Wednesday, December 5, 2007

André-Louis Debierne
André-Louis Debierne (July 14, 1874, Paris - August 31, 1949, Paris) was a French chemist and the discoverer of the element actinium (1899).
Debierne, a student of Charles Friedel, was a close friend of Pierre and Marie Curie and was associated with their work. In 1899, he discovered the radioactive element actinium, as a result of continuing the work with pitchblende that the Curies had initiated.
After the death of Pierre Curie in 1906, Debierne helped Marie Curie carry on and worked with her in teaching and research.
In 1910, he and Marie Curie prepared radium in metallic form in visible amounts. They did not keep it metallic, however. Having demonstrated the metal's existence as a matter of scientific curiosity, they reconverted it into compounds with which they might continue their researches. Debierne and Marie curie isolated radium into a pure metal.

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Explanation
An explanation is a statement which points to causes, context, and consequences of some object, process, state of affairs, etc., together with rules or laws that link these to the object. Some of these elements of the explanation may be implicit.
Explanations can only be given by those with understanding of the object which is explained.
In scientific research, explanation is one of three purposes of research (the other two being exploration and description). Explanation is the discovery and reporting of relationships among different aspects of studied phenomena.
Some different types of explanations:

Deductive-nomological
Functional
Historical
Psychological
Reductive
Teleological
Methodological

Monday, December 3, 2007


The Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804-1806), headed by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, was the first American overland expedition to the Pacific coast and back.

Earlier European exploration to the Pacific coast
In 1804, the Louisiana Purchase sparked interest in expansion to the west coast. A few weeks after the purchase, President Thomas Jefferson, an advocate of western expansion, had the Congress appropriate $2,500 for an expedition. In a message to Congress, Jefferson wrote

Louisiana Purchase and a western expedition
See also: Timeline of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
"Left Pittsburgh this day at 11 o'clock with a party of 11 hands 7 of which are soldiers, a pilot and three young men on trial they having proposed to go with me throughout the voyage." they bought from the Native Americans, plus one that they stole in "retaliation" for a previous theft. Less than a month after leaving Fort Clatsop, they abandoned their canoes because portaging around all the falls proved terribly difficult.
On July 3, after crossing the Continental Divide, the Corps split into two teams so Lewis could explore the Marias River. Lewis' group of four met some Blackfeet Indians. Their meeting was cordial, but during the night, the Blackfeet tried to steal their weapons. In the struggle, two Indians were killed, the only native deaths attributable to the expedition. The group of four: Lewis, Drouillard, and the Field brothers, fled over 100 miles (160 km) in a day before they camped again. Clark, meanwhile, had entered Crow territory. The Crow tribe were known as horse thieves. At night, half of Clark's horses were gone, but not a single Crow was seen. Lewis and Clark stayed separated until they reached the confluence of the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers on August 11. Clark's team had floated down the rivers in bull boats. While reuniting, one of Clark's hunters, Pierre Cruzatte, blind in one eye and nearsighted in the other, mistook Lewis for an elk and fired, injuring Lewis in the thigh. From there, the groups were reunited and able to quickly return home by the Missouri River. They reached St. Louis on September 23, 1806.
The Corps of Discovery returned with important information about the new United States territory and the people who lived in it, as well as its rivers and mountains, plants and animals. The expedition made a major contribution to mapping the North American continent.

Journey
On December 9,

Reaction of the Spanish

The U.S. gained an extensive knowledge of the geography of the American West in the form of maps of major rivers and mountain ranges
Observed and described 178 plants and 122 species and subspecies of animals (see List of species described by the Lewis and Clark Expedition)
Encouraged Euro-American fur trade in the West
Opened Euro-American diplomatic relations with the Indians
Established a precedent for Army exploration of the West
Strengthened the U.S. claim to Oregon Territory
Focused U.S. and media attention on the West
Produced a large body of literature about the West (the Lewis and Clark diaries) Achievements


  • "Seaman", Lewis' black Newfoundland dog.




Captain Meriwether Lewis — private secretary to President Thomas Jefferson and leader of the Expedition.
Lieutenant William Clark — shared command of the Expedition, although technically second in command.
York — Clark's enslaved black manservant.
Sergeant Charles Floyd — the Expedition's quartermaster; died early in the trip. He was the one person who died during the Expedition.
Sergeant Patrick Gass — chief carpenter, promoted to Sergeant after Floyd's death.
Sergeant John Ordway — responsible for issuing provisions, appointing guard duties, and keeping records for the Expedition.
Sergeant Nathaniel Hale Pryor — leader of the 1st Squad; he presided over the court martial of privates John Collins and Hugh Hall.
Corporal Richard Warfington — conducted the return party to St. Louis in 1805.
Private John Boley — disciplined at Camp Dubois and was assigned to the return party.
Private William E. Bratton — served as hunter and blacksmith.
Private John Collins — had frequent disciplinary problems; he was court-martialed for stealing whiskey which he had been assigned to guard.
Private John Colter — charged with mutiny early in the trip, he later proved useful as a hunter; he earned his fame after the journey.
Private Pierre Cruzatte — a one-eyed French fiddle-player and a skilled boatman.
Private John Dame
Private Joseph Field — a woodsman and skilled hunter, brother of Reubin.
Private Reubin Field — a woodsman and skilled hunter, brother of Joseph.
Private Robert Frazer — kept a journal that was never published.
Private George Gibson — a fiddle-player and a good hunter; he served as an interpreter (probably via sign language).
Private Silas Goodrich — the main fisherman of the expedition.
Private Hugh Hall — court-martialed with John Collins for stealing whiskey.
Private Thomas Proctor Howard — court-martialed for setting a "pernicious example" to the Indians by showing them that the wall at Fort Mandan was easily scaled.
Private François Labiche — French fur trader who served as an interpreter and boatman.
Private Hugh McNeal — the first white explorer to stand astride the headwaters of the Missouri River on the Continental Divide.
Private John Newman — court-martialed and confined for "having uttered repeated expressions of a highly criminal and mutinous nature."
Private John Potts — German immigrant and a miller.
Private Moses B. Reed — attempted to desert in August 1804; convicted of desertion and expelled from the party.
Private John Robertson — member of the Corps for a very short time.
Private George Shannon — was lost twice during the expedition, once for sixteen days. Youngest member of expedition at 19.
Private John Shields — blacksmith, gunsmith, and a skilled carpenter; with John Colter, he was court-martialed for mutiny.
Private John B. Thompson — may have had some experience as a surveyor.
Private Howard Tunn — hunter and navigator.
Private Ebenezer Tuttle — may have been the man sent back on June 12, 1804; otherwise, he was with the return party from Fort Mandan in 1805.
Private Peter M. Weiser — had some minor disciplinary problems at River Dubois; he was made a permanent member of the party.
Private William Werner — convicted of being absent without leave at St. Charles, Missouri, at the start of the expedition.
Private Isaac White — may have been the man sent back on June 12, 1804; otherwise, he was with the return party from Fort Mandan in 1805.
Private Joseph Whitehouse — often acted as a tailor for the other men; he kept a journal which extended the Expedition narrative by almost five months.
Private Alexander Hamilton Willard — blacksmith; assisted John Shields. He was convicted on July 12, 1804, of sleeping while on sentry duty and given one hundred lashes.
Private Richard Windsor — often assigned duty as a hunter.
Interpreter Toussaint Charbonneau — Sacagawea's husband; served as a translator and often as a cook.
Interpreter Sacagawea — Charbonneau's wife; translated Shoshone to Hidatsa for Charbonneau and was a valued member of the expedition.
Jean Baptiste Charbonneau — Charbonneau and Sacagawea's son, born February 11, 1805; his presence helped dispel any notion that the expedition was a war party, smoothing the way in Indian lands.
Interpreter George Drouillard — skilled with Indian sign language; the best hunter on the expedition.
"Seaman", Lewis' black Newfoundland dog. In popular culture

Timeline of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
History of the United States
USS Lewis and Clark and USNS Lewis and Clark
Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Lewis and Clark Expedition Further reading

Lewis and Clark Among the Indians, James P. Ronda, 1984 - ISBN 0-8032-3870-3
Undaunted Courage, Stephen Ambrose, 1997 - ISBN 0-684-82697-6
National Geographic Guide to the Lewis & Clark Trail, Thomas Schmidt, 2002 - ISBN 0-7922-6471-1
The Lewis and Clark Journals: An American Epic of Discovery (abridged), edited by Gary E. Moulton, 2003 - ISBN 0-8032-2950-X
The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, 13-Volume Set, edited by Gary E. Moulton, 2002 - ISBN 0-8032-2948-8
The complete text of the Lewis and Clark Journals online, University of Nebraska-Lincoln (in progress)
In Search of York: The Slave Who Went to the Pacific With Lewis and Clark, Robert B. Betts, 2002 - ISBN 0-87081-714-0
Online text of the Expedition's Journal at Project Gutenberg
Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery, Ken Burns, 1997 - ISBN 0-679-45450-0
Lewis and Clark: across the divide, Carolyn Gilman, 2003. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Books. ISBN 1588340996

Sunday, December 2, 2007

United Synagogue
United Synagogue is an organisation of London Jews that was founded with the sanction of an act of parliament, in 1870. As of 2007, it remains the largest religious grouping within the British Jewish community, covering 62 Orthodox Jewish communities, and takes its religious authority from the Chief Rabbi of Britain.
The United Synagogue's values stem from the principles of both Torah and Halacha.

United Synagogue History
From 1866, Nathan Marcus Adler was instrumental in bringing together the United Synagogue, a union of the three City of London synagogues — the Great Synagogue, the New Synagogue, and the Hambro Synagogue — and their branch synagogues at Great Portland Street and Bayswater.
Its direct work has always been confined to the metropolis, but it has exercised, indirectly, considerable influence over the Jews of the British Empire and British Commonwealth. It is governed by an elected council representing the constituent congregations. In religious and ritual matters it is under the jurisdiction of the Chief Rabbi. The president of the United Synagogue in 1910 was Lord Rothschild.
The United Synagogue directs and supports educational and charitable work. The title chief rabbi is not found in the pre-expulsion records, though, before the Jews were banished in 1290, there was an official named presbyter omnium Judaeorum Angliae. The functions of this official cannot be proved to have been ecclesiastical. The title Chief Rabbi became well known through the eminence of occupants of the position such as Adler's immediate predecessor Solomon Hirschell (1762-1842).

Saturday, December 1, 2007


Finance Financial markets Financial market participants Corporate finance Personal finance Public finance Banks and Banking Financial regulation Types of Bank Central bank Advising bank Commercial bank Community development bank Custodian bank Depository bank Investment bank Islamic banking Merchant bank Mutual bank Mutual savings bank National bank Offshore bankNational bank Private bank Savings bank Swiss bank Banking terms Anonymous banking Automatic teller machine Deposit Deposit creation multiplier Loan List of banks List of banks in Canada List of banks in Hong Kong List of banks in Singapore The term national bank has several meanings:
In the past, the term "national bank" has been used synonymously with "central bank", but it is no longer used in this sense today. Some central banks may have the words "National Bank" in their name; retrospectively if a bank is named in this way, it is not automatically considered a central bank. Example: National-Bank AG in Essen, Germany is a privately owned commercial bank, just like National Bank of Canada of Montreal, Canada. On the other side, National Bank of Ethiopia is the central bank of Ethiopia and National Bank of Cambodia is the central bank of Cambodia

especially in developing countries, a bank owned by the state
an ordinary private bank which operates nationally (as opposed to regionally or locally or even internationally) Colombia
National Bank for Rural and Agricultural Development (NABARD) - http://www.nabard.org
NABARD was established on 12th July 1982 to implement the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development Act 1981. It replaced the Agricultural Credit Department (ACD) and Rural Planning and Credit Cell (RPCC) of Reserve Bank of India, and Agricultural Refinance and Development Corporation (ARDC).
NABARD: (i) serves as an apex financing agency for the institutions providing investment and production credit for promoting the various developmental activities in rural areas; (ii) takes measures towards institution building for improving absorptive capacity of the credit delivery system, including monitoring, formulation of rehabilitation schemes, restructuring of credit institutions, training of personnel, etc. ; (iii) co-ordinates the rural financing activities of all institutions engaged in developmental work at the field level and maintains liaison with Government of India, State Governments, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and other national level institutions concerned with policy formulation; and (iv) undertakes monitoring and evaluation of projects refinanced by it.
NABARD's refinance is available to State Co-operative Agriculture and Rural Development Banks (SCARDBs), State Co-operative Banks (SCBs), Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), Commercial Banks (CBs) and other financial institutions approved by RBI. While the ultimate beneficiaries of investment credit can be individuals, partnership concerns, companies, State-owned corporations or co-operative societies, production credit is generally given to individuals.
NABARD operates throughout the country through its 28 Regional Offices and one Sub-office, located in the capitals of all the states/union territories.It has 336 District Offices across the country, one Sub-office at Port Blair and one special Cell at Srinagar. It also has 6 training establishments.

India

New Zealand
New Zealand currently has one state-owned bank, Kiwibank created by Labour-Alliance coalition government.
The New Zealand government formerly owned two other banks in New Zealand: The Bank of New Zealand, from 1945 to 1992 when it was privatized by Bolger's National government, and the Post Office Savings Bank from when it was created by separating New Zealand Post's functions to when it was privatized and sold to ANZ New Zealand in 1989. ANZ became known as ANZ-PostBank before later becoming completely assimilated.

State-owned banks
The National Bank of New Zealand is a private bank corporation which has been purchased by ANZ 2003 from its former owner, Lloyds TSB.

National Bank of New Zealand
National Bank of Pakistan is a major bank in Pakistan.

Serbia
In the United States, the term "national bank" originally referred to the revolutionary era Bank of North America, its successor First Bank of the United States, or its successor the Second Bank of the United States. All are now defunct.
In the modern U.S. the term "national bank" has a precise meaning: a banking institution chartered by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency ("OCC"), an agency in the U.S. Treasury Department, pursuant to the National Bank Act. The inclusion of the word "National" in the bank's name or the designation "National Association" or its abbreviation "N.A." is a required part of the distinguishing legal title of a national bank, as in "Bank of America, N.A." Many "state banks," by contrast, are chartered by the applicable State Government (usually the State's Department of Banking), although the banks are still typically regulated by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), who insures their deposits.
Notwithstanding the name, not all "national banks" have nationwide operations. Some "national banks" have operations in only one state. Further, some state-chartered banks have nationwide operations, but are not properly called "national banks." "National banks" should also be distinguished from federal savings associations (which include federal savings & loans and federal savings banks), which are financial institutions chartered by the Office of Thrift Supervision, another agency in the U.S. Treasury Department.

Friday, November 30, 2007

Gordian II
Marcus Antonius Gordianus Sempronianus Romanus Africanus (c. 192 - April 12, 238), known in English as Gordian II, was Roman Emperor during the year 238.
Gordian was the son of Emperor Gordian I. Gordian's mother may be the granddaughter of Greek Sophist, consul and tutor Herodes Atticus. His younger sister was Antonia Gordiana, who was the mother of Emperor Gordian III. The official history of the Roman emperors provides the only account of Gordian's early career. Since his memory was cherished after his death, the information is questionable and remains unproven. According to this source, Gordian served as quaestor in Elagabalus' reign and as praetor and consul suffect with Alexander Severus as emperor. In 237, Gordian went to the Africa Roman province under his father's command as a governor.
Early in 235, emperor Alexander Severus and his mother Julia Avita Mamaea were assassinated by mutinous troops in Germania Inferior. The leader of the rebellion, Maximinus Thrax, became emperor, despite his popular background and the disapproval of the Roman Senate. Pushed by the local politicians, Gordian's father began a revolt against Maximinus in 238 and became Augustus on March 22. Due to Gordian I's advanced age, the younger Gordian was attached to the imperial throne and acclaimed Augustus too. Father and son saw their pretensions ratified both by the senate and most of the other provinces, due to Maximinus' unpopularity.
Opposition would come from the neighbouring province of Numidia. Capelianus, governor of Numidia and a loyal supporter of Maximinus Thrax, renewed his alliance to the former emperor and invaded Africa province with the only legion stationing in the region III Augusta, and other veteran units. Gordian II, at the head of a militia army of untrained soldiers, lost the Battle of Carthage and was killed, and Gordian I took his own life. This first rebellion against Maximinus Thrax was unsuccessful but, by the end of 238, Gordian II's nephew would be recognised emperor by the whole Roman world as Gordian III.

Thursday, November 29, 2007

List of patent related topics
The below is a list of topics related to patents. See list of patent legal concepts for a list of articles on various legal aspects of patents, including special types of patents and patent applications.

Treaties, conventions and other legal texts and frameworks

Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs Agreement)
American Inventors Protection Act (AIPA)
Budapest Treaty
Community patent (proposed)
EU Directive on the Patentability of Computer-Implemented Inventions (proposed, then rejected)
EU Directive on the Patentability of Biotechnological Inventions
European Patent Convention (EPC)
European patent law
European Patent Litigation Agreement (EPLA) (proposed)
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
Japanese patent law
London Agreement (concluded but not in force yet)
Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property
U.S. Patent Reform Act of 2005
Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
Patent Law Treaty (PLT)
South African patent system
Substantive Patent Law Treaty (SPLT) (proposed)
Statute of Monopolies 1623
Strasbourg Convention
United States patent law

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Force de frappe
The Force de frappe (literally Striking Force; meant for dissuasion, i.e. Deterrence) is the designation of what used to be a triad of air-, sea- and land-based French Nuclear Forces, part of the Military of France. France has the third largest nuclear force in the world, after the United States and Russia (see Estimated stockpiles).

Force de frappe History

Present state
France does not have active IRBMs anymore, the IRBM base at the Plateau d'Albion (Vaucluse region) has been deactivated in 1999. All army units equipped with SRBMs as the Pluton and Hadès missiles have been disbanded at the same time.

Land-based component
The French Navy includes a nuclear strategic branch, the Force Océanique Stratégique, composed of a fleet of:
One additional Triomphant-class SSBN, Le Terrible, is under construction and is scheduled for commissioning in 2008 to replace the aging L'Inflexible.
Development of the new Barracuda class of attack submarines is under way to replace all Rubis-class boats. Deliveries are scheduled from 2016 to 2026.

Four nuclear ballistic submarines: one Redoutable-class unit (L'Inflexible) of 1970s design, armed with the M4 SLBM, and three Triomphant-class SSBNs (Le Triomphant, Le Téméraire, and Le Vigilant) of late 1980s design, armed with the more modern M45 SLBM. Starting in 2010, the longer-range M51 SLBM will gradually replace the M45.
Six Rubis-class nuclear attack submarines of late 1970s design, tasked with protecting the SSBN fleet.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Enlightened absolutism
Enlightened absolutism (also known as benevolent or enlightened despotism) is a form of despotism in which rulers were influenced by the Enlightenment, a historical period. Enlightened monarchs embraced the principles of the Enlightenment, especially its emphasis upon rationality, and applied them to their territories. They tended to allow religious toleration, freedom of speech and the press, and the right to hold private property. Most fostered the arts, sciences, and education.
Enlightened absolutists' beliefs about royal power were often similar to those of absolute monarchs, in that many believed that they had the right to govern by birth and generally refused to grant constitutions, seeing even the most pro-monarchy ones as being an inherent check on their power. The difference between an absolutist and an enlightened absolutist is based on a broad analysis of how far they embraced Enlightenment. In particular, the Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II can be said to have fully embraced the enlightened concept of the social contract. In contrast, Empress Catherine II of Russia entirely rejected the concept of the social contract while taking up many ideas of the Enlightenment, for example by being a great patron of the arts in Imperial Russia and incorporating many ideas of enlightened philosophers, especially Montesquieu, in her Nakaz, to a committee meant to revise Russian law.
In effect, the monarchs ruled with the intent of improving the lives of their subjects in order to strengthen or reinforce their authority. For example, the abolition of serfdom in some regions of Europe was achieved by enlightened rulers. In the spirit of enlightened absolutism, Emperor Joseph II said, "Everything for the people, nothing by the people."
Other enlightened absolutists, such as King Frederick the Great maintained the ideals of the Enlightenment while also permitting the practice of serfdom. The governing political philosophy of "rationalism" under the enlightened ancient regime, permitted these hereditary monarchs to commit hypocritical, yet rationally justifiable actions. Unlike the absolutist King Louis XIV of France, Frederick viewed himself as the "First servant of the State," rather than the state itself.
In modern times, Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said of Oman has been characterized as an enlightened absolutist, as while he maintains an absolute monarchy he also seeks to improve his country and rule with a light hand.

Monday, November 26, 2007


Radio Talk-show host on Cape Talk
Mweb columnist
Regular commentator on the Jeff Rense show
Jani Allan (born 11 September 1953) is a South African journalist and top radio commentator. Allan was formerly South Africa's leading columnist during her time at The Sunday Times (South Africa) newspaper. Her personal life has also frequently made the headlines, particularly in 1988 with her association with one of her Sunday Time's interviewees, right-wing AWB leader, Eugène Terre'Blanche. Speculation was intensified, regarding their association in 1992 during Allan's high-profile libel case against British broadcaster, Channel 4. Allan later returned to the mainstream of the South African media with a column and associated forum on Mweb and later as a radio show host on Cape Talk radio. Although Allan currently resides in the USA, and has been operating as a freelance journalist, as well as making several radio show appearance, as a radio show commentator.

Biography
In 1988, a Sunday Times interview for Allan's 'Face to face' column was published between Allan and Eugene Terreblanche , the right-wing AWB leader, Eugène Terre'Blanche.
Both were reported to have had several meetings following the interview as Allan was writing a book on right-wing politics in South Africa, and Terre'Blanche was a subject. Allan also accompanied the AWB to some of their rallies and reported for the Sunday Times.
Speculation regarding their relationship was intensified following the Paardekraal incident, whereby Allan and Terre'Blanche had organised to meet up at the Voortrekker Monument restaurant to discuss Terre'Blanche's inclusion in Allan's book. Following the meeting, Terre'Blanche allegedly crashed into the Voortrekker Monument's gates. The crash prompted police and media appearances and Allan and Terre'Blanche were seen together on the Paardekraal monument steps. Although there was little evidence to suggest an affair, the rumour mills did not hesitate in sensationalising the incident.
Allan herself sought to set the record straight in the same week, with her own version of events in a front-page leading story in The Sunday Times, with the headline ' The REAL story of me and ET and the SAP'. Her story cleared Terre'Blanche's as did his own version of events. Yet a court case of criminal damage (regarding the damage to the Vootrekker monument's gates) as well as crimen injura (regarding Terre'Blanche's expressed disrespectful language towards a police officer). In light of these charges, it was also alleged that the government (then in negotiations with the ANC and anticipating a multi-racial election) had been hoping to capitalize on events, to weaken the AWB and the right-wing challenge which they posed. Despite this, Terre'Blanche was found not-guilty on both charges. The AWB certainly was negatively affected by the court case and affair allegations.
Allan later released recorded telephone-tapes between her and Terre'Blanche to The Sunday Times. Yet in light of the bomb incident (a bomb had recently exploded in Jani's apartment and the planters were unknown, with suspects ranging from the AWB and intelligence sources among others) Allan retreated to London before the tapes were published, for her own safety. Although it would be several years until Allan would permanently return to South Africa.

Association with Eugene Terre'Blanche
In 1992, Allan sued Channel 4, the British broadcaster, for libel, claiming that in their documentary The Leader, His Driver and the Driver's Wife by Nick Broomfield, she was presented as a "woman of easy virtue". The documentary-maker, Broomfield, who was following the AWB and its activities, claimed that Jani Allan had an affair with Eugene Terre'Blanche, accompanying this were photos of Allan, when she worked as a photographic model.
Channel 4 was represented was by the late QC George Carman, and Allan herself admitted to Carman

Libel case against Channel 4
In 1994, during an interview with SABC, Jani Allan revealed that she had become a born again Christian. Despite not being successful in her high-profile libel case against Channel 4, she revealed that the case had served a purpose in that she found God. Having previously held faith in the British justice system and the belief that justic would prevail, if one told the truth, Allan was disillusioned with the outcome of the case and revelaed one could not put too much store in man's judgement. Allan revealed that the bible had brought about a 'dramatic change' in herself and that she had a 'new heart' and that her otlooks had changed. She also highlighted previous things which were important to her such as fame, fashion and fortune were now trasient.

Christianism
In 1997, London's The Independent ran an article

Friendship with Mangosuthu Buthelezi
Prior to becoming a Journalist, Allan had worked as a teacher as well as photographic model. As she began to get involved in the media world, she worked at SAAN (South African Associated Newspapers).

Career

Sunday Times
Allan got her break with the Sunday Times (where she would work for over a decade) when she was appointed gossip columnist with her Just Jani column. She frequently interviewed South Africa's celebrity elite and personalities in the entertainment world. She also interviewed foreign celebrities such as Robert Moore.

Just Jani
With her growing popularity, Allan was appointed the leading columnist and in her new column, Face to Face she would regularly interview political figures. Her guests ranged from Winnie Mandela to far-right political leaders such as Eugene Terre'Blanche.

Jani Allan Face to Face
Following her unsuccessful court case in London, Allan began to work with former SABC journalist, Cliff Saunders, as a domestic worker (yet in a role that was more similar to that of a PA). Yet Allan was unknowingly and allegedly working as a spy for her boss. Allan, a personal friend of Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) leader, Mangosuthu Buthelezi, was unknowingly employed to gather information on the IFP and its actvities as well as it's members. Allegedly Saunders was a previous apartheid spy and was now working for the new ANC regime and the IFP's activities were supposedly of much interest to the ANC.

Unwitting spy
Allan returned to South Africa in 1996, to be with her adoptive-mother who's health was deteriorating. Prior to returning, Allan also became a born-again Christian in 1994.Upon her return she was also interviewed by local Style magazine and appeared on the front cover .
She went on to make several appaearances in popular magazines and published articles in a wide range of publications. Of which included her regular lifestyle column for M-Net website's lifestyle section.

Return to South Africa
Jani Allan was also involved as a columnist for MWeb. As well as writing for the website, she had her own discussion forum. Although controversially Mweb and Jani Allan parted company and her forum site was removed following an article in which Allan questioned today's non-colonial Africa.

Mweb
In 1997 she was announced as a host on Cape Talk Radio, a Cape Town-based popular radio show and launched her show Jani's world which aired on Friday evening's between 9pm to midnight.The show became the station's most popular show, even towards it's cancellation.
Yet her show, she and her guest sparked controversy in September 1999, when she interviewed American right-winger Keith Johnson of the Militia of Montana. Johnson made remarks about abbinical teachings, Israel, Hitler and the Holocaust. As well as outlining global conspiracy theory, he denounced homosexuality, race mixing and former South African President, Nelson Mandela. Allan sparked controversy, as she did not correct Johnson regarding these issues. Although Allan herself did not express that she agreed with the controversial views expressed.The interview[2] gained a considerable negative reaction from viewers and an apology was broadcast two days later.
In a show broadcast with Jan Lamprecht on capetalk, both discussed 'Mugabe's reign of terror and the Zimbabwe land grabs'. Shortly after the show, she was held up at gunpoint with a magnum 44 in an incident which may have been related to the broadcast.
Allan hosted the 3 hour evening show for three years,despite the success of the show, which had high audience figures and was popular across racial boundaries, her contract was terminated in October 2000. It was claimed that 'there is no place for the likes of Jani Allan in the New South Africa." Allan commented that the owners of the station found her style too politically incorrect and controversial.[3]

Cape Talk Radio
In 2001 Allan relocated to the USA, she had previously displayed discontent with the ruling South African government and had recently been held up in a Cape Town hostage drama. Allan also outlined her green card woes and her destructive and short-lived recent marriage on her blog and Jeff Rense's website [4].

Emigration to the USA
Six months after arriving in America in 2001, Allan married an American man. Yet the marriage soon collapsed with Allan citing the increasingly abusive nature of the marriage and physical as well as mental isolation. Soon after her hospitalisation for both physical and psychological effects of the relationship, she fled the marital home.

Second marriage
In her own local state of Pennsylvania, Allan was also providing horoscopes [5] from 2003 in local magazine 'NewHopePennsylvania' , including both human as well as pet horoscopes, Allan herself is a dog lover. Previously, Allan shared a Sandton flat with former friend and colleague, Linda Shaw, The Sunday Time's astrologer, and who also testified in the 1992 libel case.

Astrologer

US Radio appearances
On 17th June 2004, Jani Allan appeared as the guest on the Jeff Rense show. During the show, which had a listenership of 17m, Allan highlighted the plights of many white Afrikaner families and she encouraged Americans to sponsor white Afrikaner refugees. During the interview, Allan also focussed on her own experiences as a victim of crime as well as on the high rate of white farm murders in South Africa.
Jani Allan later became the regular Friday-night weekly guest-commentator. The popularity of her interview with Rense, also resulted in a repeat of the interview.

Jeff Rense Show
In January 2005, Allan appeared on the 'Flipside with Robby Noel', broadcast on Republic radio. Throughout the interview, Allan questioned the gun laws in place in South Africa as well as other South African-related matters, such as media freedom, crime and cruelty to animals.
Ironically just as Allan had been invited as a weekly Friday night guest commentator on the Jeff Rense Show, she was also invited to hold the same position on Robby Noel's show, 'The Flipside with Robby Noel'.

The Flipside with Robby Noel
Jani Allan has also appeared on the Larry Pratt show, discussing gun laws in place in South Africa. She was also a guest on the information corner radio, [6].

Other radio appearance
Jani Allan has also been involved in writing for conservative news website, worldnetdaily. Her articles for the website have covered issues such as Zimbawe and comparisons with animal cruelty in the country as well as traditional African medical practices.

Worldnetdaily
In 2002, Allan was played by an actress in the BBC production, Get Carman: The Trials of George Carman QC. Carman had previously presented Channel 4, during Allan's earlier libel case, and the television production was based upon the libel case among other high-profile court cases that Carman was involved with.
In 2004, Allan was played by Joan Collins in a comedy spoof for SABC.

Screen depictions

Views
In the interview[7] with Jeff Rense on United States Radio. Allan accused Thabo Mbeki's ANC-led government of targeting white South Africans, particularly Afrikaners, with a genocide campaign. The allegations were sparked by the high proportion of white South African farm attacks taking place in rural South Africa, and were reinforced by the forced and violent removals of white farmers in neighbouring Zimbabwe. Allan also asked for American families to start sponsoring Afrikaner families as political refugees.Allan claimed Mbeki 'has a total obsession with race, that he hates the Afrikaner people and that he is obsessed with what he terms 'colonial oppression'. Apart for alleged genocide, another reason which reinforced Allan's decision to depart South Africa was following an incident where she was held up at gunpoint in Cape Town. Allan relocated to Pennsylvania, USA. Allan is regarded as an outspoken critic of the ANC government as well as an ambassador for the Afrikaner cause.

White genocide
In July 2004, in an article [8] Allan questioned the price of free speech, following Jan Lamprecht's decision to take down his website, wwww.AfricanCrisis.org following an intimidation campaign by the ANC. The site (now reinstated) chronicles the high rate of white farm murders and brutality within South Africa. Lamprecht faced problems when he gave Jani a voice on his site and associated forum. The forum and site was inundated with hate-mail and spam (from users allegedly sympathetic the ANC regime) particularly following Allan's appearance on the Jeff Rense show, which attracted millions of domestic listeners as well as international interest. The ANC allegedly employed a Sunday Times journalist and former colleague to publish a report discrediting Allan's expressed opinion in the show.The web site as well as Jani's forum often outlined the barbaric crime situation, the ANC's ineffectiveness as well as their Marxist origins. A friend of Lamprecht's from the TAU (Transvaal Agricultural Union)even wrote to him stating that "By giving Jani a platform you have angered the movers and shakers... WATCH YOUR BACK!". Allegedly, ANC propagandists were assigned to the site to cause trouble.
In related situations regarding apparent oppression of freedom of speech, Jani Allan's apartment was bombed in 1990. Although contrasting theories persist, regarding the observation that it was an AWB bomb or whether South African intelligence or the ANC were involved. At the time, Allan was controversial as being clearly politically-right and often at odds with the NP's negotiations with the ANC at the time. And as the leading columnist of The Sunday Times, which attracted a huge readership, she had an influential role.
Jani Allan's M-Net forum and column immediately lost it's M-WEB sponsorship and was taken down overnight following an article she wrote on the site, which questioned post-colonial Africa.
In 2000, Allan was also held hostage, following an interview discussing the Mugabe regime in Zimbabwe. (See CapeTalk section.)

Zimbabwe and animal cruelty
In 2004, Allan also published a damning report on communist findings within the ruling ANC government [10]. Allan made many observations, particularly the military training of many ANC members in Soviet Russia.

ANC communism
In 2005, Allan expressed her own feelings [11]regarding the case of the late Terri Schiavo, whose parents fought extensive legal challenges to keep their daughter alive. Following her collapse in 1990, she had been leading a life of institutilzation for 15 years and was declared as being in a persistent vegetative state and was dependant on a feeding tube. The courts eventually ruled that the feeding tube be removed, and Schiavo be left to die. Allan as well as others were outraged and she branded the actions as a 'public execution'.

Terri Schiavo
Allan has also expressed her disapproval [12] of the gun laws in place in South Africa, which has the highest rate of firearms-related murders in the world. The South African gun laws make it more difficult for home-owners to obtain guns and their accompanying licenses. With suburban areas which are characterised by the high level of security, for many South Africans, they are regarded as a form of household protection rather than intimidation. Allan also speculated that the gun laws placed white South Africans, in particular, in a vulnerable position and left the community susceptible to an alleged planned genocide known as operation Uhuru as well as other names.

Gun control
It was widely speculated that in an internet letter by President Mbeki, he was referring to Jani Allan when he wrote that "Having convinced her listeners that she fled from her white suburb in Cape Town, because the black savages were at her door, some editor in our country will then seize on her victory triumphantly to proclaim that 'overseas the perception remains that SA is one of the world's crime capitals'. President Mbeki blamed the unnamed woman's reasoning on "The psychological residue of apartheid has produced a psychosis among some of us such that, to this day, they do not believe that our non-racial democracy will survive and succeed.''
The reaction from the ANC to the interview with Rense according to Allan's msn groups page was : "We knew Jani Allan was a crazy attention seeker, but to tell such blatant lies about genocide being committed against white South Africans to seven million gullible Americans is beyond the pale. She has slandered our President and told lies that surely constitute treason."

Present
She has a degree in English Literature.
She is a trained classical pianist.
She is mentioned in the Jeremy Maggs' book/memoir 'Daze of my life'
She is mentioned in the 2003 Pat Hopkins book 'Cringe the beloved country'.
She used to drive a red Ferrari whilst working for The Sunday Times.

Sunday, November 25, 2007


Overview
History
Statistics
Stations
Trains
Popular Culture
Map
London Transport Portal
The tube map is the schematic diagram that represents the lines, stations, and zones of London's rapid transit rail system, the London Underground.
A schematic diagram rather than a map, it represents not geography but relations. It considerably distorts the actual relative positions of stations, but accurately represents their sequential and connective relations with each other along the lines and their placement within fare zones. The basic design concepts, especially that of mapping topologically rather than geographically, have been widely adopted for other network maps around the world.

History
The first underground line in London, the Metropolitan Railway opened in 1863. However, as different lines on the Underground controlled by different companies, no official unified map was produced until 1906, when Charles Tyson Yerkes unified the railways and operated them under a combined "Underground" brand.
Early Underground maps were laid out on a geographically-correct basis, and indeed at first had maps of the streets and other local features laid on top of them. by which time details such as streets had been removed.
The 1932 edition was the last geographically-based map to be published, before the much more familiar style of map took its place. However, the actual routes are shown as blue lines on the Transport for London bus maps.

Tube map Early maps
The first diagrammatic map of the Underground was designed by Harry Beck in 1933.

Beck's maps
Beck had by 1960 fallen out with the Underground's publicity officer, Harold Hutchinson. Hutchinson, though not a designer himself, drafted his own version of the Tube map in 1960; it removed the smoothed corners of Beck's design, lines were less straight and created some highly cramped areas (most notably, around Liverpool Street).

After Beck
Alterations have been made to the map over the years. Recent designs have incorporated changes to the network, such as the Docklands Light Railway and the Jubilee Line Extension. In addition, since 2002 the Underground ticket zones have been added, to better help passengers judge the cost of a journey. Nevertheless the map remains true to Beck's original scheme, and many other transport systems use schematic maps to represent their services, undoubtedly inspired by Beck. A facsimile of Beck's original design is on display on the southbound platform at his local station, Finchley Central. The map is currently maintained and updated by Alan Foale, of The LS Company.

Today
The design has become so widely known that it is now instantly recognisable as representing London. It has been featured on T-shirts, postcards, and other memorabilia. In 2006 the design came second in a televised search for the most well known British Design Icon. published a design based on the tube map, purporting to show the relationships between musicians and musical genres in the 20th century. The map is discussed by its creator, Dorian Lynskey, on the Guardian's Culture vulture blog.
On January 11, 2007 Lord Adonis unveiled a depiction of the Tube Map featuring the names of successful schools and students at GCSE level, as part of the London Student Awards 2007.
David Booth's The Tate Gallery by Tube 1986 is one of a series of publicity posters for the Underground. His work showed the lines of the map squeezed out of tubes of paint and has since been used on the cover of the map itself.
In 2003, to coincide with the publication of a book, the London Transport Museum released a "World Metro Map" strongly based on the London diagram and approved by TfL. Technical aspects
The table below shows the changing use of colours since the first Beck map. The current colours are taken from the TfL Colour Standards guide, which defines the precise colours and also a colour naming scheme which is particular to TfL. Earlier maps were limited by the number of colours available that could be clearly distinguished in print. Improvements in colour printing technology have reduced this problem and the map has coped with the identification of new lines without great difficulty.
Service information is indicated by the format:

Solid colour – normal service
Outline colour – limited service
Alternating solid and outline colour – under construction or closed for renovation Line colours
An important symbol that Beck introduced was the 'tick' to indicate stations. This allowed stations to be placed closer together while retaining clarity, because the tick was only on the side of the line nearer the station name (ideally centrally placed, though the arrangement of lines did not always allow this).
From the start, interchange stations were given a special mark to indicate their importance, though its shape changed over the years. In addition, from 1960, marks were used to identify stations that offered convenient interchange with British Railways (now National Rail). The following shapes have been used:
Since 1970 the map has used the British Rail 'double arrow' beside the station name to indicate main-line interchanges. Where the main-line station has a different name from the Underground station that it connects with, since 1977 this has been shown in a box.
In recent years, some maps have marked stations offering step-free access suitable for wheelchair users with a blue circle containing a wheelchair symbol in white.
Some interchanges are more convenient than others and the map designers have repeatedly rearranged the layout of the map to try to indicate where the interchanges are more complex, such as by making the interchange circles more distant and linking them with thin black lines. Sometimes the need for simplicity overrides this goal; the Bakerloo/Northern Lines interchange at Charing Cross is not very convenient and passengers would be better off changing at Embankment, but the need to simplify the inner London area means that the map seems to indicate that Charing Cross is the easier interchange.

Empty circle (one for each line or station, where convenient) - standard default mark
Empty circle (one for each station) - 1938 experimental map
Empty diamond (one for each line) - early 1930s
Empty square - interchange with British Railways, 1960-1964
Circle with dot inside - interchange with British Rail, 1964-1970 Station marks
The map aims to make the complicated network of services easy to understand, but there are occasions when it might be useful to have more information about the services that operate on each line.
The District Line is the classic example; it is shown as one line on the map, but comprises services on the main route between Upminster and Ealing/Richmond/Wimbledon; between Edgware Road and Wimbledon; and the High Street Kensington to Olympia shuttle service. For most of its history the map has not distinguished these services, which could be misleading to an unfamiliar user. Recent maps have tried to tackle this problem by separating the different routes at Earl's Court.
Limited-service routes have sometimes been identified with hatched lines (see above), with some complications added to the map to show where peak-only services ran through to branches, such as that to Chesham on the Metropolitan Line. The number of routes with a limited service has declined in recent years as patronage recovered from its early 1980s' low point. As there are now fewer restrictions to show, and remaining ones are now mainly indicated in the accompanying text rather than by special line markings.

Lines or services
The tube map exists to help people navigate the Underground, and it has been questioned whether it should play a wider role in helping people navigate London itself. The question has been raised as to whether main-line railways should be shown on the map, in particular those in Inner London. The Underground has largely resisted adding additional services to the standard tube map, instead producing separate maps with different information:
The maps showing all the National Rail routes provide useful additional information at the expense of considerably increased complexity, as they contain almost 700 stations. This makes them harder to read, even when A3 size.

Standard tube map. Underground, DLR, zone boundaries and a few National Rail lines.
Central London map. A cropped and enlarged version of the standard map showing only the central area. Some versions show Thameslink and Northern City Line services.
Travelcard Zones map. Underground, DLR, National Rail, Tramlink and zone boundraries.
High Frequency Services map. The same as the Travelcard Zones map except that lines offering services at greater than 15-minute intervals are de-emphasised so that the more frequent routes can be seen easily.
London Connections map. Produced by the Association of Train Operating Companies, this provides the same information as TfL's Travelcard Zones map but extends a little further beyond zone 6. The National Rail lines are emphasised by thicker lines and coloured according to their Train Operating Company.
Tube Access Guide. Indicates stations with full or partial step-free access suitable for wheelchair users.
Bicycle map. Underground and DLR only. Shows in green sections of the network where bicycles are permitted.
Real Time Disruption map. Underground and DLR only. Interactive web-based map with disrupted lines and stations highlighted, others in light grey.
Interactive journey map. Underground and DLR only. Interactive web-based map that can be used to access information about each station (e.g. bus connections and disabled access).

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Pacific Islander American
793,162 0.3% of the US population
Pacific Islander Americans are residents of the United States with original ancestry from the Pacific Islands. They represent the smallest racial group counted in the United States census of 2000. They numbered 874,000 people or 0.3 percent of the United States population. They are most concentrated in Hawaii, Alaska and to a lesser extent the West Coast, specifically California.

Definition

In politics
Pacific Islander Americans have media portrayal mostly as professional wrestlers, but are also portrayed as regular people too. The Rock, with a Samoan mother and a Black Canadian father, has been the most notable Pacific Islander American professional wrestler, branching out into movies like the The Scorpion King. Other Pacific Islander American professional wrestlers include Samoa Joe and Solofa Fatu. Lilo Pelekai and Nani Pelekai are Native Hawaiian Americans in the Disney show called "Lilo & Stitch". Pacific Islander Americans portrayed two major supporting characters on the CBS television series Hawaii Five-O—Native Hawaiian Zulu as Kono Kalakaua and Samoan American Al Harrington as Det. Ben Kokua. Also, Hawaiian-American Jason Momoa plays Ronon Dex on the popular science-fiction TV show Stargate Atlantis.
Vili Fualaau is a Samoan-American boy who made headlines with his controversial relationship with Mary Kay Letourneau.
The most famous stage character is Bloody Mary (South Pacific) of the South Pacific musical and movie. She is a souvenir trader to US Sailors stationed in the Pacific Theater of WWII. Though originally cast as Juanita Hall, an African American, she is often also cast as an Asian or Pacific Islander American in newer local productions.

Media
Pacific Islander Americans are well represented in American football: Peter Tuipulotu, Reno Mahe, Vai Sikahema, Nuu Faaola, Jesse Sapolu, Troy Polamalu, Maake Kemoeatu, Mosi Tatupu and his son Lofa, Manu Tuiasosopo and his sons Marques and Zach, and Junior Seau are professional football players.
Many Pacific Islander Americans also play the most popular sport of their homeland, rugby, and have a strong influence in US rugby, with many going on to represent the USA, including Salesi Sika, David Niu, Vahafolau Esikia, Fifita Mounga, Olo Fifita, Thretton Palamo, Albert Tuipolotu, and Vaea Anitoni.
Pacific Islanders are also represented in sumo wrestling. Akebono Taro is a famous sumo-wrestling Yokozuna of Native Hawaiian ancestry.
Diving great Greg Louganis, although often identified with his adoptive Greek-American heritage, is of Samoan and Swedish ancestry.

Sports

Population
Polynesian Americans are Americans of Polynesian descent.
Large subcategories of Polynesian Americans include Native Hawaiians and Samoan Americans. In addition there are smaller communities of Tongan Americans.

Pacific Islander American Population
A Samoan American is an American who is of ethnic Samoan descent and may be from either the independent nation Samoa or the American territory of American Samoa. Many Samoans live in Los Angeles, Carson, Long Beach, San Jose, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Independence (Missouri), Houston, Seattle and in the state of Hawaii. Since the end of World War II, persons born in American Samoa are United States nationals, but not United States citizens. (This is the only circumstance under which an individual would be one and not the other.) For this reason, Samoans can move to Hawaii or the mainland United States and obtain citizenship comparatively easily.
Samoan American is a subcategory of Polynesian American.