Mody most searched politician 2013:Google

BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi has emerged as the most searched politician on Google in the country this year, according to the search giant's annual Zeitgeist. Interestingly, Mr. Modi’s coronation tops the list of the most searched news in 2013.


The Google India Zeitgeist tracks the year's major events and trends based on Google searches conducted in the country.


Second on the list on ‘top searched politicians’ is Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, followed by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa. Other politicians in the top 10 are Arvind Kejriwal, Akhilesh Yadav, Nitesh Kumar, Digvijaya Singh and Sushma Swaraj.

Let Her Go-Passenger cover

Highway

bullet colliding picture

Nearly 160 yrs ago, a Frenchman and a Russian fired at one another in the Crimean War and their bullets collided.

Range Rover Sport- EMPTY QUARTER doc

Bajaja Discover100M reiview

The Bajaj Discover onslaught continues unabated and the latest is the new 100M which makes its intentions clear — the M stands for mileage. Available in disc and drum front brake variants, Bajaj says the bike will play in the mileage segment one step off the bottom, a segment that, according to the Pune-based manufacturer, accounts for 46 per cent of the Indian motorcycle market. The Discover 100 and the 100T also play in this segment, but so far market share is 20 per cent and Bajaj wants more. Will the 100M deliver? Let’s find out.
Styling, build and finish








Bajaj have chosen to stick with the design of the Discover, but the 100M is smaller than its siblings. The biggest clue is the tank which is dimensionally smaller than its other eponymous siblings though it is the same shape overall. Similarly, the seat is also shorter in length end to end and so forth. The overall impact of the motorcycle dissipates a bit because it might be a new bike but it manages to look startlingly like every other Discover. What familiarly breeds in this case is up to you. Strong visual associations can reinforce the values a brand stand for, but it can also cause ennui and disinterest.








What is also the same, and this is a good thing, is that the 100M, despite the lower intended price, is as well made as any of the other Discos, be it in terms of finish levels or in terms of paint quality.
Engine, gearbox and performance






The undersquare 102cc engine is based firmly on the new Discovers but has been retuned for economy, trading in a bit of power in the process. That said, the 9.3PS at 8,000rpm is still better than almost everyone else in the segment. What is really impressive though is the torque. The motorcycle makes 9.02Nm at 6,000rpm, but it’s a much flatter curve, says Bajaj. In the real world, this bears out because you can ride the motorcycle really quickly and smoothly without using the revs for support or a lot of gearchanges. During our economy run – 68.05kmpl in the city – the Discover felt rapid through traffic, though the revs were being kept tightly in check. The gearbox also is more precise in shifting, though I still don’t like all-up shift pattern. First feels a bit low in gearing terms but with a light clutch and nice spread of torque, this is an easy, calm motorcycle to commute on. Top speed is 92.4kmph. There is, however, just a hint of vibration in the pegs in some parts of the rev range and the vibration really becomes noticeable once you cross 70-80kmph, but it’s a sensation that exists not an annoyance.
Ride, handling and braking


This is the newest part of the motorcycle. It is a little hard to believe that a motorcycle that has the 26.5 degree rake and 0.6mm less trail than the 100T is a new platform. But Bajaj say it is. They started with the intention of using a smaller wheelbase — the 100M spans 1255mm to the 100T’s 1305mm — but ended with more or less the exact same front-end geometry as the 100T. On the other hand, the swingarm has dropped from the 527mm of the 100T to 495mm on the 100M. The frame itself is the same configuration, a single downtube that splits into a twin-tube cradle underneath the engine.


What I was surprised by is the stiff-sporty feeling from the 100M. Given its intended role, I was expecting a softer motorcycle but the 100M isn’t. It feels stiffer and while it absorbs bumps it feels taut. Handling is also, similarly, extremely agile. Slicing through traffic is as easy as pie and the 100M really flies through traffic if you are in that kind of mood.





The front disc brake is set up with a strong initial bite


Adding to that sense of sportiness is the front disc brake, which is set up with a strong initial bite. A softer fork setup might have caused excessive dive, but as is, the 100M feels great on the brakes, although I think new riders using their first disc brakes will need to learn the nature of the disc before they can use it effectively — it’s just the slightest bit too sharp on the initial bite.


It sounds odd but while the Eurogrip tyres on the bike are far better than Eurogrips from as little as two-three years ago, I’d bet that the 100M on stickier tyres would actually be very interesting to ride quickly around a twisty stretch.
Verdict








The 100M is a neat motorcycle that understands its role but brings a bit of sizzle with a bit of extra power, lots of torque and extremely agile handling to a generally staid, economy and value-oriented segment. Its price, Rs 49,000 ex-Delhi for the disc version and Rs 46,000 ex-Delhi for the drum variant, puts it in the cutthroat ballpark that is home to the likes of the Dream Yuga, Dream Neo, Splendor Pro and the Passion Pro. Almost literally the heart of the Indian motorcycle market. Its fortunes will be closely watched and have big implications. Bajaj also indicated that they are expecting some cannibalisation between the 100M and the (older) 100 which remains on sale at about Rs 1,500 less than the drum 100M. They’d be happy to see the market move whole and soul to the 100M.


We think the 100M is a very interesting economy segment option and we feel a full-on 100cc segment comparison test is now due.

Assembly election results: 'Aam Aadmi' celebrates historic debut in Delhi

New Delhi: Dr Harkirat Singh Kapoor, a pediatric doctor from East of Kailash, can barely hold back tears as he hugs those who have gathered outside the Aam Aadmi Party headquarters in New Delhi.

For two months, Dr Kapoor locked his clinic in Amar Colony and spent hours going door-to-door canvassing for Saurabh Bhardwaj, a 34-year-old engineer and the AAP candidate from Greater Kailash, against Ajay Malhotra, son of veteran BJP leader Vijay Kumar Malhotra.

He suddenly breaks into Bhangra as the loudspeaker at the AAP office declares that Mr Bhardwaj is consolidating his lead. Salim Khan, a union leader from Kota in Rajasthan, joins in the impromptu dance. (Kejriwal sweeps Sheila right out of her constituency)

"I have been working for AAP for months and have waited for today when it will be our moment," says Khan. "I will now work to raise the AAP in Rajasthan," he says.

Since morning today, drums have not stopped for a moment at the AAP headquarters. With each passing moment, more people pour in the narrow lane; some wearing the white cap, others with brooms in their hands. (Bewaqoof hain na, says upset Sheila Dikshit)

Perched on a gate nearby are three women who haven't stopped dancing and waving the party flag: a white cloth with pictures of Arvind Kejriwal and a big broom on it.

"Our candidate from Sadar has won," shouts out Pushpa, a homemaker from Sadar Bazar area. Her friends can barely hold on to her to make sure they don't fall off the wall.

With results still coming in, I ask Mrs Bhatnagar, a homemaker and tutor, on how she would feel if AAP is not able to form the government in Delhi. "The BJP has been winning from Janakpuri and I wanted to try someone new. So I voted for AAP. Even if it can't form the government, it will ensure that the BJP will be on its toes with AAP in the opposition."

"Whether we make the government or not we have already won," adds retired colonel Anil Malhotra, "AAPs victory is a wake-up call to leaders across India to deliver on promises as the party will now take them on across the country."

That could be the heady feeling of success talking, but then again, both the BJP and the Congress had written off AAP and even questioned if it was a party. Most exit polls also seemed to have grossly undervalued the party and the mood in the nation's capital.

Whether it forms the government or sits in the opposition, AAP, born out of a massive anti-corruption movement, has its work cut out. There are big expectations. Today, however, the 'Aam Aadmi' is celebrating on the streets, aware that they have just made history.

A TRIBUTE TO PAUL WALKER

Centre to stick with 10 district Telangana, junks 12 district Rayala Telangana proposal

The Cabinet has finally approved a Parliamentary Bill for the creation of a separate state of Telangana with 10 districts on Thursday night, despite the GoM's recommendation of Rayala Telangana with 12 districts. The Cabinet also approved Hyderabad as the common capital of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh for a period not exceeding a decade, said Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde.


According to latest reports coming in, the Centre has decided to stick to a 10-district Telangana rather than the Rayala Telangana state with 12 districts.

Even though the Group of Ministers (GoM) on Telangana has expressed its preference for Rayala Telangana in its report, sources say the Cabinet may still go with what the CWC cleared, which is Telangana with 10 districts. This is also the first sign that the Congress is feeling the heat after exit polls on Wednesday predicted a rout for the party on Dec 8 when results come in for the four states that went to polls recently.

300:rise of an empire

Paul Walker's autopsy completed

Late actor Paul Walker's autopsy has reportedly been completed by the coroner and the results will be announced soon.

The "Fast & Furious" actor and his friend Roger Rodas died Saturday in a fiery car crash in Santa Clarita, California.

Tmz.com reports that the coroner said the autopsies on both bodies are now complete, but they're still waiting to find out the exact cause of death. The findings could be announced later Wednesday.

The autopsy was delayed because the bodies were not identifiable and the coroner had demanded the dental records of both of them.

The coroner also hopes to make positive ID on both bodies. The result are expected to be released any time now, reports tmz.com.

The cause of the accident is still under investigation.

linkin park cover- rolling in deep (Adele)

Sonu Nigam- MTV Unplugged beautiful song

aadat+all rise mash up

Horrific and deadly drifting accident

HISTORY Need for Speed

Need for Speed Rivals Review IGN

now we are free (Gladiator theme)

He's a Pirate instrumental

LG 700E SHAPE settings

Watch Dogs 14mins

Sir C.V.RAMAN's birthday

Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, FRS (7 November 1888 – 21 November 1970) was an Indian physicist whose work was influential in the growth of science. He was the recipient of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1930 for the discovery that when light traverses a transparent material, some of the deflected light changes in wavelength. This phenomenon is now called Raman scattering and is the result of the Raman effect.

Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman
Native name	சந்திரசேகர வெங்கட ராமன்
Born	7 November 1888 Thiruvanaikoil, Trichinopoly,Madras Province, British India
Died	21 November 1970 (aged 82) Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Nationality	Indian
Fields	Physics
Institutions	Indian Finance Department[1] University of Calcutta Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science Indian Institute of Science Central College, Bangalore University Raman Research Institute
Alma mater	University of Madras
Doctoral students	G. N. Ramachandran Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai
Known for	Raman effect
Notable awards	Knight Bachelor (1929) Nobel Prize in Physics (1930) Bharat Ratna (1954) Lenin Peace Prize (1957)
Spouse	Lokasundari Ammal (1907–1970)

Digital microscope with Smartphone

Chinese Scientists Invent Lightbulbs That Emit Wi-Fi

18th Oct 2013 | 22:00



A group of Chinese scientists at Shanghai's Fudan University have a bright idea: A lightbulb that produces its own Wi-Fi signal. According to Xinhua, the technology is called Li-Fi, and the prototype actually works better than the average connection in China.

As many as four computers placed near a Li-Fi bulb can connect to the net, using light frequencies rather than the usual radio waves. The bulb is embedded with a microchip that produces a signal, yielding rates as fast as 150 mbps—far faster than typical connection speeds in China, and about three times faster than the speed I'm getting right now. (Seriously, I just did a speed test.)

One of the perks of Li-Fi is that it's affordable. Have a lightbulb and a Li-Fi kit? Boom—you have internet. Next month, researchers are showing off 10 sample kits at a trade show in China, and the country is moving in a direction that could make Li-Fi a practical and commercially viable asset—especially since, as Xinhua reports, Chinese people are quickly replacing old fashioned incandescent bulbs with LEDs.

Of course, there are still a few technical details—mostly dealing with microchip design and manufacturing—that would need to fall into place before Li-Fi becomes ubiquitous. So for now, Li-Fi remains an experiment with a bright future.

John Newman-love me again pump up the volume n listen

caught with canvas 4

Roja song (Instrumental)

This Is What We Paid For (real face of Chandrababu Naidu and his VISION 2020)

Britain’s foreign aid has been used to bankroll a programme for mass starvation

By George Monbiot. Published in the Guardian 18th May 2004

Tony Blair has lost the election. It’s true he wasn’t standing, but we won’t split hairs. His policies have just been put to the test by an electorate blessed with a viable opposition, and crushed. In throwing him out of their lives, the voters of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh may have destroyed the world’s most dangerous economic experiment.

Chandrababu Naidu, the state’s chief minister, was the West’s favourite Indian. Tony Blair and Bill Clinton both visited him in Hyderabad, the state capital. Time magazine named him South Asian of the Year; the governor of Illinois created a Naidu Day in his honour, and the British government and the World Bank flooded his state with money. They loved him because he did what he was told.

Naidu realised that to sustain power he must surrender it. He knew that as long as he gave the global powers what they wanted, he would receive the money and stature which count for so much in Indian politics. So instead of devising his own programme, he handed the job to the US consultancy company McKinsey.

McKinsey’s scheme, “Vision 2020″, is one of those documents whose summary says one thing and whose contents quite another.(1) It begins, for example, by insisting that education and healthcare must be made available to everyone. Only later do you discover that the state’s hospitals and universities are to be privatised and funded by “user charges”.(2) It extols small businesses but, way beyond the point at which most people stop reading, reveals that it intends to “eliminate” the laws which defend them,(3) and replace small investors, who “lack motivation”, with “large corporations”.(4) It claims it will “generate employment” in the countryside, and goes on to insist that over 20 million people should be thrown off the land.(5)

Put all these – and the other proposals for privatisation, deregulation and the shrinking of the state – together, and you see that McKinsey has unwittingly developed a blueprint for mass starvation. You dispossess 20 million farmers from the land just as the state is reducing the number of its employees and foreign corporations are “rationalising” the rest of the workforce, and you end up with millions without work or state support. “The State’s people,” McKinsey warns, “will need to be enlightened about the benefits of change.”(6)

McKinsey’s vision was not confined to Naidu’s government. Once he had implemented these policies, Andhra Pradesh “should seize opportunities to lead other states in such reform, becoming, in the process, the benchmark state.”(7) Foreign donors would pay for the experiment, then seek to persuade other parts of the developing world to follow Naidu’s example.

There is something familiar about all this, and McKinsey have been kind enough to jog our memories. Vision 2020 contains 11 glowing references to Chile’s experiment in the 1980s. General Pinochet handed the economic management of his country to a group of neoliberal economists known as the Chicago Boys. They privatised social provision, tore up the laws protecting workers and the environment and handed the economy to multinational companies. The result was a bonanza for big business, and a staggering growth in debt, unemployment, homelessness and malnutrition.(8) The plan was funded by the United States in the hope that it could be rolled out around the world.

Pinochet’s understudy was bankrolled by Britain. In July 2001 Clare Short, then secretary of state for development, finally admitted to parliament that, despite numerous official denials, Britain was funding Vision 2020.(9) Blair’s government has financed the state’s economic reform programme, its privatisation of the power sector and its “centre for good governance” (which means as little governance as possible).(10) Our taxes also fund the “implementation secretariat” for the state’s privatisation programme. The secretariat is run, at Britain’s insistence, by the far-right business lobby group the Adam Smith Institute.(11) The money for all this comes out of Britain’s foreign aid budget.

It is not hard to see why Blair’s government is doing this. As Stephen Byers revealed when he was secretary of state for trade and industry, “the UK Government has designated India as one of the UK’s 15 campaign markets.”(12) The campaign is to expand the opportunities for British capital. The people of Andhra Pradesh know what this means: they call it “the return of the East India Company”.

This isn’t the only aspect of British history which is being repeated in Andhra Pradesh. There’s something uncanny about the way in which the scandals that surrounded Tony Blair during his first term in office are recurring there. Bernie Ecclestone, the Formula 1 boss who gave Labour £1 million and later received an exemption from the ban on tobacco advertising, was negotiating with Naidu to bring his sport to Hyderabad. I have been shown the leaked minutes of a state cabinet meeting on January 10th this year.(13) McKinsey, they reveal, instructed the cabinet that Hyderabad should be a “world class futuristic city with Formula 1 as a core component.” To make it viable, however, there would be a “state support requirement of Rs400-600 crs”(4 billion to 6 billion rupees).(14) This means a state subsidy for Formula 1 of £50million to £75m a year. It is worth noting that thousands of people in Andhra Pradesh now die of malnutrition-related diseases because Naidu had previously cut the subsidy for food.

Then the minutes become even more interesting. Ecclestone’s Formula 1, they note, should be exempted from the Indian ban on tobacco advertising. Mr Naidu had already “addressed the PM as well as the Health Minister in this regard” and was hoping to enact “state legislation creating an exemption to the Act”. (15)

The Hinduja brothers, the businessmen facing criminal charges in India who were given British passports after Peter Mandelson intervened on their behalf, have also been sniffing round Vision 2020. Another set of leaked minutes I have obtained shows that in 1999 their representatives held a secret meeting in London with the Indian attorney-general and the British government’s export credit guarantee department, to help them obtain the backing required to build a power station under Naidu’s privatisation programme.(16) When the attorney-general began lobbying the Indian government on their behalf, this caused yet another Hinduja scandal.

The results of the programme we have been funding are plain to see. During the hungry season, hundreds of thousands of people in Andhra Pradesh are now kept alive on gruel supplied by charities.(17) Last year hundreds of children died in an encephalitis outbreak because of the shortage of state-run hospitals.(18) The state government’s own figures suggest that 77% of the population has fallen below the poverty line.(19) The measurement criteria are not consistent, but this appears to be a massive rise. In 1993 there was one bus a week taking migrant workers from a depot in Andhra Pradesh to Mumbai. Today there are 34. (20) The dispossessed must reduce themselves to the transplanted coolies of Blair’s new empire.

Luckily, democracy still functions in India. In 1999, Naidu’s party won 29 seats, leaving Congress with five. Last week those results were precisely reversed. We can’t yet vote Tony Blair out of office in Britain, but in Andhra Pradesh they have done the job on our behalf.

www.monbiot.com

References:

1. Vision 2020 can be read at http://www.aponline.gov.in/quick%20links/vision2020/vision2020.html

2. Vision 2020, Page 96.

3. Vision 2020, page 42.

4. Vision 2020, page 195.

5. Vision 2020, page 170. This is worded as follows: ?However, agriculture?s share of employment will actually reduce, from the current 70 per cent [of the population of 76 million] to 40-45 per cent?.

6. Vision 2020, page 158.

7. Vision 2020, page 333.

8. The figures have been tabulated by Tom Huppi in the document Chile: the Laboratory Test, which can be found at http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/L-chichile.htm

9. Clare Short, 20th July 2001. Parliamentary answer to Alan Simpson MP. Hansard Column 475W.

10. The full list can be read at http://www.dfidindia.org/

11. Government of Andhra Pradesh, ?2002. Strategy Paper on Public Sector Reform and Privatisation of State Owned Enterprises.

12. Department of Trade and Industry, 6th January 2000. Byers to Help UK SMEs Foster Export Links with India. Press release.

13. Government of Andhra Pradesh. Minutes of Cabinet sub-committee meeting on 10th January 2004.

14. ibid.

15. ibid.

16. Clifford Chance solicitors, 3rd June 1999. Vizag – Meeting with the Attorney-General. Fax transmission.

17. Eg P. Sainath, 15th June 2003. The politics of free lunches. The Hindu.

18. Eg K.G. Kannabiran and K. Balagopal, 14th December 2003. Governance & Police impunity in Andhra Pradesh: World Bank urged not to make loan. Peoples’ Union for Civil Liberties and Human Rights Forum, Andhra Pradesh.

19. Government of Andhra Pradesh. Draft Report of the Rural Poverty Reduction Task Force. Cited in D. Bandyopadhyay, March 17th 2001. Andhra Pradesh: Looking Beyond Vision 2020. Economic and Political Weekly.

20. P Sainath, June 2003. The Bus to Mumbai. http://www.indiatogether.org/2003/jun/psa-bus.htm

Cabinet clears Telangana, Hyderabad to be joint capital for 10 years

NEW DELHI: The Centre on Thursday took the first significant step towards creation of a separate Telangana state from out of Andhra Pradesh and decided that Hyderabad will be the joint capital of the two states for 10 years.

Over two months after the Congress Working Committee put its seal of approval, the Union Cabinet approved the proposal of the home ministry for creation of the 29th state and decided to set up a Group of Ministers (GoM) to work out modalities.

"The Cabinet has given its approval for the creation of a new state of Telangana," home ministerSushilkumar Shinde told reporters after the meeting that lasted more than two hours.

He said it was decided that Hyderabad will be the common capital of the two bifurcated states for 10 years.

After the creation of the new state, the security and guarantees including fundamental rights of the people of coastal Andhra, Rayalaseema and Telangana will be ensured, he said.

The Cabinet approved a GoM that will go into the issue of a special financial disbursement that may be required from the central government for the residuary state of Andhra Pradesh, for building its capital and to cater to special needs of the backward regions.

The new state will have a geographical area of 10 of the 23 districts of undivided Andhra Pradesh. Today's decision brings to fruition the announcement made by the then home minister P Chidambaram on December 9, 2009 for creation of Telangana.

Telanagana sayudha sangham army before merging with Andhra

Osmania Hospital before merging with Andhra

Tom Clancy, US thriller author, dead

NEW YORK: Tom Clancy, whose high-tech, Cold War thrillers such as "The Hunt for Red October" and "Patriot Games" made him the most widely read and influential military novelist of his time, has died. He was 66.

Penguin Group (USA) said Wednesday that Clancy died Tuesday in Baltimore. The publisher did not disclose a cause of death.
Clancy arrived on best-seller lists in 1984 with "The Hunt for Red October." He sold the manuscript to the first publisher he tried, the Naval Institute Press, which had never bought original fiction.
A string of other best-sellers soon followed, including "Red Storm Rising," "Patriot Games," "The Cardinal of the Kremlin," "Clear and Present Danger," "The Sum of All Fears," and "Without Remorse."
Clancy had said his dream had been simply to publish a book, hopefully a good one, so that he would be in the Library of Congress catalog. Several of his books were later made into movies, with the latest, based on desk-jockey CIA hero "Jack Ryan," set for release later this year.
His 17th novel, "Command Authority," is due out that same month from G P Putnam's Sons.
Born in Baltimore on April 12, 1947 to a mailman and his wife, Clancy entered Loyola College as a physics major, but switched to English as a sophomore, saying later that he wasn't smart enough for the rigors of science.
Ironically, his novels carried stiff doses of scientific data and military detail.

After graduation in 1969, he married his wife Wanda and joined her family's insurance business, all the while scribbling down ideas for a novel.

In 1979, Clancy began "Patriot Games," in which he invented his hero, CIA agent Jack Ryan. In 1982, he put it aside and started "The Hunt For Red October," basing it on a real incident in November 1979, in which a Soviet missile frigate called the Storozhevoy attempted to defect.

In real life, the ship didn't make it, but in Clancy's book, the defection is a success.
By a stroke of luck, President Reagan got "Red October" as a Christmas gift and quipped at a dinner that he was losing sleep because he couldn't put the book down, a statement Clancy later said helped put him on the New York Times best-seller list.
It led to a string of hits, both on the page and in Hollywood blockbusters. He even ventured into video games with the best-selling "Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier," "Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction" and "Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent."

"He was a consummate author, creating the modern-day thriller, and was one of the most visionary storytellers of our time," Penguin Group (USA)'s executive David Shanks said in a statement Wednesday.

Clancy continued to play off, and sometimes almost anticipate, world events, as in the pre-9/11 paranoid thriller "Debt of Honor," in which a jumbo jet destroys the US Capitol during a joint meeting of Congress.



The latest Jack Ryan movie, directed by Kenneth Branagh and starring Chris Pine, is set for release in the US on Christmas Day. Keira Knightly plays Jack Ryan's wife and Kevin Costner plays his mentor at the CIA.

Clancy resided in rural Maryland, and in 1993 he joined a group of investors led by Baltimore attorney Peter Angelos who bought baseball's Baltimore Orioles from businessman Eli Jacobs.

hobbit 2 trailer

Meet BlackBerry buyer, India-born Prem Watsa

 TORONTO: As soon as Prem Watsa stepped down from Blackberry's board in August, speculation that he would launch a bid for the troubled smartphone maker started to swirl. Six weeks later, the man some call Canada's Warren Buffett has delivered, beginning a rescue project he once said could take four or five years.

Just over a year ago, Watsa said BlackBerry was a "Canadian success story," a good buy and a likely turnaround story even though its market share was tumbling.

BlackBerry's fortunes have only deteriorated since then, with the latest blow coming on Friday, when Blackberry said it would cut more than a third of its workforce as it retreats from the consumer market in favor of its traditional strength serving businesses and governments.

But Watsa, chief executive of Fairfax Financial Holding, which is the top BlackBerry shareholder, is an old hand at looking wrong today and right tomorrow.

On Monday, BlackBerry said it agreed to be acquired by a consortium led by Fairfax for $4.7 billion, a move observers said could allow the company to put its house back in order out of the public eye.

Fairfax, both an insurance holding company and Watsa's investment vehicle, was on the losing end of bets against the market in the mid 2000s as Watsa waited for the US mortgage industry to collapse.

The company's stock fell by 50% between mid-2003 and mid-2006 as Watsa's purchases of credit default swaps flattened profits, while rivals feasted on a housing-fed bull market.

But when the market began to weaken in 2007, Fairfax began notching up investment gains, pulling in billion-dollar profits in 2007 and 2008. Then with markets still reeling and other investors licking their wounds, Watsa started to plow money back into equities, bringing another strong year in 2009.

Since their 2006 low of C$100, Fairfax's shares have more than quadrupled.

Indeed, Watsa had already shown his investment chops by selling stock ahead of the 1987 stock market crash and buying Japanese puts - or rights to sell stocks at guaranteed prices - ahead of the Tokyo market's collapse in 1990.
Low profile
Watsa, born in 1950 in Hyderabad, India, and trained as a chemical engineer, has a public profile that has at times bordered on the reclusive since he took over Fairfax in 1985. For his first 15 years at the company, he barely spoke to a reporter, and he only started holding investor conference calls in 2001.

Fairfax has generally not been known as an activist investor, but Watsa has not shied away from a fight, launching a $6 billion lawsuit against a group of hedge funds in 2006, accusing them of conspiring to the drive the company's shares down so they could be shorted.

A short position enables an investor to profit when a stock drops.

To be sure, not all Watsa's moves have been golden. Fairfax had to write off most of its investment in Winnipeg-based media company Canwest in 2009 as the company filed for bankruptcy protection. It also wrote down a significant investment in publisher Torstar in 2008-09.

Speaking last year, Watsa suggested investors looking for a short-term rebound in BlackBerry might be disappointed.

"Is it going to turn around in three months, six months, nine months? No," he told reporters. "But if you're looking four, five years ... We make investments over four or five years."
Canada's Buffett?
Like billionaire Warren Buffett, an investor Watsa says he admires, Watsa preaches a long view that suggests it may be too early to assess his decision to buy into BlackBerry.

As it sits now, BlackBerry has not been a turnaround story under Watsa's watch. Since January 2012, a period when Fairfax has raised its stake in the company from a little more than 2% to just under 10%, BlackBerry's share price has slumped.

"Prem invests for the long term," Paul Holden, an analyst at CIBC World Markets who follows Fairfax, said earlier this year. "He's held his major stake now for what I would say is a fairly short period of time relative to his investment horizon, so I would say it's probably too early to put any score on that investment."

Watsa stepped down from the BlackBerry board of directors in August, citing a potential conflict of interest, as the company said it was exploring the sale of itself and other options.

caught with canvas 3

caught with canvas 2

No going back on Telangana: Congress

Union information and broadcasting minister Manish Tewari made this clear while responding to queries from the media on the draft cabinet note on Telangana after the meeting of the Union cabinet here on Friday.


NEW DELHI: The Congress made it clear on Friday that there was no going back on the process of creating Telangana and that theassembly elections in five states will not come in the way of the bifurcation process.

Union information and broadcasting ministerManish Tewari made this clear while responding to queries from the media on the draft cabinet note on Telangana after the meeting of the Union cabinet here on Friday. Although Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde had indicated on Thursday that the draft note was ready, it did not figure in the cabinet agenda on Friday. The cabinet note will be presented before the Union cabinet after getting the political clearance (from Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh), Tewari said.

"On the question of Telangana, there have been sensitivities. It's a process that has been under consideration for a fairly long period of time and after very detailed deliberations, after perusing the report of a commission appointed by the Government of India, a certain decision has been taken. Those decisions obviously continue to hold," he said.

"With regards to fleshing them out in terms of implementation, if I correctly recall, the Home minister had made it clear that the process is underway," Tewari said. He also replied in the negative when asked as to whether the announcement of assembly elections in five states and thereby model code of conduct coming into force could further delay the decision on Telangana. "These are two separate issues. Despite the election, the T-process will go on," he said.

Apart from the draft note on Telangana, the Union cabinet will also consider the recommendations of the A K Antony committee that is looking into the apprehensions of the Seemandhra Congress leaders over the bifurcation. The Cabinet, after giving its approval to the creation of a separate Telangana state, is expected to set up a Group of Ministers (GoM) to go threadbare into the issues arising out of the bifurcation. That is likely to be followed by a resolution sent to the AP assembly regarding the formation of the new state, sources said.

Meanwhile, AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh made it clear to Seemandhra Congress Union ministers and MPs who threatened to resign if the party goes ahead with the bifurcation that they can go ahead with their plan. He also added that there was no question of going back on the bifurcation of the state.

Digvijay Singh told the Seemandhra delegation who called on him on Thursday night that there was no meaning in keeping on opposing the Telangana decision. "What is the meaning in repeating your opposition to the Telangana decision every day? Let us discuss the concrete issues that would emanate from the division of the state," was what Digvijay impatiently told them.

According to the MPs, who revealed to the media on Friday as to what transpired in the meeting, the Congress high command was not at all serious about the ongoing agitation in Seemandhra against the division of the state. When the MPs told him that the Seemandhra agitation had been going on for 50 days, Digvijay reportedly brushed it aside by stating that it was a routine thing. "We have seen so many movements in the past," was the comment from the AICC functionary.

When the ministers and MPs, Kavuri Samabasiva Rao, JD Seelam, D Purandeswari, Killi Kruparani, (all ministers), Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy, KVP Ramachandra Rao, K Bapiraju, Vundavalli Arun Kumar, A Sai Pratap, A Venkatrami Reddy and G V Harsha Kumar (MPs) drew his attention to the fact the people would not vote for the Congress in the next elections, Digvijay told them: "You are still in the Congress. It is the party's responsibility to ensure your re-election. However, if you insist on resigning, you are free to go ahead."

According to the sources, Digvijay also expressed his displeasure over Kiran Kumar Reddy's Seemandhra activism. "Kiran was behaving as if he was Seemandhra chief minister," is said to be Digvijay's caustic observation. Referring to Hyderabad, the AICC general secretary said the party would entertain only fresh suggestions on the status of the city.

Taken aback by the developments of the day, the Seemandhra ministers and MPs met in Parliament central hall on Friday to discuss their next course of action. "The Centre appears to be firm on dividing the state unmindful of the consequences. This is a disturbing trend. We will meet again on Monday in Delhi to take a collective view on resignations. We have asked all the MPs to be available in Delhi on Monday," Rajampet MP Sai Pratap told TOI.

Caught with Canvas

India's Chandrayaan-1 helps NASA find water on moon

Earlier studies had shown the existence of magmatic water in lunar samples returned during the Apollo programme, NASA said in a media release.



Using data from instruments aboard India's Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft, scientists have found evidence of water locked in mineral grains on the surface of the moon from an unknown source deep beneath the surface.

Using US space agency NASA's Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) instrument on the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) spacecraft, scientists remotely detected magmatic water, or water that originates from deep within the moon's interior, on the surface of the moon.

The findings of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) funded research, published in Nature Geoscience, represent the first detection of this form of water from lunar orbit, the agency said.

Earlier studies had shown the existence of magmatic water in lunar samples returned during the Apollo programme, NASA said in a media release.

M3 imaged the lunar impact crater Bullialdus, which lies near the lunar equator. Its central peak is made up of a type of rock that forms deep within the lunar crust and mantle when magma is trapped underground.

"This rock, which normally resides deep beneath the surface, was excavated from the lunar depths by the impact that formed Bullialdus crater," said Rachel Klima, a planetary geologist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland.

"Compared to its surroundings, we found that the central portion of this crater contains a significant amount of hydroxyl — a molecule consisting of one oxygen atom and one hydrogen atom — which is evidence that the rocks in this crater contain water that originated beneath the lunar surface," Klima said.

In 2009, M3 provided the first mineralogical map of the lunar surface and discovered water molecules in the polar regions of the moon.

This water is thought to be a thin layer formed from solar wind hitting the moon's surface. Bullialdus crater is in a region with an unfavourable environment for solar wind to produce significant amounts of water on the surface.

The detection of internal water from orbit means scientists can begin to test some of the findings from sample studies in a broader context, including in regions that are far from where the Apollo sites are clustered on the near side of the moon, NASA said.

For many years, researchers believed that the rocks from the moon were bone-dry and any water detected in the Apollo samples had to be contamination from Earth, it said.

Yasin Bhatkal trapped in Nepal, handed over at border in big IB operation

Indian Mujahideen lynchpin Yasin Bhatkal, one of the country’s most wanted men, was trapped in a house in Pokhara in Nepal by local cops and whisked away into the waiting arms of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Bihar Police in the early hours of Thursday.


Sources said that in his interrogation by the NIA at Motihari, Bhatkal admitted his part in explosions in Pune in 2010 and 2012 and the Mumbai triple blasts ofHis arrest culminated a nerve-wracking Intelligence Bureau-led operation that had gathered steam over the past week. Bhatkal, named for the coastal Karnataka town where he was born, had risen over a decade to become the IM’s executioner-in-chief, playing a key role in blasts across India that killed scores.

2011 but denied any hand in the Bodh Gaya attacks this year.

He was to be flown to Delhi on Friday, likely by special plane. Interrogators will be keen to establish any link with Pakistan, widely thought to provide logistic and financial support to the IM.

“A reliable informer gave us information on Bhatkal’s whereabouts and a phone number for him,’’ a senior home ministry official told HT on the condition of anonymity. Bhatkal’s phone was tapped for a few weeks, and the IB passed information to the Nepal police, who tracked him to the Pokhara house.

Bhatkal’s right-hand man Asadullah Akhtar, also known as Haddi, was also nabbed in the same house, and was described as a “bonus catch” by a security official.

He is thought to have planted the explosive devices in Mumbai and Pune, among other attacks, and was identified only when the duo were handed over to the Indians at Raxaul on the Nepal-Bihar border at 3am.

Two laptops were recovered from the men.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was briefed about the arrest in the morning by IB chief Syed Asif Ibrahim who was personally monitoring the operation.

In March, NIA had declared a reward of Rs. 10 lakh for information leading to the arrest of the two men and secured a non-bailable warrant.



The 750-km-long porous border of Bihar with Nepal offered Bhatkal the opportunity to use the country as a transit base en route to Saudi Arabia to meet his handlers, thought to be Pakistani. He and Akthar had also travelled to Bangladesh and Dubai.

Decision on Telangana today, BJP to oppose Hyderabad as joint capital

All eyes are on two crucial meetings in Delhi scheduled Tuesday evening, which are likely to decide the future of Andhra Pradesh.

United Progressive Alliance (UPA) coordination panel will be meeting at 4 p.m. and this will be followed by the meeting of Congress Working Committee (CWC) at 5.30 p.m. amid strong indications that the Congress has made up its mind to carve out Telangana state.

A formal announcement to meet nearly six-decade-old demand for Telangana state is likely to be announced after the two meetings, Congress sources said.

If the party leaders from Telangana are to be believed, their region is all set to become 29th state of the country. They believe it will be the same state, which existed as Hyderabad State before its merger with then Andhra State in 1956.

"Everything will be settled today (Tuesday). We are 100 percent positive. Telangana is going to be a reality with Hyderabad as its capital," Deputy Chief Minister Damodar Rajanarasimha told reporters before leaving for Delhi Tuesday morning.

Telangana state will comprise 10 districts with Hyderabad as its capital, said D.K. Aruna, a minister from Telangana.

The Congress leadership has reportedly dropped the proposal for Rayala-Telangana, comprising Rayalaseema and Telangana in view of strong opposition from leaders of both the regions. It is also understood to have given up the idea of union territory status to Hyderabad due to reservations by Telangana leaders.

The other state comprising Rayalaseema and Andhra regions is likely to retain the name Andhra Pradesh. Hyderabad is likely to be made joint capital of both the states for some years till Andhra Pradesh develops its own capital.

According to reports, the BJP will oppose if government decides to make Hyderabad the joint capital.

Coastal Andhra has nine districts and Rayalaseema region four districts. The Congress leadership has directed Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, his deputy Rajanarasimha and state Congress chief Botsa Satyanarayana to be available in the national capital for consultations before CWC meeting.

The Congress party is likely to inform UPA coordination panel of its decision to carve out Telangana. The CWC will then meet to take a final decision.

The Union Cabinet, which is likely to meet August 1, will decide on tabling a bill in parliament for formation of new state. The bill may be tabled in the monsoon session of the parliament beginning August 5.

300: Rise of an Empire - Official Trailer [HD]

President's Speech

PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS TO THE NATION ON THE EVE OF INDIA’S 67TH INDEPENDENCE DAY

New Delhi : 14-08-2013








Fellow citizens:

1. On the eve of the 66th anniversary of our Independence, I extend warm greetings to you and to all Indians around the world.

2. My thoughts turn first towards the Father of our Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, who shaped our liberation struggle and the martyrs who made supreme sacrifice for the freedom of our country and great patriots whose relentless struggle liberated our motherland from the colonial rule of nearly two hundred years. Gandhiji sought freedom from both foreign rule as well as the indigenous social chains that had imprisoned our society for long. He launched every Indian on a path of self-belief and hope for a better future. Gandhiji promised Swaraj- self-rule based on tolerance and self-restraint. He promised freedom from want and deprivation. For nearly seven decades now we have been masters of our destiny. This is then the moment to ask: are we heading in the right direction? Gandhiji's vision cannot be turned into reality if we spurn the very values that were compulsory to his cause: sincerity of effort, honesty of purpose and sacrifice for the larger good.

3. Our founding fathers created the first oasis in the desert of a colonized world nourished by democracy. Democracy is much more than the right to vote every five years; its essence is the aspirations of the masses; its spirit must influence the responsibilities of the leaders and duties of the citizens every day. Democracy breathes through a vibrant Parliament, an independent judiciary, a responsible media, a vigilant civil society, and a bureaucracy committed to integrity and hard work. It survives through accountability, not profligacy. And yet we have allowed unbridled personal enrichment, self-indulgence, intolerance, discourtesy in behavior and disrespect for authority to erode our work culture. The biggest impact of the decay in the moral fiber of our society is on the hopes and aspirations of the young and the poor. Mahatma Gandhi had advised us to avoid, and I quote, “politics without principles, wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, commerce without morality, science without humanity, and worship without sacrifice”, (unquote). We have to pay heed to his advice as we work towards building a modern democracy. The ideals of patriotism, compassion, tolerance, self-restraint, honesty, discipline and respect for women have to be converted into a living force.

Fellow citizens:

4. Institutions are a mirror of national character. Today we see widespread cynicism and disillusionment with the governance and functioning of institutions in our country. Our legislatures look more like combat arenas, rather than fora that legislate. Corruption has become a major challenge. The precious resources of the nation are being wasted through indolence and indifference. It is sapping the dynamism of our society. We need to correct this regression.

5. Our Constitution provides a delicate balance of power between various institutions of the State. This balance has to be maintained. We need a Parliament that debates, discusses and decides. We need a judiciary that gives justice without delays. We need leadership that is committed to the nation and those values that made us a great civilization. We need a state that inspires confidence among people in its ability to surmount challenges before us. We need a media and citizens who, even as they claim their rights, are equally committed to their responsibilities.

Fellow citizens:

6. A re-ordering of the society can be brought about through the educational system. We cannot aspire to be a world class power without a single world class university. History records that we were the cynosure of the world once. Takshashila, Nalanda, Vikramashila, Valabhi, Somapura and Odantapuri comprised the ancient university system that dominated the world for eighteen hundred years beginning Sixth Century BC. They were a magnet for the finest minds and scholars in the world. We must seek to regain that space. A university is the banyan tree whose roots lie in basic education, in a vast network of schools that build the intellectual prowess of our communities; we have to invest in every part of this knowledge tree, from seed, root and branch to the highest leaf.

Fellow Citizens:

7. There is a direct relationship between a successful democracy and a successful economy, for we are a people-driven nation. People serve their interests best when they participate in decision- making at the level of panchayat and other forms of local government. We have to rapidly empower the local bodies with functions, functionaries and finances to improve their performance. Faster growth has given us the resources, but larger outlays have not translated into better outcomes. Without inclusive governance, we cannot achieve inclusive growth.

8. For a developing country of more than 1.2 billion people, the debate between growth and redistribution is vital. While growth builds the scope for redistribution, redistribution sustains growth over time. Both are equally important. A disproportionate emphasis on any one, at the expense of the other, can have adverse consequences for the nation.

9. The last decade has seen India emerge as one of the fastest growing nations in the world. During this period, our economy grew annually at an average rate of 7.9 per cent. We are today self-sufficient in food grains production. We are the largest exporter of rice and second largest exporter of wheat in the world. The record production of 18.45 million tonne of pulses this year augurs well for our march towards self-sufficiency in pulses. This was unthinkable just a few years ago. This momentum has to be sustained. In a globalized world, with increasing economic complexities, we have to learn to cope better with adversities, both external and domestic.

Fellow citizens:

10. At the dawn of our Independence, we lit the glowing lamp of modernity and equitable economic growth. To keep this lamp aflame, our highest priority has to be the elimination of poverty. Though a declining trend in the poverty rate is clearly visible, our fight against this scourge is far from over. India has the talent, ability and the resources to overcome this challenge.

11. Reforms that have enabled us to come this far have to be pursued at all levels of governance. Favorable demographic changes over the next two decades can pay us handsome dividends. It requires industrial transformation and rapid creation of employment opportunities. It also requires an orderly urbanization process. Several initiatives taken by the Government in the recent past including the New Manufacturing Policy, the renewal of urban infrastructure and the ambitious skill training programme will need close monitoring in the coming years.

12. We have given our citizens entitlements backed by legal guarantees in terms of right to employment, education, food and information. We now have to ensure that these entitlements lead to real empowerment for the people. We need robust delivery mechanisms to make these legislations work. New benchmarks of efficient public service delivery and accountability have to be established. The Direct Benefits Transfer Scheme, launched earlier this year, will bring in greater transparency, enhance efficiency and eliminate wastage of precious resources.

Fellow citizens:

13. In our race for development, we must be careful not to disturb the balance between man and nature. The consequences of such imbalance can be disastrous. My heartfelt condolences to the many who lost their lives, and the innumerable who suffered in Uttarakhand; and my salutations to those brave personnel of our security and armed forces, government and NGOs who did so much to alleviate suffering. This tragedy owes as much to the avarice of human nature as to the rage of Mother Nature. This was nature’s wake-up call. And it is time to wake up.

Fellow citizens:

14. We have seen in the recent past grave challenges to our security, internal as well as external. The barbaric face of Maoist violence in Chhattisgarh led to a loss of many innocent lives. Despite India's consistent efforts to build friendly relations with neighbours, there have been tensions on the border and repeated violations of the Ceasefire on the Line of Control, leading to tragic loss of lives. Our commitment to peace is unfailing but even our patience has limits. All steps necessary to ensure internal security and protect the territorial integrity of the nation will be taken. I applaud the courage and heroism of our security and armed forces who maintain eternal vigilance and pay homage to those who have made the supreme sacrifice of the most precious gift of life in the service of the motherland.

15. There will be a general election in our country before I have the privilege of addressing you again on the eve of our next independence day. This great festival of democracy, is an opportunity for us to elect a stable government which will ensure security and economic development. Every election must become a crucial milestone in our nation’s journey towards greater social harmony, peace and prosperity.

16. Democracy has given us an opportunity to re-create another golden age. Let us not squander this extraordinary opportunity. The journey ahead calls for wisdom, courage and determination. We must work on across-the-board revival of our values and institutions. We must realize that rights go with responsibilities. We must re-discover the virtue of self-scrutiny and self-restraint.

17. Let me conclude by quoting from the great classic Bhagvad Gita where the Teacher propounds his views and then says, and I quote, “ÿatha icchasi tatha kuru” “even as you choose, so you do. I do not wish to impose my views on you. I have presented to you what I think is right. Now it is for your conscience, for your judgment, for your mind to decide what is right.” (unquote)

On your decisions rests the future of our democracy.

Five decade old Telangana dream finally comes true

The decision to carve out a Telangana state out of Andhra Pradesh has fulfilled a five-decade-old dream of the people of the region, made up of 10 districts including Hyderabad.

The historic move has bifurcated Andhra Pradesh, which was formed Nov 1, 1956 by merging Telangana (which then existed as Hyderabad State) with Andhra State, which was carved of Madras State three years ago.

This alliance was never a smooth affair. The apprehensions expressed by the first state re-organisation commission came true with the people of Telangana alleging injustice by the rulers from Andhra.

Justice S. Fazal Ali, who was heading the panel, had termed the merger a marriage between an innocent girl called Telangana and a naughty boy called Andhra.

He was referring to the backwardness of Telangana and the prosperity in Andhra, thanks to fertile land and the entrepreneurship of its people. He also pointed out the cultural differences between the two regions.

Ignoring his reservations, then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru commented that the innocent girl can continue the marriage or get separated.

The cracks in the marriage began to appear in soon when Telangana leaders accused their counterparts from Andhra of going back on all assurances given to Telangana under a Gentleman's agreement signed at the time of the merger.

Under the pact, some safeguards were provided to Telangana to ensure its development and to address its concerns.

The people of Telangana felt cheated as all the assurances given to them were violated. They felt that the people of Andhra were not only grabbing the jobs but diverting Telangana resources, especially water, to Andhra.

The Telangana groups accused Andhra leaders and businessmen of occupying prime lands in and around Hyderabad. The allegations were denied.

A massive agitation for separate statehood for Telangana began in 1969. More than 300 people, mostly students, were killed in police firing.

The six-point formula of 1973 which guaranteed preference to local candidates in jobs besides accelerated development was never implemented sincerely, argue Telangana parties.

They kept raising the demand for a separate state from time to time. It was in 2001 that K. Chandrasekhara Rao revived the movement by floating the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS).

Though TRS emerged as a key political force in 2004 by winning five Lok Sabha and 26 assembly seats and it made the UPA include Telangana in the common minimum programme, the UPA government did not take the initiative.

TRS fought the 2009 election in alliance with Telugu Desam Party but won only two Lok Sabha and 10 assembly seats. Congress retained power.

Just when it looked like the movement was dying, the death of then chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy in a helicopter crash gave a new life to TRS.

KCR, as TRS chief is popularly known, launched an indefinite fast. With students and others taking to the streets, the government had to bow before the popular demand.

With KCR's health deteriorating, the central government on Dec 9, 2009 announced that the process for formation of Telangana state would be initiated.

But protests in Rayalaseema and Andhra regions and the mass resignations of MPs and legislators there forced New Delhi to put the process on hold. It cited the need for evolving a consensus.

The central government set up the Srikrishna committee, which submitted a report in December 2010 suggesting six options.

With all major political parties divided along regional lines, a consensus could not be evolved.

The delay not only created frequent law and order problems but also impacted investment in Hyderabad. Telangana groups claim that 900 people, mostly youths, committed suicide since 2009.

Political observers say the fear of losing ground in Telangana before the 2014 election forced the Congress to act decisively.

It has acted cautiously to avoid the mistakes committed earlier when the announcement was made in a hurry.

Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/telangana-dream-finally-comes-true/1/297138.html