These most recent deaths occurred when a house in the Baba Amr area of Homs that was being used by journalists was shelled. It is believed that 10 other people were also killed and 3 other journalists injured by the shelling. Ms. Marie Colvin was a reporter for a British publication the Sunday Times and has over 20 years of experience reporting from war torn areas around the world. She is one of the most respected war correspondents who was dedicated and fearless in her quest to bring the atrocities of war to the notice of the larger world. She only grew stronger in her commitment towards reporting from dangerous places after losing one eye to shrapnel during the conflict in Sri Lanka in 2001.

Remi Ochlik at 28 was an award winning French photojournalist who shot to fame for his coverage of the unrest in Haiti in 2004, when he was only 20. He was one of the brightest new faces in the field of photojournalism and has most recently won awards for his coverage of the Libyan uprising, using his images to move tell the stories of the turmoil and helplessness of innocents caught up in war.

President Assad, one of the most ruthless of dictators in the middle east, who has been quite heavy handed these last few weeks trying to hold on to power with the might of the armed forces behind him. He has closed off the country to most journalists and it seems almost as if he is ruthlessly targeting those few who are telling the civilians side of the story.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnynua8RXos

So, Tanya Dalhaus is the challenger II who is currently in the week 8 of the challenge that has her on her toes in keeping up with the weight reduction strategy that she has in mind. So far there are no signs of her slowing down although she believes that she could take up more reduction if she did not slack as much. Nevertheless, her strategy seems to be working and her scales keep making her happy and more motivated week after week. She started out keeping in mind that she wouldn’t resort to techniques that weren’t advisable for a long lasting weight loss effect. Hence, incorporating her daily activities into the workout sessions was a way for Tonya to keep herself focused in the job she has ahead of her.

In most of her update videos that regularly go up on the site, the clarity of her mind and her intent to take it slow and steady is evident. This will in fact help her in avoiding mental tension and anxiety that usually come up in challenges of such kind. With family and friends from far and wide rooting for her success in this challenge, her motivation is almost touching the sky and her scales unwilling to rise. In a step by step process that she has chalked out for herself, Tonya has made it a habit of including rigorous work chores into her daily schedule that usually many people avoid because of their strenuousness. However, in her week 8 challenge update video she has been seen mowing the lawn that many of us usually pay up for to be done. The work accomplished is not just a motivation that shows in the sweat and heat of one’s own body but also in a mowed lawn. Now that is two birds in one shot.

Tonya has not just made it a habit of getting out there and doing stuff to keep her engaged in this challenge. She has been helping her mom maintain the herb gardens and has videoed herself on an outing with family dedicated for apple picking.

The main repercussions could also be seen in the stabilization of the debt levels and household’s appetite for major purchases. While this change in consumer moods with respect to making bigger purchases has been accompanied with better outlook this was not the case before. A major and perhaps the positive difference was the return of consumer confidence and increase in purchases made per household. The trend was more pronounced in the country’s urban centers. This can be directly linked with the prudence that was exercised by many Briton’s by stalling their major and most expensive purchases. The very welcome news that could however be given in reference to a better future outlook would be related to the change in employer attitudes.

According to Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), there could be a change in employer’s pay intentions as well. A survey revealed many employers were expecting to increase the wages for their employees and this was the first time they felt so decisively about it since spring of 2009. As noted by financial experts, the rising housing prices and mortgage prices was a reason consumers could spend substantially before the financial crisis, the stricter mortgage processes and the housing market that has slowed down drastically seem to the main reasons for consumer’s low confidence in this space.

If you want to be the president, you better pay up.  The road to the White House is a costly one as Mitt Romney is experiencing.  In January alone he spent 19 million dollars which is phenomenal, spending three times the amount that he raised.  That big push that he made was spent in order to seal the deal for his republican nomination but now that Rick Santorum is gaining momentum, Mitt knows he is in for the long haul.  Now Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Santorum and Romney are in search of new donors to help their campaigns make the final push.  In an ideal world, one wouldn’t have to raise capital to become president but get the candidacy based on their merits and integrity.

Unfortunately, this is not the case due to the overwhelming fact that politics involve swaying people’s minds with costly commercials and eloquent speeches.  Money makes the world go round and currently it is making the presidential race turn into a spending extravaganza.  What has also risen to importance is the role of Super Pacs that endorse candidates with exorbitant amounts of money and there is no limit or regulation to them unlike campaigns which have rules and stipulations.

Romney’s Super Pac, which has no direct affiliation to, is called Restore Our Future and it has been responsible for many attack ads that belittle the opposition, which I don’t find very fair.  Gingrich has a Super Pac that raised 10 million dollars  from casino owner Sheldon Adelson, that brought about attack ads against Romney helping Gingrich win the South Carolina primary.  Although none of the candidates endorse Super Pacs, none of them denounce them either.

When are we as a people going to turn from being brainwashed by the television to finding the actual truth and worthiness of our presidential candidates by what they say, not spend.  Attack ads are for the most part all spin and blown way out of proportion, highlighting opponents character defects and errors in past judgment.

Whoever ends up being the top dog in the republican primaries is really going to have shelled out a lot of money along with their respective Super Pacs.  Money can’t buy happiness, but it sure can buy commercials.

Video Source:- The Wall Street Journal

Critics of the Health and Social Care Bill that is currently undergoing heated debate in Parliament feel that the Bill should be quashed as it is as present and reformed after discussions with a larger group of professionals. It has emerged that the round table discussion which was to allow chairs of the new GP-led Clinical Commissioning Groups of CCG’s to voice their views with the Mr. Cameron and the Health Secretary Mr. Andrew Lansley, did not include representatives of groups critical to the Bill. Those excluded were four Royal Colleges: those representing GPs, Pathologists, Radiologists and Psychiatrists; and the Health unions not asked to attend included the Royal College of Midwives (RCM), the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), the British Medical Association (BMA), Unite and Unison. Critics of the bill feel that this is a way to privatize the NHS and that if passed the Bill will result in longer waiting periods for treatment.

Defending the bill Mr. Lansley said that the protesters were misrepresenting the contents of the Bill, and that he will not let them stop the Bill from proceeding forward. Mr. Cameron also insisted that the reforms were necessary to improve and enhance the NHS to ensure that it remains able to perform its vital functions well into the future. Downing street clarified that the meeting was meant for people who were implementing the reforms to be able to discuss how the process is proceeding, and that it thus did not exclude any interested party in the meeting.

Now as the face of Lancome’s “Rouge of Love” range of lipsticks she is once again experimenting with fashion and changing the way the public views her. This campaign that is shot by Mario Testino highlights her vitality, youthful spirit and chic gamine expression, and shows her as quite urbane. The “Rouge of Love” range is a light almost translucent casual lipstick that complements her youthful yet sophisticated image.

Ms. Watson who is studying English at Oxford, where she transferred from the very Ivy League Brown University in the US, says that she tries to live as normal as life as possible. She feels that her friends who have supported her throughout the Harry Potter experience help her remain in touch with normal and maintain that balance so that she knows that not everyone is in the entertainment industry. She also feels that humor is very important in her life. She counts the fact that she does not live the diva life, but goes on the tube, can cook and uses the washing machine just like anyone else as her success.

She is estimated to be worth about 43 Million Pounds and feels that her success early in life has allowed her the opportunity to experiment and to do things because she enjoys doing them rather than for any other reason. She says she loves makeup and has learnt the fine art from the makeup artists on the Harry Potter films, where she would make them let her do the make up for some of the supporting cast. She has since often made choices that align with her interests like supporting a collection of eco-fashion from People Tree by putting her name on it, and partnering with Alberta Ferretti on a ethical line of fashion called “Pure Threads”. Her new film ‘The Perks of Being A Wallflower” will release later this year.

The general consensus among political pundits is that Mr. Romney needs to win Arizona and Michigan on Feb 28^th to bring back his flagging self confidence. He is comfortably ahead in Arizona but struggling in Michigan.

After winning Missouri, Minnesota and Colorado Rick Santorum is now presenting a surprising challenge for Mr. Romney in his native Michigan.  A state that has a large auto industry that is widely believed to have been saved by President Obama’s $ 81 billion bailout package which was opposed by Mr. Romney. Mitt Romney has now written an article defending his opposition to this bail out and this is seen as a particularly bad move on his part as it reminds people of Mr. Obama’s successes and that Mr. Romney has fought against their interests. In addition his recent “The trees are the right height” and “I love you” speech seemed more than a touch needy and unsure. This is certainly not the image Mr. Romney wants to present to a republican base that is looking for a candidate to defeat President Obama in the upcoming elections.

Mr. Romney has come out to say that he had advocated borrowing from the market and a managed bankruptcy for the auto industry, which is what saved the industry in the end. But trade analysts feel that the financial realities of the time would not have made it possible any private funds to have been made available to the struggling auto industry which would not have then been able to undertake their managed bankruptcy and come out stronger.

Flying is something that fascinates everybody, be it the beauty of the bird in full-flight or the smooth-sailing Superman, we all wants to fly, of course other than in our dreams. Here’s a man that is living his dream, yes he can fly. We are talking about the 51- year old Swiss adventurer Yves Rossy, who is known by various names including Airman, Jetman, Rocketman and Fusionman.

In 2008, he became the first man in the world to fly across the English Channel with the support of a homemade single-jet powered wing. The only safety accessories that he was carrying were a helmet and a flight-suit. He covered the 22 Mile distance between France and England within 13 minutes. The monumental day in the life of this adrenaline junkie was an unforgettable one. On a day marked by clear blue skies, he descended from his plane at an altitude of 8,200 feet, within seconds he opened his wings fired up his turbines and headed straight to Britain. He reached some breathtaking speeds up to 125 Miles per hour.

After landing Rossy said “With that crossing I showed it is possible to fly a little bit like a bird. I am full of hope there will be many in the near future,”

He is a man who sticks to his word, since then his escapades have included a trip above the Swiss Alps and the Grand Canyon. The U.S Federal Aviation Administration classified his system as an aircraft, before his Grand Canyon flight.

In 2010, he attempted the unimaginable, a trip across continents, the first Inter-continental jetpack flight between Spain and Morocco. Unfortunately he fell short, knowing Rossy, he would never give up. He has since been working on overcoming the shortfalls of his trip. He has been trying to build a lighter and more powerful version of his jet-propelled wing; the wing he believed will allow him to take-off from land rather to jump out of Airplanes. The new wing with better aerodynamics will help him fly more fluidly. He plans to master the art of doing loops much like Airplanes and put on a air-show along with his friends for the world to see and be amazed. As we said, knowing the Jetman, nobody would bet against him.

Sources say “Winning The Future” “Greater Together” “We Don’t Quit” are the short-list from which he may pick one. As of now the posters just say ‘Obama 2012’. “Winning The Future” was used extensively to promote the budget, while “Greater Together” was used to reach out to the youth. This is quite a marked change from the previous election, where Obama was the outsider and wanted to incite change and make things happen. Today he is the incumbent and people today are too cynical to accept change and hope. However, he does refer to these words at various fundraisers and public meetings to refer to change that he has brought about during his tenure.

“When you think about change that we can believe in, as hard as these last three years have been, don’t underestimate the changes we’ve made,” Obama said at a fundraiser in California this week. “Inspiration is wonderful, nice speeches are wonderful, pretty posters, that’s great. But what’s required at the end of the day to create the kind of country we want is stick-to-it-ness. It’s determination. It’s saying, ‘We don’t quit.’”

Many aides of Obama still maintain that it’s the words that will change in the campaign and not the positive attitude towards providing good governance. The improving job market is a huge relief for the Obama camp, however the numbers are still high, and the insecurity among the working class is still a major concern in the run up to the polls.

Victory slogans are never to be taken lightly in U.S politics, for they have deal breakers in the past. William Henry Harrison famously rode on the slogan “Tippecanoe and Tyler too” and won the election in 1840. In recent times, Senator John McCain’s inspiring “Country First” slogan failed to connect with the voters in 2008. Obama’s biggest challenger Governor Mitt Romney uses ‘Believe in America’ as his campaign slogan.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atCfTRMyjGU

On the 3^rd of July this year, movie goers will be reintroduced to the friendly neighborhood spider, the amazing swinging Spiderman whose story will be retold in the fourth installment of the franchise after a relatively less successful third sequel. Striking for the fourth time, the young Peter Parker and his alter-ego, the Spiderman played by Andrew Garfield will explore the disappearance of his parents which eventually lands him in a mire of issues as the story proceeds.

The movie includes Emma Stone playing Parker’s original girlfriend Gwen Stacy who was a part of the Spiderman comics until her untimely death ironically at the hands of Peter Parkers misuse of his webby powers. In this movie, audiences will see Peter struggle with his present as a foster child to his aunt and uncle and also with his past that causes him constant trouble at a very emotional level. Discovering a mysterious suitcase that belonged to his father, Peter’s destiny tests him against serious odds as it brings him face to face with his Dr. Curt Connor’s alter-ego the Lizard.

Audiences will be treated to heart-thumping action sequences and high-level drama that, as far as the trailers go, seems to be more than what the previous movies offered.