Since our site is called Odd Films, it’s almost a requirement that we include a list of David Cronenberg movies. While some of his more recent projects have been halfway normal (at least for him), earlier works are more like something an alien would make…an alien with really great hair, that is. A leading figure in the body horror movement, many of Cronenberg’s movies have dealt with themes of infection and body transformation. In addition to his directorial efforts, he’s also popped up as an actor in Jason X, Nightbreed, Blood and Donuts, as well as two episodes of the television series Alias.

Start with the David Cronenberg movies listed below, but keep in mind that the director has also helmed such films as Shivers, Rabid, The Brood, M. Butterfly, and Dead Ringers. Believe me, your life will never be the same after seeing Jeremy Irons as twin gynecologists.

• Eastern Promises (2007) – Naomi Watts is a British midwife who gets mixed up with the Russian Mafia in London while searching for the father of a recently-born child. Viggo Mortensen received an Oscar nomination for his role as Nikolai Luzhin, a driver and doer-of-dirty-deeds for the crime family. Vincent Cassel abandons his French sex symbol status to play Kirill, the unstable son of ruthless mob boss Semyon (Armin Mueller-Stahl). Cronenberg opted not to use guns in the movie, but the presence of knives still makes it a brutal affair. The most talked about scene comes when a completely naked Nikolai must fend off a pair of Chechen mobsters in a Turkish steam bath.

• Scanners (1981) – Cronenberg wrote and directed this sci-fi classic about a sinister corporation that recruits or captures those with psychic powers (known as “Scanners“). Michael Ironside plays Darryl Revok, a renegade Scanner bent on world conquest through creating an army of psychics. He’s mad, of course, and anyone who won’t join him risks having their head blown apart by his awesome mental powers. Enter good guy Cameron Vale (Stephen Lack), a Scanner who might have enough power to challenge Revok’s mad scheme. The psychic duels are something to behold, and the supporting cast includes Patrick McGoohan and Jennifer O’Neill.
• Naked Lunch (1991) – Based on the bizarre tale from writer William S. Burroughs, Naked Lunch stars Peter Weller as William Lee, an exterminator who gets involved in plots involving giant bugs, talking typewriters, and a powerful narcotic made from the guts of centipedes. Also starring Ian Holm, Julian Sands, and Roy Scheider, the film takes elements from the Naked Lunch novel but also mixes into other works from Burroughs, as well as details from his completely messed-up life.
• The Fly (1986) – Scientist Seth Brundle (Jeff Goldblum) is working the kinks out of his invention that allows inanimate objects to be teleported from one location to another. After falling for a journalist (Geena Davis), he decides to try it on himself, but he’s horrified to learn that a common housefly got inside and is now bonded with him. As Seth slowly transforms in “Brundlefly,” Cronenberg once again gets to indulge in his fascination with body horror. Not many horror remakes are better than the original, but this is the rare exception.
• Crash (1996) – James Spader and Holly Hunter plays a couple of sexual freaks who get turned on by witnessing car crashes and/or participating in them. This leads to a number of graphic sequences of wrecks and lust, and Rosanna Arquette co-stars as a woman forced to wear heavy braces on her legs (which really gets Spader’s character hot). One of the more bizarre David Cronenberg movies you’ll ever see, and that’s saying something.
• A History of Violence (2005) – Cronenberg received great critical acclaim for this film about Tom Stall (Vigo Mortensen), a mild-mannered restaurant owner who guns down a couple of bloodthirsty robbers in self-defense. He becomes a national celebrity, but soon a crazy-looking Carl Fogarty (Ed Harris) comes calling on behalf of the Irish Mob in Philadelphia. They claim Tom is actually a runaway mobster named Joey Cusack, and they want him to take a little ride with them to Philly. Also starring Maria Bello and William Hurt.

• Videodrome (1983) – James Woods stars as Max Renn, the president of a Toronto-based cable TV station who’s always on the hunt for more extreme programming for his audience. He finds it with “Videodrome” a nasty show featuring the torture and murder of anonymous victims. Initially thinking the signal comes from Malaysia, he later learns that it originates in Pittsburgh. Setting out to track it down, Max gets caught up in a disturbing web of body transformation, religious cults, and unusual sexual practices.
• eXistenZ (1999) – The world’s greatest video game designer (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and a marketing trainee (Jude Law) are forced to go on the run when a bounty is placed on her head by unknown parties. To get the answers they seek, they’ll have to go inside the world of virtual video games, but it soon becomes increasingly difficult to tell reality from fantasy. An overlooked sci-fi gem co-starring Ian Holm, Willem Dafoe, and Sarah Polley.

• The Dead Zone (1983) – An adaptation of the Stephen King bestseller, The Dead Zone centers around Johnny Smith (Christopher Walken), a schoolteacher who’s involved in an auto accident and spends the next five years in a coma. When he comes to, he realizes that he can see a person’s past, present, and future by making physical contact. As he tries to reconnect with the life he lost, he also pits his powers against a serial killer and a U.S. Senatorial candidate (Martin Sheen) bent on global annihilation.
• Spider (2002) – An exploration of a schizophrenic mind, Spider stars Ralph Fiennes as a man who’s just been released from a mental institution. As a young boy, he witnessed the murder of his mother and her replacement by his father’s mistress. Years later, he must examine these events in his mind and try to sort fact from fiction. Lauded by critics, Spider received a very limited release in theaters, no doubt to make way for the latest animated kiddie flick.

Setelah mundurnya Marion Cotillard




dari proyek COSMOPOLIS, peran itu akhirnya dipercayakan pada Keira Knightley.

Kini, aktris cantik asal Inggris ini harus bersiap-siap menjadi istri jutawan muda yang diperankan oleh Robert Pattinson . Proyek ini sendiri dipercayakan pada sutradara David Cronenberg yang sempat menggarap EASTERN PROMISES tahun 2007 lalu.
 Dua peran utama ini awalnya ditawarkan pada Colin Farell



dan Marion Cotillard namun Colin kemudian mengundurkan dan posisinya diambil alih oleh Robert Pattinson . Konon, alasan Colin mundur adalah karena ia lebih memilih proyek TOTAL RECALL yang ditawarkan padanya. Sayangnya formasi kedua ini juga berubah lantaran Marion memutuskan mundur.
Dalam berita yang dilansir Splash News disebutkan kalau Marion mundur karena jadwal yang berbenturan dengan proyek lain meski ada kemungkinan kalau kehamilan Marion juga adalah salah satu pertimbangan aktris Perancis ini.
Kalau semua lancar, Keira Knightley dan Robert Pattinson ini adalah pasangan yang dipastikan bakal berlanjut ke masa syuting. Rencananya, syuting akan dilangsungkan di New York dan Toronto mulai Mei nanti

One-tap simple.

FaceTime works right out of the box — no need to set up a special account or screen name. And using it is as easy as it gets. Let’s say you want to start a video call with your best friend. Just find her entry in your Contacts and tap the FaceTime button. Or maybe you’re already talking on a voice call with her, iPhone 4 to iPhone 4, and you want to switch to video. Just tap the FaceTime button on the screen. Either way, an invitation pops up on her screen asking if she wants to join you. When she accepts, the video call begins. It’s all perfectly seamless. And it works in both portrait and landscape modes.

Apple today announced financial results for its fiscal 2011 first quarter ended December 25, 2010. The Company posted record revenue of $26.74 billion and record net quarterly profit of $6 billion, or $6.43 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $15.68 billion and net quarterly profit of $3.38 billion, or $3.67 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 38.5 percent compared to 40.9 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 62 percent of the quarter’s revenue. “We had a phenomenal holiday quarter with record Mac, iPhone, and iPad sales,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We are firing on all cylinders, and we’ve got some exciting things in the pipeline for this year, including iPhone 4 on Verizon, which customers can’t wait to get their hands on.”

The Government's top legal adviser during the Iraq war says he was "uncomfortable" with some statements Tony Blair made before the invasion, including one to MPs.

With the Iraq inquiry resuming today after a six-month hiatus - and Tony Blair due to appear before the hearing on Friday - former attorney general Lord Goldsmith has revealed that the ex-prime minister's suggestion that Britain could attack without further UN backing was not compatible with his legal advice.
A year ago, Lord Goldsmith gave evidence to the Chilcot Inquiry into the war against Saddam Hussein.
But the peer was asked to provide a further written statement, which has now been released.
On January 14, 2003, the attorney general advised Mr Blair that UN Security Council resolution 1441 was not enough on its own to justify the use of force against Iraq.

But the next day, the PM told the Commons there were "circumstances" in which a second resolution explicitly backing military action was not necessary.
And on February 6 he told the BBC's Newsnight programme he would consider action if a UN Security Council member "unreasonably" vetoed a further resolution.
Asked whether Mr Blair's words were compatible with the advice he received, the former attorney general wrote simply: "No."
Lord Goldsmith added: "I was uncomfortable about them (the prime minister's comments).

Photography exhibition to open in Bogot

The Santa Fe Planetarium Gallery in Bogota will be the host of a new photographic exhibition called "Forums." The exhibit will be open from Wednesday, January 19, until Friday, February 11, according to a press release from the City of Bogota.
The gallery will display 74 artistic photos by award-winning artist Juan David Montoya Laserna, which depict Colombia's biggest and most well-known stadiums, arenas and sports facilities.
The photos were mostly taken at night using prolonged exposure and artificial light, and show the stadiums empty of the large crowds that typically fill the sports or entertainment arenas.
The concept of "Forums" explores the differences between the notions of "people" and "crowds," specifically the patterns of behavior associated with gathering thousands of individuals at a cultural or sporting event.
Admission to the exhibition is free.

Medellin turns 335 years old on Tuesday. Or, at least this is what the city Mayor’s office is celebrating. The territory’s history, however, can be traced further back.
In 1616, Spaniards officially founded Medellin in El Poblado. However, the valley and the area were explored by them as far back as 1541. This, of course, does not mean that indigenous peoples did not reside here before the conquistadores supposedly “discovered” America. The Aburra Valley, for example, was named after the region’s ancient pre-Columbian inhabitants.  We should not overlook the longer history the valley shares that predates 1675.
Nevertheless, along with the 30,000 gifts Paisas have donated to the city in lieu of its recognized 335 birthday, I too would like to dedicate the following three poems in memory and honor of the Aburra Valley and Medellin – the seat of the country’s International Poetry Festival and one of the only places in the world where reciting a couplet or a sonnet can fill a stadium.
Happy birthday, Medellin!
THE MOTHER
I. Aburra Valley
I was born at a young age, and though conceived in New York City at around 120 feet above sea level, I was given birth in Medellin at an elevation of 5,000 feet. “The City of Eternal Spring” cradled me with the arms of her Aburra Valley, looked at me with her emerald eyes – lined with a gilded iris – and asked for my untainted embrace. She understood I could not squeeze too hard because the frailty that comes with brittle youth, and accepted my humble and intuitive cry as a sign that no matter what distance my soon-to-come wandering life would put between us, that home would never be near the ocean, but, instead, up in the elevated mountains of the Colombian Andes, where mate de coca could help me fight off elevation sickness.
This embrace is my earliest memory. And as I make my way around the world, I am always homeward bound. I don’t want to be uprooted and transplanted to some far off land where I may forget the look in my mother’s eye and that smile when I would try to call out her name but only bubbles would form around the edges of my lips. Every step I take is somehow guided by this memory.
The mountains are my family, and though they may be distant cousins and aunts, I still know we are somehow related. On fogless days I climb on their backs, as I did when I was a child, so as to get a better view of home.
II. Medellín
This is I
questioning existence,
twenty-two years, fifty-nine days, and
twenty-one hours on the road...
hitchhiking back to my birth.
Walking backwards into the future facing the past,
reading back the words of my autobiography,
looking for any clue that may lead me to the womb of my conception
— the land that gave me birth —
Colombia.
I retrace my steps and here I am
back to Chapter 1
on the mountain tops of Andes
a day away from meeting my mother
For tomorrow I enter the town of my birth,
or at least that is what I am told,
for I do not remember being born,
but I do remember being alive.
If all I have is memory then
how do I know I truly exist?
for my existence is then taken
from the collective thoughts and words of others.
I rely on them for my existence…for my worth.
Tomorrow I enter the town of my birth
and when I get there
my pilgrimage will not end,
but finally commence.
I hope I am recognized,
for I know I must have changed some
in the process of aging,
or at least that is what I am told
For when I grow old and gray
I never want to be that guy
who sits in his rocking chair,
on his porch, smoking cigars,
trying to fog up reality,
regretting his past because he didn’t care enough
to try and find his essence.
So, rather, when I finally enter the town of my birth
I will be that guy
standing at the edge of the mountain top of Medellín,
the town I am told saw me before I was able to see it,
and it will see me again,
but this time I will be regarding it,
hoping that in its old age it will remember me.
So there I’ll be,
hollering to my mother for the first time
words I’ve wanted to say,
words I’ve wished to say
and words I have needed to say
since I can remember:
“Beginning,
oh sweet mothering beginning,
I never thought I would meet you
again.”
THE LOVER
I. My Shadow
To Medellin, the 335-year-old woman in her wedding dress, still waiting at the altar for her kiss.
Medellin, the number of wrinkles around her eyes match the ones around my cheeks. We tried to laugh as we counted them. With senility we lost track of age, so for fun we used our smile lines not only as our very own tree rings but as our life records, memoirs, chronicling our most recognizable moments.  The depth of her wrinkles remained around her lips even after the laughter had ceased; they spoke of the permanence of her joy: a memory complete and intact.
Still in our towels, we would mark one another’s faces with eyeliner trying to remember the stories of each. There was one, however, I couldn’t decipher: the one labeled # 23.
“Could you share the story of that one with me?” I once asked as she put on lipstick. While looking into the mirror she knew exactly which I was speaking of. “Weird,” said she, “I’ve never seen that one before,” then asked if she looked old in her skin.
I didn’t answer, like usual, and proceeded to kiss her at the speed of growing trees.
Medellin, her shadow walks by me every time I think of her. Even in the dark I recognize her complexion. I chase it around the house, candle in hand, trying to avoid entangling myself in the hanging hammock, and we play hide-and-go-seek. She always wins. But at night, when we are both tired, she follows me to my bed, blows out the flame, and beneath the covers we become one and the same, so much so that my own shadow becomes jealous.
Author Julián Esteban Torres López has a BA in Philosophy, BA in Communication, and MA in Justice Studies from the University of New Hampshire.  He is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the University of British Columbia Okanagan concentrating on Political Science and Latin American Studies.  A Medellín native, he is presently working as a sessional lecturer at the University of British Columbia Okanagan.  You can follow him on Twitter.

Colombian drug lords expand into emerging markets

The past decade has been a dismal one for the global War on Drugs. In Mexico, cartels fighting the authorities and one another have claimed over 30,000 victims in four years. In Afghanistan, powerful heroin traffickers continue to hamper international efforts to build lasting peace and democracy. Partly in response to ongoing drug violence, several international political leaders, including a few Latin American former heads of state, have joined activists and academics in calling for a serious debate on the future of international drug policy. California, the world’s eighth largest economy, came remarkably close to legalizing marijuana earlier this year.
Amid this growing doubt and pessimism, former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe’s U.S.-backed war on drug-funded armed groups has been a glimmer of hope for traditional restrictive drug policy. During Uribe’s eight years in office, homicide rates in the country fell roughly 50%. Drug cultivation in the country has also declined, and no individual Colombian criminal or syndicate today poses as serious a security threat as did Pablo Escobar’s Medellin Cartel in the early 1990s. In many ways, Colombia seems to be proving that the war on drug trafficking is, in fact, winnable.
Nevertheless, there are many reasons to doubt the conventional wisdom on the Colombian drug war. First, tough local law enforcement was by no means the only factor behind the relative decline of Colombian trafficking groups. By the mid-1990s, years before Plan Colombia and Uribe’s election, Mexican traffickers were taking a growing fraction of revenues from the transport of cocaine and heroin to the U.S. market. The most likely explanation for this shift is that an American-led crackdown on aerial and maritime Caribbean trafficking routes led Colombian criminals to increasingly rely on land-based routes, making Mexico a key transit point for billions of dollars worth of South American drugs. Another interpretation is that the drug trade had grown too visible in Colombia’s relatively small economy and would be far easier to disguise and protect in a large country such as Mexico. In any case, the relative weakening of Colombian mafias went hand-in-hand with the frightening rise of Mexican criminal organizations.
Second, despite significant progress in some areas, few countries would envy Colombia’s current problems with organized crime. At around 32 per 100,000 inhabitants, Colombia’s recent murder rate remains among the highest in the world and about twice as high as Mexico’s.  Drug gangs have also retained a worrying ability to corrupt government and business leaders. Just in the past few years, dozens of congressmen and military leaders were found to have collaborated with such groups. Perhaps most importantly, Colombia is still the world’s top producer of cocaine and will, for the foreseeable future, remain a key transit point between other major producing countries and consumers in North America and Europe.
If anything, the recent evolution of the drug trade in the Americas supports the old critique that global demand for illicit drugs, which remains robust, has a much bigger influence on policy outcomes than government efforts to reduce supply.
The resilience of Colombian drug gangs is particularly worrying because new markets are quickly opening up for their product. Just as the world’s most successful corporations have taken advantage of global economic integration and the rapid growth of some developing economies, so too have powerful organized crime groups expanded into emerging drug markets. While profits from American consumption have increasingly accrued to Mexican smugglers, some South American drug networks have started developing consumer bases in places as diverse as Chile, China, Egypt, and South Africa.
This phenomenon has already had repercussions in Latin America and beyond. Paco and paste, affordable forms of cocaine analogous to crack in the U.S., have been linked to rising rates of violent crime in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. The American DEA recently claimed that Colombian traffickers and Al Qaeda were collaborating to smuggle drugs through North Africa. In some West African countries that serve as key transit points for South American drugs en route to Europe, the narcotics trade has undermined already weak political institutions. Several top officials in Guinea Bissau, including a former president killed last year in a coup, have been rumored to act as the country’s chief drug traffickers.
As Colombia looks to update its security and anti-drug efforts in 2011, its leaders should be mindful that they are not necessarily fighting a weakened enemy. In the coming years, deep changes in the global economy will provide Colombian traffickers with a growing and increasingly accessible international consumer base. The most creative and entrepreneurial smugglers will eagerly exploit new profit opportunities. Unfortunately, victory in Colombia’s decades-old drug war remains elusive.

Amazon not important to Colombians: Study

A survey reveals that 67% of Colombians admit to knowing little about the Amazon region, while 73% say that what happens in the region is not important to them.
The survey, conducted by the Gaia Amazon foundation, Etnollano, and the Colombian Bussiness Council for Sustainable Development, aimed to establish what image Colombians have of the rainforest, newspaper El Tiempo reported on Friday.
Of those polled, 96% were aware of the importance of conserving water in the Amazon region, while 90% said that the rainforest contains important natural resources that need to be preserved by the government.
The first things that Colombians think about when the Amazon is mentioned are animals, water, indigenous people, peace, and beauty.
The Amazon covers 6 million square kilometers across eight countries in South America. Some 2,500 species of fish living in the Amazon river, and the rainforest contains more than 1,600 different medical plants.

A designer has told the inquest into the July 7 attacks how in 2005 she was blown from the number 30 bus in Tavistock Square onto the pavement below, where she saw her friend lying dead nearby.

Camille Scott-Bradshaw was on a talent-spotting trip to London with colleague Marie Hartley when the bomb was detonated by Habib Hussain.
"I felt like I was flying through the air," explained Mrs Scott-Bradshaw.
"I knew I was lying on the floor and there was droning in my ears."
Ms Scott-Bradshaw had been blown clear of the bus.
Helped by passers-by, she was moved by makeshift stretcher to the entrance of the British Medical Association.
"I shouted for my friend Marie. I looked over to the corner and saw lots of bodies. I knew Marie was there. I could see her hair, her bracelets and her arm.
"I feel very lucky."
Another passenger, Mark Beck was not so lucky. He told the inquest he twice nearly avoided the bombing altogether.
"I got onto one number 30 bus, but it was so slow that I got onto another. I wonder now why I did!"
Mr Beck was en route to Islington, and was sitting just feet from Hussain when the bus came to a standstill.
"People were getting off, so I decided I would too."
Mr Beck was sitting on the raised back seat of the bus.
"I leaned forward with my right leg and my right arm holding an umbrella when the bomb went off," he told the coroner's court.
"I felt no pain even though my leg had gone and my hand was hanging off."
After no-one appeared to come to his rescue, in panic and on one foot Mr Beck attempted to free himself, but he was trapped.
He told the court he lost his right leg, had reconstructive surgery on his right hand and suffered two crushed vertebrae in his neck.

The Dutch symphonic metal band Epica will perform at Jorge Isaacs Theater in Cali, Colombia February 2, according to Rockolombia's website.

Epica's sound is characterized its gothic metal foundation blended with melodious female vocals layered with strings and keyboards.

The production of Colombia's favorite sweet stuff, panela, dropped in 2010.

According to newspaper La Vanguardia, the national Panela federation announced production went from 1.5 million tons in 2009 to 1.2 million last year.

The federation is worried about 2011, as heavy rains have seriously affected sugar cane cultivation in the country.

Sofinel Baez Santos from the Dominican Republic was elected Coffee Queen 2011.

The 20-year old beauty was crowned Sunday at the final evening of the Manizales festival.

Baez Santos will be the official representative of Colombian coffee until the end of the year.

A distinguished Spanish journalist, Javier Sarda, has confirmed the rumours of a romantic relationship between Shakira and Spanish footballer Gerard Pique. He explined in great detail to Onda Cero how he witnessed the pair kissing passionately at a restaurant in Blanes, Spain.

"I saw them putting their tongues in each other's mouth," he claimed. "I cannot give more details than I have already given but I reaffirm that the relationship exists, that in a restaurant in Blanes the relationship became passionate ... and that it was she who took the initiative in a categorical, clear and transparent way."

The news comes one day after the publication of photos supposedly proving that her ex-boyfriend Antonio de la Rua cheated on her between 2007 and 2008.

The popular bullfight Corralejas de Sincelejo is set to begin Friday despite floods having devastated the northern Colombian region, reported newspaper El Universal Wednesday.

The Committee for Disaster Prevention met in the department of Sucre Tuesday to determine whether to hold the dangerous bullfights called "corralejas" that are to take place in its capital city, Sincelejo.

The ten-day-long festival involves over a dozen bulls and by even more less-than-sober amateur bullfighters who try to "tame" them within a temporary bullring constructed for the event.

The correlejas, a beloved tradition of Colombian coastal culture, claim lives and cause injuries every year. The town of Sampues saw 48 deaths this year and many recall the tragedy that struck Sincelejo in 1980 when hundreds of people were killed when the hastily constructed bullring collapsed.

Sucre was one of the areas most affected by this rainy season's harsh weather, with over 110,000 inhabitants affected by the flooding. Some believe the corralejas should not be held this year, out of respect to the victims of the floods, and because of the soggy ground which could pose a threat to the structural integrity of the bullring.

"In the midst of this natural disaster that has hit this country there is no reason for parties, and less for the corralejas," lawyer and historian Inis Amador Paternina of Sincelejo told newspaper El Espectador.

The committee decided to go ahead with the festival contingent on several safety measures, in hopes that it will boost the economy so that the region can bring aid to those in need.

Safety measures include testing the construction of the bullring, undergoing an evacuation drill, having health care on hand and preventing extremely intoxicated individuals from entering the ring.

"The object is for the citizens and visitors of Sincelejo to enjoy the festivities and be assured of their safety," said a representative of the safety committee to El Universal.

Almost since the moment it came into being, back in 1948, the National Health Service has been something of a political football.

Labour has always claimed the NHS as its own. They claimed at the time to have defended the NHS from Mrs Thatcher's free-market instincts, and Tony Blair poured billions into reviving what had become a failing institution.

In the run up to last May's General Election, the Conservatives stole Labour's thunder. David Cameron was able to draw on his own experience of the Health service and express his gratitude for the way in which the NHS had served his son Ivan. The Conservatives became trusted to protect and nurture the NHS.

During the election campaign, the Tories gave us a poster of David Cameron saying he would "cut the deficit not the NHS", and promised not to bring in "major top-down reorganisation of the NHS."

Labour accuses the Coalition government of breaking that promise, but the government HAS ringfenced NHS investment which will continue to grow (though real-terms growth will depend on what happens to inflation), and claims the current re-organisation, seen by many as the biggest since 1948, is not "top down" but "bottom up", giving more power to doctors than ever before.

The fear, expressed by the British Medical Associaiton, The Royal College of Nursing, The NHS Confederation, the Royal College of Midwives and others, as well as the big unions including Unite and Unison, is this: That what we are seeing is a kind of creeping privatisation, that groups (called consortia) of GPs making decisions about spending will inevitably have to consider cost, and that private companies will enter the market, undercut costs, and trigger a price war - and that that will be at the expense of quality.

The language being used is draconian, with words like "disaster" and "chaos" being bandied around, and dire threats that all of this will lead to hospital closures and the end of the NHS as we know it.

The government, however, insists that the quality of patient care comes first and, Health Secretary Andrew Lansley told me this morning, it always will.

Mindful that Tony Blair regretted, in retropsect, not doing enough to reform public services in the two years after he was first elected PM in 1997, Mr. Cameron seems loathe to make the same mistake.

In his speech at the Royal Society of Arts (of which yours truly is a member!), Mr Cameron offered a future of greater choice, greater indepence for public institutions, and greater competition, and he said this: That he wants "one of the great legaciesof this Govrnment to be the complete modernisation of our public services."

Direct trading among the Chilean, Colombian and Peruvian stock exchanges will be delayed from an originally expected late-January start date, as the testing period for the merger of the three bourses will be extended until March, the Santiago Stock Exchange said Monday.

The delay comes after the Lima Stock Exchange suspended its participation in the merger with its two South American counterparts as it waited for Peru's government to standardize capital gains taxes at 5%.

The integrated market, known as MILA, began a test period on Nov. 22 and was originally slated for completion by the end of January.

The stock market in Lima suspended its participation in the merger on Dec. 20 and restarted the integration process Jan. 3 after Peru's Congress decided the prior week to lower capital gains taxes to 5%.

"MILA's executive committee will meet at the beginning of March to evaluate the results of this additional round of tests, define a new period for a dry run for all participants and set a new date for startup of the MILA," the Santiago Stock Exchange said.

Once complete, MILA will be Latin America's largest stock exchange in terms of companies listed and second-largest by market capitalization, at less than half the size of Brazil's. It will have 563 listed companies, market capitalization of some $614 billion--compared to Brazil's $1.5 trillion--and an estimated initial daily trading volume of about $300 million.

Edwin Cardona converted a 71st-minute penalty to lift Colombia to a 1-1 draw with Ecuador in South American Under-20 World Cup qualifying Monday.

Ecuador took a 1-0 lead in the Group B match after Juan Cazares' 30th-minute penalty, but a draw was about the right outcome in an evenly played match.

In a late match Monday, Brazil played Paraguay in Group B.

In Sunday's opening-day matches, Argentina defeated neighbour Uruguay 2-1 and Chile beat Peru 2-0 in Group A.

The tournament ends Feb. 12 and the top four advance to the U-20 World Cup later this year in Colombia. The top two earn berths in the 2012 London Olympics.

The skeleton of the Thames whale will go on display at the Natural History Museum this weekend.

The Thames whale died in 2006 and its skeleton will go on display

The exhibit at the museum in Tring is being opened to mark the fifth anniversary of the animal's fateful journey into the London river.

The six-metre long creature was first spotted in the Thames on January 19, 2006.

It led to a two-day rescue attempt which was followed around the world.

The attempt ended when the northern bottlenose whale died from dehydration as a barge tried to take it back out to sea.

Thames whale rescue attempt

After its death the whale's skeleton was preserved for study.

The new exhibition will look at how it became stranded in the river, when it should have been in its natural home of the North Atlantic.

British film The King's Speech leads the way at this year's Bafta Film Awards, with Colin Firth nominated in the best actor category.

The film, which sees Firth play stuttering monarch King George VI, received 14 nominations.

Helena Bonham Carter is up for best supporting actress for playing his wife, Queen Elizabeth, who became the Queen Mother.

The King's Speech, which had a disappointing result at the Golden Globes when it won just one of its seven nominations, is also up for best British film.

Black Swan followed with 12 nominations, including best actress for Natalie Portman, while The Social Network, the story of the founding of Facebook, received six nominations.

Helena Bonham Carter and Colin Firth are up nominated for their roles in the film

Firth's rivals in the leading actor category are Jesse Eisenberg for The Social Network, Jeff Bridges for True Grit, Javier Bardem for Biutiful and James Franco for 127 Hours.

The British awards, known as Baftas, will be handed out February 13, two weeks before the Academy Awards in Hollywood.

They are considered an important indicator of likely Oscar success.

Kristen Stewart is best known for her role as Bella Swan in the "Twilight" series, but she has played other roles. In fact, she has played other roles extremely well and deserves recognition. Most notably, her role as Joan Jett in "The Runaways." As Joan Jett, Kristen Stewart gives an amazing performance. The movie and Kristen Stewart's portrayal of Jett, however, were overlooked and almost...

The Social Network, film tentang konflik dibalik pembuatan situs Facebook, membawa pulang piala terbanyak di Golden Globes 2011. Selain dinobatkan sebagai film terbaik, film ini pun menyabet penghargaan Best Screenplay, Best Original Score (yang dikerjakan oleh musisi Trent Reznor dan Atticus Ross), dan Best Director yang dibawa pulang oleh sang sutradara David Fincher.

Berkat aktingnya yang gemilang di film Black Swan, Natalie Portman pun membawa satu piala untuk kategori Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama.

Ini dia daftar lengkap pemenang Golden Globes 2011.

Best Motion Picture - Drama
The Social Network (2010)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama
Colin Firth for The King's Speech (2010)

Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
The Kids Are All Right (2010)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama
Natalie Portman for Black Swan (2010)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Paul Giamatti for Barney's Version (2010)

Best Television Series - Musical or Comedy
"Glee" (2009)

Best Director - Motion Picture
David Fincher for The Social Network (2010)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Melissa Leo for The Fighter (2010)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy
Jim Parsons for "The Big Bang Theory" (2007)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy
Laura Linney for "The Big C" (2010)

Best Foreign Language Film
In a Better World (2010)(Denmark)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Jane Lynch for "Glee" (2009)

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture
The Social Network (2010) - Aaron Sorkin

Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
Claire Danes for Temple Grandin (2010) (TV)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
Al Pacino for You Don't Know Jack (2010) (TV)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Annette Bening for The Kids Are All Right (2010)

Best Animated Film
Toy Story 3 (2010)

Best Original Score - Motion Picture
The Social Network (2010) - Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross

Best Original Song - Motion Picture
Burlesque (2010/I) - Diane Warren("You Haven't Seen The Last of Me")

Best Television Series - Drama
"Boardwalk Empire" (2009)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama
Steve Buscemi for "Boardwalk Empire" (2009)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Chris Colfer for "Glee" (2009)

Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
"Carlos" (2010)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama
Katey Sagal for "Sons of Anarchy" (2008)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Christian Bale for The Fighter (2010)

Before





After

Rob Pattinson, bintang "Twilight Saga" yang dikenal dengan rambut coklatnya,kali ini tampil berbeda seperti Pangeran Harry di 'Karpet Merah' pada acara penghargaan Golden Globe Awards -- memperlihatkan rambut barunya yang berwarna merah.

Jadi apa maksud dari rambut merahnya?

"Saya harus selalu berganti warna rambut antara dua film," kata Rob kepada E! News tentang peran barunya di film "Breaking Dawn and Water for Elephants."

"Saya pikir itu perubahan yang bagus," candanya soal penampilan barunya.

Karpet Merah Golden Globes 2011

1. Foto oleh Jason Merritt/Getty Images
   Helena Bonham Carter tampil nyentrik dengan sepatu berbeda warna.

You change your mind
Like a girl changes clothes
Yeah you, PMS
Like a bitch
I would know

And you over think
Always speak
Cryptically

I should know
That you're no good for me

[CHORUS]
Cause you're hot then you're cold
You're yes then you're no
You're in then you're out
You're up then you're down
You're wrong when it's right
It's black and it's white
We fight, we break up
We kiss, we make up
(you) You don't really want to stay, no
(but you) But you don't really want to go-o
You're hot then you're cold
You're yes then you're no
You're in then you're out
You're up then you're down

We used to be
Just like twins
So in sync
The same energy
Now's a dead battery
Used to laugh bout nothing
Now you're plain boring

I should know that
You're not gonna change

[CHORUS]

Someone call the doctor
Got a case of a love bi-polar
Stuck on a roller coaster
Can't get off this ride

You change your mind
Like a girl changes clothes

[CHORUS 2:]
Cause you're hot then you're cold
You're yes then you're no
You're in then you're out
You're up then you're down
You're wrong when it's right
It's black and it's white
We fight, we break up
We kiss, we make up
You're hot then you're cold
You're yes then you're no
You're in then you're out
You're up then you're down
You're wrong when it's right
It's black and it's white
We fight, we break up
We kiss, we make up
(you) You don't really want to stay, no
(but you) But you don't really want to go-o
You're hot then you're cold
You're yes then you're no
You're in then you're out
You're up then you're down, down...

I am not the type of girl
Who should be rudely barging in
On a white veil occasion
But you are not the type of boy
Who should be marrying the wrong girl

I sneak in and see her friends
And her snotty little family
All dressed in pastel

And she is yelling at a bridesmaid
Somewhere back inside a room
Wearing a gown shaped like a pastry

This is surely not
What you thought it would be
And I lose myself in a daydream
Where I stand and say:

Don't say yes, run away now
I'll meet you when you're out
Of the church at the back door

Don't wait or say a single vow
You need to hear me out
When they said "speak now"

Fun gestures are exchanged
And the organ starts to play
A song that sounds like a death march

And I am hiding in the curtains
It seems that I was uninvited
By your lovely bride-to-be

She floats down the aisle
Like a pageant queen
But I know you wish it was me
You wish it was me (Don't cha?)

Don't say yes, run away now
I'll meet you when you're out
Of the church at the back door

Don't wait or say a single vow
You need to hear me out
When they said "speak now"

[ From: http://www.metrolyrics.com/speak-now-lyrics-taylor-swift.html ]


Don't say yes, run away now
I'll meet you when you're out
Of the church at the back door

Don't wait or say a single vow
Your time is running out
When they said, "speak now"

Oh Oh Oh! ( said speak now.... )


I hear the preacher say
"Speak now or forever hold..old your pe pea pea--ce
There's the silence, there's my last chance
I stand up with shaking hands, all eyes on me

Horrified looks from
Everyone in the room
But I'm only looking at you.

I am not the type of girl
Who should be rudely barging in
On a white veil occasion
But you are NOT the type of boy
Who should be marrying the wrong girl!!!!!

Don't say yes, run away now
I'll meet you when you're out
Of the church at the back door

Don't wait or say a single vow
You need to hear me out
And they said, "speak now"

You Say
Let's run away now
I'll meet you when
I'm out of my tux at the back door

Baby, I didn't say my vows
So glad you were around when they said
"Speak now"