Friday, November 30, 2007

Durga
In Hinduism, Durga (Sanskrit: "the inaccessible"
Durga is depicted as a warrior woman riding a lion or a tiger with multiple hands carrying weapons and assuming mudras, or symbolic hand gestures. This form of the Goddess is the embodiment of feminine and creative energy (Shakti).

Durga Durga in the Hindu tradition
The 4 day Durga Puja is the biggest annual festival in Bengal and other parts of Eastern India, but it is celebrated in various forms throughout the Hindu universe.
The day of Durga's victory is celebrated as Vijaya Dashami (East and South India), Dashain (Nepal) or Dussehra (North India) - these words literally mean "the tenth" (day), vijaya means "of-victory". In Kashmir she is worshipped as shaarika (the main temple is in Hari Parbat in Srinagar).
The actual period of the worship however may be on the preceding nine days followed by the last day called Vijayadashami in North India or five days in Bengal, (from the sixth to tenth day of the waxing-moon fortnight). Nine aspects of Durga known as Navadurga are meditated upon, one by one during the nine-day festival by devout shakti worshippers.
In North India, this tenth day, signifying Rama's victory in his battle against the demon Ravana, is celebrated as Dussehra - gigantic straw effigies of Ravana are burnt in designated open spaces (e.g. Delhi's Ram Lila grounds), watched by thousands of families and little children.
In Gujarat it is celebrated as the last day of Navaratri, during which the Garba dance is performed to celebrate the vigorous victory of Mahishasura-mardini Durga.
The Goddess Durga worshipped in her peaceful form as Shree Shantadurga also known as santeri , is the patron Goddess of Goa. She is worshipped by all Goan Hindus irrespective of caste and even by some Christians in Goa.
Goddess Durga is worshipped in many temples of Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka.

See also

Thursday, November 29, 2007


The European Patent Organisation (EPO or EPOrg
The European Patent Organisation is not legally bound to the European Union and has several members which are not themselves EU states.
The evolution of the Organisation is inherently linked to the European Patent Convention. See European Patent Convention for the history of the European Patent system as set up by the European Patent Convention and operated by the European Patent Office.

European Patent Convention
Biotech directive
Community patent
Brussels Regime
European Patent Litigation Agreement (EPLA)
London Agreement Organs
The European Patent Office (EPO or EPOff.

European Patent Office
The European Patent Office is directed by a president, who is responsible for its activities to the Administrative Council.
Presidents of the European Patent Office:

Johannes Bob van Benthem (1 November 1977 - 30 April 1985), Dutch
Paul Brändli (1 May 1985 - 31 December 1995), Swiss
Ingo Kober (1 January 1996 - 30 June 2004), German
Alain Pompidou (1 July 2004 - 30 June 2007), French
Alison Brimelow (1 July 2007 - 30 June 2010), British President
The official languages of the European Patent Office are English, French and German. However, other languages than these three are not all considered on the same footing. Non-admissible languages, such as Japanese or Chinese, should be distinguished from the "admissible non-EPO languages", such as Spanish, Italian, Dutch and any language that is at least an official language in one Contracting State. European patent applications can be validly filed by some applicants in an admissible non-EPO language provided that a translation is filed thereafter, while they cannot be validly filed in Chinese or Japanese whether a translation is filed thereafter or not.

Languages
The European Patent Office includes the following departments, pursuant to Art. 15 EPC: a Receiving Section, responsible for the examination on filing and the examination as to formal requirements of European patent applications, Examining Divisions, responsible for prior art searches and the examination of European patent applications, Opposition Divisions, responsible for the examination of oppositions against any European patent, a Legal Division, Boards of Appeal, responsible for the examination of appeals, and an Enlarged Board of Appeal (see also: Appeal procedure before the European Patent Office). In practice, the above departments of European Patent Office are organized into five "Directorates-General" (DG), each being directed by a Vice-President: DG 1 Operations, DG 2 Operational Support, DG 3 Appeals, DG 4 Administration, and DG 5 Legal/International Affairs.
The European Patent Office does not include any court which can take decisions on infringement matter. National jurisdictions are competent for infringement matter regarding European patents.

Departments and Directorates-General
The European Patent Office acts as a Receiving Office, an International Searching Authority and an International Preliminary Examining Authority in the international procedure according to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). The Patent Cooperation Treaty provides an international procedure for dealing with patent applications, called international applications, during the first 30 months after their first filing in any country. The European Patent Office does not grant international patents - which do not exist. After 30 months an international application must be converted into national or regional patent applications, and then are subject to national/regional grant procedures.

Other activities
The Administrative Council is made up of members of the contracting states and is responsible for overseeing the work of the European Patent Office,

Administrative Council
There are, as of June 15, 2007, 32 Contracting States to the EPC, also called member states of the European Patent Organisation: Slovenia, Romania, Lithuania and Latvia were all extension states prior to joining the EPC.

European Patent Office Statistics

Wednesday, November 28, 2007


Montevideo (IPA: [monteβi'deo]) is the largest city, capital and chief port of Uruguay. Montevideo is the primate city in Uruguay, the only city in country with a population over 100,000. Montevideo has a privileged harbour, one of the most important in the Americas. Also, it has beautiful beaches, like Pocitos, Buceo, Malvin, Playa de los Ingleses, Playa Verde, Punta Gorda and Carrasco. Many monuments and museums cover the city, as well as historic buildings and squares. The city's mayor is Ricardo Ehrlich. According to the Mercer Human Resource Consulting, Montevideo is the Latin American city with the highest quality of life (followed by Buenos Aires and Santiago de Chile).

Population
Montevideo is situated in the south of the country, The geographic coordinates are 34.5° S, 56°W.
18 de Julio is the city's main avenue and extends from the Plaza Independencia, which is the junction between the Ciudad Vieja (the historical quarter) and the rest of the city, to the neighbourhood of Cordón.

Geography

Montevideo History
There are at least two explanations for the name Montevideo: The first states that it comes from the Portuguese "Monte vide eu" which means "I see a mountain". The second is that the Spaniards recorded the location of a mountain in a map as "Monte VI De Este a Oeste" meaning "The sixth mountain from east to west". The city's full original name is San Felipe y Santiago de Montevideo.

Origin of Name
Montevideo was first found by Juan Diaz De Solis. He arrived in 1516. He encountered the natives living there, and was killed by them, along with the rest of his group of travelers. The Portuguese founded Colonia del Sacramento in the 17th century despite Spanish claims to the area due to the Treaty of Tordesillas. The Spanish chased the Portuguese out of a fort in the area in 1724. Then, Bruno Mauricio de Zabalagovernor of Buenos Aires – founded the city on December 24, 1726 to prevent further incursions.
In 1828, the town became the capital of Uruguay.
The city fell under heavy British influence from the early 19th century until the early 20th century as a way to circumvent Argentine and Brazilian commercial control. It was repeatedly besieged by Argentinean dictator Juan Manuel de Rosas between 1838 and 1851. Between 1860 and 1911, British Owned Railway companies built an extensive railroad network linking the city to the surrounding countryside.

Early History
During World War II, a famous incident involving the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee took place in Punta del Este, 200 km from Montevideo. After the Battle of the River Plate with the British navy on December 13, 1939, the Graf Spee retreated to Montevideo's port, which was considered neutral then. To avoid risking the crew in what he thought would be a losing battle, Captain Hans Langsdorff scuttled the ship on December 17. Langsdorff committed suicide two days later. On 10 February 2006, the eagle figurehead of the Admiral Graf Spee was recovered. To protect the feelings of those still sensitive to Nazi Germany, the swastika on the figurehead was covered as it was pulled from the water.
Since 2005 the Mayor of Montevideo (styled Intendente Municipal in Spanish) has been Ricardo Ehrlich, of the Frente Amplio (Broad Front), gaining 61% of the vote in the Mayoral elections, beating Pedro Bordaberry of the Partido Colorado, who scored 27%.

20th Century
Montevideo began as a minor settlement. In 1860, Montevideo had a population of 37,787. By 1884, the population had grown to 104,472, including many immigrants.
During the mid-20th century, military dictatorship and economic stagnation caused a decline whose residual effects are still seen today. Many rural poor flooded the city, with a large concentration in Ciudad Vieja.
Recently, economic recovery and stronger trade ties with Uruguay's neighbours have led to renewed agricultural development and hopes for greater future prosperity.
As of 2004, the city has a population of 1.35 million out of a total of 3.43 million in the country as a whole.[1] The greater metropolitan area has 1.8 million people.
Montevideo is served by Carrasco International Airport.
Template:Panorama2

Growth/economy
The city shows some evidence of world city formation. The past lives on in style, though. Back in 1870, the average living standards were similar to those in the United States.

Neighbourhoods

Instituto Preuniversitario JUAN XXIII
Stella Maris College (Montevideo)
The British Schools of Montevideo
University of the Republic, Uruguay
ORT Uruguay
Lycée Français
Scuola Italiana
Deutsche Schule
Public Primary School
Public Secondary School
Catholic University, Uruguay
Instituto Preuniversitario de Montevideo - PRE/U Education
Montevideo hosted all the matches of the 1 FIFA World Cup in 1930. Uruguay won the tournament by defeating Argentina 4-2, and later in 1950 defeated heavy favored hosts Brazil 2-1, achieving its second World Cup Championship. Uruguay also won several olympic medals in soccer including 2 gold medals, and has won the most "Copa America" tournaments, the world's second most prestigious tournament after the World Cup (tied with Argentina at 14 wins). Its Estadio Centenario is considered a temple of world football. The city is home to two of the most important South American football clubs: Nacional and Peñarol. Consistently since its early successes, Uruguayan footballers have been among the worlds best, recently producing such soccer greats as Diego Forlan, Paulo Montero and Alvaro Recoba, and currently boasts the highest number of world class exports to the European leagues out of any country in South America including fellow soccer powerhouses Argentina and Brazil, a surprising feat when considering the population of just over 3 million is a small fraction of most other South American countries.
There is strong world-wide sentiment that the centennial anniversary Fifa World Cup tournament to be held in 2030, be played at least in part in Uruguay, namely in the Centenario Stadium which was built specifically as the innagurational stadium for the tournament of 1930, and fittingly translates to "The Centennial Stadium".

Sites of interest

Flag of Canada Québec City, Canada
Flag of Spain Barcelona, Spain
Flag of the United States Montevideo, USA
Flag of the United States Miami, USA
Flag of Brazil Curitiba, Brazil

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Wenzhou
Wenzhou (Simplified Chinese: 温州; Traditional Chinese: 溫州; pinyin: Wēnzhōu) is a prefecture-level city (or provincial subregion) in southeastern Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. It has a population of 7,777,000 in 2006, with 1,336,000 residents in the 3 districts (区) of the city with the same name. It also contains 2 more cities and 6 counties. It borders Lishui to the west, Taizhou to the north, and looks out to the East China Sea to the east.
Wenzhou was a prosperous foreign treaty port, which remains well-preserved today. It is also known for its emigrants who leave their native land for Europe and the United States, with a reputation for being enterprising folk who start restaurants, retail and wholesale businesses in their adopted countries.

Administration
Wenzhou, also known as Yongjia (or Yung-chia) has a history which goes back to about 2000 BC, when it became known for its pottery production. In the 2nd century BC it was called the Kingdom of Dong'ou. Under the Tang Dynasty, it was promoted to prefecture status and given its current name in 675 AD.
Throughout its history, Wenzhou's traditional economic role has been as a port giving access to the mountainous interior of southern Zhejiang Province. In 1876 Wenzhou was opened to the foreign tea trade, but no foreign settlement was ever made there. In 19371942 during the war with Japan, Wenzhou became an important port due to its being one of the few Chinese ports still under Chinese control. It declined in the later years of the war but began to recover after coastal trade along the Zhejiang coast was re-established in 1955.
Wenzhou derives its present name from its mild climate. With jurisdiction over three districts, two county-level cities and six counties, Wenzhou covers a land area of 11,784 square kilometers and sea area of 11,000 square kilometers. The population of the prefectural level city is 7.7 million including 2 million urban residents, divided among 2 "county level" cities and 3 wards.
As a coastal city, Wenzhou is rich in natural resources. The 339-kilometer long coastline gives the city abundant marine resources and many beautiful islands. Dongtou, one of the counties in Wenzhou, is also called the "County of one hundred islands". Wenzhou also boasts wonderful landscapes with rugged mountains and tranquil waters, including three state-level scenic spots, namely the Yandang Mountain, the Nanxi River and the Baizhangji Fall-Feiyun Lake, and two national nature reserves, namely the Wuyanling Ridge and the Nanji Islands, among which Yandang Mountain has been named as World Geopark, while Nanji Islands listed as UNESCO's Marine Nature Reserve of World Biosphere Reserves. Scenic area accounts for 25% of the city's land space, which is a perfect integration of exotic mountains, tender water and charming sea.

History
Wenzhou exports food, tea, wine, jute, timber, paper, Alunite (a non-metallic mineral used to make alum and fertilizer). Alunite is quite abundant here and sometimes Wenzhou claims to be the "Alunite Capital of the World". Its main industries are food processing, papermaking, and building materials, with some engineering works producing mostly farm machinery. From the 1990s, low-voltage electric appliances manufacturing became a major industry in Wenzhou, with some of the large private enterprises setting up joint ventures with GE and Schneider. Since 1994, exploration for oil and natural gas has commenced in the East China Sea 100 km off the coast of Wenzhou. Companies such as Texaco, Chevron, Shell and Japex have started to drill for oil but the operations have been largely unsuccessful.
Since the new government term started in 2004, the local government has initiated a brand-new development strategy of inviting investment from international market, which is dubbed as "Number 1 Project" of the city. It is a particularly bold endeavour for Wenzhou, especially with the backdrop of declining FDI in the national level.
Wenzhou is a city full of vitality, with creativity as the source of its vitality. Since China adopted the opening up and reform policy, Wenzhou has been the first to set up individual and private enterprises as well as shareholding cooperative economy in China. It has also taken the lead in carrying out the financial system reform and the structural reform in townships. Being a pioneer in utilizing marketing mechanism to develop urban constructions, Wenzhou has won a number of firsts in China and set many national records.
Vitality comes from Wenzhou natives. Without much dependence in state investments, the development of the city really lies on the efforts of the natives. Vitality results from business culture, which is the top feature of Wenzhou's economy. Wenzhou businessmen have set their feet on the way of accumulating capital and also made themselves one of the important forces of the overseas Chinese businessmen. "Big market with small commodities, small money with high capital intensity" has become the prominent character of Wenzhou's economy. Vitality also originates from opening up of market. In recent years, Wenzhou has continuously deregulated to embrace foreign investment and opened more widely to the outside world, encouraging the aspiring spirit of the local people to start-up businesses. With enduring vitality and sustained innovation, the economy of Wenzhou has always enjoyed healthy development. From 1978 through 2005, the GDP of the city has increased from 1.32 billion RMB to 160 billion RMB with the gross fiscal revenue increasing from 0.135 billion RMB to 20.49 billion RMB, and the net per capita income for rural residents increasing from 113.5 RMB to 6,845 RMB. What's more, the per capita disposable income for urban residents increased from 422.6 RMB in 1981 to 19,805 RMB in 2005.
Wenzhou is the birthplace of the China private economy. In the early days of opening up and reform, the people of Wenzhou took the lead in developing commodity economy, household industries and specialized markets. Thousands upon thousands of people and families were engaged in household manufacturing to develop individual and private economy. Up till now, Wenzhou has a total of 240,000 individually-owned commercial and industrial units and 130,000 private enterprises of which 180 are group companies, 4 among China's top 500 enterprises and 36 among national 500 top private enterprises. The quantity, industrial output, tax, export and number of employees of the private enterprises account for 99%, 96%, 75%, 95% and 80% of the whole city respectively. There are 27 national production bases such as "China's Shoes Capital" and "China's Capital of Electrical Equipment", 40 China's famous trademarks and China's famous-brand products and 67 national inspection-exempt products in the city. The development of private economy in Wenzhou has created the "Wenzhou Economic Model", which gives great inspiration to the modernization drive in China.

Monday, November 26, 2007

Habitat destruction
Habitat destruction is a process of land use change in which one habitat-type is removed and replaced with another habitat-type. In the process of land-use change, plants and animals which previously used the site are displaced or destroyed, reducing biodiversity. Urban Sprawl is one cause of habitat destruction. Other important causes of habitat destruction include mining, trawling, and agriculture. Habitat destruction is currently ranked as the most important cause of species extinction worldwide.

Sunday, November 25, 2007


The High School of Dundee, informally Dundee High School, is one of Scotland's leading private, or independent schools, and the only such school in Dundee. Its foundation is dated to 1239. The Rector is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference.

High School of Dundee History
The School has its origins in the Grammar School of Dundee founded by the abbot and monks of Lindores Abbey after they were granted a charter by Gilbert, Bishop of Brechin, in the early 1220s to "plant schools wherever they please in the burgh". Their rights were confirmed by a Papal Bull conferred by Pope Gregory IX on 14th February 1239. It is from this Bull that the School's Latin motto "Prestante Domino", translated as "Under the Leadership of God", is taken.
Little information survives about the early Grammar School: it would have taught a Latin curriculum to boys from Dundee and the surrounding area. However, in 1434, the teaching methods of the Master, Gilbert Knight, were challenged by John, Bishop of Brechin, who conferred Laurence Lownan as the new Master in his place.
Dundee was a hotbed of the Reformation, and St Mary's Church had, according to John Knox, the first truly reformed congregation in Scotland. The School itself was the earliest reformed school in the country, having adopted the new religion in 1554 under the master, Thomas Makgibbon, with the assistance of the (by-now Protestant) Town Council. However, John, the Abbot of Lindores stepped in to take control of the School which his predecessors had founded, replacing Makgibbon nominally with the Vicar of St. Mary's, John Rolland, who was given the power to appoint substitutes. This he did, his substitutes opening schools in opposition to the Grammar School, poaching its pupils. In the ensuing furore the Town Council, which approved of Makgibbon's methods, intervened to prevent rival schools.
Among other early Masters was John Fethy, who left Scotland for Wittenberg from Dundee, having come into contact with Lutheran influences. He returned to Scotland in around 1532 "the first Organist that ever brought to Scotland the curious new fingering", that is, playing the organ with five fingers.
Early scholars included Hector Boece, historian and first Principal of the University of Aberdeen; William Wallace; and James, John and Robert Wedderburn, authors of The Gude and Godlie Ballatis, one of the most important literary works of the Scots Reformation.
After the Reformation, the Grammar School came under the auspices of the Town council. Greek was added to the curriculum shortly after 1562, under the Master Alexander Hepburn, who would author Grammaticae Artis Rudimenta Breviter et Dilucide Explicata, a Latin primer, in Dundee, and go on to teach the James Crichton, known as "The Admirable Crichton", at Dunkeld. Mary, Queen of Scots also made an annual grant to the School in 1563, from the revenues of the church.
The School moved into its first permanent home in 1589, a building in St Clement's Lane demolished to make way for the City Square in the 1930s. Pupils were expected to enter the School at the age of eight, and to stay for seven years, two years longer than in other Scottish schools: in 1773, this was reduced to the customary five, at which point the boy could go on to university. He had probably had only two teachers in all this time: each of the three assistants, known as doctors, taught one class for three years, after which the Rector would teach for two years.

The English School and Dundee Academy
For some years it had become apparent that the educational needs of the rapidly expanding Burgh were inadequately met by the three Burgh schools. In April 1829, a public meeting was held to consider the situation, where it was proposed to combine the schools within one building. The Town Council had also been reviewing the position: following deliberations, it was decided that "the Magistrates and Town Council and all classes of the community shall unite in joint efforts for enlarging and improving the means of education in Dundee". The schools hitherto under the patronage of the Council were to be reconstituted and handed over to a new body of Directors, of whom ten were chosen by the Council, and ten by the subscribers to the new buildings. Thus, the three schools were united in 1829 to form the Dundee Public Seminaries, and in 1832-4 the present School, to the design of Edinburgh architect George Angus, was built, a neo-classical building designed as part of the civic improvements in Dundee. The School was opened on the 1st October 1834. The total cost of the building, including the playground and enclosure (not completed until 1837) was £10,000, the greater portion of which was raised by public subscription. Though it had one building and one management, the three schools remained more or less distinct; conflicting claims for precedence led to no Rector being appointed. The centre was assigned to the Academy, the west wing to the Grammar School, and the east wing to the English School; the eight or nine Headmasters acted independently, but presided in rotation over a Censor's Court, which dealt with matters of common concern. In 1840, one of the Directors was to exercise general supervision over the School as Governor, or Superintending Director, with powers to "reform all abuses and irregularities".

Dundee Public Seminaries
In 1859, a Royal Charter granted by Queen Victoria changed the name of the school to the High School of Dundee. In 1877, a new curriculum for the School was introduced, and an inclusive fee charged: prior to this, pupils had attended such classes as they chose. The independent future of the School was threatened by the Education (Scotland) Act 1872, which made education compulsory and took over the running of parish schools from the Church of Scotland. Burgh as well as parish schools now came under School Boards run by local committees, and similarly ancient schools in Edinburgh and Glasgow were taken over by their respective Town councils. The situation was worsened by a similar Act in 1878, until an alumnus of the High School, William Harris, offered, in February 1881, to donate £30,000 for the purposes of Higher Education in Dundee on condition that the Board give up all claim to the School. This agreement was incorporated in an Act of Parliament, the William Harris Endowment and Dundee Education Act, 1882. This act led to the appointment of a single Rector of the High School, and the foundation of Harris Academy. Thanks to Miss Margaret Harris, who waived her right to a life-rent in her brother's estate, the Girls' School was built across Euclid Crescent in two stages between 1886 and 1890. A further act was passed in 1922, and the School's current constitution is enshrined in the High School of Dundee Scheme passed before the Court of Session in 1989.
The School church is Dundee Parish Church (St Mary's), continuing a tradition that has existed since the foundation of the Grammar School in the thirteenth century, and services and concerts are regularly held in the church.
The school has a total of 1052 pupils in prep-school and senior school. Fees for the 2006/2007 session range from £5841 to £8304 GBP. The School was recently among the first Scottish charities investigated by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator for the public benefit derived from their tax-exempt status, and was judged to have demonstrated its charitable aims and "local and national benefit".

The High School of Dundee
The High School of Dundee is situated in seven buildings in the city centre: the Main Building (traditionally the Boys School); the Margaret Harris Building (the Girls School); the Robert Fergusson Building, housing the English department; Trinity Meadowside, a former church housing the hall, library and recording studio; Bonar House; Baxter House; and The Lodge.
There are also two main playing grounds, Dalnacraig and Mayfield in which sports such as hockey, tennis, rugby, football, cricket and athletics are played. Mayfield has undergone massive investment in recent years with new sports facilities, and is the home of Dundee High School Former Pupils' RFC. The school also holds an annual sports day at the Mayfield playing grounds in June where the four school houses compete against each other throughout the day.

Houses

William Wallace, (c.1270-1305), Scottish patriot
Hector Boece, (c.14651536), Historian, first Principal of the University of Aberdeen, (1500-1536)
William Hay c.1465-1542, Principal of the University of Aberdeen, (1536-1542)
James, John and Robert Wedderburn, James (c. 14951533), John (c. 15051556) and Robert Wedderburn (c. 1510–c.1555) religious reformers
Henry Scrimgeour (Scrymgeour), (1505?–1572), diplomat and book collector, Professor of Philosophy and Civil Law in the University of Geneva.
Sir Peter Young, (15441628), royal tutor and diplomat
Hercules Rollock, (c.15461599), lawyer and poet
George Gledstanes (Gladstanes), (c.15621615), archbishop of St Andrews
Sir George Mackenzie of Rosehaugh (16361691), Lord Advocate, writer, founder of the Advocates' Library, the precursor to the National Library of Scotland
Rev Robert Kirk, (1644-1692), minister of Aberfoyle, translator of the Psalms into Gaelic, alleged to have been abducted by fairies
Adam Duncan, 1st Viscount Duncan of Camperdown, (1731-1804) Admiral of the Royal Navy
George Dempster (17321818), lawyer and politician
Robert Fergusson, (17501774), poet
Robert Haldane (17641842), theological writer and evangelical patron
Sir James Ivory FRS (17651842)
James Haldane (17681851), Baptist minister and author
Sir Hugh Lyon Playfair, (17861861), army officer and Provost of St Andrews
James Ivory, Lord Ivory (17921866), judge
Thomas James Henderson (17981844), astronomer
Sir William Aitken (18251892), pathologist
William Edward Baxter, (18251890), politician and author
Sir Andrew Clark, first baronet (18261893), physician
Bruce James Talbert, (18381881), architect and designer
Robert Fleming, (18451933), financier
John Mitchell Keiller, (18511899), preserves and confectionery manufacturer
George Saunders, (18591922), journalist
David Coupar Thomson, (18611954), newspaper proprietor
Fred Miller, (1863-1924), editor of The Daily Telegraph, 1923-1924
Sir James Walker, (18631935), Professor of Chemistry at University College, Dundee, and the University of Edinburgh
Millar Patrick, (18681951), hymnologist and liturgist
William Thomas Calman, (18711952), zoologist, Keeper of Zoology at the British Museum
Norman Kemp Smith, (18721958), Professor of Logic and Metaphysics at the University of Edinburgh
H. N. Brailsford, (1873- 1958) journalist and author
(Elizabeth) Hilda Lockhart Lorimer, (18731954), classical scholar
Colonel George Waterston Millar DSO, 1874-1955, army medic
Charles Coupar Barrie, 1st Baron Abertay, (18751940) politician
David Lockhart Robertson Lorimer, (18761962), diplomat and linguist
Preston Watson, (1880-1915), pioneer of aviation, argued to have made the world's first powered flight
Robert William Chapman (18811960), literary scholar and publisher
Sir Alexander Gray, (18821968), Jaffrey Professor of Political Economy at the University of Aberdeen and poet
William Laughton Lorimer (18851967), classical scholar and translator
John Scott Fulton, Baron Fulton (19021986), first Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sussex and public servant
Walter Perry, (1921 - 2003) Lord Perry of Walton, first Vice-Chancellor of the Open University
Sir Alan Peacock (1922-), economist, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Buckingham, (1983-1984)
Dave Duncan, (1933-) author
William Cullen, Baron Cullen of Whitekirk, (1935-), Lord President of the Court of Session, 2001-2005
Donald MacArthur Ross, Lord Ross, Lord Justice Clerk (19851997)
Iain MacMillan, (1938-2006), photographer
Finlay MacDonald, (1945-) Principal Clerk to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, Moderator of the General Assembly (2002-2003)
Frank Hadden, (1954-), Scottish rugby coach
Andrew Marr, (1959-), journalist
A. L. Kennedy, (1965-) author
Andy Nicol, (1971-) Scottish rugby international
KT Tunstall, (1975), singer-songwriter
Jon Petrie, (1976-) Scottish rugby international

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Founding
Director D.W. Griffith joined Biograph in 1908 as a writer and actor, but within months became their principal director, and helped establish many of the conventions of narrative film, including cross-cutting to show events occurring simultaneously in different places, the flashback, the fade-in/fade-out, the interposition of closeups within a scene, and a moderated acting style more suitable for film. Although Griffith did not invent these techniques, he made them a regular part of the film vocabulary. Griffith's prolific output, often one new film a week, and willingness to experiment in many different genres helped the company become a major commercial success. Many early movie stars were Biograph performers, including Mary Pickford, Lionel Barrymore, Lillian Gish, Dorothy Gish, Robert Harron, Florence Auer, Carol Dempster, Alan Hale, Sr., Blanche Sweet, Harry Carey, Mabel Normand, Henry B. Walthall and Dorothy Davenport. Mack Sennett honed his craft as an actor and director of comedies at Biograph.
In January of 1910, D.W. Griffith, and Lee Dougherty with the rest of the Biograph acting company, traveled to Los Angeles. While the purpose of the trip was to shoot the film Ramona in authentic locations, it was also to determine the suitability of the West Coast as a place for a permanent studio. The group set up a small facility at Washington Street and Grand Avenue (where the Los Angeles Convention Center now stands). After this, Griffith and his players decided to go a little further north to a small village they had heard about that was friendly, and had beautiful floral scenery. They decided to travel there, and fell in love with this little place called Hollywood. Biograph then made the first film ever in Hollywood called In Old California, a Latino melodrama about the early days of Mexico-owned California.

D.W. Griffith
In December 1908, Biograph joined Edison in forming the Motion Picture Patents Company in an attempt to control the industry and shut out smaller producers.

American Mutoscope and Biograph Decline
Producer Thomas R. Bond II and his father, the late Tommy Bond (1926–2005), who played "Butch" in Our Gang (also known as "The Little Rascals"), started the new California corporation,

See also

Friday, November 23, 2007


Belgrave is an area in northern Leicester, England. The old Belgrave Village is on the Loughborough Road, to the west of the A46, known at that point as 'Melton Road'.

Belgrave, Leicestershire History
The settlement has been meant in Domesday Book as Merdegrave (from Old English mearð 'marten' + grāf 'grove'). However, after the Norman Conquest the first part of the name merde was taken to be Old French 'dung' or 'shit', hence the people changed it to Old French beu, bel 'fair', 'lovely', in order to remove that unpleasant association.

Thursday, November 22, 2007


Gil Scott-Heron (born April 1, 1949) is an American poet and musician known primarily for his late 1960s and early 1970s work as a spoken word performer. He is associated with African American militant activism, and is best known for his poem and song "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised". He is the son of Jamaican footballer Gil Heron, who was one of the first black professionals to play in the UK.

Gil Scott-Heron History/overview

Discography

Books

Black Wax (1982). Directed by Robert Mugge.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007


Palenque is a Maya archeological site near the Usumacinta River in the Mexican state of Chiapas, located at 17°29′0″N, 92°2′59″W about 130 km south of Ciudad del Carmen (see map). It is a medium-sized site, much smaller than such huge sites as Tikal or Copán, but it contains some of the finest architecture, sculpture, roof comb and bas-relief carvings the Maya produced.

Name and etymology
Other important locations and Emblem Glyphs that occur in Palenque texts include the following:

Mat or Matal- Often spelled with the head of a cormorant, the Mat Emblem Glyph is used by mythological entities as well as rulers. Toponyms and associated Emblem Glyphs in Palenque texts
Much of the Early Classic history of the city still awaits the archaeologist's trowel. However, from the extent of the surveyed site and the reference to Early Classic rulers in the inscriptional record of the Late Classic, it is clear Palenque's history is much longer than we currently know. The fact that early ajaw (king or lord) and mythological beings used a variety of emblem glyphs in their titles indeed suggests a complex early history. For instance, K'uk' B'ahlam the supposed founder of the Palenque dynasty is called a Toktan Ajaw in the text of the Temple of the Foliated Cross.
The famous structures that we know today probably represent a rebuilding effort in response to the attacks by the city of Calakmul and its client states in 599 and 611.

History
A list of known Maya rulers of the city, with dates of their reigns:

K'uk B'alam I 11 March, 431 - 435
"Casper" (nickname; ancient name not translated; also known as "11 Rabbit") 10 August, 435 - 487
B'utz Aj Sak Chiik 29 July, 487 - 501
Ahkal Mo' Naab' I 5 June, 501 - 1 December, 524
vacant ?
K'an Joy Chitam I 25 February, 529 - 8 February, 565
Ahkal Mo' Naab' II 4 May, 565 - 23 July, 570
vacant ?
Kan B'alam I 8 April, 572 - 3 February, 583
Yohl Ik'nal (female ruler) 583-604
Aj Ne' Yohl Mat 605-612
Pacal I 612
Sac-Kuk (female) 612-615 d. 640
K'inich Janaab' Pakal ("Pacal II"; "Pacal the Great") 615-683
K'inich Kan B'alam II ("Chan Bahlam II") 683-702
K'inich K'an Joy Chitam II ("Kan Xul II") 702-711 d. 722?
Xoc (regent for Kan-Joy Chitam II) 711?-c. 722
K'inich Ahkal Mo' Naab' III ("Chaacal III") 3 January, 722 - after 729
K'inich Janaab' Pakal ("Pacal III") fl. c. 742
K'inich K'uk B'alam II 8 March, 765 - ?
Wak Kimi Janhb' Pakal ("Pacal IV") 17 November, 799-? Dynastic list
The first ajaw, or king, of B'aakal that we know of was K'uk Balam (Quetzal Jaguar), who governed for four years starting in the year 431. After him, a king came to power, nicknamed Gasparín by archeologists. The two next kings were probably Gasparín's sons. Little was known about the first of these, B'utz Aj Sak Chiik, until 1994, when a tablet was found describing a ritual for the king. The first tablet mentioned his successor Ahkal Mo' Naab I as a teenage prince, and therefore it is believed that there was a family relation between them. For unknown reasons, Akhal Mo' Naab I had great prestige, so the Kings who succeeded him were proud to be his descendants.
When Ahkal Mo' Naab I died in 524, there was an interregnum of four years, before the following king was crowned en Toktán in 529. K'an Joy Chitam I governed for 36 years. His sons Ahkal Mo' Naab II and K'an B'alam I were the first kings who used the title Kinich, which means the great son. This word was used also by later kings. B'alam I was succeeded in 583 by Yok Iknal, who is supposedly his daughter. The inscriptions found in Palenque document a battle that occurred under her government in which troops from Calakmul invaded and sacked Palenque, a military feat without known precedents. These events took place on April 21, 599.
A second victory by Calakmul occurred some twelve years later, in 611, under the government of Aj Ne'Ohl Mat, son of Yol Iknal. In this occasion, the king of Calakmul entered Palenque in person, consolidating a significant military disaster, the which was followed by an epoch of political disorder. Aj Ne'Ohl Mat was to die in 612.

Early Classic period
B'aakal began the Late Classic period in the throes of the disorder created by the defeats before Calakmul. The texts written in 680s are pessimistic: "Lost is the divine lady, lost is the king." These sources also tell of some fundamental rites that were not actually done. Mentions of the government at the time have not been found.
It is believed that after the death of Aj Ne'Ohl Mat, Janaab Pakal, sometimes called Pakal I, took power thanks to a political agreement. Janaab Pakal assumed the functions of the ajaw (king) but never was crowned; and he was succeeded in 612 by his daughter, the queen Sak K'uk, who governed for only three years. (see citation hereof in Spanish wikipedia). It is considered that the dynasty was reestablished from then on, so B'aakal retook the path of glory and splendor.
The son of Janaab Pakal is the most famous of the Mayan Kings, K'inich Janaab' Pakal, also known as Pakal the Great. Starting at twelve years of age, he reigned in Palenque from 615-683. Known as the favorite of the gods, he carried Palenque to new levels of splendor, in spite of having come to power when the city was at a low point. Pakal married the princess of Oktán in 624 and had two children.
During his government, most of the palaces and temples of Palenque were constructed; the city flourished as never before, eclipsing Tikal. The central complex, known as The Palace, was enlarged and remodeled on various occasions, notably in the years 654, 661, and 668. In this structure, is a text describing how in that epoch Palenque was newly allied with Tikal, and also with Yaxchilan, and that they were able to capture the six enemy kings of the alliance. Not much more had been translated from the text.
After the death of Pakal in 683, his older son K'inich Kan B'alam assumed the kingship of B'aakal, who in turn was succeeded in 702 by his brother K'inich K'an Joy Chitam II. The first continued the architectural and sculptural works that were began by his father, as well as finishing the construction of the famous tomb of Pakal. Furthermore, he began ambitious projects, like the Group of the Crosses. Thanks to numerous works began during his government, now we have portraits of this king, found in various sculptures. His brother succeeded him continuing with the same enthusiasm of construction and art, reconstructing and enlarging the north side of the Palace. Thanks to the reign of these three kings, B'aakal had a century of growing and splendor.
In 711, Palanque was sacked by the realm of Toniná, and the old king K'inich K'an Joy Chitam II was taken prisoner. It is not known what the final destination of the king was, and it is presumed that he was executed in Toniná. For ten years there was no king. Finally, K'inich Ahkal Mo' Nab' III was crowned in 722. Although the new king belonged to the royalty, there is no reason to be sure that he was the direct inheritor direct of K'inich K'an Joy Chitam II. It is believed, therefore, that this coronation was a break in the dynastic line; and probably K'inich Ahkal Nab' arrived to power after years of maneuvering and forging political alliances. This king, his son and grandson, governed until the end of the century. Little is known about this time period, except that, among other events, the war with Toniná continued, where there are hieroglyphics that record a new defeat of Palenque.

Late Classic period
During the 8th century, B'aakal came under increasing stress, in concert with most other Classic Mayan city-states, and there was no new elite construction in the ceremonial center sometime after 800. An agricultural population continued to live here for a few generations, then the site was abandoned and was slowly grown over by the forest. The district was very sparsely populated when the Spanish first arrived in the 1520s.

Abandonment
Important structures at Palenque include:

Palenque Art and architecture
The Palace, actually a complex of several connected and adjacent buildings and courtyards built up over several generations on a wide artificial terrace. The Palace houses many fine sculptures and bas-relief carvings in addition to the distinctive four-story tower.

Palace
The Temple of Inscriptions was begun perhaps as early as 675 A similar scene of emergence is seen on the San Francisco Capstone which depicts an enthroned Maize God sprouting from the portal maw.

Temple of Inscriptions
The Temple of the Cross, Temple of the Sun, and Temple of the Foliated Cross. This is a set of graceful temples atop step pyramids, each with an elaborately carved relief in the inner chamber depicting two figures presenting ritual objects and effigies to a central icon. Earlier interpretations had argued that the smaller figure was that of K'inich Janaab' Pakal while the larger figure was K'inich Kan B'ahlam. However, it is now known based on a better understanding of the iconography and epigraphy that the central tablet depicts two images of Kan B'ahlam. The smaller figure shows K'inich Kan B'ahlam during a rite of passage ritual at the age of six (9.10.8.9.3 9 Akbal 6 Xul) while the larger is of his accession to kingship at the age of 48. These temples were named by early explorers; the cross-like images in two of the reliefs actually depict the tree of creation at the center of the world in Maya mythology.

Temples of the Cross group
The site also has a number of other temples, tombs, and elite residences, some a good distance from the center of the site, a court for playing the Mesoamerican Ballgame, and an interesting stone bridge over the Otulum River some distance below the Aqueduct.

The Aqueduct constructed with great stone blocks with a three-meter-high vault to make the Otulum River flow underneath the floor of Palenque's main plaza.
The Temple of The Lion at a distance of some 200 meters south of the main group of temples; its name came from the elaborate bas-relief carving of a king seated on a throne in the form of a jaguar.
Structure XII with a bas-relief carving of the God of Death.
Temple of the Count another elegant Classic Palenque temple, which got its name from the fact that early explorer Jean Frederic Waldeck lived in the building for some time, and Waldeck claimed to be a Count.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007


Nikolai Alexandrovich Berdyaev (Николай Александрович Бердяев) (March 18 [O.S. March 6] 1874March 24, 1948) was a Russian religious and political philosopher.

Nicholas Berdyaev Biography
Berdyaev was born in Kiev into an aristocratic military family. He spent a solitary childhood at home, where his father's library allowed him to read widely. He read Hegel, Schopenhauer, and Kant when only fourteen years old and excelled at languages.

Early Life and Education
Berdyaev decided on an intellectual career and entered the Kiev University in 1894. This was a time of revolutionary fervor among the students and the intelligentsia. Berdyaev became a Marxist and in 1898 was arrested in a student demonstration and expelled from the University. Later his involvement in illegal activities led to three years of internal exile in central Russia – a mild sentence compared to that faced by many other revolutionaries.
In 1904 Berdyaev married Lydia Trusheff and the couple moved to St. Petersburg, the Russian capital and centre of intellectual and revolutionary activity. Berdyaev participated fully in intellectual and spiritual debate, eventually departing from radical Marxism to focus his attention on philosophy and spirituality. Berdyaev and Trusheff remained deeply committed to each other until the latter's death in 1945.
Berdyaev was a believer in orthodox Christianity, but was often critical of the institutional church. A fiery 1913 article criticising the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church caused him to be charged with the crime of blasphemy, the punishment for which was exile to Siberia for life. The World War and the Bolshevik Revolution prevented the matter coming to trial.
He was a Christian universalist.

Nicholas Berdyaev Revolutionary Activities
Berdyaev could not accept the Bolshevik regime, because of its authoritarianism and the domination of the state over the freedom of the individual. Yet, he accepted the hardships of the revolutionary period, as he was permitted for the time being to continue to lecture and write.
His philosophy has been characterised as Christian existentialist. He was preoccupied with creativity and in particular freedom from anything that inhibited said creativity, whence his opposition against a "collectivized and mechanized society".
In September, 1922, the Bolshevik government expelled a carefully selected group of some 160 prominent writers, intellectuals and scholars whose ideas the Bolshevik regime found objectionable, Berdyaev among them on the so-called "philosophers' ship" . Overall, they were supporters neither of the Czarist régime nor of the Bolsheviks, preferring less autocratic forms of government. They included those who argued for personal liberty, spiritual development, Christian ethics, and a pathway informed by reason and guided by faith.

Exile in France
The first date is of the Russian edition, the second date is of the first English edition The list is compiled from '"Bibliographie des Oeuvres de Nicolas Berdiaev" établie par Tamara Klépinine' published by the Institut d'études Slaves, Paris 1978

The Meaning of the Creative Act (1916) 1955
Dostoevsky (1923) 1934
The Meaning of History (1923) 1936
The End of Our Time (1924) 1933
Leontiev (1926) 1940
Freedom and the Spirit (1927-8) 1935
The Russian Revolution (1931)(anthology)
The Destiny of Man 1931 (1937)
Christianity and Class War 1931 (1933)
The Fate of Man in the Modern World (1934) 1938
Solitude and Society (1934) 1938
The Bourgeois Mind 1934 (anthology)
The Origin of Russian Communism (1937) 1955
Christianity and Anti-semitism (1938) 1952
Slavery and Freedom (1939)
The Russian Idea (1946) 1947
Spirit and Reality (1946) 1957
The Beginning and the End(1947) 1952
Towards a New Epoch" (1949) (anthology)
Dream and Reality: An Essay in Autobiography (1949) 1950
The Realm of Spirit and the Realm of Caesar (1949) 1952
The Divine and the Human (1949) 1952
Truth and Revelation (n.p.) 1953 Works cited

Christian existentialism
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Nikolai Lossky
sobornost
Russian philosophy
Philosophers' ship

Monday, November 19, 2007


The Battle of Saint Gotthard (Hungarian: Szentgotthárd) was fought on August 1, 1664 between an Austrian army led by Raimondo Montecuccoli and an Ottoman army under the command of Ahmed Köprülü. The battle took place at Szentgotthárd in Western Hungary, near the present-day Austro-Hungarian border. The Turks were militarily defeated but were able to negotiate the Peace of Vasvár, which was highly favorable to them.

Battle of Saint Gotthard Preparations
More so than military power, the Austrian victory was achieved due to diplomatic efforts. Although Leopold personally objected to Protestantism, he had to rely on his Protestant German princes to provide military aid. Even worse was the military aid from France, which was (and continued to be until the Diplomatic Revolution of 1756) Austria's arch-nemesis. Despite numerous objections from some Protestant princes, help was not short in coming. The League of the Rhine - a French dominated group of German princes - agreed to send a corps of 6,000 men independently commanded by Count Coligny of France and Prince Johann Philipp of Mainz. By September 1663, Brandenburg and Saxony had also agreed to contingents of their own. In January 1664, the Imperial Diet agreed to raise 21,000 men, although this army did not yet exist other than on paper. Meanwhile, the Turks had declared war in April 1663, although they were slow in executing their invasion plans.

Battle of Saint Gotthard Diplomatic efforts
Köprülü's army might have numbered 120-160,000 Probably included some 60,000 Janissaries and spahis, 100,000 azaps, akincis, silidars,tatars and vassals.
Montecuccoli's army consists of Austrian, Hungarian and German forces, French brigades and approx. 2000 Croatians.
The Turkish invasion began in the spring of 1664, a full year after their declaration of war. This delay was key to the defense of Austria, as Montecuccoli was waiting for help to arrive. Finally in July 1664 the Imperial forces were assembled and they set out for the River Rába, which separated the Turkish forces from the Austrian duchy itself. If they were allowed to cross, the Turks could threaten both Vienna and Graz. Montecuccoli intercepted the Turks before they crossed the river but the division of command made effective deployment of troops impossible. On 1 August 1664 Turkish forces crossed the river near the monastery of Saint Gotthard and beat the Austrians back. Although initially plagued by disunity, Montecuccoli was finally able to convince Coligny and Leopold Wilhelm of Baden-Baden (commander of the Imperial detachment) to mass their forces and attack the Turkish troops, who were reorganizing in a nearby forest. The attack stunned the Turks, who fled in confusion back to the river, with a large number of them drowning. Due to the confusion of the panicked troops, Ahmed Köprülü (Vizier 1661-1676) was not able to send the rest of his army across the river and instead retired from the field.
Casualties were heavy on the Ottoman side and significantly, most of the casualties were in the elite corps of the army. Köprülü was left with an army of ill-trained irregulars and auxiliaries while Montecuccoli's casualties were light and mostly in the Imperial contingent. Despite the victory, the Austrians were still outnumbered nearly three to one.
In his work THE OTTOMAN CENTURIES, Lord Kinross reported that the Turks took huge casualties from the French bayonetmen in the Austrian ranks. This was the first Turkish experience at fighting soldiers using the bayonet and musket in disciplined ranks. But the Turks, in their conservatism, were slow to adopt new economic, military, and social methods, and thus were becoming at this time gradually outclassed by Western European states.

Battle
Although many in Europe, especially the Croat and Magyar nobility, expected the Austrians to finally liberate Hungary once and for all, Leopold abandoned the campaign. Many have criticized him for this decision (both in the past and the present). Although Montecuccoli's army was largely intact, there was no interest among the allies to liberate Hungary. Any invasion of Hungary would undoubtedly have to be done without the help of the French and German troops. Leopold noticed that the French officers had begun to fraternize with the Magyar nobles and encouraged them to rebel against Austrian rule.
In addition, Leopold had always been a member of the "Spanish faction" in Vienna. With the last Spanish Habsburg, Carlos II, about to die at any given moment, Leopold wanted to ensure that his hands were free for the inevitable struggle against Louis XIV of France. Although the liberation of Hungary was a strategic interest of the Habsburgs, it would have to wait until later. Throughout his reign, Leopold had always been more interested in the struggle against France rather than the Ottomans. Therefore, he signed the humiliating Peace of Vasvar, which did not take into account the Battle of Saint Gotthard. The Battle of Saint Gotthard is still significant, however, for it stopped any Turkish invasion of Austria, which certainly would have prolonged the war and led to an even more disastrous resolution. The Austrians would also use the twenty-year truce to build up their forces and begin the liberation of Hungary in 1683.