Friday, November 30, 2007

Noricum
Noricum in ancient geography was a Celtic kingdom (perhaps better described as a federation of - by tradition, twelve - tribes) stretching over the area of today's Austria and Slovenia, and in the past a province of the Roman Empire. It was bounded on the north by the Danube, on the west by Raetia and Vindelicia, on the east by Pannonia, on the south by Italia and Dalmatia. It roughly corresponds to the greater part of modern Styria and Carinthia, and part of Austria west of Vienna, Bavaria and Salzburg.
The original population appears to have consisted of Pannonians (a people kin to the Illyrians), who after the great emigration of the Gauls became subordinate to various Celtic tribes, chief amongst them being the Taurisci, probably called Norici by the Romans from their capital Noreia (Neumarkt in der Steiermark).
The country is mountainous and the soil relatively poor except in the southeastern parts, but it proved rich in iron and supplied material for the manufacturing of arms in Pannonia, Moesia and northern Italy. The famous Noric steel was largely used in the making of Roman weapons ("Noricus ensis," Horace, Odes, i. 16. o).
The inhabitants were a brave and warlike people, who paid more attention to cattle-breeding than to agriculture, although it is probable that the Romans, by draining the marshes and cutting down timber, increased the fertility of the soil. Gold and salt were also found in considerable quantities; the plant called saliunca (the wild or Celtic nard) grew in abundance, and was used as a perfume (Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia xxi. 20.43). Noricum was the southern outpost of the northern or Celtic peoples and the starting-point of their attacks upon Italy. It is in Noricum that we first hear of almost all these Celtic invaders. Archaeological research, particularly in the cemeteries of Hallstatt, less than 40 km from Noreia, have shown that there was a vigorous civilization there centuries before recorded history. The Hallstatt cemeteries contained weapons and ornaments from the Bronze age, through the period of transition, up to the fully-developed Iron age. Ridgeway has made a strong case for the theory that the cradle of the Homeric Achaeans was in Noricum and neighbouring areas.
The Noric language was a Continental Celtic language. It is attested in only two fragmentary inscriptions, which do not provide enough information for any conclusions about the nature of the language to be drawn [1], [2].

Thursday, November 29, 2007


For the city council in Victoria, Australia, see City of Kingston.
Kingston City Council is the governing body for the City of Kingston, Ontario.
The council consist of the Mayor of Kingtson and 12 city councillors.
Kingston City Council
Past Members

Mayor Harvey Rosen
Geroge Stoparczyk - Trillium
George Sutherland - Countryside
Kevin George - Loyalist-Cataraqui
George Beavis - Lakeside
Sara Meers - Cataraqui
Steve Garrison - Kingscourt Strathcona
Beth Pater - Portsmouth
Ed Smith - Williamsville
Floyd Patterson - Sydenham
Rick Downes - King's Town
Leonore Foster - Pittsburgh
Bittu George - Collins-Bayridge

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Kalasin Province
Kalasin (Thai: กาฬสินธุ์) is one of the provinces (changwat) of Thailand, located in the North-East of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are (from north clockwise) Sakon Nakhon, Mukdahan, Roi Et, Maha Sarakham, Khon Kaen and Udon Thani.

Geography
Kalasin is an agricultural province producing sticky rice and other cash crops such as manioc and sugar cane. The families are generally poor in this essentially rural area and make ends meet by producing the silk for which the region is also renowned and basketry.

Kalasin Province Symbols
The province is subdivided into 14 districts (Amphoe) and 4 minor districts (King Amphoe). The districts are further subdivided into 134 communes (tambon) and 1509 villages (muban).

Mueang Kalasin
Na Mon
Kamalasai
Rong Kham
Kuchinarai
Khao Wong
Yang Talat
Huai Mek
Sahatsakhan
Kham Muang
Tha Khantho
Nong Kung Si
Somdet
Huai Phueng
Sam Chai
Na Khu
Don Chan
Khong Chai

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Clifford Stoll
Clifford Stoll (or Cliff Stoll) is a U.S. astronomer, computer systems administrator, and author. He received his Ph.D. from University of Arizona in 1980. During the 1960s and '70s, Stoll was assistant chief engineer [1] at WBFO, a public radio station in Buffalo, New York.
Stoll has written three books as well as technology articles in the non-specialist press (e.g., in Scientific American on the Curta mechanical calculator).
Stoll's role in catching hacker Markus Hess in the 1980s, while Stoll was employed at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California, led to his authoring the book The Cuckoo's Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage and the authoring of the paper "Stalking the Wily Hacker", published at the magazine Communications of the ACM (May 1988, Volume 31, Number 5, Association for Computing Machinery). Stoll's book was later chronicled in an episode of WGBH's NOVA entitled "The KGB, the Computer, and Me" which aired on PBS stations in 1990.
In his 1995 book, Silicon Snake Oil, Stoll called the possibility of e-commerce "baloney." He currently sells Klein bottles on the Web. He is currently a "mostly" stay-at-home dad. He teaches eighth graders about physics at Tehiyah Day School, in El Cerrito, California. Stoll was a regular contributor to MSNBC's The Site. Stoll is an FCC licensed amateur radio operator, callsign K7TA.

Monday, November 26, 2007

Party Divisions of United States Congresses
The following table lists the party divisions for each United States Congress. Numbers in boldface denote the majority party at that particular time, while italicized numbers signify a Congress in which the majority party changed midsession.

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Consul (representative)
The title Consul is used for the official representatives of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, and to facilitate trade and friendship between the people of the country to whom he or she is accredited and the country of which he or she is a representative. This distinguishes the consul from the ambassador or chargé d'affaires, who is, technically, a representative from one head of state to another. Thus, while there is but one ambassador representing a nation's head of state to another, and his or her duties revolve around diplomatic relations between the two countries, there may be several consuls, one in each of several main cities, providing assistance with bureaucratic issues to both the citizens of the consul's own country travelling or living abroad, and to the citizens of the country the consul is in who wish to travel to or trade with the consul's country.

Antecedent: The Classical Greek Proxenos
Consuls were originally the highest magistrates of the Roman Republic. The term was revived by the city-state of Genoa which - unlike Rome - bestowed it on various state officials, not necessarily restricted to the highest. Among these were Genoese officials stationed in various Mediterranean ports, whose role included duties similar to those of the modern Consul, i.e. helping Genoese merchants and sailors in difficulties with the local authorities. This institution, with its name, was eventually emulated by other powers.

Historical development of the term
The office of a Consul is termed a Consulate, and is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in that foreign country, nowadays usually an Embassy or High Commission usually in the capital city of the host nation. In the capital, the consulate may be a part of the embassy itself. A consul of higher rank is termed a "consul general", and his or her office a "consulate general." He or she typically has several Consuls and Vice-Consuls working under him/her. Consulates-general need not be in the capital city, but instead in the most appropriate cities. In the United States, for example, many countries have a consulate-general in New York City, and some have consulates-general in several cities (e.g. Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco).
Consuls of various ranks may have specific legal authority for certain activities, such as notarizing documents. As such, diplomatic personnel with other responsibilities may receive consular commissions. Aside from those outlined in the Vienna conventions, there are few formal requirements outlining what a consular official must do. For example, for some countries, consular officials may be responsible for the issuance of visas; other countries may limit "consular services" to providing assistance to compatriots, legalization of documents, etc. Nonetheless, consulates proper will be headed by consuls of various ranks, even if such officials have little or no connection with the more limited sense of consular service.
Contrary to popular belief, although many of the staff of consulates may be career diplomats they do not generally have diplomatic immunity (unless they are also accredited as such). Immunities and privileges for consuls and accredited staff of consulates under the relevant international conventions are generally limited to actions undertaken in their official capacity and, with respect to the consulate itself, to those required for official duties. In practice, the extension and application of consular privileges and immunities can be subject to wide discrepancies from country to country.
Consulates are more numerous than diplomatic missions (e.g. embassies), since the latter are posted only in a foreign nation's capital (exceptionally even outside the country, in case of a multiple mandate, e.g. a minor power may well accredit a single Ambassador with several neighbouring states of modest relative importance that are not considered important allies), while consular ones are also posted in various cities throughout the country, especially centres of economic activity, or wherever there is a significant population of its citizens (expatriates) in residence.
Consulates are subordinate posts of their home country's diplomatic mission (usually an embassy, in the capital city of the host country). Diplomatic missions are established in international law under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, while consulates-general and consulates are established in international law under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (see external link below). Formally, at least within the US system, the consular career (ranking in descending order: Consul-General, Consul, Vice-Consul, Honorary Consul) forms a different hierarchy from the diplomats in the strict sense. However, it is common for individuals to be transferred from one hierarchy to the other, and for consular officials to serve in a capital carrying out strictly consular duties within the 'consular section' of a diplomatic post, e.g. within an embassy.
Activities of a consulate include protecting the interests of their citizens temporarily or permanently resident in the host country, issuing passports; issuing visas to foreigners and public diplomacy. However, the principal role of a consulate lies traditionally in promoting trade - assisting companies to invest and to import and export goods and services both inwardly to their home country and outward to their host country. And although it is never admitted publicly, consulates, like embassies, may also gather intelligence information from the assigned country. This is especially important if the consulate is located in a port city.
Between Commonwealth countries, both diplomatic and consular activities may be undertaken by a High Commission in the capital, although larger Commonwealth nations generally also have consulates and consulates-general in major cities. For example, Toronto in Canada, Sydney in Australia and Auckland, New Zealand, are of greater economic importance than their respective national capitals, hence the need for consulates there. In British colonies, most notably Hong Kong before its transfer to China in 1997, senior envoys in these missions were usually known as Commissioners, but are now known as Consuls-General, subordinate to an Embassy in Beijng.
Some consuls are not career officials of the represented state at all; some are locally-engaged staff with the nationality of the sending country (see Chapter 1, Section 1, Article 22 of convention), and in smaller cities, or in cities that are very distant from full-time diplomatic missions, a foreign government which feels that some form of representation is nevertheless desirable may appoint a person who has not hitherto been part of their diplomatic service to fulfill this role. In some instances, the honorary consul may not be a citizen of the sending country, and may well combine the job with their own (often commercial) private activities, in which case they are usually given the title of honorary consul. Many members of the public are not aware that honorary consuls are not full-time diplomats. Graham Greene used this position as the title of his 1973 novel The Honorary Consul.

Consul (representative) Colonial and similar roles
When a state falls under the "amical" protection of a stronger (often colonial) power, the latter is usually represented by a high ranking diplomatic and/or gubernatorial officer, such as a Resident general, Resident Minister or High Commissioner. However, if there is no such representation (in modern terms often at ambassadorial level), the task may fall to the only available 'diplomatic' alternative: consular representation.
This arrangement lasted until 1 March 1900, when the archipelago was annexed by imperial Germany, with the exception of the eastern islands, which remained under U.S. control and became the territory of American Samoa).

in the German West African Kamerun, 6 July 1884 - 26 June 1885, provisional consul Heinrich Randad filled the void between the first Reichskommissar (titled - for West Africa, 5-6 July 1884 only) and the subsequent series of regular incumbents
In parts of present Nigeria, British Consuls were in charge of the following West African protectorates:

  • the Bight of Benin May 1852 - 6 August 1861
    the Bight of Biafra 30 June 1849 - 6 August 1861
    the Bights of Biafra and Benin since the merger of the two above on 6 August 1861; the last incumbent was promoted on 5 June 1885 to stay on as first Consul general (of two) of the Bights
    From 7 November 1889, Samoa, previously a Polynesian kingdom, was governed by the joint German-British-U.S. Samoa Tripartite Convention, which made Samoa a protectorate of those three powers. On 10 June 1899, a provisional (colonial) government sui generis was formed, consisting of the consuls of the three protecting powers:

    • Friedrich Rose (German Consul) (b. 1855 - d. 1922)
      Ernest George Berkeley Maxse (British Consul) (b. 1863 - d. 1943) - to 23 June 1899, succeeded by a mister Nair (acting British consul)
      Luther Wood Osborn (U.S. Consul) (b. 1843 - d. 1901).
      On Tonga, a British protectorate since 1900, the British Empire was only represented by its consuls from 1901 until Tongan independence in 1970. From 1901 until 1952, the protectorate was also under the administrative authority of the High Commissioner of the British Western Pacific Territories (always the British Governor of Fiji). Protectorates
      Even within another state, a foreign power often has extraterritorial rights over its official representation (such as a consulate). If such concessions are obtained, they are often justified as protection of the foreign religion (especially in the case of Christians in a Muslim state, such as in the so-called capitulations by the Ottoman Sultan to -Christian- European powers) and extend to the foreign power's expatriate citizens. In some cases, the foreign power actually took control of certain aspects of the local administration in order to see to the rights of expatriate citizens.
      A few examples:
      In other cases a part of a weaker state is complete handed over (without the formal surrender of 'naked' sovereignty) to be administered as a concession, including the indigenous local population:

      In 1261, the Genoese, having assisted Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palæologus in reconquering Constantinople, were rewarded with Smyrna and Pera as well as a Black Sea trade monopoly. They rapidly developed markets along the Black Sea's shores, the principal one being Caffa, and carried on a brisk trade, exporting mainly wine, oil, woollens and silks, and importing skins, furs, corn and Persian goods. A consulate general of the empire of Gazaria was established as the local government of these colonies.
      In 1855, Sir John Bowring signed a new treaty whereby Siam agreed to the appointment of a British consul in Bangkok and to that official exercising full extraterritorial powers. British subjects were permitted to own land in certain defined districts, customs and port dues and land revenues were fixed, and many new trade facilities were granted. This important arrangement was followed at intervals by similar treaties with the other powers, the last two being those with Japan in 1898 and Russia in 1899. A later convention established a second British consular district in northern Siam, while Britain and France both appointed vice-consuls in different parts of the country. Thus Westerners in Siam (the Chinese had no consul) could only be tried for criminal offences, or sued in civil cases, in their own consular courts. A large portion of the work of the foreign Consuls, especially the British, was consequently judicial and in 1901 the British government appointed a special judge and an assistant judge to this post. Meanwhile, trade steadily increased, especially with Great Britain and the British neighbouring colonies of Hong Kong and Singapore.
      In the small Italian concession territory in Tientsin (a treaty port, now Tianjin), the Consul was in charge of the entire local administration.
      A long list of French consuls-general in Shanghai served as both overseers of the French concession in this Chinese port as well as presidents of the metropolis's Municipal Council. This arrangement lasted from January 1848 until 15 May 1946 (shortly after the 28 February formal restoration of power from France to China). Occupied territories under similar control
      This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

      CONSUL.CC - The First Worldwide Consul Directory (non-profit-organization)
      WorldStatesmen- follow the links here (per colonizing power) or see under each present country

Saturday, November 24, 2007


Moseley Rugby Club was formed in 1873 and is based at Billesley Common in Birmingham, England. The club originally played at the Reddings, but after attempting to keep up with the transition to professional rugby, the club ran into financial difficulties and was forced to sell their prestigious 125 year home to property developers.

History

Origins
In 1873, Moseley was founded, born out of some members Havelock Cricket Club who wanted a winter sport when the cricket season had finished. The club debuted its signature red and black colours one year later. The Reddings was occupied by the club in 1880, and it stayed that way for almost 130 years. The club was traditionally called, like many rugby football clubs from either code, simply "Moseley Football Club" (a signpost from Alcester Road along Reddings Road in Moseley, erected by Birmingham City Council, pointed to "Moseley F.C. (R.U.)" This was removed after the club moved grounds.) There were major successes at The Reddings, including becoming the first team to defeat the travelling Maoris, in 1888, and the club acquired the freehold of the land in 1925. In 1935 the ground even staged an England trial game.

Early Days
Floodlights were installed at The Reddings in the late 1960's, and from this time onwards Moseley's fixture list routinely included the top sides in England and Wales. The most successful years were the late 1960's and 1970's, this included reaching the RFU Knock-out cup final on three occasions - losing 17-6 to Gloucester and then 15-12 to Leicester before emerging joint winners after drawing 12-12 with Gloucester after extra time in 1982. The team also defeated Fiji and the Barbarians and the club won the Anglo-Welsh Trophy twice - in 1972-1973 and 1976-1977.
When league rugby commenced, the team was placed in the Courage National Division 1, the top division at the time. They ended Bath's astonishing run of 22 unbeaten cup matches in 1988 winning 4-3.

The Golden Years

The Professional Era
The team's relegation from the top division at the end of the 1990-1991 season marked a consolidation period for the club after their fantastic times of the 1970's. In August 1995, when the door to full-scale professionalism opened, the board executives came together to work on plans to move with the idea and find possible financial resources so that the team could play with the best team and best facilities.

Building for the Future
On 30th January 1998, the club went into Administration, after overstretching its financial resources in the unreal world of professional rugby union. The Reddings had been sold on a 'delayed sale' basis to Bryant Homes and the future of the club was in jeopardy. However, the club's playing commitments were still fulfilled except in the North Midlands Cup in which the 2nd XV was entered. On 12th June 1998, the club was given another chance to fashion its own destiny when a group of Moseley Rugby Club members, assembled by Simon Cooper, a former club player and official, formed Moseley Ventures Ltd. and bought the club out of Administration. In the last 1st XV match at The Reddings on 6 May 2000, Moseley defeated Worcester 34-17 in a National Division One game.

Administration - Leaving the Reddings
On 7 October Moseley defeated Exeter 27-18 in the first match at its new home at the University of Birmingham in Bournbrook. The club stayed there until the end of the 2004/05 season.
Long-term permissions for a clubhouse and hospitality boxes was not granted and in consequence Moseley Ventures found it more difficult than expected to raise the necessary finance. Merger plans were discussed and an offer was made by Firoz Kassam, the chairman of Oxford United Football Club with a proposal to buy out the club and take it to his new stadium in Oxford. Supporters organized a major media and political campaign and this became the catalyst for a consortium of Moseley stalwarts to come forward to raise finance to defeat the Kassam offer. At a predictably traumatic meeting at the Grand Hotel on 26 July 2002, the consortium gained the support of the creditors by a narrow 1.7% majority regarded by some as a Pyrrhic victory. However, the consortium's business plan was approved by the RFU and with additional backing by the politicians of the City of Birmingham and the North Midlands RFU, the club survived in Birmingham. So a new Moseley Rugby Club was born and appointed David Warren as Chief Executive and former players John Beale and Derek Nutt as Director of Rugby and Head Coach respectively.

The Bournbrook Era - Crisis and Final Rescue

Recent Seasons
Despite the success of the consortium in keeping the club in Birmingham, a large number of first-team regulars had left the club at the end of the 2001/02 season. The team hastily assembled from more junior ranks after the rescue was inevitably relegated from National Division One (after 14 seasons in the top two divisions).

2002/2003 season
Negotiations for planning permission for a new stadium at Billesley Common, in the same postal district as The Reddings, began and permission was obtained. On the playing front, after a difficult first half to the season, the team began to gel, and a strong run of results in the new year saw mid-table respectability achieved, forming a basis for future improvement.

2003/2004 season
In 2004/2005 Moseley finished third in National Division Two, narrowly missing promotion behind Doncaster and Newbury. Nonetheless, the season saw many club records broken, and the era of lodging at Birmingham University ended with much optimism for the future.
The records broken were:

Most team points: 665 points
Most Consecutive Victories: 6
Most individual points in a season: 328 (Ollie Thomas)
Most conversions in a season: 48 (Ollie Thomas)
Most penalties in a season: 62 (Ollie Thomas)
Most drop goals in a season: 7 (Ollie Thomas)
Most consecutive scoring matches (points): 15 (Ollie Thomas)
Most league appearances: 161 (Andy Binns)
Most penalties in a career: 62 (Ollie Thomas)
Most consecutive matches: 70 (and counting - Gareth Taylor) 2004/2005 season
The first season at the new stadium on Billesley Common saw Moseley installed as favourites to gain promotion to higher echelons of the English game. Coaches Ian Smith and Don Caskie, along with Director of Rugby John Beale assembled an exceptionally strong team, now including ex-Premiership players Neil Mason and Daren O'Leary. Moseley topped the table for much of the season and indeed finished as champions ahead of Waterloo. Both teams gained promotion to National Division One

2005/2006 season
After the euphoria of promotion, the new season was predictably much more difficult for fans and players alike. Most of the promotion-winning squad was retained, with some judicious additions, and early games showed promise, including a defeat of highly-fancied Bedford. However, a string of defeats up to Christmas against top teams, with even bonus points being hard to come by, left Moseley facing a difficult task to survive. A brief rally in December and January, including a win against traditional "best enemies" Coventry proved vital in the long run, and towards the end of the season, with Waterloo already doomed, Otley flagged badly enough for Moseley to overhaul them and win a deserved second season in National One.

2007/2008 season
Moseley play at Billesley Common, on a section of the common leased from Birmingham City Council. The facilities include (temporary) clubhouse, covered stand (from September 2007), changing facilities, club shop, hospitality boxes and educational facility. The first XV pitch is extremely highly-rated for its playing surface. There are also pitches for 2nd/development XV, colts, women, minis and juniors, and an all-weather pitch featuring the latest rubber-crumb technology.

Stadium
Plans have been drawn up for the replacement of the temporary facilities by permanent buildings within the limits of the existing stadium. These were exhibited to the general public in July 2007, and will enable the club to expand its visitor capacity and improve hospitality facilities.

Development?

National Division Two Champions 2005/06
John Player Cup / Pilkington Cup Winners 1982 (shared with Gloucester); Runners-up 1972, 1979; Semi-final 1981, 1988, 1990; Quarter-final 1975, 1977, 1987, 1991, 1993, 1994
Anglo-Welsh Trophy Winners 1972-73, 1976-77 Club honours
Moseley field a full range of teams from the professional level of the 1st XV through all age groups. These are as follows:

1st XV - Professional team, competing in National Division 1, the second tier of the RFU league "pyramid".
"A" Team - 2nd XV, run jointly with Gloucester Rugby, playing in the Guinness "A" League.
Development XV - Overlaps with "A" team, providing opportunities for younger players in challenging fixtures
Women's XV - Plays in National Challenge 2 Midlands West league.
Selly Oak RUFC - Amateur XV affiliated to Moseley, also playing at Billesley Common, in Midlands Div 4 West (North).
Colts - U19 and U17 age groups, competing in National and County competitions.
Juniors - U16, U15, U14 and U13 age group teams, playing friendly games against other local clubs .
Minis - U7 to U12, and Micros for the very youngest. All except micros play friendly matches against other local clubs. Girls and boys play in the same teams up to U12. Teams
This list includes players on loan as well as permanent squad members. After 13 years of service to the club Andy Binns has been awarded a Benefit Season. Please help create a Wikipedia site to recognise this unique achievement. The benefit season will be launched on Saturday 20th November when Moseley play Doncaster in National League One. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Andybinnsbenefitseason
* England Academy - dual-registered with Gloucester
§ On loan

Moseley Rugby Football Club Notable former players

Main article: Sam Doble

Friday, November 23, 2007

Environmental geology
Environmental geology, like hydrogeology, is a multidisciplinary field of applied science and is closely related to engineering geology and somewhat related to environmental geography. They all involve the study of the interaction of humans with the geologic environment including the biosphere, the lithosphere, the hydrosphere, and to some extent the atmosphere,. It includes:

managing geological and hydrogeological resources such as fossil fuels, minerals, water (surface and ground water), and land use.
defining and mitigating exposure of natural hazards on humans
managing industrial and domestic waste disposal and minimizing or eliminating effects of pollution, and
performing associated activities, often involving litigation.

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Treasury
For the U.S. government securities, see Treasury security. Also see treasury management.
For the defunct chain of discount stores owned by JCPenney, see Treasury Stores.
A treasury is any place where the currency or items of high monetary value are kept. The term was first used in Classical times to describe the votive buildings erected to house gifts to the gods, such as the Siphnian Treasury in Delphi or many similar buildings erected in Olympia, Greece by competing city-states to impress others during the ancient Olympic Games.
The head of a Treasury is typically known as a Treasurer. This position may not necessarily have the final control over the actions of the Treasury particularly if they are not an elected representative.

Examples of treasuries
In the United States, the Treasurer reports to an executive-appointed Secretary of the Treasury. The IRS is the revenue agency of the US Department of Treasury.
In the United Kingdom, Her Majesty's Treasury is overseen by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The traditional honorary title of First Lord of the Treasury is held by the Prime Minister. Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs administers the taxation system.
In many other countries, the treasury is called the Ministry of Finance and the head is known as the Finance Minister. Examples include New Zealand, Canada, Malaysia, Singapore and Japan.
In Australia a Treasurer and a Finance Minister co-exist. The Treasurer is responsible for drafting the government budget and coordinating government expenditure. The Finance Minister is responsible for government procurement, policy guidelines for commonwealth, statutory authorities, and superannuation policies.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Saint Andeolus
Andeolus or Andéol was born in Smyrna in the 2nd century. A subdeacon, he was sent by Polycarp to evangelize southern Gaul. He went to the Vivarais. Septimius Severus, passing through that region, had him put to death; his head was stabbed with a gladius on May 1, 208, at Bergoiata, a Gallic settlement on a rocky peak over the Rhône River which would be later known as Bourg-Saint-Andéol. The body, thrown into the Rhone, was later found and placed in a sarcophagus by a rich Roman woman, Anycia or Amycia Eucheria Tullia (Blessed Tullie), daughter of senator Eucherius Valerianus (Eucherius of Lyon). His sarcophagus was rediscovered in 1865 during excavations in the St. Polycarp chapel of the eleventh century church of in Bourg-Saint-Andéol (Ardèche).

Monday, November 19, 2007


Beaumont is a town in central Alberta, Canada near the Irvine Creek. It is located in Division No. 11.
It is located 3.5 kilometres (2 mi) south of the City of Edmonton boundary on 50th Street SW and 9 kilometres (6 mi) east of the Edmonton International Airport.
With a growing population, amenities such as restaurants, medical facilities, professional services, retail stores and banks are readily available.
More than half of the workforce of Beaumont is employed in the City of Edmonton (2626 out of 5113).

Beaumont, Alberta Demographics

École Secondaire Beaumont Composite High School

Sunday, November 18, 2007


See also Polyclitus, a freedman in the service of the Roman emperor Nero.
'Polykleit (or Polyklitos, Polycleitus, Polyclitus; Greek Πολύκλειτος); called the Elder.
Polykleitos and Phidias were of the first generation of Greek sculptors to have a school of followers. The school of Polykleitos lasted for at least three generations, but it seems to have been most active in the late 300s and early 200s BC. The Roman writers Pliny and Pausanias noted the names of about twenty sculptors of Polykleitos' school, defined by their adherence to the principles of balance and definition set out by Polykleitos. Skopas and Lysippus are the best-known successors of Polykleitos.
His son, Polykleitos the Younger, worked in the fourth century BC. Although he was also a sculptor of athletes, his greatest fame was won as an architect. He designed the great theater at Epidaurus.

PolykleitosPolykleitos Notes

Saturday, November 17, 2007


The EZ-Link card is a contactless smartcard based on Sony's FeliCa smartcard technology, used for payments in Singapore especially for transportation in Singapore . Established in 2001, it was promoted as a means for faster travel due to speedier boarding times on buses. EZ-Link cards are sold, distributed and managed by EZ-Link Private Limited, a subsidiary of Singapore's Land Transport Authority. As of 2005, there are over 8 million EZ-Link cards in circulation, with 4 million card-based transactions occurring daily.

EZ-Link Development
The card is commonly used in Singapore as a smartcard for paying transportation fees in the city-state's Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), Light Rapid Transit (LRT) and public bus services. The card also serves as a supplementary identification and concession card for students in nationally recognised educational institutes, full-time national service personnel serving in the Singapore Armed Forces, Singapore Civil Defence Force and Singapore Police Force or senior citizens who are over sixty years old.
The system has since been expanded, with EZ-Link cards being used for payments in Singapore branches of McDonald's, food centres, supermarkets and libraries, and even soft drink purchases from vending machines. Some schools in Singapore have also started to adopt the EZ-Link card as a way to mark the attendance of students and to pay for food served within the school campus.
The same system is used by the Octopus card in Hong Kong and will be used for public transit in The Netherlands.
On December 3, 2005, EZ-Link Pte Ltd announced that it was working with NETS to create a new hybrid card which will have the functions of both the EZ-Link card and the CashCard. This card would make it possible for one card to be used for payment on three popular modes of land transport in Singapore — ERP, bus and MRT. Work on this card is expected to be completed in 2007.

Technical data
Fares range from between S$0.65 to S$2.98 for standard adult EZ-Link cards on the Mass Rapid Transit. Concessionary users usually do not exceed fifty cents a trip on both MRT and bus systems. The fare for a bus trip for adult card users, including line changes usually never exceed S$1.90.
On the MRT system, there are forms of EZ-Link cards which are meant to be used as single-trip tickets, but the prices of which range are between one or two times the expense of non single-trip tickets, from S$0.90 to S$4.10. In addition, a S$1.00 refundable ticket deposit is charged for each Standard Ticket. This refund can be collected from any General Ticketing Machine when the card is returned to the machine within 30 days of purchase. The smartcard technology contained in each Standard Ticket makes each one costly enough to necessitate recycling of Standard Tickets.
There was a problem with commuters attempting to evade paying the full fare, with the prior magnetic farecard system.
Under the EZ-Link system, when a person taps his card on the entry card reader, the system deducts the maximum fare payable from his bus stop to the end of the bus route. If he taps his card on the exit reader when he disembarks, the system will return an amount based on the remaining bus stages to the end of the bus route. If he fails to tap the card on the exit reader when he disembarks, the entry card reader would have already deducted the maximum fare payable to the end of the bus route.
Initially, this system was not very well received by Singaporean commuters due to numerous glitches resulting in overcharging[1]. However, most of these glitches were rectified by the second year of operation: upgrading of the system software and changing the way fares are deducted. Nowadays, when a commuter taps his/her card on the entry card reader, the screen will display the remaining value in the card. The fare will only be deducted when the card is tapped on the exit reader. To ensure that commuters pay their fares, bus drivers are required to ensure that all commuters tap their EZ-Link cards on the entry reader (this gives off a discernible beep), and as with magnetic farecards, inspectors occasionally come on board buses to check the status of commuters' cards and ensure they have paid their fare. Non-EZ-Link card commuters use cash and receive a proof of purchase for the particular bus trip.

Criticisms

Network for Electronic Transfers
CashCard

Friday, November 16, 2007

Sylvia Sidney Biography
Sidney, an only child, was born Sophia Kosow in The Bronx, New York to Rebecca, a Romanian Jew, and Victor Kosow, a Russian Jewish immigrant. Sidney became an actress at the age of 15 as a way of overcoming shyness, using her stepfather's surname as her professional surname. As a student of the Theater Guild's School for Acting, Sidney appeared in several of their productions during the 1920s and earned praise from theater critics. In 1926, she was seen by a Hollywood talent scout and made her first film appearance later that year.

Sylvia Sidney Career
Sidney was married three times, including to actor and acting teacher Luther Adler from 1938 until 1947, by whom she had her only child, a son, Jacob, who predeceased her. She died from throat cancer in New York City at the age of 88, after a career of more than 70 years.
Sidney has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contribution to Motion Pictures at 6245 Hollywood Boulevard.
During the filming of Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams, costar Joanne Woodward remarked how she and her husband, Paul Newman, had a difficult time remembering their anniversary date. Later, Sidney surprised Woodward with a gift of a handmade pillow with the inscription "Paul and Joanne" and their anniversary date.

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Hindustani classical music History
Outside of South Asia, pure instrumental sub-continental classical music is more popular than vocal music, possibly because the lyrics in the latter are not comprehensible.
A number of musical instruments are associated with Hindustani classical music. The veena, a string instrument, was traditionally regarded as the most important, but few play it today and it has largely been superseded by its cousins the sitar and the sarod. Other plucked/struck string instruments include the surbahar, sursringar, santoor and various versions of the slide guitar. Among bowed instruments, the sarangi, esraj (or dilruba) and violin are popular. The bansuri (bamboo flute), shehnai and harmonium are important wind instruments. In the percussion ensemble, the tabla and the pakhavaj are the most popular. Various other instruments (including the banjo and the piano) have also been used in varying degrees.
Some representative performers (these lists are by no means comprehensive nor are intended to be):

Veena: Dabir Khann, Birendra Kishore Roy Chowdhury, Zia Mohiuddin Dagar, Bahauddin Dagar, Asad Ali Khan, Suvir Misra, Jeff Lewis
Vichitra Veena: Dr. Lalmani Misra, Pt. Gopal Krishna, Dr. Gopal Shankar Misra,Mrs.Radhika Budhkar.
Sitar: Imdad Khan, Enayet Khan, Wahid Khan, Mushtaq Ali Khan Ravi Shankar, Vilayat Khan, Nikhil Banerjee,Manilal Nag, Purnendu Shekhar Sengupta(Kanu Babu), Rais Khan, Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan, Imrat Khan, Shahid Parvez, Indranil Bhattacharya, Santosh Banerjee, Kalyani Roy, Budhaditya Mukherjee, Sanjoy Bandopadhyay, Kartik Seshadri,Shri ShriRam umdekar Purbayan Chatterjee
Sarod: Allauddin Khan, Brij Narayan, Hafiz Ali Khan, Radhika Mohan Moitra, Timir Baran, Ali Akbar Khan, Jatin Bhattacharya, Buddhadev Das Gupta, Vasant Rai, Sharan Rani, Dhyanesh Khan, Aashish Khan, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan,Mukesh Sharma
Surbahar: Imdad Khan, Wahid Khan, Enayet Khan, Annapurna Devi, Imrat Khan
Shehnai: Bismillah Khan, Ali Ahmed Khan
Bansuri: Pannalal Ghosh, Hariprasad Chaurasia, Raghunath Seth, Bari Siddiqui
Santoor: Shivkumar Sharma,Tarun Bhattachrya, Bhajan Sopori, Omprakash Chaurasiya
Sarangi: Ram Narayan, Bundu Khan, Ustad Sultan Khan, Abdul Latif Khan
Esraj: Ashesh Bandopadhyay, Ranadhir Roy
Violin: V. G. Jog, Gajananrao Joshi, N. Rajam, Allaudin Khan, L. Shankar, L. Subramaniam, Kala Ramnath, Sisir Kana Dhar Choudhury
Harmonium: Pt. Gyan Prakash Gosh,Pt. Manohar Chimote,Ustad Zamir Ahmed Khan,Ustad Bhure Khan
Tabla: Gyan Prokash Ghosh,Shankar Ghosh,Ahmed Jan Thirakwa, Anindo Chaterjee, Chatur Lal, Shamta Prasad, Kanthe Maharaj, Alla Rakha, Arup Chattopadhyay, Anokhelal Misra, Keramatullah Khan, Kishen Maharaj, Zakir Hussain, Aban E. Mistry, Yogmaya Shukla,Shubhankar Banerjee, Subrata Bhattacharya, Debashis Choudhury.
Guitar, slide (modified): Brij Bhushan Kabra, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Debashish Bhattacharya Instrumental music
Despite the fact that instrumental music is better known outside India, Hindustani classical music is primarily vocal-centric, insofar as the musical forms were designed primarily for vocal performance, and many instruments were designed and evaluated as to how well they emulate the human voice. Some of the best known vocalists who sing in the Dhrupad style are the members of the Dagar lineage, including Us. Wasifuddin Dagar, Us. Fariduddin Dagar, and Us. Sayeeduddin Dagar. Among the khayal singers, the best known today are Pt. Balkrishnabuwa Ichalkaranjikar, Pt. Shankarrao Vishnu Pandit, Pt. Eknath V. Pandit, Pt.Ramkrishnabuwa Vaze, Pt.Shivram Vaze, Pt. Vishnu Paluskar,Pt.B R Deodhar, Pt. Srikrishna Narayan Ratanjankar,Pt. Shankarrao Vyas, Jagjit Singh, Pt. D.V.Paluskar, Pt. Vinayak Rao Patwardhan, Pt. Narayan Rao Vyas, Pt. Anant Manohar Joshi, Pt. Yashwant Mirashi buwa, Pt. Gajanan Anant Joshi, Pt. Shankar Rao Vyas, Pt. Omkarnath Thakur,Pt. Eknath Sarolkar, Pt. Rajabhaiyya Poonchhwale, Balasaheb Poonchhwale, Pt. Pandurang Rao Umdekar, Pt. Balabhau Kundal Guru, Ustad Amir Khan, Pt Bhimsen Joshi, Mallikarjun Mansur, Pt. Kumar Gandharva, Basavaraj Rajguru, Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Kishori Amonkar, Prabha Atre, pandit madhav gudi,Gangubai Hangal, Rajan and Sajan Mishra, Pandit Jasraj, Parveen Sultana, Malini Rajurkar,Pt. Ulhas Kashalkar,Vidushi Sumitra Guha [1], Ustad Badal Khan, Viswadev Chatterjee, Prasun Bannerjee,Yogiraj Manohar Harkare,Pt.Gangadhar Bhagwat, Meera Bannerjee, Gyan Prokash Ghosh, Chinmoy Lahiri, Begum Akhtar, Gauhar Jan, Malka Jaan, Siddheswari Devi,Hifzul kabeer

Vocal music
The major vocal forms-cum-styles associated with Hindustani classical music are dhrupad, khayal, and thumri. Other forms include the dhamar, tarana, trivat, chaiti, kajari, tappa, tapkhayal, ashtapadi, ghazal and bhajan. Of these, some forms fall within the crossover to folk or semi-classical ('light' classical) music, as they often do not adhere to the rigorous rules and regulations of 'pure' classical music.

Types of compositions
Dhrupad is the Hindu sacred style of singing, traditionally performed by male singers. It is performed with a tanpura and a pakhawaj as instrumental accompaniments. The lyrics, which were in Sanskrit centuries ago, are presently sung in Brajbhasha, a medieval form of Hindi that was spoken in Mathura. The Rudra Veena, an ancient string instrument, is used in instrumental music in the style of Dhrupad.
Dhrupad music is primarily devotional in theme and content. It contains recitals in praise of particular deities. Dhrupad compositions begin with a relatively long and acyclic Alap, where the syllables of the mantra "Om Anant tam Taran Tarini Twam Hari Om Narayan, Anant Hari Om Narayan" is recited. The alap gradually unfolds into a more rhythmic Jod and Jhala sections. This is followed by a rendition of Bandish, with the pakhawaj as an accompaniment. The greatest of Indian musicians, Tansen sung in the Dhrupad style. A lighter form of Dhrupad, called Dhamar, is sung primarily during the festival of Holi.
Dhrupad was the main form of northern Indian classical music until two centuries ago, but has since then given way to the somewhat less austere, khyal, a more free-form style of singing. Since losing its main patrons among the royalty in Indian princely states, Dhrupad ran the risk of becoming extinct in the first half of the twentieth century. Fortunately, the efforts by a few proponents from the Dagar family have led to its revival and eventual popularization in India and in the West.

Dhrupad
A form of vocal music, khayal is almost entirely improvised and very emotional in nature. A khyal consists of around 4-8 lines of lyrics set to a tune. The singer then uses these few lines as the basis for improvisation. Though its origins are shrouded in mystery, the 15th century rule of Hussain Shah Sharqi and was popular by the 18th century rule of Mohammed Shah. The best-known composer of the period was Sadarang, a pen name for Niamat KhanAdarang,Manrang and kadar bakhsha,Nisar Hussain Khan Gwalior wale..
Later performers include Ustad Alladiya Khan, Abdul Karim Khan, Pt.Dattatreya Vishnu Paluskar, Faiyaz Khan, Pt.Vinayak Rao Patwardhan, Pt. Shankar Rao Vyas, Pt.Narain Rao Vyas, Ut.Nazakat Ali And Ut. Salamat Ali Khan, Pt.Eknath Sarolkar, Pt.Kashinath Pant Marathe, Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Kesarbai Kerkar, Mogubai Kurdikar, Krishnarao Shankar Pandit, Amir Khan, Pt. Gajananrao Joashi, Pt. Ram Marathe, Pt. Ratnakar Pai, Kumar Gandharva, Jitendra Abhisheki, and Mallikarjun Mansur.
Some of the present day vocalists are Bhimsen Joshi, Gangubai Hangal, Pt. Yeshwantbua Joshi, Girija Devi, Kishori Amonkar, Pandit Jasraj, Satyasheel Deshpande, Iqbal Ahmad Khan, Dr. Rajshekhar Mansur, Pt Ulhas Kashalkar, Pt. Arun Bhaduri, Malini Rajurkar, Prabakar Karekar, Rashid Khan, Aslam Khan, Sanjeev Abhyankar, Shruti Sadolikar, Ashwini Bhide, Ajay Pohankar, Chandrashekar Swami, Pt. Venkatesh Kumar, Mashkoor Ali Khan Pt. Parameshwar Hegde, Indrani Choudhury, Pt. Ganapathi Bhat.

Khayal
Another vocal form, Tarana are songs that are used to convey a mood of elation and are usually performed towards the end of a concert. They consist of a few lines of rhythmic sounds or bols set to a tune. The singer uses these few lines as a basis for very fast improvisation. It can be compared to the Tillana of Carnatic music.

Tarana
Thumri is a semiclassical vocal form said to have begun with the court of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, 1847-1856. There are three types of thumri: Punjabi, Lucknavi and poorab ang thumri. The lyrics are typically in a proto-Hindi language called Braj bhasha and are usually romantic.

Thumri
Ghazal is an originally Persian form of poetry. In the Indian sub-continent, Ghazal became the most common form of poetry in the Urdu language and was popularized by classical poets like Mir Taqi Mir, Ghalib, Zauq and Sauda amongst the North Indian literary elite. Vocal music set to this mode of poetry is popular with multiple variations across Iran, Afghanistan, Central Asia, Turkey, India and Pakistan. Ghazal exists in multiple variations, including folk and pop forms but its greatest exponents sing it in a semi-classical style..

Principles of Hindustani music

Indian classical music
Carnatic music
Raga
Tala
Gharana
Sitar