Bill Gates in his distinctively quiet style has published a letter about the year ahead and what he feels should be accomplished in 2012. He has called on the world to re-vitalize ‘green revolution’ all over again. Green revolution was a concept introduced to the world by late Nobel Laureate Norman Borlaug.

The former CEO of software giant Microsoft, gets to the point right away, when he mentions that 15% of the world population still lives in poverty and a majority of that population is made of farmers living on small farms. He goes on to add that the produce from these small farms is not good enough to feed even their own families. He calls for agricultural innovation which will create new tools and approaches to increase produce and transform the lives of millions of farmers, at the same time he admits his fear of dwindling funding for innovation in agriculture in the current political and economic climate.

Presidential Candidates Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich have been in the news recently for their tax return details. More information shows that many Capitol Hill employees have been neglecting paying their taxes.  In 2008 alone, 447 House employees and 231 Senate workers haven’t paid their taxes. This year’s data from the IRS confirms that there are about $10million in unpaid taxes just from 3 percent of the Senate staffers and 4 percent of the House staffers.

Prime candidates for this year’s Massachusetts senate election, Elizabeth Warren, the Democrat and Scott Brown, the Republican have decided to ban third party advertisements during their campaign. By doing so, they have created history with a first-of-its-kind agreement. The agreement states that if a third party advertisement is aired in favour of either of them, half the cost of advertisement will be donated to a charity. Last week, Warren sent a proposal to Brown which he agreed to sign. The agreement follows the proxy wars that have been on the air for some time now. Both parties involved have reached a compromise after their representatives shared dialogue.

The NFL had an exciting Sunday.  New England faced Baltimore, while New York battled San Francisco in a defensive showdown that went to overtime.  Both were heated contests with the winner advancing to the Super Bowl in Indianapolis.  It turns out the Patriots and the Giants will be meeting again in one of the grandest games on earth for the second time in five years.  The losing Ravens and 49ers were both teams that fought hard all the way to the end but it just wasn’t there time yet to meet the world on center stage at the Super Bowl.  The Ravens’ ending was heartbreaking with the field gold kicker botching the attempt that wasn’t from a far distance.  The Giants loss was also a tough one to swallow if you were a San Francisco fan with a fumble coming at the end on a 49er kickoff return, which was subsequently followed by a game winning field goal on the Giants part.

Kim Jong-Il, with his passing, is regarded my America as a ruthless dictator who was involved with trying to create dangerous weapons of mass destruction.  His successor, Kim Jong-un, is much like his father and unfortunately for the rest of the world is headed down the same path of nuclear weaponry ambition.  Till the days of his father’s death, Kim Jong-un received important advice concerning military matters.  The question is what were the discussions all about? Who did Kim Jong-il consider enemies and what kind of legacy did he want to leave to the world?  Selected as heir in September 2010, Kim Jung-un is making moves that arereminiscent of his father’s behavior as a general.

A decision on Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA) has been postponed. Mr. Lamar Smith, Chairman of House Judiciary Committee, said he could come to a decision only when a compromise was reached.

SOPA and PIPA are anti-piracy bills that are being considered by the House of Representatives and the Senate. These bills are to address the issues of hosting pirated content on foreign servers. Under these bills, the websites that host infringed content or links to infringed content will be blocked.

Due to the lack of interest shown by artists and the poor confirmation provided by them, The Big Chill festival has been cancelled. The managing director of Festival Republic blames the unavailability of the right kind of artists. Scheduling conflicts and that coupled with artist unavailability, the festival that happens every summer in Herefordshire, London had to be scrubbed.

The Big Chill is more than just a music festival. It all began in 1994, as a series of parties at the Union Chapel, London. It then became an outdoor festival in 1995. Even then it was an unlicensed event. Only in 1996 it became a licensed event and the festival happened unsuccessfully at Norfolk. In 1998 it moved to the Larmer Tree Gardens, England and stayed there for 5 years. It’s during this time the festival established itself and became popular for its unusual combination of food, visuals, line-ups, masseuses, healers and alternative therapists.

This antigovernment political group has grown at made a dent in the political landscape of America.  It is a highly conservative group of angry prospective voters who feel that Barack Obama is not worthy to be president and that it is imperative to make him a one-termer.  As it stands, there are certain principles that this movement abides by which include fiscal conservatism, a constitution that limits the government, and most importantly free market economic principles.  The Tea Party Movement is in a compromising situation because it is being split into factions that support different candidates that all to often flip-flop.  Maybe after people know what this conservative sect of the American public stands for, there will be more cohesion and unity within the Tea Party base and these republicans can agree on one candidate.

American Idol is all set to return for season 11 with no major changes. A seemingly undisputed decision, as it has held its #1 spot on American television for seven consecutive seasons. An impressive feat considering it’s not anymore the ‘one-of-a-kind’ show that it was. It has younger and much bolder shows like ‘The Voice’ and ‘The X-Factor’ to compete with. Yet, American Idol has nothing to worry about. The unique aspects that have let it keep its viewership would continue to be a part of the show. Singer and actor Jennifer Lopez and Pop Icon Steven Tyler will return as judges for the 11^th season. Last season, loyal fans and viewers complained that the judges were ‘too nice’ to the contestants. In their defence, the judges are working on finding the right balance between being a judge and respecting the contestants. The only original judge Randy Jackson, returning for this season might know how to get it right. Music producer and entrepreneur Jimmy Lovine will return as the in-house mentor for the contestants.

The shocking images of a half sunken ship plunging slowly into water might have been Titanic all over again for us but spare a thought for the 4200 people who were on board. More than 11 people have died since the cruise-ship came to a grinding halt after hitting a rocky reef, off the Coast of Tuscan Island. 24 people are still missing while rescue operations are still on to bring back any survivors, however the situation looks rather grim.