countries. We came to respect him.”

Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev’s signature is on the top line of this condolence book that is among the papers of Foy Kohler housed in the Canaday Center for Special Collections.

One letter even included a photograph of the writer’s two young children.

In addition to providing insight into the thoughts of everyday Russians, Kohler’s papers also reveal the more formal side of the ambassador’s duties following such a shattering event. Included is a copy of the letter sent by Kohler to his counterpart, Andrei Gromyko, minister of foreign affairs, on Nov. 23 that officially conveyed the news of Kennedy’s death and the succession of Lyndon Johnson to power. The letter notes that beginning that day, the American embassy would recognize 30 days of mourning, and that a book of condolences would be available to leave messages of sympathy. Kohler’s papers include that book. It contains the signatures of most of the ambassadors from countries with embassies in Moscow. It also contains the signature of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev and several of his close associates.

Ambassador Kohler was clearly moved by the outpouring of sympathy he received on the death of President Kennedy. The files also contain a letter he sent to the editor of Izvestiya, a Moscow newspaper, asking that the paper publish “a notice of our deep appreciation for the sharing of our grief by so many Soviet citizens.”

Foy Kohler remained in Moscow as ambassador through 1966. In his later career, he served as deputy undersecretary of state for political affairs, as a consultant to the Department of State, and a professor at the Center for Advanced International Studies at the University of Miami in Florida. His last position was a senior associate at the Advanced International Studies Institute in Washington, D.C.

Kohler died in Jupiter, Fla., in 1990. Because of the fondness he felt for The University of Toledo, which he attended from 1924 to 1927, he donated his papers to the Canaday Center. The collection of more than 90 linear feet of historical material documents all aspects of Kohler’s career, including that fateful day in November 1963.

Floyd is director of the Ward M. Canaday Center for Special Collections.

The Bhopal Gas Tragedy

The Bhopal disaster or Bhopal gas tragedy was an industrial disaster that took place at a Union Carbide pesticide plant in the Indian city of Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. On 3 December 1984, the plant released 42 tonnes of toxic methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas, exposing more than 500,000 people to toxic gases. The first official immediate death toll was 2,259. A more generally accepted figure is that 8,000- 10,000 died within 72 hours, and it is estimated that 25,000 have since died from gas-related diseases.

The Bhopal disaster is frequently cited as the world's worst industrial disaster. The International Medical Commission on Bhopal was established in 1993 to respond to the longterm health effects of the disaster.

Today, over 120,000 are still suffering from cancer, blindness, serious birth defects, breathing difficulties and other health complications caused by the accident. This certainly secures India a place on the map of tragic accidents because even up to this day, the Bhopal disaster is considered the world’s most tragic industrial accident in history.

The Halifax Explosion Canada

The Halifax Explosion occurred on Thursday, December 6, 1917, when the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, was devastated by the huge detonation of the SS Mont-Blanc, a French cargo ship, fully loaded with wartime explosives, which accidentally collided with the Norwegian SS Imo in "The Narrows" section of the Halifax Harbour. About 2,000 people were killed by debris, fires, or collapsed buildings and it is estimated that over 9,000 people were injured. This is still the world's largest man-made accidental explosion.
This is considered the largest man-made, non-nuclear explosion even up to now. Approximately two square kilometers of the city was obliterated and wiped out. The neighbouring communities of Dartmouth and Richmond were also affected. The blast also caused a tsunami in the harbour. The tsunami caused a pressure wave of air snapping trees, demolishing buildings and grounded vessels and blowing fragments kilometres from the explosion site.

Incidents During The Hajj

There have been many serious incidents during the Hajj (the Muslim pilgrimage to the city of Mecca) that have caused the loss of hundreds of lives. There are an estimated 1.3 billion Muslims living today, each of whom is expected to visit Mecca during the Hajj at least once; during the month of the Hajj, Mecca must cope with as many as four million pilgrims
Another remarkable stampede is the 1990 Hajj tragedy in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The annual sacred Muslim Hajj is attended by millions of pilgrims. Sometimes, even when authorities think they have done everything to avoid stampedes and other disasters, things still go wrong and deadly. Stampedes in Mecca are not unusual. Hundreds of pilgrims are killed in a mad rush of the crowd especially during the Stoning of the Devil ceremony. But the most tragic documented peace-time stampede in history occurred at the 1990 Hajj when more than 1400 pilgrims died in a pedestrian tunnel.

Deadly quake

Deadly quake, cholera hit Haiti
A catastrophic 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit Haiti’s capital city, Port-au-Prince, on Jan. 12. An estimated 3 million people were affected by the quake; the Haitian government reported that an estimated 230,000 people had died, while 200,000 had been injured.

Now quake survivors face another tragedy in a deadly cholera outbreak whose death toll has passed 2,500. The international community has provided millions in aid for medical treatment, food and reconstruction.

The Fastest Show on Earth

Much loved musical theatre classic Starlight Express, written for Andrew's children in 1984, is pure fun and the world's only musical performed entirely on roller skates.

Inspired by the pleasure to be found in the Reverend Awdry's children's stories, the show tells how various trains - steam, electric and diesel - compete to couple up with carriages and see who is the best, and who will reach "The Light at the End of the Tunnel".

Christina Aguilera - Back To Basics

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Serious Clinical Depression - Hemingway

Hemingway

The Hemingway curse can be easily explained: serious clinical depression. At 29, Ernest’s literary career was just taking off when his father shot himself. Ernest went on to earn a Nobel Prize, Pulitzers, wealth and international fame, but in 1961, he killed himself with a shotgun at 62 years old. Five years later, his sister Ursula, who struggled with cancer and depression, committed suicide with an overdose. Sixteen years after that, Ernest’s only brother, Leicester, shot himself after learning diabetes would cost him his legs. Then, in 1996, Ernest's granddaughter, Margaux, deliberately overdosed on barbiturates on the 35th anniversary of his death. Photo by Retna.

BruceLee And Brando

Lee

In 1973, martial arts star Bruce Lee took prescription medication for a headache. He had an allergic reaction and the fluid in his brain swelled, causing him to lapse into a coma and die at age 32. Twenty years later, his son Brandon was on the wrong end of a faulty prop gun on the set of his film The Crow. A bullet was lodged into the gun’s barrel, which the film’s props team loaded with blanks. When it was fired, the gunpowder was enough to fire the bullet into the 28-year-old Lee, killing him. The death was ruled an accident. Photo by Retna.

Brando

Two-time Oscar winner Marlon Brando’s family suffered from so much dysfunction it's hard not to think they were cursed. His mother suffered from alcoholism, and his first wife, Anna Kashfi, developed drug and alcohol problems after giving birth to their son Christian, who grew up to have his own drug problems. In 1990, Christian shot and killed the boyfriend of his half-sister Cheyenne and was convicted of voluntary manslaughter, serving six years of a 10-year sentence. In 1995, Cheyenne committed suicide, and in 2008 Christian died of pneumonia at 49 years old. Photo by Retna.

Kennedy - He Dies in Romeo And Juliet

When Mercutio exclaims "a plague on both your houses" as he dies in Romeo & Juliet, we well know what tragedy befalls them. But cursed bloodlines may not only be in the imagination of Shakespeare. The Kennedy curse is the most notorious, but have you heard what happened to the Hemingways? What about the Brandos? To find out, read our list of 10 famous family trees whose limbs were cut short.

Kennedy

We’re not sure whom Joseph Kennedy wronged, but his descendants seem to be paying for it. His eldest son, Joseph, Jr., died in combat in 1944 and his daughter Kathleen died in a plane crash in 1948. His second son, President John F. Kennedy, was assassinated in 1963, and John’s brother, Senator Robert Kennedy, was assassinated in 1968. In 1984, Robert Kennedy's son David died of a cocaine overdose. Another son, Michael, died in a skiing accident in 1997. And in 1999, JFK, Jr., his wife, Carolyn Bessette, and her sister died when the small plane he was piloting crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. Photo by Retna.

Onassis

This family saga is worthy of a Greek tragedy. One of the richest and most famous men in the world, Aristotle Onassis’ world came crashing in when his son, Alexandros, died in a plane crash in 1973. Yet his daughter Christina was perhaps the most tragic character in the family. Soon after her brother’s death, her mother committed suicide, which was closely followed by her father’s death in 1975 from pneumonia. She inherited a vast fortune, but pursued a decadent lifestyle and lost much of it. Each of her four marriages ended in divorce and her weight oscillated unhealthily until she died at age 37 in 1988, from a lethal combination of diet drugs and sleeping pills. Photo by Retna.

Grimaldi

Grace Kelly’s marriage to Prince Rainier III of Monaco in 1956 seemed like a fairy tale, but sadly it did not end happily ever after. In 1982, Princess Grace died in a mysterious car crash. Her youngest daughter, Stéphanie, who was in the car at the time, was haunted by the experience and spent much of her life jumping from one failed relationship to the next. The eldest daughter, Caroline, also had her fair share of suffering. Her second husband, Stefano Casiraghi, with whom she had three children, died in a speedboat racing accident in 1990; soon after her father's 2005 death, her third husband, Ernst August, Prince of Hanover, nearly died of pancreatitis. Photo by Retna.