United Nations Peace Envoy, Kofi Annan, has decided to hold an international conference regarding the ever-growing war in Syria, which has left several killed and severely injured. The meeting will take place in Geneva this coming Saturday, but cause for concern is arising, as the United States is having mixed emotions about being a part of the conference.

Secretary of State Hilary Clinton has confirmed that despite the United State’s lukewarm feelings about the conference, it will be in attendance, in addition to representatives from various countries including Russia, China, Britain, France, Turkey, and others from European Union, as well as the Arab League.

According to Annan, the purpose of the meeting, “is to forge a consensus on the terms for a political solution among international players with stakes and influence in the Syrian conflict over terms for a political solution. The U.N. envoy believes that the best hope of pressing the combatants on the ground to observe his peace plan to which they signed up in April but have not implemented, is for the foreign powers on whose support they variously depend to agree on terms.”

And the main problem that needs to be addressed this coming Saturday, is the conflict in different approaches and decisions that Russia and the United States both want to make. One of the countries that has yet to announce its appearance is Iran, which is a key factor in resolving conflict. “I have made it quite clear that I believe Iran should be part of the solution,” Annan said in Geneva last Friday. “If we continue the way we are going and competing with each other, it could lead to destructive competition and everyone will pay the price.”

The reason for both Iran and Saudia Arabia being excluded from the conference is based on the Obama Administration not wanting them there. According to Tony Karan, reporter for Time World, “The Obama Administration cited Iran’s role in backing up Syria’s bloody crackdown to declare Tehran’s involvement a “red line” for participating in the Geneva talks, and Annan presumably left out Saudi Arabia as a compensatory gesture to Russia which insists that those countries arming and funding Syria’s rebels share major responsibility for escalating the conflict.

A state department official told reporters last week that “If Kofi Annan can get the proposed participants to agree on such a plan for political transition then there will be a meeting, but that’s what we need to find out before we go to any meeting. There’s no point in going just for the sake of it.”

Image Courtesy of  United Nations

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France and England shared the points in Ukraine as the two Group D rivals cancelled each other out in a rather dull affair. Joleon Lescott’s header in the first half gave England the lead before Samir Nasri equalized almost immediately for France. Laurent Blanc’s men had most of the pressure in the second half, but Roy Hodgson’s new look side-defended solidly and was probably pleased with the end result.

It was a slow start to a previously classic encounter, England met France for the last time the Three Lions were in the Euro’s but despite scoring in the opening five minutes of their last two major tournaments, Roy Hodgson’s men were happy enough to sit back and counter in the early exchanges. Samir Nasri was seeing the most of the ball and he had the first real chance when he shot wide of Joe Hart’s near post from the edge of the area.

But it was England who probably should have opened the scoring, a thrusting run from the midfield saw James Milner get on the end of Ashley Young’s pass but the Manchester City midfielder slid the ball wide after rounding Hugo Lloris. Yohan Cabaye immediately tested Hart again at the other end but the early exchanges had been fairly even.

But despite the game being played at a slow pace England made the breakthrough on the half-hour mark as Joleon Lescott headed in his first goal for his country from Steven Gerrard’s free-kick. France had perhaps shaded the opening thirty minutes but England’s opener gave them the impetus to attack a French side whose defense looked shaky. But it was the team in blue who almost equalized from their own free-kick, Alou Diarra got on the end of Nasri’s cross and made Hart make a save, before heading the re-bound just wide of the post.

It was a warning sign for England of what the French could do given the chance, the goal stretching the game more and more as France tried to find a response. They soon found it after some neat passing through midfield and it was Samir Nasri who finally beat his City team-mate Joe Hart at the near post. Nasri had looked the biggest threat to England’s defense, time and time again finding space between the midfield and defence.

England managed to get to half-time at 1-1 as France were very much in the ascendancy after the equalizer. It was more of the same after the break as France dominated possession and England was once again happy to sit back and use the likes of Oxlade-Chamberlain and Young to counter the pressure. England did get forward eventually and the referee denied them a free-kick in a good position when Steven Gerrard was clearly brought down on the edge of the French penalty area.

There wasn’t a lot to shout about as the game reached the final 25 minutes, England were still happy to allow France to come at them, but Les Blues couldn’t do anything to break down the water-tight England defense. The French passing game was easy on the eye but wasn’t producing any productivity in the penalty area, Joe Hart only being tested from set-pieces and long range efforts.

England was growing frustrated at France’s possession game, and more so at the referee who seemed reluctant to give England any sort of decision. Roy Hodgson was the first to mix things up with just over ten minutes remaining, Jordan Henderson and Jermain Defoe replacing Scott Parker and Oxlade-Chamberlain respectively.

But it was still France on top, Nasri saw a shot deflected wide before Cabaye also had an effort deflected out from the resulting corner. The game was becoming very stretched and as France looked for a winner, England’s counter attacking tactics came more into play. Laurent Blanc responded to Hodgson’s changes and introduced Hatem Ben Arfa and Marvin Martin to add some more energy with five minutes remaining in Donestk.

But the final few minutes passed by without any real drama, England held off France’s final spell of pressure as the two favourites to progress from Group D sharing a point each.

Image Courtesey of Continental AG | Image.Net | Scott Heavey 2012 Getty Images

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A new report by 13 leading international and Congolese civil society groups asks the international community and Congolese government to urgently agree upon a new deal to reform the Congolese military. The report argues that the lack of political will to reform the security sector in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) risks not only billions of dollars of international aid but also the stability of the country.

“At the end of the day, many of Congo’s seemingly intractable conflict-related problems can be traced back to dysfunctional security services: the army, police and courts. The Congolese government has failed to take concrete action to reform these vital institutions,” said Emmanuel Kabengele, National Coordinator of the Congolese civil society Network for Security Sector Reform and Justice.

“Yet the international community has continued to sustain the government, investing money and effort with no actual return. It’s high time that donors demand that Congo engage in real army reform.”

The report, Taking a Stand on Security Sector Reform, was completed after extensive research and interviews in DRC and donor countries. It argues that the army not only fails to provide security but actively preys upon the population, being one of the major perpetrators of human rights violations in the country.

“An effective security sector – organized, resourced, trained and vetted – is essential to solving problems from recruitment of child soldiers, internal displacement and rape, to economic growth or the trade in conflict minerals,” says the report.

The report concludes that the main reason for the failure of army reform in DRC is a lack of political will from parts of the Congolese government – notably those elements which have benefited from endemic corruption.

“The very people in senior positions of the government and military who are responsible for effecting reform continue to profit from the current army, either in raking off salaries of servicemen, kickbacks, or involvement in illegal mining, trade or protection rackets” said Dismas Kitenge, President of the Congolese organization, Groupe Lotus and Vice-President of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)

The paper underscores the critical role the international community must play. In just five years, the report documents that donor countries alone have invested more than $14 billion into the DRC.

Yet only 1%, or $140 million, was spent on security sector reform. International aid is now equivalent to nearly half of the DRC’s annual budget. As such, donors have considerable leverage over Congo. Yet despite this enormous investment, the DRC has actually gone backwards. The DRC is ranked last in the world on the UN’s main development index.

“The international community’s investment in DRC has yielded poor results. Numerous armed groups send thousands of child soldiers into battle, and women and children continue to bear the brunt of violence. Adequate health care and personal security remain the exception rather than the rule,” said Ben Affleck, Actor, Director and Founder of Eastern Congo Initiative (ECI).

“Donors must work to convince the Congolese government to undertake drastic military reform. Unless a new course of action is adopted, we run the risk of losing much of the investment that has already been made.”

The costs of accepting the status quo are high, for the Congolese people but also for the international community. In addition to the traditional donors – US, EU, UK, France and Belgium – key partners such as China, South Africa, and Angola all have a vested interest in the stability and long-term prosperity of the DRC.

“The new government must seize the opportunity to refocus attention on implementing sustainable and effective reform,” said Pascal Kambale from the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA). “Now is the time for the international community and Congolese government to work together to reform the police and army so that Congo is capable of protecting its own civilians.”

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Zendesk, the cloud-based help desk support platform, released an early look at its new Customer Satisfaction Index, showing that UK customers are the fifth happiest globally and second European-wide with the service they receive, with an 83 percent satisfaction rating. The index measured customer happiness across 65 million consumers in 137 countries.

Zendesk creates the Customer Satisfaction Index by analyzing data from 65 million customers via the Zendesk ‘Customer Satisfaction Rating’ feature. After a customer service request is solved, Zendesk enables companies to automatically contact their customers to collect feedback on the service that was provided.

Not only is this a quick and easy way to track customer satisfaction and reduce customer churn, it also provides tremendous insight into comprehensive customer satisfaction.

Considering countries with high gross domestic product, Australians and Canadians jointly share first place as the most satisfied customers in the world, coming in at a high 93 percent. This is followed by Germany at 88 percent, the United States at 87 percent, and the UK finishing off the top five at 83 percent.

From a European stand-point, the UK is second only to Germany in happy customers, while Spain and Italy follow close behind the UK at 81 percent each. France, however, trails behind, coming in the bottom of the table at 57 percent.

“The UK is an important vocal market for consumers. The proliferation of smartphone and tablet users has seen an increasing number turn to social media as the main means of customer support. As such, offering good customer service to this very public audience is imperative,” notes Mikkel Svane, Zendesk’s CEO.

This listing provides an early look at the type of information that readers can expect from Zendesk’s Customer Satisfaction Index. The full document will be published on a quarterly basis and will report on additional data, such as customer service efficiency and quality in various industries, geographies, and company size.

Kamira / Shutterstock.com

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An international team of astronomers has produced a map that covers a billion light-years worth of dark matter in the universe. Never before has dark matter been mapped on such a large scale.

Two members of the team, Catherine Heymans of the University of Edinburgh and Associate Professor Ludovic Van Waerbeke of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, presented their findings at the 119th meeting of American Astronomical Society, held last week.

The project took place at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Lensing Survey (CFHTLensS) in Hawaii and collected data from the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Legacy Survey. For more than five years, the team accumulated images of ten million galaxies – six billion light-years away – from four different regions in the sky during each of the seasons. Essentially peering at the universe when it was but six billions years old, they studied  how dark matter warped the light emitted by the galaxies.

The process of producing the map was completed through a method called gravitational lensing, in which bodies (e.g. galaxies, or, in this case, dark matter) are so massive that they curve space-time and distort light, making it travel in a curve, rather than in a line. By studying the distortions of the galaxies’ light, the team was able to determine the structure of the dark matter and plot its distribution.

“It is fascinating to be able to ‘see’ the dark matter using space-time distortion,” says Waerbeke at the American Astronomical society meeting. “It gives us privileged access to this mysterious mass in the Universe which cannot be observed otherwise. Knowing how dark matter is distributed is the very first step towards understanding its nature and how it fits within our current knowledge of physics.”

The universe is more or less a cosmic web of dark matter and galaxies. Dark matter is impossible to be detected by itself, making it seem invisible, though it makes its presence known through warping space-time and light. The mysterious substance makes up a whopping 23 percent of the universe, with dark energy taking up 72 percent and everything else (stars, planets, etc.) only 4 percent.

With creating such a large map of the cosmic web, astronomers and cosmologists are becoming closer to understanding the nature of dark matter and, ergo, a large portion of the universe. Dr. Heymans, a lecturer of physics and astronomy, says, “By analyzing light from the distant Universe, we can learn about what it has travelled through on its journey to reach us.

We hope that by mapping more dark matter than has been studied before, we are a step closer to understanding this material and its relationship with the galaxies in our Universe.”

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Slowly, but surely, the tide has been turning in favor of sterling over the past few months, with the euro now significantly weaker against the pound than it has been for many months. In fact, the last time sterling was at its current level of approximately EUR1.20 to the pound was in the summer of 2010 and, before that, in December 2008.

While the UK economy is not yet showing any significant signs of recovery, it seems the weakness which has affected sterling may finally have bottomed out, with currency markets now punishing the euro, which has weakened against both sterling and the U.S. dollar.

For the UK buyer who has been searching for a new home in France, this is significant. The effect of the exchange rate changes over the past few months has been to effectively reduce property prices by around 10 percent, according to Offshoreonline.org. Add to this the aggressive pricing by developers in areas of the Cote D’Azur, such as Nice and Cannes, and the scene is set for UK buyers to at last be able to take advantage of what has been one of France’s stronger property sectors.

Exchange rate movements are important for buyers from the UK. Put simply, around six months ago, one pound sterling would have bought EUR1.10, but now for the same pound sterling, the UK buyer can expect to receive over EUR1.20. The net effect is to make any purchase of euros around 10 percent cheaper, saving GBP 20,000 on a GBP 200,000 house purchase, for example.

Buyers looking at high end new launches, such as Parc Eugenie in Cannes, should immediately see an enhancement to any rental returns, as with lower upfront purchase cost, the real yield they can expect will rise accordingly.

Commenting on the improved outlook for UK buyers in France, Offshoreonline.org managing director, Tim Harvey, said, “Exchange rates are a vital part of the mix for most UK buyers operating in France, but now it seems the tide may be moving slowly in favor of the UK buyer, with the weakening euro opening up some very attractive options for UK buyers.

With mortgage rates available from 3.45 percent, we have noticed a slow, but steady, increase in enquiries since before Christmas which has continued into the New Year.”

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In what seemed more befitting a movie screen than in a soccer match, Thierry Henry was welcomed back to the Emirates Stadium and in return, scored the winning goal for Arsenal in a 1-0 FA cup win over Leeds United on Monday, pushing the club into the fourth round of the FA Cup to face Aston Villa at the end of January.

Henry’s goal for the North London club sincerely verified Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger decision to bring the French striker back to the club on January 6, on loan from New York Red Bulls, to cover for Gervinho and Marouane Chamakh, who are currently participating in the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations. His performance also extended his already impressive goal record with the club to a 227 total.

Wearing the number 12 on his jersey instead of his recognizable number 14, which at the time of his loan is being worn by Theo Walcott, Henry was substituted into the match in the 68^th minute and received a standing ovation for his second debut with Arsenal. Ten minutes later, Henry was able to slip behind the Leeds defenders and put the ball into the bottom-right corner, giving Arsenal the only goal of the match, and the lead that would allow them to continue in the FA Cup tournament.

”The feeling I had when I scored was amazing,” the 34-year-old Henry told ESPN television. ”I think I will always remember tonight.” The outcome of the match provoked flashbacks of Henry’s previous reign at Arsenal which lasted from 1999-2007. The eight-year long stint with the English club turned Henry into one of the most successful players for ‘The Gunners’ in the early 21^st century, making him a legend in club history.

Henry’s career has gotten him the Premier League Golden Boot four times; he won the FIFA World Cup with France in 1998, and also won the UEFA Champions League with Barcelona in 2009. At the age of 34, Henry is still going strong, winning more trophies and awards for whoever he plays for.

Although he is set to return to the United States in March, Henry will be sure to provide goal opportunities on English ground throughout his stay and cement his affectionate place in the hearts of Arsenal fans. By season end, he might even have created other opportunities for himself and his future career.

CHEN WEI SENG / Shutterstock.com

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Last week, particle physicists at CERN came closer to finding the Higgs boson (otherwise inaptly known as “the god particle”), a hypothetical elementary particle that would explain the origin of mass.

Named after British physicist, Peter Higgs, who first hypothesized that mass came from elementary particles, the Higgs boson is believed to have existed during the few seconds after the Big Bang when particles first obtained mass. Not only is it the missing piece of the Standard Model, which explains how subatomic particles and the universal forces are related and how they interact with one other, but it will be able to fill in some of the inconsistencies within the model.

Located between the border of Switzerland and France, CERN – Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire, or European Council for Nuclear Research – is a particle physics laboratory composed of particle accelerators. One of these particle accelerators is the largest in the world, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), and consists of an underground circular tunnel.

The LHC’s purpose is to figure out what the universe was like on a subatomic level one second after the Big Bang by smashing together protons – a type of subatomic particle – at nearly the speed of light. ATLAS and CMS (Compact Muon Solenoid) are two of the six major experiments at the LHC that are simultaneously, yet separately, determining the existence of the Higgs boson.

Proving the existence of the Higgs boson would be tricky. Because it is a hypothetical particle, the Higgs has to be created, which is also difficult. For one, its life span would be short because of its rapid decay, and it could only be detected by special instruments. ATLAS and CMS are looking to detect the Higgs, not by the state of it existing, but rather, by its decaying state.

To do so, these two experiments have to create the particle. Thereafter, they look for the Higgs by detecting the energy it has released upon its decay. The energy, which should ideally read around 116-130 GeV, is then recorded on graphs. While recording the data of the energy from the decaying, ATLAS and CMS have seen spikes at similar energies on their respective graphs at like times. However, some particle physicists believe that these spikes may be energy fluctuations.

“The excess is most compatible with a Standard Model Higgs in the vicinity of 124 GeV and below,” says Guido Tonelli, a particle physicist working as the spokesperson for CMS, “but the statistical significance is not large enough to say anything conclusive. As of today, what we see is consistent either with a background fluctuation or with the presence of the boson.”

To actually confirm the Higgs’ existence, ATLAS and CMS have to find more spikes in the same places at even greater energies to make sure that they are not merely fluctuations.

If scientists were truly able to confirm the Higgs’ existence, they would essentially discover a new basic understanding of the foundation of the universe and its origin – and possibly explain the elusive nature of dark matter and dark energy. Results, however, will have to wait. Tonelli further states, “Refined analyses and additional data delivered in 2012 by this magnificent machine will definitely give an answer.”

homeros / Shutterstock.com

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According to reports more than 30,000 women have been asked to remove their breast implants by the French authorities. The cause is the potentially defective silicone these women could be carrying inside them.

The newspaper Liberations has exposed, that these implants supplied by Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) carry potential health risks.

Last year, the French Society of Plastic Surgeons found out that the PIP implants were not meant for medical use, since they had a higher rate of rupture than other implants and their silicone was not quality one to be used in these type of procedures.

The past year after the company PIP went into administration, the implants were banned.

According to the BBC, Government spokeswoman Valerie Pecresse told French television that a plan of action would be unveiled later this week. She said, “All women who have PIP implants should return to see their surgeons urgently.”

These terrible concern has result in 2000 complains from women to the police. The AFP news agency reports that these women have opened a criminal investigation to the firm.

The French newspaper Le Monde, exposed that after these defects were known, a total of 523 implants have been removed in the country. Among all affected women, there have been eight cases of cancer reported in patients with PIP implants.

France’s Director General for Health, Jean-Yves Grall added that all costs related to the removal of the implants would be reimbursed, although it is not clear if this will extend to paying for replacement implants.

PIP implants were really accessible to many woman, since they were among the cheapest in the market, the problem is not only focused on France since these implants were exported in many other countries. In United Kingdom it is believed that around 50,000 woman could have them as well.

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Eden Park bore witness to New Zealand being crowned World Champions earlier today, as they defeated France 8-7 in one of the closest matches in World Cup history. An honour which arguably should have come to this group of players four years earlier, the All Blacks have finally shaken off the tag of ‘chokers’ that they have had to shoulder since they last won the tournament in 1987. For Head Coach Graham Henry, and iconic captain Richie McCaw, this is a real vindication of their tenures, which has seen them lead one of the greatest New Zealand squads to ever take to the field.

Tensions were running high, and challenges were laid down before the game even began, with France arranging themselves into an arrowhead, and marching towards New Zealand as the hosts came to the crashing crescendo of the Haka. History is divided on whether or not opposing the Haka is the right course of action, but it certainly laid down the gauntlet to the All Blacks to come out and prove them wrong.

The beginning of the game seemed to mirror the two nations earlier clash in the World Cup, with France dominating both possession and territory in the first 10 minutes, yet unable to find a way through the wall of All Blacks.

Despite the pressure however, it was New Zealand who broke the deadlock, with perhaps the most unlikely of try scorers, Tony Woodcock, going over from short distance. Although Piri Weepu couldn’t quite kick the extras, the try was enough to send the All Blacks into the half 5-0 up

While the first half will not be remembered for any great displays of attacking rugby, two key injuries marked it. The first to French fly half Morgan Parra, who was replaced by Francois Trinh-Duc, a replacement which many French fans may have been quietly happy about, and the second, almost predictability, was to New Zealand fly half Aaron Cruden. This meant that Cruden, quite incredibly, became the third All Black fly half to be injured at the World Cup, and was dutifully replaced by Stephen Donald.

Status quo looked to be maintained at the outset of the second half, with France missing a penalty and New Zeland extending their lead to eight points with a penalty of their own. If one thing was keeping France out of the game, it was their inability to convert chances into points, but this was soon to change.

A loose ball at the back of a New Zealand ruck was kicked by Weepu straight into the hands of Trinh-Duc, who broke for the try-line. Although the substitute fly half couldn’t quite make the distance, France recycled the ball, and after going through several phases, captain Thierry Dusatoir sliced through the All Blacks line and went over for the score.

If Kiwi’s the world over had been fearful of their side choking at another World Cup before this game, those fears were redoubled with France just one point behind New Zealand, and the home side beginning to look very average with around 20 minutes to go.

With the fingernails of both sets of fans nearly bitten down to the nub, the game entered the last 10 minutes, and New Zealand seemed to have recouped enough composure to re-establish their tactical game, and were playing much more of the game in France’s half.

Tensions grew however as a prolonged spell of French possession in the New Zealand half was within the range of Trinh-Duc’s boot, and any misdemeanour by the All Blacks defence could lead to a French penalty, and a reversal in their tender lead. The experience of the All Blacks was seemingly critical, and they maintained their discipline, eventually forcing an France into an error which turned over possession to the deserved victors, New Zealand.

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With the Rugby World Cup Final just days away, the French seem an unfit match for New Zealand’s strong team. France making it into the Rugby World Cup was an unusual feat. The team lost greatly to New Zealand in the group stage, were defeated by Tonga and were anything but convincing in their victories over both Japan and Canada.

In fact, even the Rugby minnows of Japan and Canada gave the French a torrid time, with Les Bleus looking weak in defence, and lacking the attacking flair that they have become renowned for. Things barely improved for France’s head coach, Marc Lievremont, and his team during the knockout round.

Many people were predicting that even an out-of-sorts England side were record an easy victory over them at the Quarter-Final stage. Although England had been heavily criticized for their performances thus far, very few predicted the abysmal outing they’d have against the French.

Not even the loud renditions of ‘Swing Low Sweet Chariot’ from England’s faithful travelling fans could summon up any kind of success for the English players on the field. France defeated England to enter the semi-finals. Arguably it was also no great performance from France that led them to defeat Wales in the Semi-Final.

Welsh team captain, Sam Warburton, was controversially red carded early in the game, leaving Wales at a numerical disadvantage for the majority of the match.  Even with this penalty, Wales still came close to winning the game on several occasions, and was only through the standout performances of a few defensive players, such as France captain, Thierry Dusatoir, that France was able to win.

It is not a surprise to see New Zealand in the Finals. Although perhaps not looking at their sublime best throughout the tournament, the New Zealand All Blacks have put in performances at every stage of the tournament so far, and have never looked in danger of being knocked out of the race. That being said, the home nation does have several issues to contend with.

New Zealand dealt with the loss of talismanic fly-half and playmaker, Daniel Carter. Carter suffered from a groin injury in training during the group stage of the season. This injury placed Carter on the side lines. The loss of such a strong player has caused anxiety all over the rugby obsessed country. Carter’s replacement, Colin Slade, was also injured.

Slade was struck with an almost identical injury as Carter during New Zealand’s Quarter-Final match against Argentina. New Zealand was then forced to call on their third choice fly-half, Aaron Cruden, to step onto the field. Cruden, who had not expected to play, had spent much of the off-season skateboarding rather than playing rugby.

Fortunately for Kiwi’s worldwide, Cruden stepped up well in their Semi-Final victory over Australia. Some would argue that the biggest threat New Zealand will have to contend with in the World Cup match is themselves. Accepted almost unanimously as the best team in world rugby for the majority of the last 25 years, the All Blacks have a tendency to ‘choke’ at the big moment.

Of the six World Cups they’ve contended in, New Zealand has won just one, albeit being favorites the majority of the time. New Zealand team captain, Richie McCaw, has been quick to dispel any theories people have about New Zealand being over-confident and taking France for granted.

When the two sides meet at Eden Park in Auckland on Sunday, it will not be for the first time. In the 1987 Rugby World Cup Final, New Zealand comfortably beat France 29-9. Although their seasons suggest a similar outcome this time around, fans of both teams eagerly await the outcome of Sunday’s match.

Image Courtesy of  http://www.rugbyworldcup.com

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Mars Red Sky is the first band of Toonari Post’s niche and underground music column “Out Of Mainstream”.

Formed in Bordeaux, France, in 2007 and composed by Julien Pras – singer, composer, and guitarist – , Benoit Busser – drummer – , and Jimmy Kinast – bassist – , Mars Red Sky is one of the main emerging bands of the stoner/psychedelic rock scene.

Julien Pras, “brain” and spokesman of the band, told Toonari Post how they gathered in this music project after their previous and different music experiences in other bands:

”What we do now is very different from what each of us did before. For over ten years I had been guitarist, singer and composer of a band called “Calc”, which was formed in 1996 and was more pop-folk oriented.

Benoit used to play in another Bordeaux’s band, the “Berlin vs. Brooklyn”, which was a math-rock duo. Jimmy and I saw him playing, we liked him and I wanted him to play with me. He already knew my music but we didn’t know each other personally.

We started very quickly, just Benoit and me. Just after a couple of rehearsals we realized we needed also a bass to intensify low frequencies. So we called Jimmy.

I knew him since 15 years, we were old friends but we had never played music together before. Playing for him was more a hobby. At that time he was working for a management agency and he also had been in charge as tour manager of my previous band.”

Their music is heavy and aerial at the same time, is quite different by the dusty and aggressive style of the Palm Desert scene. They create a different atmosphere, almost spacey, mixing the intensity and the energy of stoner grooves with the ethereal lightness of vocals and lyrics.

“Of course we were influenced by other bands, in particular we were attracted from the cloudy and hazy atmospheres of Dead Meadow and Sleep, or from the heavy electric weather of Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, but not from the violent and angry part of stoner rock”, told Pras.

Talking about the name Mars Red Sky, Pras explained that it comes from the Sleeps’ song “Dragonaut” from the album “Holy Mountain”: “While listening to the song I was reading the lyrics  – ride the dragon toward the crimson eye / flap the wings under mars red sky – and the image of the intense red colour of Mars attracted me. Beyond the red colour I liked also the space elements it recalls, which were a kind of visual description of the spacey sound effects that we were creating at that time.”

Encouraged by the good audience of their first concerts in Bordeaux, they decided to record their songs properly and in December 2010 they released their first single, the seven minute long “Curse” on Emergence records, that included two tracks, “Curse” and “Sabada”. This was soon followed in 2011 by their first album “Mars Red Sky” – also released on Emergence – recorded few months later in the suggestive desert of Las Bardenas, in the north of Spain.

“Jimmy went there for holiday some years before and he liked it. Our basic idea was to record the music in complete isolation, with no distractions, and he thought it was a good place to do it. So we rented a house there with our sound engineer Pierre Fillon and we recorded the album in four days – recording all the time even at night. We recorded there just the music, we did the vocals just in France”, told Pras.

The result is amazing, a succession of seven track which brings to mind the visual sensation of a comet burning in the sky. The album starts with the deep and spacey “Strong Reflection” and the more up-beat “Curse”, followed by the acid and noisome instrumental “Falls”. Then come “Way To Rome”, elegant and refined with surf-rock elements, and the acoustic instrumental “Saddle Point”, followed by the bluesy-rock “Marble Sky” and the aerial “Up The Stairs”.

In addition to the cd, in November 12th they will release the limited edition vinyl of their debut album with a bonus track “The Ravens Are Back”. They will also be on tour all around Europe, if you want to discover dates and cities of their concerts check out their website http://www.marsredsky.com/

Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/marsredskyband

Myspace http://www.myspace.com/marsredsky   

Image courtesy of http://www.marsredsky.com/

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After an entire game of attack and tension, France reached its goal of a spot at the European Football Championship 2012 by tying with Bosnia Herzegovina in the minute 77, by a penalty.

During the first half of the match, the Bosnian team showed an incredible counterattack, putting a lot of pressure on France while maintaining resistance on their own front.

France has already won two Eurocup titles; first in 1984 in France, and then in 2000 in Belgium and The Netherlands.

In the first half of the game, 39 minutes in, the Bosnian team scored the first goal of the game by Edin Dzeko. France’s defense remained strong, but it needed an alternative for the pass to reach for the goal. On the second half of the game, France showed an incredible pressure, not stopping and making several goal attempts, attacking continuously the Bosnian goalkeeper.

Bosnia and Herzegovina under manager Safet Sušić was classifying for the victory but on the 77th minute, France scored a penalty by Nasri, tying with their opponents. Bosnia Herzegovina did not show the same energy in the second half of the game. On the contrary, France reacted to the first half, regrouped and started to attack constantly.

The end of the match was a positive results for the French team, placing them inside the Eurocup. The Euro 2016 hosting has already been given to France.

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After being told that Dexia’s credit rating would be downgraded by credit rating agency Moody’s, on October 3, 2011, the bank’s shares dropped sharply. By the end of trading that day, one share was approximately one euro ($1.32), the lowest level the bank has ever seen. The situation did not improve the next day: at one point, shares dropped by as much as 40 percent.

Trading was suspended on October 6. It will resume trading on October 10. On Tuesday, October 4, the bank’s board met in an emergency meeting to discuss solutions to the problem. At a press conference after the meeting, caretaker Prime Minister Yves Leterme of Belgium said that the Belgian and French governments will each have a hand in propping up the bank.

“We are giving a new government guarantee and will take all the initiatives necessary for Dexia Belgium to consolidate. We still believe it has a future,” he said.At the meeting, a plan was formulated. First, Dexia would set up a “bad bank” fund where its troubled assets would go.

Second, the French municipal loan book would be given to La Banque Postale, a French bank, and Caisse des Depots et Consignations, a French financial institution. Last, Dexia would be split up, and would seek buyers for its healthy assets. Discussions for options about the split up of Dexia continued throughout the weekend.

This is the not the first time Dexia has needed government assistance. In late 2008, Dexia was bailed out by the Belgian and French governments and its shareholders. Belgium and France invested 6.4 billion euros into the bank. Each country owns 5.7 percent of the bank, while three Belgian regional authorities own a combined 5.7 percent of the bank.

Some bankers outside of France and Belgium are concerned about the split up of Dexia. “The government has to reach a deal this weekend, or we’ll see trouble on the interbank market next week,” said Michael Rohr, a banking analyst with Silvia Quandt Research GmbH in Frankfurt, Germany.

Some inside France are concerned about how the split up will affect France’s credit rating. According to French economist Jacques Delpla, the split will not harm the country’s credit rating “Rating agencies judge the sustainability of a country’s debt. This would be a one-off investment that could yield big profits, so even if France spends a huge amount recapitalizing the entire bank system, it should not affect its rating,” he said.

Image Courtesy of   http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldeconomicforum/

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The summer festival Rock en Seine, was held in Paris on the last weekend of August. The 9th edition of the Rock en Seine festival took place on the Park of Domaine National de Saint Cloud, asuburban area very closed to Paris, from August Friday 26 to Sunday 28. This eclectic music manifestation welcomed around 108,000 visitors who enjoyed the art of 63 bands.

During these three days, the audience was able to appreciate numerous styles of music. Each category of bands/singers were performing on 4 different stages. Each stage represente d a type of artist. The bigger stage (Grande Scène), with a most important audience and usually for the most popular bands, the Scène de l’Industrie, the Scène de la Cascade and the Scène Pression Live.

Every year, this festival presents a programme of various performers that always tend to outdo the ones of the previous years. The concerts were composed of rock music, folk, groove, hip-hop and electro. For many years, Rock en Seine kept some kind of balance between top of the bill bands and others which are willing to be known, mixing both type of bands on the same stage.

Plus, the Parisian festival remained faithful to the idea of having a show with French and international performers. We can say that the festival has come a long way from the first edition, nine years ago, which used to last a day. The festival back then only took place on two stages.

The festival started on Friday, with Biffy Clyro, an alternative-metal band from Scotland. We also had the pleasure to see Dave Grohl and Foo Fighters, The Kills, CSS (Cansei de Ser Sexy: fed up to be sexy, an electo-pop band), Kid Cuddy, Herman Dune (folk), Death in Vegas and many others.

Saturday included music from the Arctic Monkeys, The Streets, Hushpuppies, Keren Ann, CocoRosie, BB Brunes, The Wombats, and Blond Redhead. The last day included a 30 musician orchestra which amazed the audience. Fans of neo metal were more than delighted to prove that they remember the Deftones’ songs.

My Chemical Romance, Simple Plan, Tinie Tempah, Lilly Woods and the Pricks and many others performed to make this week end unforgettable. A specificity of the festival is Mini Rock Festival for children, to teach them how to be the rock stars of the future, with games and fancy clothing.

If you want to see more of French music festival, look forward to La fête de l’Huma, which has great importance and will be in September.
Image Courtesy of  http://www.flickr.com/photos/fabionascimento/

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U2 lead singer Bono denied the reports that he had been taken to hospital after complaining of chest pain while on holiday in the south of France. Singer’s spokeswoman claims he is in “good health” and his hospital visit was just a routine checkup.

Various websites published a story that Bono had been rushed to a hospital by his wife Ali Hewson, after she became concerned about him suffering from palpitations and chest pains. The 51-year old did go to the Princess Grace Memorial hospital in Monacoon Wednesday August 17, and the Irish Independent claimed he was examined by a leading heart specialist and ordered to get some rest.

Irish Central website claimed that he had undergone a battery of tests before being discharged, quoting an insider saying, “as I understand it he was seen by a doctor. He is okay now but he got a fright.” Bono’s health scare was first reported by the broadsheet newspaper, Irish Independent.

It’s clear now that the reports are false and it’s also confirmed that the only health problems Bono had were in the form of a back injury, which he obtained while he was on a record-breaking world tour in 2010. “Despite press stories to the contrary, Bono has not suffered a recent health scare.

Reports of his being rushed to hospital for emergency treatment are untrue. Bono is in good health and enjoying a family holiday in the south of France,” the spokeswoman for Bono said in a statement to Reuters. Bono was later spotted relaxing in Monaco’s nightspot, Saas Café, with his wife, Julian Lennon and Irish designer John Rocha on Friday, August 19.

The group was forced to cancel several gigs in 2010 and pulled out of the Glastonbury music festival in England when Bono injured his back while rehearsing in Germany for the tour. He recovered in time to resume the gruelling schedule and the band returned to perform on the main stage at Glastonbury this summer.

U2 recently wrapped up their mammoth 360° world tour in Canada. The jaunt grossed a record-breaking $736,137,344 (£448 million). The success of the 360° Tour, which began in Barcelona on June 30, 2009, has been attributed to the band’s ground-breaking 360-degree production, which can increase the capacity of stadiums by as much as 25 percent.

Meanwhile, U2 are donating $7.2m to support the education system in their native Ireland following the hardship measures introduced in the aftermath to the world banking crisis. The cash will be provided over the course of the next four years and will mainly be used to buy music equipment and pay music teachers wages.

The head of Music Generation, a U2- affiliated charity, Rosaleen Molloy, says: “While we have a very rich musical culture and heritage, access to music tuition is like a geographic lottery. There is an assumption that music is being provided in mainstream schools- while the reality is it’s not.

The band had been looking for a way to invest and support music education in Ireland; they want to give something back.”
Featureflash / Shutterstock.com

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A marvelous palace, following by astonishing gardens, columns, fountains, labyrinths, fire, water, trees, and classic music makes this night at Versailles Palace, a night taken out from a fairy tale.

The Château de Versailles (Versailles Palace) in Paris, France, serves as an iconic symbol of wealth, luxury and beauty. Going back to the time where Louis XIV in 1660’s showed the peak of achievement of the French Monarchy by being the monarch and owner of the palace and the Royal Garden.

The Palace contains an enormous extent of gardens that cover around 800 hectares. Where trees, paths and bushes create a new reality of exuberant beauty.

In 1979, The Palace and the gardens were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Until the 3^rd of September the Castle will be hosting a magnificent  night  that occurs every Saturday, known as “Les Grandes Eaux Nocturnes” or the Fountains Night Show.

As night falls, the Versailles Palace transforms into a fairy tale place where everything is possible, combining sights and sounds together transforming the majestic place into a dream. Throughout the night, visitors walk unstoppably through the interminable garden paths. Encountering new areas containing several fountains with different sceneries and lighting.

The water coming from the fountains exposes a magnificent show for the eyes, moving with the sound of music that resonates though the entire place. The fountains are adequate with astonishing installations exposing an incredible elegance impossible to surpass.

After enjoying the fountains shows the night does not end there, but all the visitors gather to the center of the Garden waiting for the amazing closure of the night with a firework display.

The music continues as fireworks begin to appear and explode as if they were playing with the rhythm of the music interpreted by the French baroque music interpreted Reinhard Goebel and his orchestra, the Musica Antiqua Köln.

The night finishes with the last firework and the peoples faces eradicate happiness and amazement.. The young and old know something is certain, which is that everyone enjoyed this amazing night.

There are only two Fountains Night Shows left until the shows are finished.

If you are in Paris, don’t hesitate in missing this amazing night.

The average price for an entry is around  20€.

• 18 years old and older: 22€

• 6-17 years old :18€

• 0-5 years old : Free

• Group: 18€

For further information please visit:

http://www.chateauversailles-spectacles.fr/home.php

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When you think of this “City of Lights”, you think of romance, arts, delicious French Cuisine, and for some – it’s the place to fall in love. While many might say the city is “overrated”. Well, I think the city is very well lives up to its reputation. It’s one of a kind city.

Paris, as many of us know, is full of attractions – the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, and Notre Dame are just a few examples.  Sure, when we travel, we want to see the most talked about destinations but what funny is most of the times, we are mesmerized by the lesser known, hidden spots.

The fact is there is so much to see that sometimes visitors tend to overlook these great details about Paris – the places, which in my case, made my top 3 best Paris experience.

The Museums

You can be a fast traveler, but the truth is one simply can’t visit Paris in one day. Museums such as the Louvre and Musee D’Orsay can easily takes a day to enjoy. True, most visitors do go to these museums, but the “go” they’re talking about is to just take pictures from the outside.

Believe it or not, this is actually a pretty common mistake. First and foremost, the point of these wonderful museums is for everyone to see the world class arts – from up close. However, if you happen to have a time constraint and able to be in the city for only a couple of days, try this: go to the Louvre if you have a deep interest in arts reflecting in Medieval, Roman, and Renaissance history.

Also home to the world-renowned Mona Lisa painting, the Louvre contain more than 35,000 works which means you might want to start prioritizing which ones you really love to see from the rest.

On the other side of the Seine, Musée D’Orsay, a train station turned museum, covers the whole spectrums of arts from Impressionisms, Neoclassical, Art Nouveau, Naturalism, photography, cinematography, to urban planning and more. If you are a big fan of Monet’s paintings, this might just be your heaven.

Montmartre

Being a lovely artistic area outside the Paris’s center, Montmartre is home to the beautiful basilica, Sacré-Cœur. This is where one of my best Paris pictures was taken – it was on the steps in front of this stunning place on a sunny day.

To get there, take a metro to Abbesses station and walk alone Rue Yvonne le Tac and Rue Tardieu, then walk up its steep steps. Please note that this is not the closest route but it gives you a chance to appreciate Montmartre and its surroundings.

Interested in having your portrait drawn by a local painter? Look for an artist who actually has the works showcased in their own shop and pay more for the painting, instead of letting a passerby asked to paint your picture for 30-40 euros (or more!) because you will simply end up paying ridiculous amount of money for a drawing that your 8 years old niece could probably do a better job at.

Paris Dinner Cruise

Though many guidebooks suggest a Paris architectural cruise as part of the day time sightseeing, I, on the other hand, think the Paris dinner cruise has everyone’s heart. The cruise we took was run by Bateaux Parisiens. They offer different types of tour, though the Paris Illuminations is the one not to be missed.

What is a better way to see Paris at night than to hop on board of a glass-encased boat, sampling traditional French Cuisine, listening to live music while this gorgeous city is just outside the window? At approximately 8:30 pm, the cruise departed the dock near the Eiffel Tower. From there, it will pass Les Invalides, La Cathédrale Notre-Dame, L’Hotel de Ville – just to name a few.

This is truly an amazing way to see Paris transform from day to night. As the matter of fact, Bateaux Parisiens’s dinner cruise was my best Paris experience. My suggestion: take the cruise, and you will dicover why this metropolis is nicknamed the “city of light”.

Other notable places worth visiting: Place des Vosges, Jardin du Luxembourg, and Latin Quarter.

F.C.G. / Shutterstock.com

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The French band M83 announced the release of their new album named: Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming.

This new album is coming with a lot of anticipation and excitement by being a follow up of their previous album Saturdays=Youth which was released on 2008.

On October 18^th the album will be released and available on stores. In an interview by Pitchfork, the lead singer, Anthony Gonzalez commented about his new work saying:  “For now, the direction of the album is very, very, very epic. Very orchestrated. I feel like it’s a mix of all my albums, actually.”

The album contains two discs sets, with eleven tracks per disc.

The first track of the Album is called Midnight City and it is already available in many platforms on Internet. The featured song provides us a small insight of the amazing blend of sounds, and musical combinations that the new album contains.

The band is already known for their use of reverb effects and the cool combinations among the soft voices over the loud instrumentals.

The Rolling Stones magazine exposed that: “ The record, which was produced by Beck and Nine Inch Nails bassist Justin Meldal-Johnsen, will also feature vocals by Gonzalez’s regular collaborator Morgan Kibby and guest singer Zola Jesus, plus guitar by former Medicine member Brad Laner.

M83 also announced their Fall North American Tour starting this October, here are the upcoming dates and cities:

Oct.15: Mexico City – Corona Capital Festival

Oct 28:  Washington DC – Black Cat

Oct. 29:  Raleigh, NC – Kings Barcade

Oct. 30 – Asheville, NC – Moog Fest

Oct. 31 – Atlanta, GA – Masquerade

Nov. 1 – Tallahassee, FL – Engine Room

Nov. 2 – Orlando, FL – The Social

Nov. 4 – Houston, TX – Warehouse Live

Nov. 5 – Austin, TX – Fun Fun Fun Fest

Nov. 7 – Phoenix, AZ – The Crescent Ballroom

Nov. 9 – Los Angeles, CA – Music Box

Nov. 10 – San Francisco, CA – The Independent

Nov. 11 – Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom

Nov. 12 – Vancouver, BC – Venue

Nov. 13 – Seattle, WA – Neumas

Nov. 16 – Minneapolis, MN – Varsity Theater

Nov. 17 – Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall

Nov. 18 – Toronto, ON – Lees Palace

Nov. 19 – Montreal, QC – Le S.A.T.

Nov. 20 – Boston, MA – Paradise

Nov. 22 – New York, NY – Webster Hall

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Not where they wanted to be of course, but someone must finish 3^rd in this beautifully played Women’s World Cup.  Sweden ranked fifth coming in, expected to make it further then they did, especially after beaten the U.S team the last 2 times they played each other.  France on the other hand laid an egg against the U.S team in the pivotal semifinal game.

This game although not for the cup itself is very important; no team wants to leave any tournament losing 2 games in a row…especially the way these two teams lost.  This is an opportunity to leave things on the highest note possible at this point and try to salvage what they can.

The game is tamed in the beginning as both teams feel each other out and the players seam focus; the French defenders are a little shaky after allowing the most goals in the tournament.  I expected more from Georges, but she hasn’t played at a high level.  Neither of these keepers has showed enough in order to place any confidence in them, the French goal keeper has played horribly up to this point, but hasn’t been tested much within the first 20 minutes of this third place game.

While watching this game, it is clear that these teams are here for a reason…they are not as technical or tactical as the Japanese team, nor are they as balanced and strong as the U.S team.

The game remained stagnant up until the 29^th minute when a beautiful ball split the two back defenders from France and Schelin placed the ball over the goalkeeper to put the Swedes up 1.  During the same play, the goal keeper was taken off the field and Necib was also taken out after her knee was causing her problems after a collision several minutes before.   Schelin has definitely outplayed these French defenders this half.  The French team has responded very well to the goal but have no goal to show for their efforts.

This half comes to an end with a blown opportunity from the Swedes.  The Swedes are somewhat in control, although, this game is far from over; their opponents can’t seem to get much going even after having some good shots on goal.

We are now in the second half; France starts strong looking to even things up.  We have our second goal of this game with France tying the game in 56^th minute; interestingly enough, the goal was a brilliant shot by Thomis who replaced Necib in the first half after her knee troubles.  The game is nearing the stretch run in which, one of these teams must do something extraordinary.

Sweden’s luck failed them in the 63rdminute with a great chance on goal; Thomis has taken control of this game and is leaving her mark out there…she has changed the pace and had a great chance against the keeper shortly after Sweden’s unfortunate crossbar incident.

Things took a turn toward controversy in the 67^th minute with an unfortunate red card given to Swedish player Oqvist.  She was caught retaliating while being tangled on the floor with French player Bompastor.  The red card was unmerited but the referee made the decision and they must deal with it (of course an American referee at that)

Now the Swedes must find a way to play and win with 10 players.

This bronze medal game is going to come down to the last minutes, its only right given what we’ve seen this tournament.  The pivotal goal comes in the 82^nd minutes and I know I’ve said this several times but, this goal is the best goal of the tournament.  The goal was scored by Swedish player Marie Hammarstrom after performing a gorgeous set of moves which she finished off with a laser shot…the goal keeper could have done better but the goal itself was more than brilliant.

2-1 and the match is over, Sweden has won a well deserved 3^rd place match and their celebration officially begins.  only one game remains for the cup between the U.S team and Japan; history tells us who should win but in the world cup, the victor is not determined by history-we will see if how things unfold but it should be a great game to watch.

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The United States Women’s Soccer team defeated France by a score of 3-1 in the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup to move on to their first final’s appearance since their dominant 1999 victory.

In incredible fashion, which seems to be the way they like to do it, the Americans snatched the game away from France in the last minutes despite being dominated for much of the match.

The U.S. Had previously lost two consecutive semi-final matches in the World Cup, and weren’t going to go down this time without a serious fight.

On the heels of one of the best matches in World Cup history, the United States was forced to put their celebrations aside and prepare for a tough French team that had been playing well to this point in the tournament.

Though they have usually been a second-half team, the U.S.A. struck early in this one, taking a 1-0 lead in the ninth minute. Heather O’Reilly made a quick move down the sideline past the French defense and launched a low cross to the feet of Lauren Cheyney who was able to make a beautiful touch, redirecting the ball to the far side of the net, just past the French goalkeeper.

Pia Sundhage seemed to have her team much more focused at the start of this match, playing with the same intensity that fans saw in the second half and overtime of the incredible quarter-final game against Brazil. Sometimes teams have a bit of a hangover after a match such as that, especially one which lasts a whopping 123 minutes plus penalty kicks. The U.S. looked like they were as fresh as ever, but the tides would soon turn.

The French saw their first realistic opportunity pass byjust after in the 29^th minute when Louisa Necib, the talented French midfielder, saw Hope Solo charge at her inside the box and deflect the shot out of play.

France was knocking on the door with serious momentum in the 32^nd minute when a short free kick ended up hitting the crossbar behind the American goalie. It seemed as though one goal would not be enough to hold down this inspired French team.

Finally in the 37^th minute the U.S. snatched back some momentum when Christie Rampone made a rare long run down the sideline, crossing a high ball toward Wambach on the far post who just missed, heading her own ball off the crossbar. It was only a matter of time til Wambach would get one on target.

All throughout the first half the French squad dictated the style of play and were able to fire countless shots from range against the United States defense, but the shots would need to come from much closer to get past the remarkable Solo.

It was an incredible half to watch from a fan’s standpoint with tons of shots and offensive opportunities. Though France surely outplayed the United States with regards to time of possession and shots on goal, the U.S. came away with the one goal advantage on the scoreboard, and had many scoring threats of their own in his back-and-forth match. This game was far from over.

The second half began with no immediate substitutions from either side and the incredibly play continued right from the whistle.

France immediately came out firing again, sending numbers at the Americans just about every time they touched the ball, but the American back line continued to be strong in front of their star goalie and seemed to sense that it would be on their shoulders to win this game for the United States.

After all of the legitimate chances France had, the 54^th minute brought about a broken play to finally breach the U.S. defense. France’s star left back Sonia Bompastor attempted to cross a curling ball in front of goal causing Hope Solo to pick up the forward trying to get on the end of the cross. Unfortunately for the Americans, the ball sailed over the hopeful forward and trickled into the net for an equalizing goal. No matter how, the score was now level.

Carli Lloyd was subbed out for the first time in this World Cup in the 64^th minute in favor of Megan Rapinoe with hopes of creating a spark for the U.S. attack in addition to getting some fresh legs into the game.

Rapinoe certainly had a positive impact on the squad forcing many balls into the middle and in the 78^th minute earned the U.S a corner with another one of her quick runs.

Abby Wambach came to the rescue once again for the Americans with her incredible strength and leaping ability. On that corner she was able to strike the ball with great pace into the back of the net. 2-1, advantage America.

Wambach had reportedly been bothered by a nagging right achilles injury causing her to miss some practice time throughout this World Cup tournament. Regardless, when she’s on the field, she will always be a key target on the offensive end with her incredible heading abilities. Coming into the game Wambach needed only one goal to tie the United States World Cup record of twelve held by Michelle Akers and with her second incredibly clutch moment of the tournament she had done so.

The French defense was quickly breaking down and speedy forward Alex Morgan was able to take advantage immediately after the Wambach goal. She was able to lift the ball just over the keeper’s fingertips, floating it into the net and putting the game away for the Americans after being dominated for so much of the match. The U.S. Was surely headed to Frankfurt.

As the final whistle blew jubilation came over the players and fans once again as they now knew they would be onto their third World Cup final.

One of the biggest pre-game stories was how U.S. defender Rachel Buehler, was replaced by Becky Sauerbrunn due to Buehler’s suspension thanks to a red card in the second half against Brazil. Buehler had struggled mightily to this point but coach Pia Sundhage was rolling the dice on Sauerbrunn who had been yet to make any touches in this years World Cup.

Sauerbrunn made her coach look so wise with her decision by playing up to her potential and beyond. The young defender showed that she could be the future replacement for captain Christie Rampone when she decides to retire. The question now will be who to start on the back line for the finals match-up.

Speaking of the captain, not nearly enough credit has been given to Christie Rampone throughout these matches. The 36 year old has played multiple spots on the defensive end for the United States and has been a rock along the back line. At her age she is still just as fast as she ever was, and might be playing the best soccer of anybody in the tournament. She will surely be a key component should the team want to come away from the finals victorious.

Hope Solo, who has recently become one of my more popular players in the world shined again in her 100^th international appearance. Remarkably in those 100 games she has had 55 shutouts with only 6 defeats to her name, proving why she is constantly referred to as the best goalkeeper in the world. This performance surely backed up her reputation, keeping countless French chances out of the net en route to another clutch U.S. Victory.

Fight, heart, determination and character. Not enough adjectives can be given to describe this United States team. It has been a fairy tale run to this point, qualifying last even as number one in the world. Notching incredible late victories in the knockout stages, and moving on to yet another World Cup final.

When you think you have the U.S.A. Down and out, they shine the brightest.

Coach Pia Sundhage was asked what made the difference in the match she replied simply with “a big heart.” They will surely come out with that same heart in the finals looking to win their first World Cup in 12 years.

The final battle for the cup will be played in the beautiful Frankfurt stadium on Sunday, July 17^th.

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Watching Japan face Germany yesterday showed me once again why soccer or Football as it is called around the world is such a great sport.  No, it was not the greatest soccer match I’ve seen nor was it the most anticipated, it didn’t include the biggest names of the sport; what we got to see was the same thing we see on the men’s side.  There is such skill involved in the sport, that the seamless transition from  watching the men play to watching the women is remarkable…you’re either good or you’re not , and the women are good.

There was such excitement and the underdog won-the underdog being the Japanese team 1-0 playing with heavy hearts against a stacked home team in Germany.

The most anticipated match of the knockout round or quarter finals is between Brazil and USA, two teams who are very familiar with one another.  Brazil beat the U.S team 4 years ago but has not had much success against the U.S with an overall record of 4-22.  Brazil shows up of course confident in what they do and the loose style in which they play…in fact they got off their bus singing  and playing Brazilian instruments that sort off resemble dancing on the field.  Indeed, a match worthy of a final.

For the U.S, Heather O’reilly is back after not being available and for Hope Solo this is a chance to let her play speak for her after the debacle 4 years ago in which she felt she belonged on the field.

At 11:30, the match was officially on the way and it didn’t take long for someone to strike…Yes an own goal, but a minute into the match the U.S goes up 1-0 in an unexpected eventful beginning.  The Brazilian defenders look very jittery early on and it cost them, the frustration starts early for the Brazil side but it has been an unorganized game for both sides during the first half of the match.  No one has been able to hold on to the ball and Marta continues to show frustration which eventually led to a yellow card for mouthing off.  The first half was played poorly by the Brazilians who didn’t get many shots on goal and their opponent didn’t seem to want to capitalize on the poor play.

The defense was good on the American side considering the talent level of the opponent but how long they will keep a zero on the Brazilian score sheet.

The second half starts and we see the play pick up and the Brazilians have made an effort to apply pressure which has led to many more opportunities already within the first few minutes of the half.

After the 60^th minute, things took a turn from bad to worse for the Americans…After a beautiful move by Marta reminiscent of Ronaldinho, another famous Brazilian player in which she was being guarded by two back defenders in the box; she was awarded a penalty kick.  A controversial red card was given to Rachel Buehler which left the American side with 10 players against a resurgent Brazil team.

The penalty kick taken was blocked but in another controversial twist, the referees determined that the kick would be taken again because a player encroached prior to the kick being taken.  Marta now was given the opportunity to finish the play she started, which she did with nice placement of the ball at the bottom right corner tying the game in the 68^th minute.

The U.S played very well given their lack of a full squad on the field but playing with 10 players in this humidity will be challenging.

A touch of brilliance again from the Brazilians which resulted in a goal from Marta in the 93rd minute, putting them up 2-1 early in over time…She being the best player in the world, placed the ball where Solo could not reach it.

With 2 minutes left in extended time, Abby Wambach saves the U.S for the time being and ties the game in the 120^th minute with a tremendous header.  After being quiet for the first 119 minutes, the lone striker came alive tying the game…and play continues.

So now we watch penalty kicks, the second in as many games in this tournament in what has turned out to be a great and exciting game.

This is by far the tensest situation in sports aside from bottom of the ninth, man on second with 2 outs in the World Series in Yankee stadium…yes it’s that tense.  But after the Brazilians missed their 3^rd penalty kick, it started to look bleak.  Then Wambach came and calmly placed the ball in the back of the net, it was pretty much over.

After playing 55 plus minutes with 10 men, now they must face France in a game that will have a hard time living up to this epic and classic game.

You just couldn’t write this any better for the U.S…we will see if there is a story book ending, after this game in the words of Wamback “we must win.”

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Set in a quaintly provincial town in France, Jean Becker’s My Afternoons With Marguerite explores the power of literature and friendship. One of the most charming films I have seen in years, Germain (Gerard Depardieu) plays an nearly illiterate peasant who bonds with the elderly Marguerite (Gisele Casadesus) after he finds her reading excerpts from novels aloud in the park.

Depardieu, in his 50′s, lives in his trailer on land owned by his unloving mother (Claire Maurier) and is mocked by his own friends for his ignorance. Thus, when he stumbles upon Marguerite in the park one day, his curiosity gets the better of him. They become friends, and, realizing he is not so ignorant after all, feels enriched by the magical tales he has been left out of for so long. However, despite her love for reading, at 95, she is losing her sight. Germain overcomes his inabilities and learns how to read so that they both may be able to rejoice in the joy of learning.

The sunny depiction of the French working class reflect an attitude seen in many areas of France – joie de vivre, a comfort in just living. Of course, most people who visit Paris do not grasp this, but taking a tour of the smaller regions opens one’s eyes. Healthcare is free to those in need, the work week is never longer than 36 hours, 2 hour lunch breaks abound, Sundays are always quiet and leisurely, and wine is a necessity at dinner. What more could one want in life?

Overall, this charming and engaging film warms your heart and is a must-see for those who like a smile on their face.

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After surprising many by winning two awards for best original screenplay and best actress at the 36^th annual Cesar Awards Ceremony (the French equivalent to the Oscars) this past February, The Names of Love will soon be moving from the French cinema to U.S. screens. In preparation for its June 24^th release, critics have already begun extolling this charming film starring Sara Forestier and Jacques Gamblin in this French romantic comedy about falling in love despite your differences.

Arthur Martin (Gamblin), which is coincidentally also the name of a popular French washing machine brand, is a forty-something Jewish scientist who studies dead animals, while Baya Benmahmoud (Forestier) is a young free-spirited half French-half Albanian liberal who sleeps with conservatives to convert them. She boasts an average conversion rate of two weeks, and even shows Arthur her book of conquests, complete with photos and descriptions for each man. There are 15,207 people in France with the name Arthur Martin, and it is the commonness of his name that first inspires Baya to try to convert Arthur to her liberal agenda. Little do they know that neither one is what the other first expected.

While the premise of putting together two opposites who inextricably fall in love anyway has been done many times before, this film adds several unique elements to its 100 minute viewing time. The Names of Love offers social commentary on many events that have been going on in France lately, but with a humorous twist.  Immigration from North African nations such as Algeria, Tanzania, and Morocco, has increased the Muslim population in France to approximately 8% (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4385768.stm). Conflict has arisen between some native French and Muslim immigrants and this film uses these conflicts as a springboard to create some very funny and touching moments on-screen.

In addition, the director brings up Arab-Jewish history, as Arthur is Jewish and Baya’s father is a non-practicing Muslim. This is especially prominent in a scene in which Baya meets with Arthur’s family for dinner and Baya unwittingly uses the term “oven” several times when describing her cooking in front of Arthur’s Jewish mother. What makes this scene even funnier is Arthur’s insistence at the beginning of the evening that she mention nothing related to the Holocaust. How hard she tries to follow his instructions and fails anyway results in a hilarious scene of situational comedy.

Harvey Karten on movieweb.com points out, “that given enough time, humor can emerge from tragedy” and this film demonstrates that quite adeptly. Despite the horrible things that have happened because of intolerance and hatred, this film points out that things do not have to stay that way.

While U.S. audiences will most likely miss some of the specifically French humor that is present in the film, themes of love, overcoming differences, and learning to let go and open up are familiar enough to be understood by many different cultures. When heading to the theaters this summer, don’t forget to place The Names of Love on your list of movies to see.

Image Courtesy of  http://www.flickr.com/photos/7731386@N04/

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Team Race Bikes is a relatively new racing management company based out of Mondragon, France.  The goal of companies like these is to provide racers with financial and technical stability while they race, at a small cost. With a background in business, team managers deal with speedway and racetrack operations, venue logistics, team management, sponsorship, product promotions, managing race team personnel, media and event management, public relations, and revenue enhancements and branding.

Within one year, Team Race Bikes has become a force to be reckoned with in the French Top-Twin and Superbike racing categories thanks to Ann Gire and Jean-Luc Defour, the owner and team manager, respectively, have poured their hearts and souls into this team. Ann Gire studied Global Communications at the American University of Paris, where she learned market development, worldwide distribution and export sales growth.Meanwhile, Jean-Luc Defour developed extensive experience in financial management and mechanical operations after years of work in the field. Team Race Bikes brings this racing experience to their racers by offering “a job done well, at a fair price.”

Despite their youthfulness, Team Race Bikes has assembled a fine team to support their drivers. They have Peter Clark, the Ducati engineer from New Zealand, and Eric Delcamp of Delcamp Energies, who keep shock absorbers up and running, to name a few. It is absolutely necessary to have a strong camp in order to be successful. Without a constantly functioning bike, drivers cannot hope to be a force to be reckoned with in such a tight competition. On the track, bikes often break down, whether due to tire wear or weather disruptions, and a good team mechanic must be prepared. These road side aides must race against the clock to get the driver going without losing too much time. If the driver cannot get back on the track, he must forfeit.

Team Race Bikes currently has three regulars on the track: Alain Rimbaud (#), Lionel Ancelin (#30), and Stephan Cancela (#). At 29 years old, Rimbaud is their youngest driver, and began competing merely 3 years ago. Regardless, in 2009 his talent put him on the map, when he finished 10^th overall in the O3Z race. This season, at the first race in Le Mans, France, he went from 34^th to 19^th to 12^th place within one weekend, an incredible improvement. His improvement is greatly anticipated this season.

Since his debut in 2002, Lionel Ancelin, 35, has grown exponentially. In 2009 he won The Golden Bowl in the Open category and achieved excellent results in the Top Twin Challenge in 2010. This year, after a devastating mechanical and financial failure last year, he has returned to competition under the Team Race Bikes banner, placing podium at every race he has completed. On the Nogaro race track in May, Ancelin won his second Cup victory in France. Ancelin takes great pride in his motorcycle, which he depends wholly on for his continued success.

“I am very satisfied with the second victory and the great performance of my Ducati 1198S. The bike has excellent handling, grip, and traction. It is an incisive, aggressive, and elitist motorcycle which demands a lot to drive it. It is a real racing machine and fabulous to ride. I am currently second in the championship and will continue to give my utmost to win the title.”

The final racer, Stephane Cancela, 43, considers the bike a passion, a lifestyle, and a childhood dream come true. Since his competitive debut in 1999, Stephane has participated in the Ducati Club de France, internships with the BMC, and Pro-Twin and Top-Twin competitions. Cancela consistently holds his own in the competition, and recently reaced 8^th place on his Ducati 1098R.

Team Race Bikes took the smart but risky move of entering directly into the highest level of French motorcycle racing championships. Hence, should they succeed, they only stand to move further within the realm of championship, gaining higher status nationally and eventually moving into the international arena.

Want to know more? Please visit the sites below:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Team-Race-Bikes/150896861620989?sk=wall

http://www.teamracebikes.com/

Image Courtesy: Team Race Bikes

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The leaders of the major world’s economies gathered in Deauville, France, in occasion of the annual G8 summit. Besides Nicolas Sarkozy, French President and also President of the G8 for 2011, the leaders of Canada, Japan, Russia, Germany, United Kingdom, United States, Italy and European Union met to debate important and crucial world’s issues.

The summit was going to start when the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi took the opportunity to approach the U.S. President Barack Obama to have a chat with him. Mister Berlusconi had clearly the intention to carve out a niche for himself to have an informal and apparently confidential talk with the world’s most powerful man.

He made a quick move and, right after the U.S. President’s entry, he rushed to the other side of the summit’s table approaching suddenly Mister Obama in a friendly way, then he started talking to him. Taking advantage of the presence of his interpreter the Italian Prime Minister, who doesn’t speak English fluently, condensed his message to the U.S. President in a few sentences.

The chat between the two leaders was shot by the reporters who were at the summit, and Berlusconi’s words started spreading quickly all around the world.

“How are you?” began Berlusconi, “We have a new majority,” he continued, “We have introduced the justice reform which is fundamental for us, because in Italy at the moment we have almost a left-wing judges’ dictatorship. I have been acquitted 31 times” Barack Obama listened and nodded, meanwhile the other leaders were seated down at table waiting to start the summit. The talk ended and Obama and Berlusconi shook hands one another.

This was just another “exploit” of the Italian Prime Minister, who is in the habit of coming out with particular poses or funny expressions. It is clear that for Berlusconi the constant attacks to the Italian magistracy at national level are not enough, he needs to broaden them also at international level.

He has been always arguing that his judicial problems are due only to the doggedness of Italian judges, defined as communist, left-wing, and even terrorist. The institutional clash between Prime Minister and the magistracy is very strong, and it gets worse everyday. Berlusconi is being fighting a real war both on the media as on the streets, by any means, with videos, conferences, posters, public accusations and so on.

The justice reform introduced by Berlusconi’s government would be the solution to all his judicial problems, and would reduce strongly the magistracy’s powers. For this reason the Italian parliament deals almost only with this question, leaving out all the other national issues, and trying to constantly increase the government majority in order to have the right number of votes to pass the reform.

Therefore, the country is stuck in a situation of political paralysis and is being affected by a serious instability. The institutional clashes multiply and the people look in astonishment at their country’s mess.

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This week the libel proceedings against Rue89, a French online journal, began in Paris. Behind the lawsuit is Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva – the younger daughter of the incumbent president of Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov, who has been in power since 1990. Karimov is widely recognized as the leader of a dictatorship, and his regime has been widely criticized by several human right organizations and large segments of the international community.

The focus of the suit is an article from May 2010 titled “AIDS: Uzbekistan Represses at Home, but Parades in Cannes” which claims that Ms Karimova-Tillyaeva paid Western celebrities to attend her charity events in an attempt to ‘whitewash’ her country’s image. The article also identified Ms Karimova-Tillyaeva as the daughter of a “dictator”.

The French reporter behind the words, Augustin Scalbers, is accused of making defamatory statements about the 32-year-old philanthropist who works in Paris as Uzbekistan’s ambassador to the UN cultural body Unesco.

According to the BBC, she disputes Mr. Scalbers claim that she paid actress Monica Bellucci $270,800 to appear at a charity event to “whitewash” Uzbekistan’s poor human rights record. Her lawyers are seeking $48,000 in damages.

Mr. Scalbert says he can prove his claim, said the BBC

Numerous reports have described Uzbekistan as one of the worst places for human rights. Thousands of political and religious prisoners are systematically exposed to torture, abuse and eventually death. One notorious case was that of Muzafar Avazov who died in 2002 while imprisoned. According to Human Rights Watch, his remains showed clear signs of torture including large bloody wounds, heavy bruising and lack of fingernails. The medical examiners also found evidence that suggested Mr Avazov was immersed in boiling water – cooked.

Another victim of the notorious Uzbek jails, Mutabar Tadjibayeva, will be testifying for the defense. Ms Tadjibayeva is one of the most vocal human rights activists in Uzbekistan and was tortured and raped during her time in prison, which she was released from only after international pressure.

Eurasianet.org explained that plenty of other international media have called Karimov a “dictator” during his rule, but this is the first time the Karimov family has sued for libel outside of their country.

Last month, Scalbert was quoted for saying “It will be interesting to discuss in court whether Islam Karimov is a dictator or not.” The court hearing, which started on Thursday, will have witness statements from a handful of people who have been victimized by the Uzbek regime. “Islam Karimov is a dictator, and I will participate as a witness,and as a victim of torture by this dictatorial regime,” said one of the witnesses to the Telegraph.

Image provided by UZ01

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The sex assault accusations of attacking  a housekeeper in a hotel room in Manhattan were too harsh for Mr. Dominique Strauss-Kahn to handle. Therefore, on Wednesday he proceeded to resign his position as  head of the International Monetary Fund.

While leaving his position, Mr. Strauss-Kahn said, “I want to say that I deny with the greatest possible firmness all of the allegations that have been made against me.”

Early this morning, a statement released by the I.M.F, exposed some words from Mr. Strauss-Kahn, “It is with infinite sadness that I feel compelled today to present to the Executive Board my resignation from my post of managing director of the I.M.F.  I think at this time first of my wife — whom I love more than anything — of my children, of my family, of my friends.”

After Mr. Strauss Kahn’s resignation was announced, Ms. Le Pen claimed: that France needed to learn a lesson from his arrest, and guarantee “rich and poor are treated with an equal footing.”

He is being legally charged with severe accusations such as rape, forced oral sex and to force another person against her will. His arrest was conducted on Saturday, while he was in an Air France airplance. The action was taken, 10 minutes before his plane was due to depart, when two detectives of the Port Authority boarded the Air France Flight 23.

These accusations intervene with many plans ahead for MR. Straus Kahn. Not only he had a great position as a former French finance minister, but also he was a political figure that if enrolled in the presidential candidatures, he could have a great percentage to defeat President Nicolas Sarkozy.

On the other hand, the International Monetary Fund stated on Wednesday night that John Lipsky would stay as acting managing director

It is interesting to notice the reaction in France. On Wednesday, a poll conducted by CSA showed that 57 percent of people surveyed think he was “the victim of a plot.”

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During the initial international military operation in Libya, the coalition forces engaged in operation Odyssey Dawn between March 19-31. However, the operation was essentially a code word for actions of war disguised as humanitarian aid. The allied forces collaborated against Muammar Gaddafi on their mission of ‘liberation’ to save the people of Libya from their ‘bloodthirsty’ oppressor, forgetting that for several years they had a civil relationship and strong political and financial bonds with the very same man.

At the beginning, NATO’s participation and exactly who was going to be heading the mission, was a mystery. However, within a few days, France’s PM Nicola Sarkozy, took the lead in this operation. “Sarkozy likes nothing better than a crisis, a fight and a gamble,” said Financial Times columnist Peggy Hollinger. “With his approval ratings at an all-time low, this Libyan intervention could be just what he needs to revive his faltering popularity at home.” However, without the firepower of the United States in the form of Tomahawk Cruise Missiles and aircraft carrier based aircraft, nothing would have been achieved. For the U.S., Odyssey Dawn was a coming out party for America’s newest military formation, African Command (Africom). It is no accident that at the very moment that African oil reserves are becoming a major source for the United States, Washington should create a military formation for the continent. It is very important to keep in mind that the control of energy resources is always central to U.S. strategy, and with world reserves declining, the scramble to hold the petroleum high ground is always part of the agenda.

The big argument for the operation leadership was between France and England, while the Americans made their involvement obvious via missiles but reiterated that they did not intend to deploy any soldier into Libya. Washington, Paris, and London concluded that Muammar Gaddafi is not a target himself, even though his palace in Tripoli had been under attack. A missile also landed just 50 meters away of the famous tent that he used to welcome the foreign leaders in.

The types and numbers of forces against Gaddafi were massive. France, Britain, United States, Canada, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Norway and Qatar and United Arab Emirates comprised an undefeatable opponent against Gaddafi’s forces.

I’m wondering, what kind of humanitarian mission consists of fighting as well as spying aircrafts, aircraft carriers, submarines, battle cruisers, tankers, and a rain of missiles?

On the other hand, regarding Libyan forces, colonel Gaddafi is considered to have a personal army consisting of thousands of members, much more than a   simple army. However, we cannot be sure how many of them have defected so far. They have tanks, aircrafts, armed and armored vehicles for transportation, submarines, armed ships, and picket boats at their disposal. Although, many of them are either destroyed or useless.

Is this another war for oil? We all know the scenario and the answer is probably affirmative. Curiosity, somehow wouldn’t let me rest, and after a little research a dilemma suddenly appeared – Was the Libyan war being pursued for  obtaining black gold or for water?

One conspiracy theory, called New World Order (NWO), seems to suggest a link. Between the lines, since the beginning of the past century, oil magnates created a cartel to take control of all oil reserves around the planet, as well as  take some of them out of production. Nevertheless, some years ago the NWO conspirators reached the conclusion that very soon oil would be replaced as the Earth’s most valuable resource by another, less suspected one. Instead,  that valuable resources will be pure, sweet drinking water. Of course, water is an abundant resource with enough on this planet to satisfy the needs of many times the current levels of population. But, exactly as they did with oil, another abundant resource, they plan to make drinking water artificially scarce by having control over its main sources.

So, why Libya?  In late 1983, Qaddafi created the Great Man-Made River Authority. The job of the authority was to take water from the aquifers in the south, and bring it in the most efficient and economic way to the Libyan coastal belt. In 1996, the Great Man-Made River Project, reached one of its final stages, and a huge amount of sweet, unpolluted water began reaching the homes and gardens of the citizens of Libya’s capital Tripoli. The rest I leave to you.

I do not assume that all these are necessarily truth, but I believe it is important to have as much information as possible so we can make up our minds more accurately.

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Today marks the beginning of the Cannes International Film Festival at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, in the south of France. In the Danish newspaper Politiken’s online edition, film critic Kim Skotte took a look at this years selection of competing features and noted that Denmark still have what it takes to walk among titans.

For Danes, the oldest and most prestigious film festival in the world is often centered on the surprisingly consistent representation of Danish craftsmanship. You could say that after winning this years Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars, Denmark is not afraid to strut their feathers at the French Riviera. This year has Lars von Trier and his movie Melancholia as well as Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive competing while a third movie, Labrador, has been chosen for an exclusive screening in the official program.

However, the Danes do realize that the Cannes is not just about our own contributions.

If we look at the contenders for the Palme d’Or, this year sports an unusually strong mix of directors – that is, if we base our predictions on the accomplishments of these which is really all we can go on at this point. Of course, the pro can sometimes fail miserably while the virtually unknown can bring positive surprises. Guesswork aside, the battle for the golden palms is gonna be fought amongst established ‘old-timers’, upcoming talents and the odd jokers.

Besides Lars von Trier, who won the highest prize in 2000 with Dancer In The Dark, the selection holds several other winners and especially – nearly-winners.

Amazingly enough, the Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar has never won the Palms though he came close in 1999 with Todo Sobre Mi Madre (All About My Mother). This year he has a new shot with La Piel Que Habito (The Skin I live In), based on the novel Tarantula by the French crime author Thierry Jonquets. The movie is said to be a new direction for the filmmaker with a twist of old. This is founded in the fact that the story has been described by Almodóvar to Cineuropa as “a horror story without screams or frights” and stars Antonio Banderas as the troubled plastic surgeon.

The jury, headed by veteran Robert De Niro this year, has the opportunity to fall for an array of other styles however. The Belgian brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne have previously won two times already and their film Le Gamin au Velo could prove a third success.

From Italy, two strong contenders are present. Paolo Sorrentino first made an impression with his experimental Il Divo which won the Jury prize in 2008. This year is his fourth time at the French resort with his American excursion This Must Be The Place, starring Sean Penn. He is matched by Nanni Moretti, a seventh time contender who have also managed to win in 2001 with La Stanza Del Figlio (The Son’s Room)

Overall, the field is speckled with experienced people – Terrence Malik, director of The Thin Red Line, brings The Tree of Life while the Finish director Aki Kaurismäki makes his fourth appearance along with Japanese Naomi Kawase, the youngest winner of Caméra d’Or.

The scene is set for a battle of established names and talents and even though film is regarded an art form, the competition between May 11-21 could prove a fierce race, leaving us gasping for air. If you want to learn more, please visit the Festival site.

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