The Song Dynasty (Chinese: 宋朝; pinyin: Sòng Cháo; Wade-Giles: Sung Ch'ao) was a ruling dynasty in China between 960–1279 AD; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms era, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, After years of war, Kublai Khan's armies conquered the Song Dynasty in 1279. China was once again unified, but this time as part of the vast Mongol Empire.
The Song Dynasty was a culturally rich period for the arts, philosophy, and social life. Landscape art and portrait paintings reached new levels of maturity and complexity after the heights reached by the Tang Dynasty. The social life was vibrant; social elites gathered to view and trade precious artworks, the populace intermingled at public festivals and private clubs and cities had lively entertainment quarters. Philosophers such as Cheng Yi and Zhu Xi reinvigorated Confucianism with new commentary, infused with Buddhist ideals, and emphasized a new organization of classic texts that brought out the core doctrine of Neo-Confucianism. Exam-drafted scholar-officials viewed themselves as the preeminent members of society, scorning any emphasis or favor shown to the growing merchant class and those of petty commercial vocations. Nonetheless, mercantilism was heavily embedded into Song culture and society. Independent and state-sponsored architects, engineers, carpenters, and craftsmen erected thousands of bridges, pagoda towers, temple halls, palace halls, and other buildings throughout the empire. Literature on architecture was widely distributed and read throughout China, while the central state agencies responsible for building and construction used standard codes published in building manuals.
Republic of China (on Taiwan)
History
Emperor Taizu of Song (r. 960–976) unified China through military conquest during his reign, ending the upheaval of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. In Kaifeng, he established a strong central government over the empire. He ensured administrative stability by promoting the Imperial examination system of drafting state bureaucrats by skill and merit (instead of aristocratic or martial status) and promoted projects that ensured efficiency in communication throughout the empire. One such project was the creation by cartographers of detailed maps of each province and city which were then collected in a large atlas. This took place in the year of Jingkang (Chinese 靖康) and it is known as the Humiliation of Jingkang (Chinese 靖康之恥). The remaining Song forces rallied under the self appointed Emperor Gaozong of Song (1127–1162), fleeing south of the Yangtze River to establish the Song Dynasty's new capital at Lin'an (in modern Hangzhou). This Jurchen conquest of northern China and shift of capitals from Kaifeng to Lin'an marks the period of division between the Northern Song Dynasty and Southern Song Dynasty.
Northern SongAlthough weakened and pushed south along the Huai River, the Southern Song found new ways to bolster their already strong economy and defend their state against the Jin Dynasty. They had able military officers such as Yue Fei and Han Shizhong. The government sponsored massive shipbuilding and harbor improvement projects, and the construction of beacons and seaport warehouses in order to support maritime trade abroad and the major international seaports, including Quanzhou, Guangzhou, and Xiamen that were sustaining China's commerce. With the Battle of Yamen on the Pearl River Delta in 1279, the Mongols finally crushed the Song resistance, and the last remaining ruler, the child emperor Duanzong, committed suicide along with the official Lu Xiufu.
Southern Song
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Peter Andreas Hansen (December 8, 1795 – March 28, 1874) was a Danish astronomer, was born at Tønder, Schleswig.
The son of a goldsmith, he learned the trade of a watchmaker at Flensburg, and exercised it at Berlin and Tønder, 1818–1820. He had, however, long been a student of science; and Dr Dircks, a physician practising at Tønder, prevailed with his father to send him in 1820 to Copenhagen, where he won the patronage of H.C. Schumacher and attracted the personal notice of King Frederick VI. The Danish survey was then in progress, and he acted as Schumacher's assistant in work connected with it, chiefly at the new observatory of Altona, 1821–1825.
Thence he passed on to Gotha as director of the Seeberg observatory; nor could he be tempted to relinquish the post by successive invitations to replace F.G.W. Struve at Dorpat in 1829, and F.W. Bessel at Königsberg in 1847. The problems of gravitational astronomy engaged the chief part of Hansen's attention. A research into the mutual perturbations of Jupiter and Saturn secured for him the prize of the Berlin Academy in 1830, and a memoir on cometary disturbances was crowned by the Paris Academy in 1850.
In 1838 he published a revision of the lunar theory, entitled Fundamenta nova investigationis, &c., and the improved Tables of the Moon ("Hansen's Lunar Tables") based upon it were printed in 1857, at the expense of the British government, their merit being further recognized by a grant of £1000, and by their immediate adoption in the Nautical Almanac, and other Ephemerides. A theoretical discussion of the disturbances embodied in them (long familiarly known to lunar experts as the Darlegung) appeared in the Abhandlungen of the Saxon Academy of Sciences in 1862–1864.
Hansen twice visited England and was twice (in 1842 and 1860) the recipient of the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society. He communicated to that society in 1847 an able paper on a long-period lunar inequality (Memoirs Roy. Astr. Society, xvi. 465), and in 1854 one on the moon's figure, advocating the mistaken hypothesis of its deformation by a huge elevation directed towards the earth (ib. xxiv. 29). He was awarded the Copley Medal by the Royal Society in 1850, and his Solar Tables, compiled with the assistance of Christian Olufsen, appeared in 1854. Hansen gave in 1854 the first intimation that the accepted distance of the sun was too great by some millions of miles (Month. Notices Roy. Astr. Soc. xv. 9), the error of J.F. Encke's result having been rendered evident through his investigation of a lunar inequality. He died on 28 March 1874, at the new observatory in the town of Gotha, erected under his care in 1857.
See Vierteljahrsschrift astr. Gesellschaft, x. 133; Month. Notices Roy. Astr. Society, xxxv. 168; Proc. Roy. Society, xxv. p. V.; R Wolf, Geschichte der Astronomie, p. 526; Wochenschrift für Astronomie, xvi. 207 (account of early years by E Heis); Allgemeine deutsche Biographie (C Bruhns).
Friday, September 28, 2007
KTVT, channel 11, is a CBS owned-and-operated television station based in Fort Worth, Texas, and serving the Dallas-Fort Worth designated market area. The station is co-owned with independent station KTXA (channel 21), and the two stations share facilities in Fort Worth and Dallas. Prior to joining CBS in 1995, KTVT was the leading independent station in the Dallas-Fort Worth market.
KTVT has two buildings in the Metroplex: one is located in North Dallas, and is sometimes used for filming; the other, which houses its main news studio, is located in Fort Worth. The station's transmitter is located in Cedar Hill.
History
Digital channels
In 2009, KTVT will move to digital channel 11 and leave digital channel 19.
Digital Television
Since KTVT and KEYE in Austin are the only two CBS-owned stations in Texas, the end of the newscast taglines read "CBS Stations Group of Texas, Ltd. Partnership."
News Operations
Personalities
Current On-Air TalentGinger Allen: CBS 11 News This Morning Anchor/Reporter
Maria Arita: CBS 11 News at 4:00 Anchor/Reporter
Karen Borta: CBS 11 News at 5:00, 6:00, 10:00 Anchor/Reporter
Doug Dunbar: CBS 11 News at 4:00, 10:00 Anchor/Reporter
Tracy Rowlett: CBS 11 News at 5:00, 6:00 Anchor/Reporter
Chris Salcedo: CBS 11 News at 6:00 (Saturday), CBS 11 News at 5:30 (Sunday), CBS 11 News at 10:00 (weekend) Anchor/Reporter
Scott Sams: CBS 11 News This Morning Anchor/Reporter
Joel Thomas: CBS 11 News Saturday/Sunday Morning Anchor/Reporter CBS 11 News Reporters
Kristine Kahanek: CBS 11 News at 4:00 (Wednesday-Friday), CBS 11 News at 5:00, CBS 11 News at 6:00, CBS 11 News at 10:00 Chief Meteorologist
Mike Burger: CBS 11 News at 6:00 (Saturday), CBS 11 News at 5:30 (Sunday), CBS 11 News at 10:00 (weekend) Meteorologist
Jeff Jamison: CBS 11 News at 4:00 (Monday-Tuesday), CBS 11 News This Morning (weekend) Meteorologist
Julie Bologna: CBS 11 News This Morning Meteorologist
Charmaine Blanchard: Fill-In Meteorologist, Weather Producer CBS 11 Stormteam
Babe Laufenberg: CBS 11 News at 6:00, CBS 11 News at 10:00 Sports Director, Host of The Score and Blitz
Bill Jones: CBS 11 News at 6:00, CBS 11 News at 10:00 (weekend) Sports Anchor
Steve Dennis: Reporter
Chuck Fisher: Reporter
Derek Harper: Sports Reporter
Gina Miller: Sports Reporter CBS 11 Sports (shared with TXA 21)
News/Station Presentation
Newswatch Eleven (1990)
The Seven O' Clock News (1990)
The Nine O' Clock News (1992)
11 News (1995-1999 as CBS affiliate)
11 on Eleven at Ten (1995-1998)
CBS 11 News (2000-present) Station Slogans
KTVT's 1975 logo
KTVT logo from 1999 to 2004. The numeric logo had been in use since KTVT joined CBS in 1995 and during sister KSTW's brief CBS affiliation circa 1996.
KTVT's current news logo
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Lewis Michael Arquette (December 14, 1935 – February 10, 2001) was an American film actor, writer and producer. Arquette was well known as "J. D. Pickett" on the TV series, The Waltons, where he worked from 1978-1981.
Family
Filmography
Alice - The Second Time Round (1977) TV Episode
Man from Atlantis - The Naked Montague (1977) TV Episode .... Friar Laurence
Ruby and Oswald (1978) (TV) ... aka Four Days in Dallas
Rescue from Gilligan's Island (1978) (TV) .... Judge
Barney Miller - Wojo's Girl: Part 1 (1979) TV Episode .... Finney
The China Syndrome (1979) .... Hatcher
Mrs. Columbo ... aka Kate Columbo (USA) ... aka Kate Loves a Mystery ... aka Kate the Detective - The Valley Strangler (1979) TV Episode .... Howard
Tenspeed and Brown Shoe - The Sixteen Byte Data Chip and the Brown-eyed Fox (1980) TV Episode
Pray TV (1980) .... Fred Wilson ... aka K-GOD
The Waltons .... J.D. Pickett (1978-1981) - The Travelling Man (1980) TV Episode .... J.D. Pickett
Loose Shoes (1980) .... Warden ... aka Coming Attractions ... aka Quackers
The Jayne Mansfield Story (1980) (TV) .... Publicity Man ... aka Jayne Mansfield: A Symbol of the 50's
Fantasy Island - High Off the Hog/Reprisal (1981) TV Episode .... Slocumb - The Inventor/On the Other Side (1979) TV Episode .... Fred Waters - Carnival/The Vaudevillians (1978) TV Episode .... Jeff
The Smurfs (1981) TV Series (voice) .... Additional Voices ... aka Smurfs' Adventures
The Incredible Hulk - Triangle (1981) TV Episode .... Les Creaseman
Simon & Simon - The Dead Letter File (1982) TV Episode .... Matt
Off the Wall (1983) .... Prison Chaplain
Remington Steele - Red Holt Steele (1983) TV Episode .... Stuart Thorpe
Riptide - The Hardcase (1984) TV Episode .... Sidney Gorman
Matt Houston - Cash and Carry (1984) TV Episode .... City Councilman Roberts
St. Elsewhere - Cramming (1984) TV Episode .... Judge Ellsworth
Challenge of the GoBots (1984) TV Series (voice) .... Additional Voices
Meitantei Holmes (1984) TV Series .... Dr. Watson (English)... aka Sherlock Hound, the Detective
E/R - A Cold Night in Chicago (1984) TV Episode (as Louis Arquette) .... Arnie Popkin
Rocky Road (TV series) (1985) TV Series .... Lucas
Rock 'n' Wrestling (1985) TV Series (voice) .... Superfly Jimmy Snuka (animated segments) ... aka Hulk Hogan's Rock 'N' Wrestling (USA: complete title)
Badge of the Assassin (1985) (TV) .... 1st Foreman
The Fall Guy - October the 32nd (1985) TV Episode .... Ghost
Tall Tales and Legends ... aka Shelley Duvall's Tall Tales and Legends (USA: complete title) - Johnny Appleseed (1986) TV Episode .... Jimbo Smith/Narrator
Just Between Friends (1986) .... TV Station Guard
The Check Is in the Mail (1986) .... Man at pool ... aka The Cheque Is in the Post (UK)
Sledge Hammer! ... aka Sledge Hammer: The Early Years (USA: second season title) - Witless (1986) TV Episode .... Jacob
Nobody's Fool (1986) .... Mr. Fry
Mama's Family - Fangs a Lot, Mama (1986) TV Episode .... Grand Viper
Perfect Strangers - Get a Job (1987) TV Episode (as Louis Arquette) .... Rowdy Hockey Fan #1
Married... with Children - Where's the Boss? (1987) TV Episode .... Ed
ALF - Some Enchanted Evening (1987) TV Episode .... Ed Billings
Big Business (1988) .... Mr. Stokes
The Great Outdoors (1988) .... Herm
A Pup Named Scooby-Doo (1988) TV Series (voice) .... Additional Voices
Dance 'Til Dawn (1988) (TV) .... Pawnbroker
My First Love (1988) (TV) .... Mark Grossman
A Very Brady Christmas (1988) (TV) .... Sam/Santa
Chopper Chicks in Zombietown (1989) .... Sheriff Bugiere ... aka Cycle Sluts (USA)
Charles in Charge - Buddy's Daddy (1989) TV Episode .... Clarence Lembeck
Paradise ... aka Guns of Paradise (new title) - A Private War (1989) TV Episode - Ghost Dance (1988) TV Episode
Quantum Leap - The Right Hand of God - October 24, 1974 (1989) TV Episode .... Father Muldooney
The Horror Show (1989) .... Lt. Miller ... aka Horror House ... aka House 3 (Australia: video title) ... aka House III: The Horror Show (UK: video title)
Majo no takkyûbin (1989) (voice: English version) .... Additional Voices ... aka Kiki's Delivery Service (USA) ... aka The Witch's Express Mail (literal title)
Camp Candy (1989) TV Series (voice) .... Rex DeForest III
Dad (1989) (voice)
Tango & Cash (1989) .... Wyler
Rock 'n' Roll High School Forever (1990) .... Mr. Cheese
Syngenor (1990) .... Ethan Valentine
Tales from the Crypt... aka HBO's Tales from the Crypt - Lower Berth (1990) TV Episode
Gravedale High (1990) TV Series (voice) ... aka Rick Moranis in Gravedale High (USA: complete title)
Captain Planet and the Planeteers (1990) TV Series (voice) .... Additional Voices ... aka The New Adventures of Captain Planet (USA: fourth season title)
Matlock - The Narc (1990) TV Episode .... Commissioner
Book of Love (1990) .... Mr. Malloy
Get a Life - Married (1991) TV Episode .... Justice of the Peace
Morton & Hayes - Society Saps (1991) TV Episode .... Mr. Caldicott
The Linguini Incident (1991) .... Texas Joe
Let's Kill All the Lawyers (1992) .... Antinus
Double Trouble (1992) .... Tarlow
L.A. Law - Silence of the Lambskins (1992) TV Episode .... Inspector Dodek
Beverly Hills, 90210 - Wedding Bell Blues (1992) TV Episode .... Priest
A Child Lost Forever: The Jerry Sherwood Story (1992) (TV) .... Walter Vinton ... aka A Child Lost Forever (USA: short title)
Fox Hunt (1993) (VG) .... The Wolf
Tainted Blood (1993) (TV) .... Artie
Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman (1993) (TV) .... Mr. Ingersol
The Flintstones: Wacky Inventions (1994) (V) (voice) .... Prof, Einstone
Menendez: A Killing in Beverly Hills (1994) (TV) .... Lyle's Jury: Juror #3
Sleep with Me (1994) .... Minister
Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist (1994) (VG) (voice) .... Whittlin' Willie/P. H. Balance
Saved by the Bell: The New Class - Back at the Ranch (1994) TV Episode .... Uncle Lester
SeaQuest DSV ... aka SeaQuest 2032 (USA: new title) - Something in the Air (1995) TV Episode .... Kearny
Stuart Saves His Family (1995) .... Cemetery official
Wild Side (1995) .... The Chief
Seinfeld - The Secret Code (1995) TV Episode .... Leapin' Larry
Mojave Moon (1996) .... Charlie
Hypernauts (1996) TV Series (voice) .... Horten
Fox Hunt (1996) .... The Wolf
Babylon 5 ... aka B5 (USA: promotional abbreviation) - Point of No Return (1996) TV Episode .... General Smits
Kiss & Tell (1996) .... Detective
Waiting for Guffman (1996) .... Clifford Wooley
The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest ... aka Jonny Quest: The Real Adventures - The Ballad of Belle Bonnet (1996) TV Episode (voice) .... Civilian/Driver
Kid Cop (1996) (V) .... Mayor Cosgrove
Adventures with Barbie: Ocean Discovery (1997) (VG) (voice)
A River Made to Drown In (1997) .... Vagabond
Meet Wally Sparks (1997) .... Cardinal
Murder One: Diary of a Serial Killer (1997) (mini) TV Series
Spawn (1997) TV Series (voice) .... Additional Voices ... aka Todd McFarlane's Spawn
Mononoke-hime (1997) (voice: English version) .... Additional Voices ... aka Princess Mononoke (USA)
Life During Wartime (1997) .... Bruce Hudler ... aka The Alarmist (USA: new title)
The Westing Game (1997) (TV) .... Otis Amber ... aka Get a Clue (USA: video title)
Sleepwalkers - Pilot (1997) TV Episode
Scream 2 (1997) .... Chief Lewis Hartley
Twilight (1998) .... Water Pistol Man
Almost Heroes (1998) .... Merchant
Ready to Rumble (2000) .... Fred King
Best in Show (2000) .... Fern City Show Spectator
Little Nicky (2000) .... Cardinal
Escape from Monkey Island (2000) (VG) (voice) .... Freddie
FreakyLinks - Subject: Me and My Shadow (2001) TV Episode .... Bob Frewer
Out Cold (2001) .... Herbert 'Papa' Muntz Actor
The Lorenzo and Henrietta Music Show (1976) TV Series (writer)
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Legal citation is the style of crediting and referencing other documents or sources of authority in legal writing.
In addition to the basic rules of footnoting and quotation that closely follows regular citation rules, there are several broad classes of law citation:
Case citation
Legislative citation
Treaty citation
Government document citation
Law periodical citation
Citation by countryEach country usually has at least one de facto citation standard that has been adopted by most of the country's institutions.
Australian legal citation usually follows the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (commonly known as AGLC)
Canadian legal citation usually follows the Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation (commonly called the McGill Guide)
U.S. legal citation follows either the Bluebook standard or the competing ALWD Citation Manual
Dutch legal citation follows the Leidraad voor juridische auteurs [1] (commonly known as Leidraad)
Citation of United Kingdom legislation is covered in Statutory Instrument Practice
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
This article is part of the series: Politics and government of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council is a body of advisors to the British Sovereign. The Privy Council was formerly a powerful institution, but its substantial decisions are now controlled by one of its committees, the Cabinet. The Council also performs judicial functions, which are for the most part delegated to the Judicial Committee.
The Sovereign, when acting on the Council's advice, is known as the King-in-Council or Queen-in-Council. The members of the Council are collectively known as The Lords of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council (sometimes The Lords and others of...). The chief officer of the body is the Lord President of the Council, who is the sixth highest Great Officer of State, a member of the Cabinet, and normally, the Leader of either the House of Lords or the House of Commons. Another important official is the Clerk, whose signature is appended to all orders made in the Council.
Both "Privy Counsellor" and "Privy Councillor" may be correctly used to refer to a member of the Council. The former, however, is preferred by the Privy Council Office, emphasising English usage of the term "Counsellor" as "one who gives counsel", as opposed to "one who is a member of a council". A Privy Counsellor is said to be 'sworn of' the Council when he/she first joins it.
Members of the British House of Commons who are also Privy Counsellors are traditionally addressed as "Right Honourable" when referred to in the chamber. Other members of the House are simply addressed as "Honourable". Examples of such address include "my Right Honourable friend", for a member of one's own party, "the Right Honourable gentleman" (or "lady") for members of other parties, and "the Right Honourable member for ..." adding the name of a constituency. The title is usually also used when formally referring to the member in the media, such as when announcing a speech to the nation by the Prime Minister, or when an individual takes part in a public event as a representative of the Government.
Sovereign: Queen Elizabeth II
Parliament
- State Opening of Parliament
House of Lords
- Lord Speaker: Baroness Hayman
House of Commons
- Speaker: Michael Martin
Prime Minister's Questions
Her Majesty's Government
The Privy Council
Cabinet
- Prime Minister: Gordon Brown
Chancellor: Alistair Darling
Foreign Secretary: David Miliband
Home Secretary: Jacqui Smith
Lord Chancellor: Jack Straw
Full list of members
Government departments
The Civil Service
Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition
- Leader: David Cameron
Shadow Cabinet
Courts of the United Kingdom
- Courts of England and Wales
Courts of Northern Ireland
Courts of Scotland
Constituent countries
Politics of Scotland
- Scottish Parliament
Scottish Government
Politics of Wales
- National Assembly for Wales
Welsh Assembly Government
Politics of Northern Ireland
- Northern Ireland Assembly
Northern Ireland Executive
Politics of England
- English Regional Assemblies
Reserved matters
Local government
Greater London Authority
Elections: 2001 - 2005 - 54th
- Parliament constituencies
Political parties
Constitution
Human rights
Foreign relations
EU Politics History
The Sovereign may appoint anyone a Privy Counsellor, but in practice appointments are made only on the advice of the Government, and generally consist only of senior members of the government. There is no limit to the numbers sworn in as members. Presently there are several hundred.
The heir-apparent is always appointed to the Council, as are the Church of England's three highest ecclesiastics—the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Archbishop of York and the Bishop of London.
Several senior judges—Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, judges of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, judges of the Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland and judges of the Inner House of the Court of Session (the highest court in Scotland)—are also named to the Privy Council.
Two civil servants, the Cabinet Secretary and the Queen's Private Secretary are always appointed to the Council.
The bulk of Privy Counsellors, however, are politicians. The Prime Minister, ministers in the cabinet, and the Leader of the Opposition must be sworn to the Privy Council on appointment. Leaders of large parties in the House of Commons, some senior ministers outside the cabinet, and on occasion senior Parliamentarians are appointed Privy Counsellors.
Although the Privy Council is primarily a British institution, officials from some other Commonwealth realms are also appointed to the body. The most notable continuing instance is New Zealand, whose Prime Minister, senior politicians, Chief Justice and Court of Appeal judges are conventionally made Privy Counsellors, as formerly were the prime ministers and chief justices of Canada and Australia. Prime Ministers of some other Commonwealth countries which retain the Queen as their sovereign continue to be sworn as Privy Counsellors, though the practice is declining.
The following oath is administered to Privy Counsellors before they take office:
You do swear by Almighty God to be a true and faithful Servant unto The Queen's Majesty as one of Her Majesty's Privy Council. You will not know or understand of any manner of thing to be attempted, done or spoken against Her Majesty's Person, Honour, Crown or Dignity Royal, but you will lett and withstand the same to the uttermost of your power, and either cause it to be revealed to Her Majesty Herself, or to such of Her Privy Council as shall advertise Her Majesty of the same. You will in all things to be moved, treated and debated in Council, faithfully and truly declare your Mind and Opinion, according to your Heart and Conscience; and will keep secret all matters committed and revealed unto you, or that shall be treated of secretly in Council. And if any of the said Treaties or Counsels shall touch any of the Counsellors you will not reveal it unto him but will keep the same until such time as, by the consent of Her Majesty or of the Council, Publication shall be made thereof. You will to your uttermost bear Faith and Allegiance to the Queen's Majesty; and will assist and defend all Jurisdictions, Pre-eminences, and Authorities, granted to Her Majesty and annexed to the Crown by Acts of Parliament, or otherwise, against all Foreign Princes, Persons, Prelates, States, or Potentates. And generally in all things you will do as a faithful and true Servant ought to do to Her Majesty. So help you God.
Senior ministers who lose office and go into opposition remain Privy Counsellors, (although of course they are no longer summoned to meetings of the Cabinet, which is a Committee of the Privy Council). Confidential discussions between senior politicians of opposite parties may thus be held "on Privy Council terms".
Membership ceases upon the dissolution of the Privy Council, which automatically occurs six months after the death of a monarch. (Formerly, until a statute to the contrary was passed during the reign of Anne, the death of a monarch brought an end to the Council immediately.) By convention, however, the Sovereign reappoints all members of the Council after its dissolution; hence, membership is, in practice, for life.
The Sovereign may however remove an individual from the Council, and individuals may choose to resign to avoid expulsion. The last individual to leave the Privy Council voluntarily was Jonathan Aitken, who left in 1997 following allegations of perjury. He was one of only three Privy Counsellors to resign in the twentieth century (the others being John Profumo, in 1963, and John Stonehouse, in 1976). The last individual to be expelled from the Council against his will was Sir Edgar Speyer, 1st Baronet, who was removed in 1921 for pro-German activities during the First World War.
Composition
Meetings of the Privy Council are normally held once each month wherever the Sovereign may be residing at the time. The Sovereign attends the meeting, though his or her place may be taken by two or more Counsellors of State. Under the Regency Act 1937, Counsellors of State may be chosen from amongst the Sovereign's spouse and the four individuals next in the line of succession who are over 21 years of age (18 for the Heir to the Throne).
Normally the Sovereign is pleased to remain standing at meetings of the Privy Council, so that no other members may sit down, which ensures that the meetings are kept brief. The Lord President reads out a list of Orders to be made, and the Sovereign merely says "Approved." In theory, the Sovereign may also say "Declined" but in practice this has not happened since the reign of Queen Anne.
Only a few privy counsellors attend the regular meetings, and only when summoned (at the Government's request).
The settled practice is that day-to-day meetings of the Council are attended by four privy counsellors, all being at the time members of the Cabinet. In other words, regular meetings of the Council are only attended by members of the Government of the day, since they are the ones constitutionally charged with the task of advising the Crown on the actions formally taken by the British monarch. Unless prevented from attending, the Government Minister holding office as Lord President of the Council is usually among the privy counsellors who are present at the regular meetings; the others are invited at random among the members of the Cabinet by the Privy Council Office, that checks who is available to attend, so as to guarantee a quorum at each meeting. Due to Britain's modern conventions of parliamentary government and constitutional monarchy, every order made in Council has been drafted by a Government Department and has already been approved by the responsible Ministers and the action taken by the Queen in Council is a mere formality required for the valid adoption of the measure.
Full meetings of the Privy Council are only held to receive the statutory oaths required before a Regent can enter into the execution of his office (which happened on February 6th, 1811, when George, Prince of Wales, the future George IV, became Regent during the illness of his father, King George III; the current statutes regulating the establishment of a Regency in the case of minority or incapacity of the Sovereign also require any Regents to take their oaths before the Privy Council); when the reigning Sovereign announces his or her own engagement (which last happened on November 23rd, 1839, in the reign of Queen Victoria); or when there is a Demise of the Crown, either by the death or abdication of the monarch.
In the latter case, the Privy Council – together with the Lords Spiritual, the Lords Temporal, the Lord Mayor of London, the Aldermen of the City of London and representatives of Commonwealth nations – makes a proclamation declaring the accession of the new Sovereign and receives an oath from the new monarch relating to the security of the Church of Scotland, as required by law. That special assembly of the Privy Council and others held to proclaim the accession of the new Sovereign and to receive the required statutory oath from the monarch, is known as an Accession Council. The last such meetings were held on February 6th and February 8th, 1952. Given that Her present Majesty was abroad when the last Demise of the Crown took place, the Accession Council had to meet twice, once to proclaim the Sovereign (meeting of February 6th, 1952), and then, after the new Queen had arrived in Britain, to receive from Her the oath required by statute (meeting of February 8th, 1952).
Meetings
The Sovereign exercises executive authority by making Orders-in-Council upon the advice of the Privy Council. Orders-in-Council, which are drafted by the government rather than by the Sovereign, are secondary legislation and are used to make government regulations and to make government appointments. Furthermore, Orders-in-Council are used to grant the Royal Assent to laws passed by the legislative authorities of British crown dependencies.
Distinct from Orders-in-Council are Orders of Council. Whilst the former are made by the Sovereign on the advice of the Privy Council, the latter are made by members of the Privy Council without the participation of the Sovereign. They are issued under the specific authority of Acts of Parliament, and are normally used to regulate public institutions.
The Sovereign, furthermore, issues Royal Charters on the advice of the Privy Council. Charters grant special status to incorporated bodies; they are used to grant city and borough status to towns.
The Privy Council therefore deals with a wide variety of matters, including coinage, university statutes, graveyards, dates of Bank Holidays and the appointment of government ministers. One-off announcements such as the merging or splitting of government departments can also be dealt with more easily by the Privy Council than by the departments themselves.
The Crown-in-Council also performs certain judicial functions. Within the United Kingdom, the Crown-in-Council hears appeals from ecclesiastical courts, the Court of Admiralty of the Cinque Ports, prize courts and the Disciplinary Committee of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, appeals against schemes of the Church Commissioners and appeals under certain Acts of Parliament (eg the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975). The Crown-in-Council was formerly a supreme court of appeal for the entire British Empire, a function which began to be cut back beginning in 1875 when the Supreme Court of Canada Act removed the Imperial Privy Council's appellate function in criminal matters for Canada; the Privy Council does continue to hear appeals from a few Commonwealth countries, from British Overseas Territories, Sovereign Base Areas and crown dependencies. The aforementioned cases are theoretically decided by the monarch in Council, but are in practice heard and decided by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, which consists of senior judges who are Privy Counsellors (hence the abbreviation in jurisprudence "JCPC"). The decision of the Committee is presented in the form of "advice" to the monarch, but in practice it is always followed by the Sovereign, who formally approves the recommendation of the Judicial Committee. The Judicial Committee has direct jurisdiction in cases relating to the Scotland Act 1998, the Government of Wales Act 1998 and the Northern Ireland Act 1998.
In short, the Privy Council deals with a variety of formal matters of State which either have not been delegated from the Crown to any other official body, or which Acts of Parliament have placed under direct Crown authority for convenience.
Other councils
List of current Privy Counsellors
Historic list of Privy Counsellors
Lord President of the Council
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
Committee of the Privy Council for Trade and Foreign Plantations
Queen's Privy Council for Canada
- Parliament constituencies
- English Regional Assemblies
- Northern Ireland Assembly
- National Assembly for Wales
- Scottish Parliament
- Courts of England and Wales
- Leader: David Cameron
- Prime Minister: Gordon Brown
- Speaker: Michael Martin
- Lord Speaker: Baroness Hayman
Monday, September 24, 2007
James C. Petrillo (March 16, 1892 - October 23, 1984) was the prominent leader of the United States of America's labor union of professional musicians.
James Caesar Petrillo was born in Chicago, Illinois. Though in his youth Petrillo played the trumpet, he finally made a career out of organizing musicians into the union starting in 1919.
Petrillo became president of the Chicago local of the musician's union in 1922, and was president of the American Federation of Musicians from 1940 to 1958. He continued being the prime force in the Union for another decade; in the 1960s he was head of the Union's "Civil Rights Division", which saw to the desegregation of the local unions and the venues where musicians played.
Petrillo dominated the union with absolute authority. His most famous actions were banning all commercial recordings by union members from 1942 - 1944 and again in 1948 to pressure record companies to give better royalty deals to musicians; these were called the Petrillo Bans.
Petrillo's reputation even got him a now obscure pop-culture mention in the 1950 Warner Brothers animated short Hurdy-Gurdy Hare starring Bugs Bunny. The cartoon ends with Bugs making large amounts of money by having a [presumably non-union] monkey turn a street organ, during which he quips, "I sure hope Petrillo doesn't hear about this!"
The Petrillo Bandshell, in Chicago's Grant Park, is named after James Petrillo.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Biography
Black's weblog Eschaton is one of the most popular weblogs for left wing politics in the United States. that the FEC might not apply the act's "media exemption" to blogs, which he regarded as equivalent to other forms of media including online magazines.
Recurring content
Black is one of two real-life people portrayed by actors on The West Wing. The other was Lawrence Lessig.
Black's weblog Eschaton is one of the most popular weblogs for left wing politics in the United States. that the FEC might not apply the act's "media exemption" to blogs, which he regarded as equivalent to other forms of media including online magazines.
Recurring contentBlack is one of two real-life people portrayed by actors on The West Wing. The other was Lawrence Lessig.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Friday, September 21, 2007
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records (and in previous U.S. editions The Guinness Book of World Records), is a reference book published annually, containing an internationally recognized collection of world records, both human achievements and the extreme of the natural world. The book itself holds a world record, as the best-selling copyrighted series.
OriginsRecent editions have focused on record feats by human competitors. Competitions range from obvious ones such as weightlifting to the more entertaining such as longest egg-throwing distance or the number of hot dogs that can be consumed in ten minutes - although eating contest and beer and alcohol consumption entries are no longer accepted, possibly for fear of litigation. Besides records about competitions, it contains such facts as the heaviest tumor, the most poisonous plant, the shortest river (Roe River), the longest-running drama (Guiding Light), the longest serving members of a drama series (William Roache for Coronation Street in the UK, Kate Ritchie and Ray Meagher for Home and Away in Australia), the world's most successful salesman (Joe Girard) and the only brother and sister to have solo number one singles in UK chart history (Daniel and Natasha Bedingfield). Many records also relate to the youngest person who achieved something, such as the youngest person to visit all nations of the world, being Maurizio Giuliano.
On 9 January 2007, Guinness announced it was working with AskMeNow to offer mobile access to the Guinness World Records databases. The company has been collaborating with the UK-based firm Texperts for several years already, and it offers both companies exclusive access to their database.
Museums
Ashrita Furman of Queens, New York, who is generally recognized as the individual with the most current records, although Guinness no longer counts having the most records as a Guinness record itself.
List of world records
Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Thursday, September 20, 2007
This article is about the White Mountains of New Hampshire. For other uses of the term, please see White Mountains (disambiguation).
The White Mountains are a mountain range that covers about a quarter of the state of New Hampshire and a small portion of western Maine in the United States. Part of the Appalachian Mountains, they are considered the most rugged mountains in New England. The range is heavily visited due to its proximity to Boston and New York City.
Most of the area is public land, including the White Mountain National Forest as well as a number of state parks. Its most famous peak is Mount Washington, which at 6,288 feet (1916 m) is the highest mountain in the Northeastern U.S. and home to the fastest winds (231 mph or 372 km/h, over 100 m/s, in 1934) measured on the surface of the earth. Mount Washington is one of a group called the Presidential Range, many of which are named after U.S. presidents and other prominent Americans.
The range included the Old Man of the Mountain, a rock formation on Cannon Mountain that resembled the craggy profile of a man until it fell in May 2003. It remains the state symbol of New Hampshire. The range also includes a natural feature dubbed "The Basin." The Basin area consists of a granite bowl, twenty feet in diameter, fed by a waterfall, worn smooth by the Pemigewasset River. The areas around "The Basin" are also popular spots for swimming in the ice cold mountain fed water.
The range is known for the system of huts for hikers, operated by the Appalachian Mountain Club. The Appalachian Trail crosses the area from southwest to northeast.
The range is crossed by two north-south highway routes (U.S. Route 3 and Interstate 93 through Franconia Notch, and New Hampshire Route 16 through Pinkham Notch), and two east-west roads (the Kancamagus Highway, part of New Hampshire Route 112, through Kancamagus Pass, and U.S. Route 302 through Crawford Notch). The White Mountains includes several smaller groups including the Presidential Range, Franconia Range, Sandwich Range, Carter-Moriah Range, Kinsman Range and Pilot Range.
LiteratureFour-thousand footers
White Mountains Region
List of mountains in New Hampshire
List of notches in New Hampshire
Vegetation of New England
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Melanie Anne Safka-Schekeryk (born February 3, 1947 in Astoria, New York City) is an American singer-songwriter.
Usually known professionally simply as Melanie, she is best known for her hits, "Brand New Key", "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)" and "Look What They've Done To My Song, Ma". Melanie has sold over 25 million records over the course of her career.
Early career
In 1976 Melanie released one album on Atlantic Records, Photograph, which was overseen by Ahmet Ertegün. The album was praised by the New York Times as one of the year's best, although it was largely ignored by the public. It was re-issued on CD in 2005 with an additional disc of unreleased material. In the 1980s the Quaker Oats Company used a version of "Look What They've Done to My Song, Ma" in their commercials for Instant Oatmeal, with the revised lyrics "Look what they've done to my oatmeal". In 1989 she won an Emmy Award for writing the lyrics to "The First Time I Loved Forever", the theme song for the Beauty and the Beast.
Melanie has released almost one album a year since 1969. With one exception, her albums have been produced by her husband, Peter Schekeryk. Her three children — Leilah, Jeordie and Beau-Jarred — are also musicians. Beau-Jarred is a guitarist and accompanies his mother on tour.
Melanie's most recent album, Paled by Dimmer Light, was released in 2004. It was co-produced by Peter and Beau-Jarred Schekeryk and includes the songs "To Be the One", "Extraordinary", "Make It Work" and "I Tried to Die Young". In early 2005 most of Melanie's back-catalogue was re-released on the Internet-only music label ItsAboutMusic.com. After a series of disagreements the relationship between the artist and the label was severed. From 2007, the majority of Melanie's albums were available for download from her official website.
Melanie was recently invited by Jarvis Cocker to perform at the Meltdown (festival) at the Royal Festival Hall in London. Her sold-out performance received critical acclaim with The Independent claiming "it was hard to disagree that Melanie has earned her place alongside Joan Baez, Judy Collins and Marianne Faithfull in the pantheon of iconic female singers. Meltdown was all the better for her presence". The concert was filmed for a DVD entitled Melanie: For One Night Only to be released in September 2007.
Later career
Melanie identifies herself politically as a Libertarian rather than anything else, stating: "I'm a total Libertarian, and I am not a Democrat, a Socialist, or a Republican." For a short while, in the beginning of her career, Melanie was a follower of Meher Baba and this influenced many of her songs (such as, "Love to Lose Again" and "Candles in the Rain"). Over time she became disenchanted with other followers and then disassociated herself from Meher Baba. Recently she had a life-altering experience with Amma, the hugging saint from India.
Melanie currently resides in Nashville, Tennessee.
PersonalMany notable artists have covered Melanie's compositions:
Ray Charles released a cover of Melanie's "Look What They've Done to My Song, Ma" in 1972. The song has also been covered by Billie Jo Spears.
The New Seekers covered several of Melanie's songs; "Look What They've Done to My Song Ma", "Beautiful People" and "The Nickel Song" among them.
In 1971 Mott The Hoople covered "Lay Down" on their Wildlife album. In 1999, American artist Meredith Brooks covered the song with backing vocals by Queen Latifah. The song was also covered by Max Sharam in 1995 and became a Top 40 hit in Australia.
Emiliana Torrini covered "I Really Loved Harold" on her 1996 album Merman. She has also recorded a version of "Lay Down".
The 2003 Australian hip-hop track "The Nosebleed Section" by The Hilltop Hoods sampled Melanie's "People In The Front Row".
Will Oldham (also known as Bonnie 'Prince' Billy) covered Melanie's "(Some Say) I Got Devil" on his 2006 album The Brave and the Bold.
An 11-year old Björk covered Melanie's 'Christopher Robin' in Icelandic on her debut album, Björk.
Cissy Houston has covered Melanie's "Any Guy".
Macy Gray, Dolly Parton and Cher have all performed "Brand New Key" in concert (the latter on The Sonny And Cher Show).
Country singer Deana Carter covered "Brand New Key" on her 1999 Top 10 album Everything's Gonna Be Alright.
Yugoslav rock band Bajaga i Instruktori released a cover of Melanie's "Look What They've Done to My Song, Ma", with lyrics in Serbian, named "Vidi šta sam ti uradio od pesme, mama" in 1985.
The cellist band Rasputina covered "Brand New Key" on their album Thanks for the Ether.
Female-fronted punk trio The Dollyrots covered "Brand New Key" on their album Because I'm Awesome
Alison Moyet performs Melanie's 'Momma Momma' on her live DVD One Blue Voice. Singles
Lyrics for the theme song of the Beauty and the Beast television series.
Recorded "I've Got New York" on The 6ths' Hyacinths and Thistles, 2000
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Michael Barone (b. 1944 in Highland Park, Michigan) is an American political analyst and commentator. He is best known for being the principal author of The Almanac of American Politics, a reference work concerning US governors and federal politicians, and published biannually by National Journal. The Almanac contains documentation on the history, demographics, and political culture of each state and congressional district. Mr. Barone is a regular television commentator on U.S. elections and political trends.
Career
Mr. Barone is a senior writer for U.S. News & World Report and a frequent contributor for the Fox News Channel. Barone's stated political views are generally conservative. He has said he is not a religious believer, although he is sympathetic to and respectful of socially conservative religious believers.
One of the emphases of his commentary has been immigration. Perhaps partly as a result of his being a descendant of Italian immigrants, Barone takes an optimistic view of contemporary immigration into the US. He says that Hispanic immigration has parallels to the Italian experience and that, given the right circumstances, that current and future Hispanic and other immigrants can become Americanized and assimilated, just as the Italians were.
He is the author of several books:
Our Country : the shaping of America from Roosevelt to Reagan (Free Press, 1990)
The New Americans : how the melting pot can work again (Regnery Pub., 2001)
Hard America, Soft America : competition vs. coddling and the battle for the nation's future (Crown Forum, 2004)
Our First Revolution: the remarkable British uprising that inspired America's founding fathers (Crown Publishers, 2007), a history of the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and how it led to the the American Revolution.
