Barack obama challenging the economy

US President-elect Barack Obama has appointed a 17-member high-level team of advisers including billionaire investor Buffet and Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt to guide him in channelising the economy, a media report says.

"US President-elect Barack Obama has appointed a team of high-level advisers including billionaire investor Warren Buffett and Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt to guide his thoughts on the economy ahead of taking office on January 20," the Telegraph report stated.

The team, to be called the Transition Economic Advisory Board (TEAB), will meet for the first time in Chicago on Friday to discuss the state of the economy and the prospect of taking early action. Warren Buffett, Chairman and CEO, Berkshire Hathaway, would participate through speakerphone in the meeting.

Further, the report stated that Obama might use this opportunity to appoint his first Treasurer Secretary.

The advisory board has 17 members including former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker, whose name has also been connected with the Treasury job, and former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, who would also be at the meeting at the Chicago Hilton on Friday, the daily said.

At present, Robert Rubin is Chairman and Director of the Executive Committee of global financial services major Citigroup. Besides, corporate America is also well represented in the team, with Time Warner Chairman Dick Parsons and Xerox Chairman Anne Mulcahy and Schmidt, who was a loyal supporter of Obama during his election campaign, it added.

Other members of the board comprise Laura Tyson, one of Obama's key economic aides, former House of Representatives member David Bonior, two former SEC Commissioners Roel Campos and William Donaldson, and Chairman of the Midwest JP Morgan Chase William Daley, the Telegraph report said.

Further, TIAA-CREF President and CEO Roger Ferguson, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Classic Residence by Hyatt CEO Penny Pritzker, Robert Reich and Laura Tyson from the University of California and DE Shaw Managing Director Lawrence Summers are on the board, it added.

Honeymoon Places in India

hi friends,

The following places are some of the honeymoon places in India ,
Simla, Kullu-Manali,Nanital, Ooty, Darjelling, Tawang, Dalhousie, Mussoorie, Patnitop are the best bets for that cozy honeymoon. Snowfall or no snowfall, you are bound to remain glued to one another. The resorts and their romantic saunas, skiing through the ice one after the other, swaying together to the waltz held in your honor, joining some jungle camps and spending the whole night counting the shooting stars, visiting one of the Indian temples or monasteries (you know what to pray) --- your honeymoon in India’s highlands has many enchantments waiting to be explored.

Quantum of solace movie review

James Bond is back, and this time it’s mighty personal. Daniel Craig’s craggy agent picks up exactly where he left off in another bruising thriller that leaves you feeling both drained and exhilarated.

There are hand-to-hand fights that make your eyes water and old-school stunts involving motorbikes, speedboats, jet fighters and expensive cars that give you whiplash just looking at them. Really, nobody does it better than the new 007.

What makes Marc Forster’s film such an intriguing watch is that this is the first of the 22 Bond movies where the plot flows organically from the last instalment, and Quantum of Solace looks a far stronger picture for this rare continuity.

Needless to say the plot is as forbidding as the title. After the death of his girlfriend, Vesper Lynd, at the end of Casino Royale, Bond mixes revenge and duty dangerously as he hunts down the shadowy group that blackmailed Lynd to betray him.

A link to a bank account in Haiti puts Bond on the scent of Mathieu Amalric’s chief creep and ruthless businessman, Dominic Greene. All great Bond adversaries are generously blessed with kinks and quirks and Greene is no different. Amalric has a wonderfully wormy arrogance.

His sidekick, Elvis (Anatole Taubman), sports a monkish fringe, and Tarantino bad looks. But it’s the manner in which Amalric manages to poison all trust in Bond, even from his nearest and dearest, that makes him one of the classic arch-adversaries.

Cold rage threatens to derail Bond’s mission to crack Greene’s dastardly organisation known as Quantum, and I doubt that there’s a better actor at bottling rage than Daniel Craig.

All muscles, he has defined himself as a darker and more bare-knuckle Bond than any of his elegant predecessors.

The deadpan humour is still there. And despite the occasional blasts of visceral and grisly violence, Craig is threatening to become the most popular 007 yet, certainly with the younger generation.

Even the famous Bond babes seem to be getting tougher. Olga Kurylenko’s stunning, hard-as-nails beauty, Camille, has her own private vendetta that she wants to bring to a bloody conclusion, with or without Bond’s help. And Gemma Arterton’s effortlessly foxy Agent Field appeals to the better side of the wounded anti-romantic.

“Do you know how angry I am at myself,” says the naked, raven-haired M16 agent as Bond kisses his way up her spine. But Bond rarely lets a life-threatening difference of opinion get in the way of a decent flirt.

The familiar faces returning from Casino Royale pose a far more subtle, acidic test for Bond who has to tread carefully around treacherous old friends: Jeffrey Wright’s lugubrious CIA agent Felix Leiter; Giancarlo Giannini’s silky string-puller, René Mathis; Jesper Christensen’s duplicitous Mr White; and Judi Dench, of course, as his witheringly unimpressed boss, M.

“When you can’t tell your friends from your enemies it’s time to go,” growls Dench.

Of course, Bond is having none of it. There are new necks to break and toys to play with as the action rips across Austria, Italy, and South America.

The global stakes are as precarious as ever. Amalric’s masterplan to destabilise a South American regime, install a dodgy dictator, General Medrano (Joaquin Cosio), and take control of the biggest source of fresh water in the world is fabulously cock-eyed. But that’s one of the main reasons why we can’t get enough of the greatest franchise of them all.

The director, Marc Forster, has absorbed the lucrative lessons discovered in Martin Campbell’s Casino Royale. He has also managed to pace his sequel much better. Royale felt slightly wheel-clamped by one too many longeurs. If anything, the crunching chase sequences in Quantum of Solace are even more magnificently dangerous. And the daredevil leaps and tumbles through glass roofs are just as sensational as the splintering high-speed pyrotechnics.

But it’s the amount of heartache and punishment that Craig’s new Bond absorbs that makes him look so right for our times.

Bond is no longer a work in progress. He is now the cruel, finished article.

Barack obama wons the race

Democrat Barack Obama is set to be the first African-American President of the United States of America after defeating his Republican rival John McCain.

When reports last came in Obama had managed 297 Electoral College

votes as against McCain's 146 while he needed 270 to win the historic the race for the White House.

Mccain called Obama to congratulate him on victory.

US poll projections say that Obama is set to win more than 50 per cent of the vote.

"I called Obama and congratulated him. I recognise the significance of this election to African-Americans. We both recognise we've come a long way from old injustices," said John McCain, Republican candidate for President.

Mccain said: "We fought as hard as we could, failure is mine not yours."

A crowd expected to top 100,000 began gathering on Tuesday night in Grant Park in Chicago, where Obama scheduled an address after his victory.

Hundreds of thousands more - Mayor Richard Daley said he would not be surprised if a million Chicagoans jammed the streets - were expected to watch on a large television screen outside the park.

It will not be a walkover for India: Ponting

India completed a crushing victory over Australia by a record margin of 320 runs in the second Test to seize a 1-0 lead in the four-match series.

But Ricky Ponting, who has been speaking exclusively to NDTV through this series, has come up with a warning to India, said the Border-Gavaskar series won't be a walk-over for the host.

"Too early to talk about decline won't go down without fight. nothing is putting more pressure on us than the way we are playing," Ponting said.

Australia have lost experienced stars Justin Langer, Adam Gilchrist, Glenn McGrath, and Shane Warne to international retirement.

"A series win is well within our reach, it won't be a walkover for India, we can't fill in shoes of Justin Langer, Adam Gilchrist, Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne," Australian skipper said.

"Mike Hussey has been our most consistent batsman in the tour so far, we need our experienced players to play as well as they can. So, the younger players have something to look up to. This is team capable of winning this Test series. we don't care what others are saying," he said.

Ponting also played down a spat with pace spearhead Brett Lee on the fourth morning after the bowler, who has struggled in the series, had been denied a bowl throughout the session.

The Australian skipper said he had told Lee he would not bowl first up, to take the pace off and deny easy runs to Indian as they looked to declare their second innings.

"It doesn't bother me, too much was made of it, Brett understood why he hadn't bowled in the opening session, nothing is putting pressure on us other than the way we're playing our cricket, skipper said.

World largest waterfalls

• Angel Falls, the world's highest at 979 metres (3212 feet), in Venezuela
• Bridalveil Fall, California - 189 m (620 ft) high: sheer drop when flowing
• Cascata delle Marmore in Italy is the tallest man-made waterfall in the world
• Cautley Spout at 175 m (580 ft) is the highest waterfall in England
• Eas a' Chual Aluinn, at 200 m (658 ft) is the highest waterfall in Scotland and also the United Kingdom
• Gocta, the fifth-highest in the world at 771 m (2533 ft), located in the province Chachapoyas, Peru
Kaieteur Falls, (Potaro River in central Guyana) located in the Kaieteur National Park. It is 226 m (741 ft)High Force on the River Tees is one of the tallest waterfalls in England
Huangguoshu Waterfall in Anshun, Guizhou, China, the largest waterfall in Asia.Iguazu Falls, a tall and extremely wide fall located in South America on the
• Argentina/Brazil border
• Jog Falls, India's eighth-highest (listed as 314 ranking on the World Waterfall Database), located in Karnataka state, India
• Jurong Falls in Singapore is the tallest artificial waterfall in the world
• Bambarakanda Falls Sri Lanka's tallest waterfall 263 meters
• St.Clairs Falls Sri Lanka's widest waterfall 265 ft high
• Multnomah Falls: 611 feet (186 m) high 30ft wide
• Niagara Falls is the most powerful falls in North America
• Pissing Mare Falls at 350 metres (1148 ft), is the highest in eastern North America
• Ramnefjellsfossen, the world's third-highest at 808 m (2685 ft), at Stryn, Nesdalen, Norway
• Rhine Falls, Europe's largest, located in Switzerland
• Tequendama Falls a 132m high waterfall on the Bogotá River, about 30 km southwest of Bogotá in Colombia
• Tugela Falls, the world's second-highest at 947 m (3110 ft), in KwaZulu-Natal province, Republic of South Africa
• Victoria Falls, the largest waterfall in the world, over a mile long and located on the Zambezi river on the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia.
• Yosemite Falls, the second tallest in North America at 2,425 feet, is located in Yosemite National Park, United States
• Yumbilla falls, worlds 5th tallest waterfall, located in Peru
• Krimmler Falls, Austria's tallest waterfalls, height: 390 m, located in Krimml, Salzburg, Austria
• ShirAbad Waterfall, Iran, Golestan,Khanbebin,shirabad
• Waihilau Falls, the tallest waterfalls in the United States at 2,600 feet (792 meters), is located in the Waimanu Valley, Hawaii, United States
• Colonial Creek Falls, the tallest waterfalls in North America at 2,584 feet (788 meters), is located in the North Cascades National Park, Washington, United States
• Hannoki Falls, the tallest waterfall in Asia at 1,640 feet (500 meters), located in Tateyama, Japan

Tourist spot in banglore

Location : In the state of Karnataka.
Also Known as : Silicon Valley of India.
Prime Attractions : Palaces and Forts.
Temperature : Max : 37°C and Min 16°C
Population : 44,977 (1991 Census)
Altitude : 3,113 feet above sea

Bangalore is the capital city of the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is also known as the Garden City because of its many beautiful gardens and parks. Though the origin of Bangalore is ancient, the present-day city was founded in the 16th century and has since continued to be an important administrative center. Because of the high concentration of IT industry, it also called the Silicon Valley of India.

Major Attractions of Bangalore Tour Packages

The Bangalore Palace & Fort
Initially created by the Maghadi Chieftain Kempu Gowda and later modified by Tipu Sultan, the Magnificent Fort houses the 16th century Ganapati temple within its walls. The Palace and the Fort was created by the wodeyer king in the year 1887 on a 400 acres land inspired from the Windsor Castle. Built in a tudor style the fort is decorated with woods and a gallery of nearly thousand photographs of the viceroys, maharajas are of special mention.

Lal Bagh
The Lal Bagh Garden was created in the hands of Hyder Ali and his successors later added the horticulture wealth to the garden. In today's terms the garden preserves over 1000 species of rare collection of tropical plants, trees and a variety of herbs. The glass house within the garden is designed on the pattern of the Crystal house of London In winters it becomes the centre of attraction of the 240acre park. The Garden is at full bloom in the flowery season displaying all sorts of colour buds to the visitors.

Cubbon Park
Lavishly spread out in the cantonment area, the park can be watched blooming with the fountains,Lush green lawns, shady flowering trees and beautiful flowers. The charm of nature makes it an ideal park for the morning walkers and joggers. The evenings sees the colourful fountains light up and a restaurant in the centre of the park serving light refreshments to the park’s visitors.

Gangadhareshware Temple
The temple is renowned for its four monolithic pillars and a rare idol of Agni, the God of fire was built therein by the Chieftian Kempe Gowda. The rays of the sun enters the temple in the hot summer seasons passing through the horns of Nandi and the shrine of Shiva Lingam in an unusual manner as if a heavenly light has beckoned on the statue.

Government Museum
Counted among the oldest museums in India, it exhibits ancient antics from the period of Mohenjodaro which forms an interesting part of the museum to the visitors. The Venkatappa Art Gallery which brings to light the exhibition of the talented artists of the state.

Vidhana Soudha
The massive structure houses the state secretariat and is a wonder among modern architecture’s .It portrays a perfect unison of traditional architecture of Neo-Dravidian style with the touch of modernity . Built in the year 1954 the huge mansion is today the dwelling place to the state Legislature and is placed towards the northern boundary of the Cubbon Park. The doors of the buildings are created out of sandal wood and is extremely good looking in the evening when all the light are lit up.

Nearby Attractions in Bangalore Tour Packages

Bannerghata National Park
At a nearby distance of 22 km from Bangalore, the national park is abundant with exotic species of wild life. Established in the year 1971,the park preserves a variety of trees like the sandal, jalari, chujjulu, neem, tamarind and the Zizyphus among the best. It includes the Anekal range of the Bangalore forest division. The main attraction is the elephants coming from Kollegal a place nearby Tamil Nadu.