francesblog

2006-02-15T03:54:00.000-08:00

Athletics-at-the-2004-Summer-Olympics---Men\'s-800-metres

NOTOC The 800 m. at the 2004 Summer Olympics as part of the Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics were held at the Athens Olympic Stadium from August 25 to August 28.

Medal Winners

Cellpadding 2 Gold: Silver: Bronze:
Yuriy Borzakovskiy, Russia Mbulaeni Mulaudzi, South Africa Wilson Kipketer, Denmark

Qualifying

From the initial nine heats the first two in each plus six fastest losers progressed through to the semi-finals. The final was made up of the first two finishers from each of the semi-finals plus two fastest losers.

Heats

All times shown are in minutes:seconds.
Q denotes automatic qualification.
q denotes fastest losers.
DNS denotes did not start.
DNF denotes did not finish.
NR denotes national record.
PB denotes personal best.
SB denotes seasons best.

Heat 1

Mbulaeni Mulaudzi, South Africa 1:45.7 Q Rene Herms, Germany 1:45.8 Q Jae Hoon Lee, South Korea 1:46.2 PB Arthemon Hatungimana, Burundi 1:46.4 Michael Rotich, Kenya 1:46.4 Nazar Begliyev, Turkmenistan 1:49.6 PB Alibay Shukurov, Azerbaijan 1:51.1 Fadrique Iglesias, Bolivia 1:51.9

Heat 2

Joseph Mutua, Kenya 1:45.7 Q Ricky Soos, Great Britain 1:45.7 Q PB Djabir Said Guerni, Algeria 1:45.9 q Achraf Tadili, Canada 1:46.6 David Fiegen, Luxembourg 1:47.0 Mindaugas Norbutas, Lithuania 1:47.4 SB Panayiotis Stroubakos, Greece 1:47.7 le van Duong, Vietnam 1:49.8 NR

Heat 3

Wilson Kipketer, Denmark 1:44.7 Q Jonathan Johnson (athlete), United States 1:45.3 Q Jean Patrick Nduwimana, Burundi 1:45.4 q Osmar dos Santos, Brazil 1:45.9 q Jason Stewart, New Zealand 1:46.2 PB Joao Pires, Portugal 1:46.7 SB Jasmin Salihovic, Bosnia Herzegovina 1:49.6 Jan Sekpona, Togo 1:54.3

Heat 4

Wilfred Bungei, Kenya 1:44.8 Q Ismail Ahmed Ismail, Sudan 1:45.2 Q PB Mwera Samwel, Tanzania 1:45.3 q NR Nicolas Aissat, France 1:45.3 q Bram Som, Netherlands 1:45.7 q Mihail Kolganov, Kazakhstan 1:47.4 Mohammad K Al Azemi, Kuwait 1:47.7 Erkinjon Isakov, Uzbekistan 1:48.3

Heat 5

Yuriy Borzakovskiy, Russia 1:46.2 Q Berhanu Alemu, Ethiopia 1:46.3 Q Miguel Quesada, Spain 1:46.3 Joeri Jansen, Belgium 1:46.7 Paskar Owor, Uganda 1:47.9 Moise Joseph, Haiti 1:48.2 Isireli Naikelekelevesi, Fiji 1:49.1 Kondwani Chiwina, Malawi 1:49.9 PB

Heat 6

Amine Laalou, Morocco 1:45.9 Q Ivan Heshko, Ukraine 1:45.9 Q SB Khadevis Robinson, United States 1:46.1 Dmitriy Bogdanov, Russia 1:47.0 Nabil Madi, Algeria 1:47.5 Selahattin Cobanoglu, Turkey 1:47.8 Sadjad Moradi, Iran 1:49.5 Andy Grant, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1:57.1

Heat 7

Dmitrijs Milkevics, Latvia 1:46.7 Q Antonio Manuel Reina, Spain 1:46.7 Q Florent Lacasse, France 1:46.9 Majed Saeed Sultan, Qatar 1:47.9 Abdoulaye Wagne, Senegal 1:48.0 Mohammed Al Salhi, Saudi Arabia 1:48.4 SB Ramil Aritkulov, Russia 1:49.3 Ali M Al Balooshi, United Arab Emirates 1:51.8

Heat 8

Andrea Longo, Italy 1:46.8 Q Hezekiel Sepeng, South Africa 1:46.8 Q Andre Bucher, Switzerland 1:47.3 Manuel Olmedo, Spain 1:47.7 Michal Sneberger, Czech Republic 1:47.9 Sherridan Kirk, Trinidad and Tobago 1:48.1 Vanco Stojanov, Republic of Macedonia 1:49.0 SB Abdalsalam Aldabaji, Palestine 1:53.9

Heat 9

Gary Reed, Canada 1:46.7 Q Mouhssin Chehibi, Morocco 1:46.8 Q Youssef Saad Kamel, Bahrain 1:46.9 Derrick Peterson, United States 1:47.6 Glody Dube, Botswana 1:48.2 Prince Mumba, Zambia 1:48.4 Bayron Piedra, Ecuador 1:48.4 Cornelis Sibe, Suriname 2:00.1

Semi-finals

Heat 1

Djabir Said Guerni, Algeria 1:45.8 Q Mbulaeni Mulaudzi, South Africa 1:46.1 Q Antonio Manuel Reina, Spain 1:46.2 Ivan Heshko, Ukraine 1:46.7 Nicolas Aissat, France 1:47.1 Berhanu Alemu, Ethiopia 1:47.4 Amine Laalou, Morocco 1:47.5 Rene Herms, Germany 1:47.7

Heat 2

Wilfred Bungei, Kenya 1:44.3 Q Yuriy Borzakovskiy, Russia 1:44.3 Q Mouhssin Chehibi, Morocco 1:44.6 q PB Hezekiel Sepeng, South Africa 1:44.8 q Bram Som, Netherlands 1:45.5 Dmitrijs Milkevics, Latvia 1:46.6 Gary Reed, Canada 1:47.4
Mwera Samwel, Tanzania Disqualified or excluded

Heat 3

Wilson Kipketer, Denmark 1:44.6 Q Ismail Ahmed Ismail, Sudan 1:45.5 Q Joseph Mutua, Kenya 1:45.5 Andrea Longo, Italy 1:46.0 Jean Patrick Nduwimana, Burundi 1:46.2 Ricky Soos, Great Britain 1:46.7 Osmar dos Santos, Brazil 1:48.2 Jonathan Johnson, United States 1:50.1

Final

Yuriy Borzakovskiy, Russia 1:44.45 Mbulaeni Mulaudzi, South Africa 1:44.61 SB Wilson Kipketer, Denmark 1:44.65 Mouhssin Chehibi, Morocco 1:45.16 Wilfred Bungei, Kenya 1:45.31 Hezekiel Sepeng, South Africa 1:45.53 Djabir Said Guerni, Algeria 1:45.61 Ismail Ahmed Ismail, Sudan 1:52.49 Template:AthleticsAt2004SummerOlympics

2006-02-14T15:54:00.000-08:00

George-Weiss-(baseball)

George Martin Weiss (June 23, 1895 - August 13, 1972) was one of Major League Baseballs most successful executives. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1971 in sports. Working as the manager of the New York Yankees farm system from 1932 to 1947, establishing it as the best in the game, and as the clubs general manager from 1947 to 1960, the team won 19 American League pennants and 15 World Series Championships with his involvement. He later became the first club president of the New York Mets from 1961 to 1966 after that expansion franchise was formed. He was name The Sporting News Major League Executive of the Year in 1950 in sports, 1951 in sports, 1952 in sports, and 1960 in sports. He was inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame in 1982.

2006-02-14T03:56:00.000-08:00

Oswald-Teichm�ller

Oswald Teichm�ller (June 18, 1913 - September 11, 1943) was a Germany mathematician who introduced quasi-conformal mappings and differential geometry methods into complex analysis. His work was published in Deutsche Mathematik, a journal in synthetic mathematics founded by Ludwig Bieberbach and has been neglected for a while for political reasons. Rediscovered few years after his death, the theory of Teichmuller space (a moduli space theory for Riemann surfaces) was further developed by Lars Ahlfors, Lipman Bers and others. The Teichm�ller representative or Teichm�ller character is a construction with p-adic numbers. Teichm�ller was a passionate Nazi who joined the Wehrmacht in 1939 and died fighting on the Eastern Front (WWII). bio-stub

2006-02-13T15:54:00.000-08:00

Cache

This article is about the computer term. For towns with this name, see Cache, Utah or Cache, Oklahoma. In computer science, a cache (pronounced ksh) is a collection of data duplicating original values stored elsewhere or computed earlier, where the original data are expensive (usually in terms of access time) to fetch or compute relative to reading the cache. Once the data are stored in the cache, future use can be made by accessing the cached copy rather than refetching or recomputing the original data, so that the average access time is lower. Caches have proved extremely effective in many areas of computing, because access patterns in typical computer applications have locality of reference. There are several sorts of locality, but we mainly mean that the same data are often used several times, with accesses that are close together in time, or that data near to each other are accessed close together in time.

Operation

A cache is a pool of entries. Each entry has a datum, which is a copy of the datum in some backing store. Each entry also has a tag, which specifies the identity of the datum in the backing store of which the entry is a copy. When the cache client (a CPU, web browser, operating system) wishes to access a datum presumably in the backing store, it first checks the cache. If an entry can be found with a tag matching that of the desired datum, the datum in the entry is used instead. This situation is known as a cache hit. So, for example, a web browser program might check its local cache on disk to see if it has a local copy of the contents of a web page at a particular URL. In this example, the URL is the tag, and the contents of the web page is the datum. The alternative situation, when the cache is consulted and found not to contain the desired datum, is known as a cache miss. The datum fetched from the backing store during miss handling is usually inserted into the cache, ready for the next access. If the cache has limited storage, it may have to eject some other entry in order to make room. The Heuristic (computer science) used to select the entry to eject is known as the replacement policy. One popular replacement policy, LRU, replaces the least recently used entry. When a datum is written to the cache, it must at some point be written to the backing store as well. The timing of this write is controlled by what is known as the write policy. In a write-through cache, every write to the cache causes a write to the backing store. Alternatively, in a write-back cache, writes are not immediately mirrored to memory. Instead, the cache tracks which locations have been written over (these locations are marked dirty). The data in these locations is written back to main memory when that data is evicted from the cache. For this reason, a miss in a write-back cache will often require two memory accesses to service. Data write-back may be triggered by other policies as well. The client may make many changes to a datum in the cache, and then explicitly notify the cache to write back the datum. The data in main memory being cached may be changed by other entities, in which case the copy in the cache may become out-of-date or stale. Alternatively, when the client updates the data in the cache, copies of that data in other caches will become stale. Communication protocols between the cache managers which keep the data consistent are known as cache coherency.

Applications

CPU caches

CPU cache Small memories on or close to the CPU chip can be made faster than the much larger main memory. Most CPUs since the 1980s have used one or more caches, and modern general-purpose CPUs inside personal computers may have as many as half a dozen, each specialized to a different part of the problem of executing programs.

Disk buffer

(also known as disk cache or cache buffer) Hard disks have historically often been packaged with embedded computers used for control and interface protocols. Since the late 1980s, nearly all disks sold have these embedded computers and either an Advanced Technology Attachment, SCSI, or Fibre Channel interface. The embedded computer usually has some small amount of memory which it uses to store the bits going to and coming from the disk platter. The disk buffer is physically distinct from and is used differently than the page cache typically kept by the operating system in the computers main memory. The disk buffer is controlled by the embedded computer in the disk drive, and the page cache is controlled by the computer to which that disk is attached. The disk buffer is usually quite small, 2 to 8 MB, and the page cache is generally all unused physical memory, which in a 2004 PC may be between 20 and 2000 MB. And while data in the page cache is reused multiple times, the data in the disk buffer is typically never reused. In this sense, the phrases disk cache and cache buffer are misnomers, and the embedded computers memory is more appropriately called the disk buffer. The disk buffer has multiple uses:
Readahead / readbehind: When executing a read from the disk, the disk arm moves the read/write head to (or near) the correct track, and after some settling time the read head begins to pick up bits. Usually, the first sectors to be read are not the ones that have been requested by the operating system. The disks embedded computer typically saves these unrequested sectors in the disk buffer, in case the operating system requests them later.
Speed matching: The speed of the disks I/O interface to the computer almost never matches the speed at which the bits are transferred to and from the hard disk platter. The disk buffer is used so that both the I/O interface and the disk read/write head can operate at full speed.
Write acceleration: The disks embedded computer may signal the main computer that a disk write is complete immediately after receiving the write data, before the data are actually written to the platter. This early signal allows the main computer to continue working, but is somewhat dangerous because, if power is lost before the data are permanently fixed in the magnetic media, the data will be lost from the disk buffer, and the filesystem on the disk may be left in an inconsistent state. Write acceleration is controversial, and for this reason can usually be turned off. On some disks, this vulnerable period between signalling the write complete and fixing the data can be arbitrarily long, as the write can be deferred indefinitely by newly arriving requests. Write acceleration is very rarely used on database servers or other machines where the integrity of the data on the disks is very important.
Native command queueing: Newer SATA and most SCSI disks can accept multiple commands while any one command is in operation. These commands are stored by the disks embedded computer until they are completed. Should a read reference the data at the destination of a queued write, the writes data will be returned. Command queueing is different from write acceleration in that the main computers operating system is notified when data are actually written onto the magnetic media. The O/S can use this information to keep the filesystem consistent through rescheduled writes.

Other caches

CPU caches are generally managed entirely by hardware. Other caches are managed by a variety of software. The cache of disk sectors in main memory is usually managed by the operating system kernel (computers) or File system. The BIND DNS daemon caches a mapping of domain names to IP addresses, as does a resolver library. Write-through operation is common when operating over unreliable networks (like an ethernet LAN), because of the enormous complexity of the coherency protocol required between multiple write-back caches when communication is unreliable. For instance, web page caches and client-side network file system caches (like those in Network File System or Server message block) are typically read-only or write-through specifically to keep the network protocol simple and reliable. A cache of recently visited web pages can be managed by your Web browser. Some browsers are configured to use an external proxy server web cache, a server program through which all web requests are routed so that it can cache frequently accessed pages for everyone in an organization. Many ISPs use proxy caches to save bandwidth on frequently-accessed web pages. The search engine Google keeps a cached copy of each page it examines on the web. These copies are used by the Google indexing software, but they are also made available to Google users, in case the original page is unavailable. If you click on the Cached link in a Google search result, you will see the web page as it looked when Google indexed it. Ccache is a program that caches the output of the compilation to speed up the second-time compilation.

2006-02-13T03:52:00.000-08:00

Northern-Court-(Japan)

The Northern Court, also known as the Ashikaga Pretenders or Northern Pretenders, were a set of 6 claimants to the throne of Japan, today considered not legitimate Emperor of Japan. The origins of the Northern Court go back to Emperor Go-Saga of Japan, the 88th Emperor, reigning from 1242 to 1246. Go-Saga was succeeded in turn by two of his sons, Emperor Go-Fukakusa of Japan and Emperor Kameyama of Japan. The descendants of these two competed with each other for the throne. Go-Fukakusas descendants were referred to as the Jimyin-t while Kameyamas descendants were known as the Daikakuji-t. In 1331, when Emperor Go-Daigo of Japan (from the Daikakuji-t) staged the Kemmu Restoration and revolted against the Kamakura shogunate, the Shogun responded by declaring Emperor Kogon of Japan, Go-Daigos second cousin once removed and the son of an earlier emperor, Emperor Go-Fushimi of Japan of the Jimyin-t, as the new emperor. After the destruction of the Kamakura shogunate in 1333, Kgon lost his claim, but his brother, Emperor Komyo of Japan, and two of his sons were supported by the new Ashikaga shoguns as the rightful claimants to the throne. Kgons family thus formed a northern court which was rivalled by the southern court of Go-Daigo and his descendents. In 1392, the Southern Court Emperor Emperor Go-Kameyama of Japan was defeated and abdicated in favor of Kgons great-grandson, Emperor Go-Komatsu of Japan, thus ending the divide. Go-Kameyama signed an agreement with Go-Komatsu to return to the old alternations on a ten-year plan. However, Go-Kameyama broke this promise, not only ruling for 20 years, but being succeeded by his own son, rather than by one from the former Southern Court. Because they were the ancestors of all the subsequent emperors, the Northern Court was for centuries afterward officially described as the true Imperial Family. However, since 1911, the Japanese government has declared the southern claimants were actually the rightful emperors, making these six officially pretenders. The Northern Pretenders were:
Emperor Kogon of Japan 1332-1333
No Northern Court
Emperor Komyo of Japan 1336-1348
Emperor Suko of Japan 1348-1351
Brief interregnum
Emperor Go-Kogon of Japan 1352-1371
Emperor Go-Enyu of Japan 1371-1382
Emperor Go-Komatsu of Japan 1382-1392 (then went on to reign as legitimate emperor 1392-1412) The Southern Court Emperors were:
Emperor Go-Murakami of Japan 1339-1368
Emperor Chokei of Japan 1368-1383
Emperor Go-Kameyama of Japan 1383-1392

2006-02-12T15:52:00.000-08:00

Smoot,-Wyoming

Smoot is a census-designated place located in Lincoln County, Wyoming. As of the 2000 census, the CDP had a total population of 182.

Geography

Smoot is located at 42�3715 North, 110�5445 West (42.620784, -110.912454) GR 1. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 4.4 square kilometer (1.7 square mile). 4.4 km� (1.7 mi�) of it is land and none of the area is covered with water.

Demographics

As of the census GR 2 of 2000, there are 182 people, 55 households, and 44 families residing in the CDP. The population density is 41.1/km� (106.4/mi�). There are 63 housing units at an average density of 14.2/km� (36.8/mi�). The racial makeup of the CDP is 95.60% White (U.S. Census), 0.00% African American (U.S. Census), 0.55% Native American (U.S. Census), 0.00% Asian (U.S. Census), 0.00% Pacific Islander (U.S. Census), 1.10% from Race (U.S. Census), and 2.75% from two or more races. 4.95% of the population are Hispanic (U.S. Census) or Latino (U.S. Census) of any race. There are 55 households out of which 43.6% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 74.5% are Marriage living together, 1.8% have a female householder with no husband present, and 20.0% are non-families. 18.2% of all households are made up of individuals and 10.9% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 3.31 and the average family size is 3.84. In the CDP the population is spread out with 35.2% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 23.1% from 25 to 44, 22.0% from 45 to 64, and 10.4% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 31 years. For every 100 females there are 95.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 84.4 males. The median income for a household in the CDP is $32,273, and the median income for a family is $41,250. Males have a median income of $41,250 versus $21,000 for females. The per capita income for the CDP is $12,005. 19.6% of the population and 8.0% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 48.3% of those under the age of 18 and 0.0% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

2006-02-12T03:52:00.000-08:00

Science-North

Science North is an interactive science centre in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. The complex, which is Northern Ontarios most popular tourist attraction, consists of two snowflake-shaped buildings on the southwestern shore of Ramsay Lake, just south of the citys downtown core. The buildings are connected by a rock tunnel. The complex also features an IMAX theatre and a boat tour, the Cortina, which offers touring cruises of the scenic Ramsay Lake. Science North, which was opened in 1984, also owns and runs Sudburys Dynamic Earth facility, an earth sciences exhibition which is home to the Big Nickel, one of the citys most famous landmarks.

2006-02-11T15:52:00.000-08:00

University-of-San-Diego

The University of San Diego is a Roman Catholic Church university in San Diego, California. The University offers bachelors, masters, and doctoral programs through the School of Business Administration, the School of Education, the School of Law, the School of Nursing & Health Science, and the College of Arts & Sciences. The schools sports teams are called the Matadors. They participate in the NCAAs Division I (I-AA for college football) and in the West Coast Conference, for football, USD is a member of the Pioneer Football League. Their colors are navy blue and columbia blue. In the Telenovela Saber Amar, Diana Alfarroba, the shows protagonist, returns to Portugal after studying marine biology at USD. The university played host to a nationally televised debate between George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton in the 1992 U.S. Presidential election. Noted graduates of USD include novelist Robert Clark Young.

2006-02-11T03:52:00.000-08:00

Steve-Stevens

Steve Stevens is best known for his often excellent lead guitar playing for other artists (such as Billy Idol) on the Rebel Yell single, and somewhat lesser known for his solo effort Atomic Playboys album, which featured an MTV hit single video of the same name. Stevens second solo effort Flamenco A Go Go was recorded entirely by himself in his home studio and stemmed from the inspiration he received after attending a concert by Flamenco virtuoso Paco de Luc�a. Stevens (along with Harold Faltermeyer) won a Grammy in 1987 for his performance on the Top Gun soundtrack and has worked with a host of other artists such as Vince Neil, Michael Jackson, Michael Monroe, Thompson Twins, Joni Mitchell, Peter Criss, Steve Lukather, Rick Ocasek, Ben Watkins of Juno Reactor, Greg Bissonette, Pink, Robert Palmer, Jizzy Pearl, Terry Bozzio and Tony Levin.

2006-02-10T15:51:00.000-08:00

Northfield,-New-Hampshire

Northfield is a town located in Merrimack County, New Hampshire. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 4,548. The town was incorporated in 1780, having formerly been a part of the neighboring town of Canterbury, New Hampshire.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 75.2 square kilometer (29.0 square mile). 74.6 km� (28.8 mi�) of it is land and 0.7 km� (0.3 mi�) of it is water. The total area is 0.89% water.

Demographics

As of the censusGeographic references 2 of 2000, there are 4,548 people, 1,706 households, and 1,211 families residing in the town. The population density is 61.0/km� (158.0/mi�). There are 1,782 housing units at an average density of 23.9/km� (61.9/mi�). The racial makeup of the town is 98.18% White (U.S. Census), 0.13% African American (U.S. Census), 0.18% Native American (U.S. Census), 0.42% Asian (U.S. Census), 0.00% Pacific Islander (U.S. Census), 0.15% from Race (U.S. Census), and 0.95% from two or more races. 0.92% of the population are Hispanic (U.S. Census) or Latino (U.S. Census) of any race. There are 1,706 households out of which 38.1% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.6% are Marriage living together, 11.5% have a female householder with no husband present, and 29.0% are non-families. 20.2% of all households are made up of individuals and 7.1% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.63 and the average family size is 3.03. In the town the population is spread out with 27.9% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 32.0% from 25 to 44, 23.6% from 45 to 64, and 8.7% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 36 years. For every 100 females there are 98.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 95.4 males. The median income for a household in the town is $44,333, and the median income for a family is $48,787. Males have a median income of $33,051 versus $25,000 for females. The per capita income for the town is $18,466. 3.9% of the population and 0.9% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 0.4% of those under the age of 18 and 7.5% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

2006-02-10T03:50:00.000-08:00

Acyanotic-heart-defect

An acyanotic heart defect is any heart defect of a group of structural congenital heart defects, comprising approximately 75% of all congenital heart defects. It can be subdivided into two groups depending on whether there is shunting of the blood from the left vasculature to the right (left to right shunt) or no shunting at all. Left to right shunting heart defects include ventricular septal defect or VSD (30% of all congenital heart defects), patent ductus arteriosus or PDA, atrial septal defect or ASD, and atrioventricular septal defect or AVSD. Acyanotic heart defects without shunting include pulmonary stenosis, a narrowing of the pulmonary valve, aortic stenosis and coarctation of the aorta.

2006-02-09T15:51:00.000-08:00

Convertible

Convertible can also refer to a convertible (security) A convertible is an automobile with a folding, retracting, or removable roof. The collapsible roof section is typically made from flexible canvas or vinyl, although plastic, aluminium and steel have occasionally been used in elaborate folding designs. Unlike a roadster, which may also have a folding top, a convertible has roll-up glass windows in the sides, and so the entire vehicle is convertible to an enclosed coup�. (See Coup%e9 convertible). In Europe this car body style is frequently called cabriolet or cabrio.

Notable convertibles

Audi A4
Audi TT
BMW 3-series
BMW Z4
Chrysler Sebring
Mazda Miata
Mitsubishi Eclipse
Porsche Boxster
Peugeot 206
Peugeot 307
Saab 900
Saab 9-3
Volkswagen Beetle

2006-02-09T03:52:00.000-08:00

Rudy-Hartono

Rudy Hartono Kurniawan (born August 18, 1949) was an Indonesia badminton player who won the world championship in 1980, and the All-England Champions trophy 8 times in the 1960s and 1970s. Rudy was born in Surabaya, Indonesia. He is a Peranakan Indonesian Chinese. All England Badminton Championships Results
1968: Won - beat Tan Aik Huang (Malaysia)
1969: Won - beat Darmadi (Indonesia)
1970: Won - beat Svend Pri (Denmark)
1971: Won - beat Muljadi (Indonesia)
1972: Won - beat Svend Pri (Denmark)
1973: Won - beat Christian Hadinata (Indonesia)
1974: Won - beat Punch Gunalan (Malaysia)
1975: lost to Svend Pri (Denmark)
1976: Won - beat Liem Swie King (Indonesia)
1978: lost to Liem Swie King (Indonesia) sportbio-stub

2006-02-08T15:53:00.000-08:00

LDU-decomposition

In linear algebra, LDU decomposition states that for every square matrix A, there exists:

a permutation matrix P
a lower-triangular matrix L with diagonals of 1
a diagonal matrix D
and an upper triangular matrix U with diagonals of 1

so that

PA LDU

The permutation matrix can possibly be equal to the identity matrix I. If it is, than LDU is a unique decomposition, that is, for any other decomposition L L, D D, and U U. This can be shown by showing a contradiction by assuming its not true:

LDU L- D- U-

This equation is solved to:

L- ^{-1}LD U^{-1}U- D-

If one multiplies a lower-triangular matrix by another, one gets a lower triangular matrix. Therefore the inverse of a lower-triangular matrix must also be a lower-triangular matrix. If one multiplies a lower-triangular matrix by a diagonal matrix, one still has a lower-triangular matrix. Therefore, the left side of the above equation is a lower-triangular matrix. The same arguments show that the right side must be an upper-triangular matrix. Therefore, the only way the above equation could hold (besides with Null matrix) is if the terms (L with the inverse of L, and U with the inverse of U) cancel, which shows that they are equal because a term would only cancel if it was its own inverse.

2006-02-08T03:51:00.000-08:00

Eddy-current

An Eddy Current is a phenomenon caused by a moving magnetic field intersecting a conductor (material) or vice-versa. The relative motion causes a circulating flow of electrons or current (electricity) within the conductor. These circulating eddies of current create electromagnets with magnetic fields that oppose the external magnetic field (see Lenzs law). The stronger the magnetic field, or greater the electrical conductivity of the conductor, the greater the currents developed, and the greater the opposing force. This is used to great effect in movement to electricity converters such as electrical generators and dynamic microphones. Friction within the conductor, or electrical resistance, cause a dragging effect that has been used for braking and damping. Superconductors which allow perfect, loss-less conduction create a perfect eddy current that entirely cancels the opposing magnetic force allowing magnetic levitation. Eddy currents are also the root cause of skin effect in conductors carrying AC current. Eddy currents are used for braking at the end of some roller coasters, this mechanism has no mechanical wear, and produces a very precise braking force. Typically heavy copper plates extending from the car are moved between pairs of very strong permanent magnets. Eddy currents create losses through Joule heating, and they reduce the efficiency of many devices that use changing magnetic fields such as iron core transformers and electric motors. They are minimized by selecting core materials that have low electrical conductivity or by using thin sheets (laminations) of magnetic material. An analogous eddy current is seen in water when dragging an oar, localised areas of turbulence give rise to vortices, which persist for a while then dissipate.

2006-02-07T15:51:00.000-08:00

William-Joyce

William Joyce (April 24, 1906�January 3, 1946), known as Lord Haw-Haw was a fascist politician and Nazi propaganda broadcaster to the United Kingdom during World War II. He was born in New York, to Ireland parents who had taken United States nationality. A few years after his birth, the family returned to Galway, Ireland. He attended St. Ignatius College, Galway, from 1915 to 1921. Though the family were Roman Catholic, they were strongly Unionists (Ireland). William Joyce later claimed to have aided the Black and Tans. Fearing reprisal attacks, the Joyce family left for London after the establishment of the Irish Free State, where Joyce applied to Birkbeck of the University of London and to enter the Officer Training Corps. At Birkbeck Joyce developed an interest in fascism, and he joined the British Fascisti of Rotha Lintorn-Orman. While stewarding a Conservative Party (UK) meeting, Joyce was involved in a fight and received a deep razor slash to his cheek. Joyce joined the British Union of Fascists under Sir Oswald Mosley in 1932, and swiftly became a leading speaker, praised for his power of oratory. He was instrumental in changing the full name of the BUF to British Union of Fascists in 1936. He stood as a BUF candidate in the 1937 elections to the London County Council. However, when Mosley drastically reduced the BUF staff shortly after the elections (sacking Joyce), he left to form a breakaway organization, the National Socialist League, In late August 1939, shortly before World War II commenced, he and his wife, Margaret, fled to Germany. He had been tipped off, probably by Maxwell Knight of MI5, that the British authorities intended to detain him under Defence Regulation 18B. Joyce became a naturalised Germans in 1940. The name Lord Haw-Haw of Zeesen was coined by the pseudonym Daily Express radio critic Jonah Barrington in 1939, but this referred initially to Wolf Mitler. When Joyce became the best-known propaganda broadcaster the nickname transferred to him. Besides broadcasting, Joyces duties included distributing propaganda among British prisoners of war, whom he tried to recruit into the British Free Corps, as a branch of the Waffen SS. He wrote a book, Twilight over England, that was promoted by the German Ministry of Propaganda. At the end of the war, he was captured by British forces near the Germany-Denmark border at Flensburg. He was intercepted by soldiers who initially thought he was a German civilian, however his voice betrayed him, and he was recognised and returned to Britain. During the course of his arrest he was shot in the leg when the soldiers thought he was going for a gun. He was tried on three counts of high treason. These were as follows:
William Joyce, on September 18 1939, and on numerous other days between 18 September 1939 and 29 May 1945 did aid and assist the enemies of the King by broadcasting to the Kings subjects propaganda on behalf of the Kings enemies.
William Joyce, on 26 September 1940, did aid and comfort the Kings enemies by purporting to be naturalised as a German citizen.
William Joyce, on 18 September 1939 and on numerous other days between 18 September 1939 and 2 July 1940 did aid and assist the enemies of the King by broadcasting to the Kings subjects propaganda on behalf of the Kings enemies. During the processing of the charges Joyces American nationality came to light, and it seemed that he would have to be acquitted, based not upon innocence of the charges of aiding the Nazi war effort but rather a lack of jurisdiction, he could not be convicted of betraying a country that was not his own. However, Attorney General Sir Hartley Shawcross successfully argued that Joyces possession of a British passport, even though he had lied about his nationality in order to get it, entitled him to British diplomatic protection in Germany and therefore he owed allegiance to the Monarch. It was on this technicality, confirmed by the Court of Appeal and the House of Lords, that Joyce was convicted and sentenced to death. Joyce was execution by famed hangman Albert Pierrepoint on January 3 1946, at Wandsworth Prison. The Crown considered trying his wife, Margaret, as well, but a secret memo recommended clemency for her. William and Margaret Joyce had two daughters, one of whom is Heather Landolo. Joyce was reinterred in 1976 at New Cemetery in Bohermore, County Galway, Ireland.

2006-02-07T03:51:00.000-08:00

Olivier-Danvy

Olivier Danvy is a France computer science specializing in programming languages at the University of Aarhus in Denmark. He is notable for the number of scientific papers which acknowledge his help. Writing in Nature (journal), editor Declan Butler reports on an analysis of acknowledgements on nearly one third of a million scientific papers and reports that Danvy is the most thanked person in computer science. Danvy himself is quoted as being stunned to find my name at the top of the list, ascribing his position to a series of coincidences he is multidisciplinary, well travelled, runs an international PhD programme, is a networker and belongs to a university department with a long tradition of having many international visitors. (quotes from Nature 432, 790 (16 December 2004), doi:10.1038/432790b)

2006-02-06T15:50:00.000-08:00

List-of-people-by-name:-Ag

List of people A

Aga-Agm

Pope Agapetus I, (pope 535-536)
Pope Agapetus II, (pope 946-955)
John Agapetus, patriarch of Constantinople
Ajit Agarkar, (1977-), Indian cricketer
Anu Agarwal, (1969-), Indian actress
Agasias, Greek sculptor
Andre Agassi, (1970-), tennis player
Alexander Emanuel Agassiz, (1835-1910), American man of science
Louis Agassiz, (1807-1873), work on ice ages, glaciers
Agathangelus I, patriarch of Constantinople
Agatho of Alexandria, (pope 665-681), religious figure
Pope Agatho, (678-681)
Jack Agazarian, (1916-1945), Special Operations Executive agent, WW II hero
Mehmet Ali Agca, (born 1958), failed assassin of Pope John Paul II
Amir Ageeb, (1969-1999), Sudanese immigrant to Germany who died as a result of an deportation attempt
David Agmon, Brigadier General in the Israel Defence Forces

Agn-Agt

Gianni Agnelli, (1921-2003), Italian industrialist
Agnes de Poitou, (1020-1077), regent of the Holy Roman Empire 1056-1068
Maria Gaetana Agnesi, (1718-1799), Italian polymath
Spiro Agnew, (1918-1996), Vice President of the United States
David Hayes Agnew, (1818-1892), American surgeon
S.Y. Agnon, (1888-1970), Nobel prizewinning author
Joaquim Agostinho, (1942-1984), Portuguese cyclist
Paolo Agostino, (1593-1629), Italian musician
Benjamin Agosto, (born 1982), American skater
James Agree, poet
Jose Miguel Agrelot, (1927-2004), Puerto Rican entertainer
Georg Agricola (1490-1555)
Mikael Agricola, (1510-1557), Finnish theologian & scholar and creator of written Finnish language
Johannes Agricola, (1494-1566), Protestant reformer
Martin Agricola, (1466-1506), German composer
Rodolphus Agricola, (1443-1485), Dutch scholar and humanist
Camillo Agrippa, 16th century architect, civil engineer
Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, (63 BC-12 BC), Roman statesman and general
Agrippinus of Alexandria, (pope 167-178), Coptic Pope, Patriarch of Alexandria
Dries van Agt, (born 1931), Dutch prime minister

Agu

Agueybana, (died 1510), Puerto Rican Indian, Taino leader
Agueybana, Agueybanas brother
Antonio Aguilar, Mexican singer
Pepe Aguilar, Mexican singer, son of Antonio Aguilar and Flor Silvestre
Christina Aguilera, (born 1980), US singer
Emilio Aguinaldo, (1869-1964), Philippines independence fighter
Memo Aguirre, (born 1951), Chilean singer
Ruben Aguirre, (born 1934), Mexican actor
Jenny Agutter, (born 1952), English actress

2006-02-06T03:49:00.000-08:00

Levitated-Dipole

A Levitated Dipole is a unique form of fusion reactor technology using a solid superconductor torus, magnetism levitated in the reactor chamber. The superconductor forms magnetic lines of force of a nature similar to Earths or Jupiter (planet)s magnetospheres, and it is believed that such an appartus could contain plasma more efficiently than other fusion reactor designs. On Friday, August 13, 2004 at 12:53 PM, the Levitated Dipole Experiment, a collaboration between Columbia University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, sucessfully energized a superconducting torus with RF and momentarily created plasma within the magnetic field of the dipole.

2006-02-05T15:51:00.000-08:00

1948-Summer-Olympics-medal-count

This is the full table of the medal count of the 1948 Summer Olympics hosted by Great Britain in London. These rankings sort by the number of gold medals earned by a country. The number of silvers is taken into consideration next and then the number of bronze. If, after the above, countries are still tied, equal ranking is given and they are listed alphabetically. This follows the system used by the IOC, IAAF and BBC. -, 1948 Summer Olympics 1948 Summer Olympics medal count, - Pos Country Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 United States 38 27 19 84
2 Sweden 16 11 17 44
3 France 10 6 13 29
4 Hungary 10 5 12 27
5 Italy 8 11 8 27
6 Finland 8 7 5 20
7 Turkey 6 4 2 12
8 Czechoslovakia 6 2 3 11
9 Switzerland 5 10 5 20
10 Denmark 5 7 8 20
11 Netherlands 5 2 9 16
12 United Kingdom 3 14 6 23
13 Argentina 3 3 1 7
14 Australia 2 6 5 13
15 Belgium 2 2 3 7
16 Egypt 2 2 1 5
17 Mexico 2 1 2 5
18 South Africa 2 1 1 4
19 Norway 1 3 3 7
20 Jamaica 1 2 0 3
21 Austria 1 0 3 4
22 India 1 0 0 1
Peru 1 0 0 1
24 Federal Peoples Republic of Yugoslavia 0 2 0 2
25 Canada 0 1 2 3
26 Portugal 0 1 1 2
Uruguay 0 1 1 2
28 Cuba 0 1 0 1
Spain 0 1 0 1
Sri Lanka 0 1 0 1
Trinidad and Tobago 0 1 0 1
32 Korea 0 0 2 2
Panama 0 0 2 2
34 Brazil 0 0 1 1 - link to 48 flag when available > Iran 0 0 1 1
Poland 0 0 1 1
Puerto Rico 0 0 1 1
138 135 138 411 Template:Olympic games medal count

2006-02-05T03:51:00.000-08:00

NGA-Hooters-Tour

The NGA Hooters Tour is the third tier mens golf tour in the United States after the PGA TOUR and the Nationwide Tour. It should be noted that this actually means it is the fourth most lucrative mens tour based in the United States, as it is also well behind the Champions Tour in prize money, but that tour is for over-50s only. Unlike the Nationwide Tour, which is an official development tour organised by the PGA Tour, the NGA Hooters Tour is a private company owned by an individual, T.C. Rick Jordan, who founded it in 1988, The Tour is headquartered in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. In 2003 the total prize fund was over $2.5 million dollars, and in 2004 the leading money winner had earnings of a hundred and thirty seven thousand dollars. This is a small fraction of the prize money avaialable on the second tier Nationwide Tour, and little more than one per cent of that on the PGA Tour, so they incentives for players to win promotion to a higher tour are very strong indeed. The 2005 schedule features twenty-two events including four with two hundred thousand dollar prize funds. The tour claims to have helped more players acquire PGA Tour, Champions Tour, and Nationwide Tour cards than any other developmental tour.

Former players on the NGA Hooters Tour

Majors winners:
Lee Janzen
John Daly
Tom Lehman
Jim Furyk Other leading PGA Tour pros:
David Toms
Chad Campbell

2006-02-04T15:50:00.000-08:00

Fran�ois-de-La-Rochefoucauld

Fran�ois de La Rochefoucauld (September 15, 1613 - March 17, 1680), was the greatest maxim writer of France, one of her best memoir writers, and perhaps the most complete and accomplished representative of her ancient nobility. He was born at Paris in the Rue des Petits Champs, at a time when the royal court oscillated between aiding the nobility and threatening it.

Early life and military career

The author of the Maximes, who during the lifetime of his father and part of his own most stirring years bore the title of prince de Marcillac, was somewhat neglected in the matter of education, at least of the scholastic kind, but he joined the army before he was sixteen (in 1629), and almost immediately began to make a figure in public life. He had been nominally married a year before to Andr�e de Vivonne, who seems to have been an affectionate wife, while not a breath of scandal touches her two points in which La Rochefoucauld was perhaps more fortunate than he deserved. For some years Marcillac continued to take part in the annual campaigns, where he displayed the utmost bravery, though he never obtained credit for much military skill. Then he passed under the spell of Marie de Rohan-Montbazon, duchesse de Chevreuse, the first of three celebrated women who successively influenced his life. Through Madame de Chevreuse he became attached to the queen, Anne of Austria, and in one of her quarrels with Richelieu and her husband a wild scheme seems to have been formed, according to which Marcillac was to carry her off to Brussels on a pillion. These caballings against Richelieu, however, had no more serious results (an eight days experience of the Bastille excepted) than occasional exiles, that is to say, orders to retire to his fathers estates. After the death of the great minister (1642), opportunity seemed to be favourable to the vague ambition which then animated half the nobility of France. Marcillac became one of the so-called importante, and took an active part in reconciling the queen and Louis II de Bourbon, Prince de Cond� in a league against Gaston, Duke of Orleans. But the growing credit of Mazarin came in his way, and the liaison in which about this time (1645) he became entangled with the beautiful Anne Genevieve of Bourbon-Cond� made him irrevocably a Frondeur. He was a conspicuous figure in the siege of Paris, fought desperately in the desultory engagements which were constantly taking place, and was severely wounded at the siege of Mardyke. In the second Fronde Marcillac followed the fortunes of Cond�, and the death of his father, which happened at the time (1650), gave rise to a characteristic incident. The nobility of the province gathered to the funeral, and the new duke de La Rochefoucauld took the opportunity of persuading them to follow him in an attempt on the royalist garrison of Saumur, which, however, was not successful. We have no space to follow La Rochefoucauld through the tortuous cabals and negotiations of the later Fronde, it is sufficient to say that he was always brave and generally unlucky. His run of bad fortune reached its climax in the battle of the Faubourg Saint Antoine (1652), where he was shot through the head, and it was thought that he would lose the sight of both eyes. It was nearly a year before he recovered, and then he found himself at his country seat of Verteuil, with no result of twenty years fighting and intriguing except impaired health, a seriously embarrassed fortune, and some cause for bearing a grudge against almost every party and man of importance in the state. He spent some years in this retirement, and he was fortunate enough (thanks chiefly to the fidelity of Jean Herauld Gourville, who had been in his service, and who, passing into the service of Mazarin and of Cond�, had acquired both wealth and influence) to be able to repair in some measure the breaches in his fortune. He did not, however, return to court life much before Mazarins death, when Louis XIV of France was on the eve of assuming absolute power, and the turbulent aristocratic anarchy of the Fronde was a thing utterly of the past.

Salon participation

Somewhat earlier, La Rochefoucauld had taken his place in the salon (gathering) of Madame de Sable, a member of the old Rambouillet c�terie, and the founder of a kind of successor to it. It was known that he, like almost all his more prominent contemporaries, had spent his solitude in writing memoirs, while the special literary employment of the Sable salon was the fabrication of Sentences and Maximes. In 1662, however, more trouble than reputation, and not a little of both, was given to him by a surreptitious publication of his memoirs, or what purported to be his memoirs, by the Elzevirs. Many of his old friends were deeply wounded, and he hastened to deny flatly the authenticity of the publication, a denial which (as it seems, without any reason) was not very generally accepted. Three years later (1665) he published, though without his name, the still more famous Maximes, which at once established him high among the men of letters of the time. About the same date began the friendship with Marie-Madeleine Pioche de la Vergne, comtesse de la Fayette, which lasted till the end of his life. The glimpses which we have of him henceforward are chiefly derived from the letters of Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de S�vign�, and, though they show him suffering agonies from gout, are on the whole pleasant. He had a circle of devoted friends, he was recognized as a moralist and man of letters of the first rank, he might have entered the Acad�mie fran�aise for the asking, and in the altered measure of the times his son, the prince de Marcillac, to whom some time before his death he resigned his titles and honours, enjoyed a considerable position at court. Above all, La Rochefoucauld was generally recognized by his contemporaries from the king downward as a type of the older noblesse as it was before the sun of the great monarch dimmed its brilliant qualities. This position he has retained until the present day. He died at Paris on the 17th of March 1680, of the disease which had so long tormented him. La Rochefoucaulds character, if considered without the prejudice which a dislike to his ethical views has sometimes occasioned, is thoroughly respectable and even amiable. Like almost all his contemporaries, he saw in politics little more than a chessboard where the people at large were but pawns. The weight of testimony, however, inclines to the conclusion that he was unusually scrupulous in his conduct, and that his comparative ill-success in the struggle arose more from this scrupulousness than from anything else. He has been charged with irresolution, and there is some ground for admitting the charge so far as to pronounce him one of those the keenness of whose intellect, together with their apprehension of both sides of a question, interferes with their capacity as men of action. But there is no ground whatever for the view which represents the Maximes as the mere outcome of the spite of a disappointed intriguer, disappointed through his own want of skill rather than of fortune. The gently cynical view of life contained therein apparently did not impede his enjoyment of company, or his romantic engagements.

Literary works

His importance as a social and historical figure is, however, far inferior to his importance in literature. His work in this respect consists of three parts letters, Memoirs and the Maximes. His letters exceed one hundred in number, and are biographically valuable, besides displaying not a few of his literary characteristics, but they need not further detain us. The Memoirs, when they are read in their proper form, yield in literary merit, in interest, and in value to no memoirs of the time, not even to those of Cardinal de Retz, between whom and La Rochefoucauld there was a strange mixture of enmity and esteem which resulted in a couple of most characteristic portraits. But their history is unique in its strangeness. It has been said that a pirated edition appeared in Holland, and this, despite the authors protest, continued to be reprinted for some thirty years. It has been now proved to be a mere cento of the work of half a dozen different men, scarcely a third of which is La Rochefoucaulds, and which could only have been possible at a time when it was the habit of persons who frequented literary society to copy pell-mell in commonplace books the manuscript compositions of their friends and others. Some years after La Rochefoucaulds death a new recension appeared, somewhat less incorrect than the former, but still largely adulterated, and this held its ground for more than a century. Only in 1817 did anything like a genuine edition (even then by no means perfect) appear. The Maximes, however, had no such fate. The author re-edited them frequently during his life, with alterations and additions, a few were added after his death, and it is usual now to print the whole of them, at whatever time they appeared, together. Thus taken, they amount to about seven hundred in number, in hardly any case exceeding half a page in length, and more frequently confined to two or three lines. The view of conduct which they illustrate is usually and not quite incorrectly summed up in the words everything is reducible to the motive of self-interest. But though not absolutely incorrect, the phrase is misleading. The Maximes are in no respect mere deductions from or applications of any such general theory. They are on the contrary independent judgments on different relations of life, different affections of the human mind, and so forth, from which, taken together, the general view may be deduced or rather composed. Sentimental moralists have protested loudly against this view, yet it is easier to declaim against it in general than to find a flaw in the several parts of which it is made up. With a few exceptions La Rochefoucaulds maxims represent the matured result of the reflection of a man deeply versed in the business and pleasures of the world, and possessed of an extraordinarily fine and acute intellect, on the conduct and motives which have guided himself and his fellows. There is as little trace in them of personal spite as of forfanleric de lice. But the astonishing excellence of the literary medium in which they are conveyed is even more remarkable than the general soundness of their ethical import. In uniting the four qualities of brevity, clearness, fulness of meaning and point, La Rochefoucauld has no rival. His Maximes are never mere epigrams, they are never platitudes, they are never dark sayings. He has packed them so full of meaning that it would be impossible to pack them closer, yet there is no undue compression, he has sharpened their point to the utmost, yet there is no loss of substance. The comparison which occurs most frequently, and which is perhaps on the whole the justest, is that of a bronze medallion, and it applies to the matter no less than to the form. Nothing is left unfinished, yet none of the workmanship is finical. The sentiment, far from being merely hard, as the sentimentalists pretend, has a vein of melancholy poetry running through it which calls to mind the traditions of La Rochefoucaulds devotion to the romances of chivalry. The maxims are never shallow, each is the text for a whole sermon of application and corollary which any one of though and experience can write. Add to all this that the language in which they are written is French, still at almost its greatest strength, and chastened but as yet not emasculated by the reforming influence of the 18th century, and it is not necessary to say more. To the literary critic no less than to the man of the world La Rochefoucauld ranks among the scanty number of pocket-books to be read and re-read with ever new admiration instruction and delight. La Rochefoucaulds theories about human nature are based on such topics as self-interest and self-love, passions and emotions, vanity, relationships, love, conversation, insincerity, and trickery. His writings are very concise, straightforward, and candid. The editions of La Rochefoucaulds Maximes (as the full title runs Reflexions on sentences et maximes morales) published in his lifetime bear the dates 1665 (editio princeps), 1666, 1671, 1675, 1678. An important edition which appeared after his death in 1693 may rank almost with these. As long as the Memoirs remained in the stat above described, no edition of them need be mentioned, and none o the complete works was possible. The previous more or less complete editions are all superseded by that of MM Gilbert and Gourdaul (1868-1883), in the series of Grands Ecrivains de la France, 3 vols. There are still some puzzles as to the text, but this edition supplie all available material in regard to them. The handsomest separate edition of the Maximes is the so-called Edition des bibliophiles (1870), but cheap and handy issues are plentiful. See the English version by GH Powell (1903). Nearly all the great French critics of the 19th century have dealt more or less with La Rochefoucauld: the chief recent monograph on him is that of J Bourdeau in the Grands Ecrivains fran�ais (1893).

Quotes from the Maxims

Our virtues are usually just disguised vices.
What we call virtues are often just a collection of casual actions and selfish interests which chance or our own industry manages to arrange in a certain way. It is not always from valor that men are valiant, or from chastity that women are chaste.
The passions are the most effective orators for persuading. They are a natural art that have infallible rules, and the simplest man with passion will be more persuasive than the most eloquent without it.
If we had no faults, we should not take so much pleasure in noting those of others.
A man often believes he is leading when he is actually being led, while his mind seeks one goal, his heart unknowingly drags him towards another.
Those who know their minds do not necessarily know their hearts.
Sincerity is an openness of heart that is found in very few people. What we usually see is only an artful disguise people put on to win the confidence of others.
When not prompted by vanity, we say little.
The refusal of praise is actually the wish to be praised twice.
In all aspects of life, we take on a part and an appearance to seem to be what we wish to be seen as and thus the world is merely composed of actors.

References

This entry incorporates public domain text originally from the 1911 Encyclop�dia Britannica.
The maxims are taken from the Rodney Ohebsion A Collection of Wisdom translation

2006-02-04T03:51:00.000-08:00

Alternative-Press

Alternative Press is a music magazine focusing on gothic rock and punk rock music. In the words of the magazine: Since its debut as a photocopied fanzine handed out at a punk show in 1985, A.P. has been the publication where the honest word, the correct word, the authoritative word has been spoken on new music and youth culture. An early promotional sticker for A.P. read, �100% Manure-Free Magazine��and that�s still true today. We�re the place where stars are born and where they return to get back to their roots. We�re the official seal of approval for artists seeking credibility. linksAlternative Press

2006-02-03T15:49:00.000-08:00

Treme

Treme (historically sometimes called Trem� or Faubourg Trem�) is a neighborhood in the downtown portion the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. It is one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city, and early in the citys history was the main neighborhood of free people of color. It remains an important center of the citys African-American culture, especially the modern brass band tradition. Treme is on the other side of the French Quarter from the Mississippi River, back of town as earlier generations of New Orleanians used to say. Its traditional borders were Rampart Street towards the river, Canal Street upriver, Esplanade Avenue downriver, and Claiborne Avenue to the back. At the end of the 19th century the Storyville red-light district was carved out of the upper part of Treme, in the 1940s this was torn down and made into a public housing project. This area came to no longer be considered part of Treme. The town square of Treme was Congo Square, where slaves gathered on Sundays to dance until this tradition was quashed after Louisiana passed to the rule of the United States. For much of the rest of the 19th century, the square was an open air market, and Creole of Color brass and symphonic bands gave concerts. At the end of the century the city government officially renamed the square Beauregard Square after General P.G.T. Beauregard, but this name was little used within the neighborhood. The traditional name of Congo Square was restored late in the 20th century. In the early 1960s in an urban renewal project considered in retrospect a mistake by most analysts, a large portion of central Treme was torn down. The land stood vacant for some time, then in the 1970s an effort to make the best of this bad situation created Louis Armstrong Park out of this area, named after the recently deceased Louis Armstrong. (Contrary to the impression this gives to some, Armstrong, an uptowner, was not from Treme nor often active here when he lived in town.) Congo Square is within Armstrong Park. Musicians from Treme include Alphonse Picou and Kermit Ruffins. While predominantly African-American, the population has been mixed from the 19th century though to the 21st. Jazz musicians of European ancestry such as Henry Ragas and Louis Prima lived in Treme.

2006-02-02T13:24:00.000-08:00

DoD-model

The DoD model (DoD, United States Department of Defense) is a layered abstract description for communications and computer network protocol design. It was created in the 1970s by DARPA for use in developing the Internets Internet protocol suite, and the structure of the Internet is still closely reflected by the DoD model. The DoD model has four layers:
Layer 4 - Process Layer - This is where the higher level protocols such as SMTP, FTP, SSH, etc. operate.
Layer 3 - Host-To-Host (Transport) - This is where flow-control and connection protocols exist, such as Transmission Control Protocol. This layer deals with opening and maintaining connections, ensuring that packets are in fact received.
Layer 2 - Internet - This layer defines IP numbers, with many routing schemes for navigating packets from one IP address to another.
Layer 1 - Network Access - This layer describes the physical equipment necessary for communications, for example the MAC addresses of the network cards in an Ethernet.

2006-02-02T01:24:00.000-08:00

FIFO

FIFO is an acronym for First In, First Out. This expression describes the principle of a queue: what comes in first is handled first, what comes in next waits until the first is finished, etc. Thus it is analogous to the behaviour of persons standing in a line (preferred in American English) or queue (preferred in British English), where the persons leave the queue in the order they arrive. A priority queue is a variation on the queue which does not qualify for the name FIFO, because it is not accurately descriptive of that data structures behavior. Queuing theory encompasses the more general concept of queue, as well as interactions between strict-FIFO queues. The expression FIFO can be used in different context:
For queues of people, see queue area.
In computer science this term refers to the way data stored in a queue is processed. Each item in the queue is stored in a queue (simpliciter) data structure. The first data to be added to the queue will be the first data to be removed, then processing proceeds sequentially in the same order. This is typical behavior for a queue, but see also the LIFO and Stack (computing) algorithms.
In computing environments that support the pipes and filters model for interprocess communication, a FIFO is another name for a named pipe.
In electronics a FIFO is a semiconductor memory in which the first data to be written is always the first data to be read. The function is available as an integrated circuit that includes address counters, control logic and Static-Random-Access-Memory. A FIFO with a clock input is called a synchronous FIFO, otherwise it is asynchronous. The device typically has outputs called flags that indicate when it is empty or full.
In accounting, FIFO is a common method for approximating the value of inventory. It is appropriate where there are many different batches of similar products. The method presumes that the next item to be shipped will be the oldest of that type in the warehouse. In practice, this reflects the underlying commercial substance. See also LIFO in this context.

2006-02-01T13:01:00.000-08:00

Carbonari

The Carbonari (coal-burners) were groups of secret society founded in early 19th century Italy, and instrumental in organising revolution in Italy in 1820, 1830-1831 and 1848. They were organised in the fashion of Freemasonry, broken into small Covert cell scattered across Italy. Idealistically, they sought the creation of a liberal, unified Italy through spontaneous rebellion by the working class, led by university students and intellectuals. There was also an anti-clerical element in their philosophy and program. Silvio Pellico (1788-1854) and Pietro Maroncelli (1795-1846) were prominent members of the Carbonari, both were imprisoned by the Austrians for years, many of which they spent in Spielberg fortress in Brno, Southern Moravia. After his release, Pellico wrote a book Le mie prigioni, describing in detail his ten-year ordeal. Maroncelli lost one leg in prison and was instrumental in translating and editing of Pellicos book in Paris (1833). Other prominent members of the Carbonari included Giuseppe Garibaldi and Giuseppe Mazzini. The revolutions were put down by the France under Napoleon III of France and by the Austrian Hapsburgs, who sought to maintain their significant power in Italy (Venice and Milan were both part of the Austrian Empire, and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies was ruled by a House of Bourbon monarch much influenced by the French government). The failure of the revolutions showed that unification would not be achieved by idealism but by realpolitik. The Italian unification was eventually completed in 1860-70 by diplomacy and war directed from Piedmont-Sardinia.

2006-02-01T01:08:00.000-08:00

Russian-constitutional-crisis-of-1993

POSSIBLE COPYVIOs bombard the Russian White House at the behest of Boris Yeltsin on October 4, 1993. > was President of the Russia at the time of the crisis. The Russian constitutional crisis of 1993 began in earnest on September 21, when President of Russia Boris Yeltsin dissolved the countrys parliament, which was increasingly opposing his moves to consolidate power and embark on unpopular neoliberalism reforms. He was not allowed to do this under the then-functioning constitution, after the fact, he ordered a referendum on a new constitution. The parliament refused to dissolve, declaring Yeltsins presidency unconstitutional. In open rebellion against Yeltsin, it appointed its own acting president. On September 28, public protests against Yeltsins government began in earnest in the streets of Moscow, and the first blood was shed. Yeltsins supporters surrounded the parliament building (the White House of Russia), where the representatives and their newly-appointed leaders were staying, with barricades. For the next week, protests in the street grew, until a mass uprising erupted in the city on October 2. Russia was on the brink of civil war. At this point the military threw their support behind Yeltsin, besieged the parliament building, and slowly forced the opposing faction out over the next six days. By October 8, the second October Revolution had been crushed. The ten-day conflict had seen the most deadly street fighting in Moscow since the Bolshevik Revolution in October 1917: 187 had been killed and 437 wounded, according to possibly conservative government estimates.

Origins of the crisis

The intensifying executive-legislative power struggle Yeltsins reform program took effect on January 2, 1992 (see Economy of Russia Economic Reform in the 1990s for background information). Soon afterward prices skyrocketed, government spending was slashed, and heavy new taxes went into effect. A deep credit crunch shut down many industry and brought about a protracted depression. Certain politicians began quickly to distance themselves from the program, and increasingly the ensuing political confrontation between Yeltsin on the one side, and the opposition to radical economic reform on the other, became centered in the two branches of government. Throughout 1992, opposition to Yeltsins reform policies grew stronger and more intractable among bureaucrats concerned about the condition of Russian industry and among regional leaders who wanted more independence from Moscow. Russias vice president, Aleksandr Rutskoy, denounced the Yeltsin program as economic genocide. ^{Notes and references} Leaders of oil-rich republics such as Tatarstan and Bashkiria called for full independence from Russia. Also throughout 1992, Yeltsin wrestled with the Supreme Soviet (the standing legislature) and the Russian Congress of Peoples Deputies (the countrys highest legislative body, from which the Supreme Soviet members were drawn) for control over government and government policy. In 1992 the speaker of the Russian Supreme Soviet, Ruslan Khasbulatov, came out in opposition to the reforms, despite claiming to support Yeltsins overall goals. -born economist, Ruslan Khasbulatov now focuses largely on his academic career. He has lately reemerged in Russian politics as a leading critic of Second Chechen War. 2003 The president was concerned about the terms of the constitutional amendments passed in late 1991, which meant that his special powers of decree were set to expire by the end of 1992 (Yeltsin expanded the powers of the presidency beyond normal constitutional limits in carrying out the reform program). Yeltsin, awaiting implementation of his privatization program, demanded that parliament reinstate his decree powers (only parliament had the authority to replace or amend the constitution). But in the Russian Congress of Peoples Deputies and in the Supreme Soviet, the deputies refused to adopt a new constitution that would enshrine the scope of presidential powers demanded by Yeltsin into law. The seventh session of the Congress of Peoples Deputies (CPD) During its December session the parliament clashed with Yeltsin on a number of issues, and the conflict came to a head on December 9 when the parliament refused to confirm Yegor Gaidar, the widely unpopular architect of Russias shock therapy (economics) market liberalizations, as prime minister. The parliament refused to nominate Gaidar, demanding modifications of the economic program and directed the Central Bank, which was under the parliaments control, to continue issuing credits to enterprises to keep them from shutting down.^{Notes and references} In an angry speech the next day on December 10, Yeltsin deemed the congress as a fortress of conservative and reactionary forces. Parliament responded by voting to take control of the parliamentary army. On December 12, Yeltsin and parliament speaker Khasbulatov agreed on a compromise that included the following provisions: (1) a national referendum on framing a new Russian constitution to be held in April 1993, (2) most of Yeltsins emergency powers were extended until the referendum, (3) the parliament asserted its right to nominate and vote on its own choices for prime minister, and (4) the parliament asserted its right to reject the presidents choices to head the Defense, Foreign Affairs, Interior, and Security ministries. Yeltsin nominated Viktor Chernomyrdin to be prime minister on December 14, and the parliament confirmed him. Yeltsins December 1992 compromise with the seventh Congress of the Peoples Deputies temporarily backfired. Early 1993 saw increasing tension between Yeltsin and the parliament over the language of the referendum and power sharing. In a series of collisions over policy, the congress whittled away the presidents extraordinary powers, which it had granted him in late 1991. The legislature, marshaled by Speaker Ruslan Khasbulatov, began to sense that it could block and even defeat the president. The tactic that it adopted was gradually to erode presidential control over the government. In response, the president called a referendum on a constitution for April 11.

The eighth session of the CPD

The eighth Congress of Peoples Deputies opened on March 10 with a strong attack on the president by Khasbulatov, who accused Yeltsin of acting unconstitutionally. In mid-March 1993, an emergency session of the Congress of Peoples Deputies voted to amend the constitution, strip Yeltsin of many of his powers, and cancel the scheduled April referendum, again opening the door to legislation that would shift the balance of power away from the president. The president stalked out of the congress. Vladimir Shumeyko, first deputy prime minister, declared that the referendum would go ahead, but on April 25. The parliament was gradually expanding its influence over the government. On March 16 the president signed a decree that conferred Cabinet rank on Viktor Gerashchenko, chairman of the central bank, and three other officials, this was in accordance with the decision of the eighth congress that these officials should be members of the government. The congress ruling, however, had made it clear that as ministers they would continue to be subordinate to parliament.

The special regime

The presidents response was dramatic. On March 20 Yeltsin addressed the nation directly to declare that he intended to introduce a special regime, under which he would assume extraordinary executive power pending the results of a referendum on the timing of new legislative elections, on a new constitution, and on public confidence in the president and vice president. Yeltsin also bitterly attacked the parliament, accusing the deputies of trying to restore the Soviet-era order. Vice President Rutskoy, a key Yeltsin opponent, condemned Yeltsins declaration as a grab for special powers. After the Constitutional Court ruled that Yeltsin had indeed acted unconstitutionally, Yeltsin backed down.

The ninth session of the CPD

The ninth congress, which opened on March 26, began with an extraordinary session of the Congress of Peoples Deputies taking up discussions of emergency measures to defend the constitution, including impeachment of President Yeltsin. Yeltsin conceded that he had made mistakes and reached out to swing voters in parliament. Yeltsin narrowly survived an impeachment vote on March 28, votes for impeachment falling 72 short of the 689 votes needed for a 2/3 majority.

National referendum

The referendum would go ahead, but since the impeachment vote failed, the Congress of Peoples Deputies sought to set new terms for a popular referendum. The legislatures version of the referendum asked whether citizens had confidence in Yeltsin, approved of his reforms, and supported early presidential and legislative elections. The parliament voted that in order to win, the president would need to obtain 50 percent of the whole electorate, rather than 50 percent of those actually voting, to avoid an early presidential election. This time, the Constitutional Court supported Yeltsin and ruled that the president required only a simple majority on two issues: confidence in him, and economic and social policy, he would need the support of half the electorate in order to call new parliamentary and presidential elections. Yeltsins gamble paid off in the referendum, on April 25. A majority of voters expressed confidence in the president and called for new legislative elections. Yeltsin termed the results a mandate for him to continue in power. Although this permitted the president to declare that the population supported him, not the parliament, he lacked a constitutional mechanism to implement his victory. As before, the president had to appeal to the people over the heads of the legislature.

The constitutional convention

In an attempt to outmaneuver the parliament, Yeltsin decreed the creation of a large conference of political leaders from a wide range of government institutions, regions, public organizations, and political parties in June � a special constitutional convention to examine the draft constitution that he had presented in April. After much hesitation, the Constitutional Committee of the Congress of Peoples Deputies decided to participate and present its own draft constitution. Of course, the two main drafts contained contrary views of legislative-executive relations. Some 700 representatives at the conference ultimately adopted a draft constitution on July 12 that envisaged a bicameral legislature and the dissolution of the congress. But because the conventions draft of the constitution would dissolve the congress, there was little likelihood that the congress would vote itself into oblivion. The Supreme Soviet immediately rejected the draft and declared that the Congress of Peoples Deputies was the supreme lawmaking body and hence would decide on the new constitution. The parliament was active in July, while the president was on vacation, and passed a number of decrees that revised economic policy in order to end the division of society. It also launched investigations of key advisers of the president, accusing them of corruption. The president returned in August and declared that he would deploy all means, including circumventing the constitution, to achieve new parliamentary elections.

Clashes of power in September

The president launched his offensive on September 1 when he attempted to suspend Vice President Rutskoy, a key adversary. Rutskoy, elected on the same ticket as Yeltsin in 1991, was the presidents automatic successor. A presidential spokesman said that he had been suspended because of accusations of corruption. On September 3, the Supreme Soviet rejected Yeltsins suspension of Rutskoy and referred the question to the Constitutional Court. Two weeks later he declared that he would agree to call early presidential elections provided that the parliament also called elections. The parliament ignored him. On September 18, Yeltsin then named Yegor Gaidar, who had been forced out of office by parliamentary opposition in 1992, a deputy prime minister and a deputy premier for economic affairs. This appointment was unacceptable to the Supreme Soviet, which emphatically rejected it.

Yeltsin dissolves parliament

On September 21, 1993, Yeltsin responded to the impasse in legislative-executive relations by repeating his announcement of a constitutional referendum, but this time he followed the announcement by dissolving the parliament and announcing new legislative elections for December. He also scrapped the constitution, replacing it with one that gave him extraordinary executive powers. (According to the new plan, the lower house would have 450 deputies and be called the State Duma, the name of the Russian legislature before the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917. The Federation Council, which would bring together representatives from the 89 subdivisions of the Russian Federation, would play the role of an upper house.) Yeltsin claimed that by dissolving the Russian parliament in September 1993 he was clearing the tracks for a rapid transition to a functioning market economy. With this pledge, he received strong backing from the leading capitalist powers of the West and the other Soviet successor states. Yeltsins biggest political asset has always been his close relationship to the Western powers, particularly the United States, but this has left him open to charges in Russia of being an agent of foreign interests and of groveling before the West.

Parliament invalidates Yeltsins presidency

Rutskoy called Yeltsins move a step toward a coup detat. The next day, the Constitutional Court held that Yeltsin had violated the constitution and could be impeached. During an all-night session, chaired by Khasbulatov, parliament declared the presidents decree null and void. Rutskoy was proclaimed president and took the oath on the constitution. He dismissed Yeltsin and the key ministers Pavel Grachev (defense), Nikolay Golushko (security), and Viktor Yerin (interior). Russia now had two presidents and two ministers of defense, security, and interior. It was dual power in earnest. Although Gennady Zyuganov and other top leaders of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation did not participate in the events, individual members of communist organizations actively supported the parliament. On September 24, an undaunted Yeltsin announced presidential elections for June 1994. The same day, the Congress of Peoples Deputies voted to hold simultaneous parliamentary and presidential elections by March 1994.^{Notes and references} Yeltsin scoffed at the parliament backed-proposal for simultaneous elections, and responded the next day by cutting off electricity, phone service, and hot water in the parliament building. demonstrators rally outside the parliament building, known as the Russian White House, before the army crackdown on October 4.

Mass protests in Moscow

Yeltsin also sparked popular unrest with his dissolution of a parliament increasingly opposed to his neoliberal economic reforms. Between September 21�24, the general atmosphere changed in favor of the defenders of the parliament. Moscow saw what amounted to a spontaneous mass uprising of anti-Yeltsin demonstrators numbering in the tens of thousands marching in the streets resolutely seeking to aid forces defending the parliament building. The demonstrators were protesting against the new and terrible living conditions under Yeltsin. Since 1989 gross domestic product had declined by half. Corruption was rampant, violent crime was skyrocketing, medical services were collapsing, food and fuel were increasingly scarcity and life expectancy was falling for all but a tiny handful of the population, moreover, Yeltsin was increasingly getting the blame. ^{Notes and references} Outside Moscow, the Russian masses overall were confused and disorganized. Nonetheless, some of them also tried to voice their protest. Sporadic strikes took place across Russia. On September 28, Moscow saw the first bloody clashes between the special police and anti-Yeltsin demonstrators. This repression of the mass demonstrations in Moscow had a comparable effect to that meted out by the French police to the students in the May 1968 that nearly culminated in the fall of Charles de Gaulle. It rallied them for a mass protest action, but one that the popular demonstrators would ultimately lose. Also on September 28, the Interior Ministry moved to seal off the parliament building. Barricades and wire were put around the building. On October 1, the Interior Ministry estimated that 600 fighting men with a large cache of arms had joined Yeltsins political opponents in the parliament building. On September 30, the first barricades were built.

The barricading of the parliament

October 2 and October 3 were the culmination of violent clashes with the police. On October 2, supporters of parliament constructed barricades and blocked traffic on Moscows main streets. On the afternoon of October 3, armed opponents of Yeltsin stormed the police cordon around the White House territory (where the Russian parliament was barricaded). Crowds supporting parliament also seized the Moscow City Mayor offices, overrunning pro-Yeltsin forces. Aleksandr Rutskoy, barricaded inside the White House, hailed the protesting crowd. Rutskoy greeted the crowds from the White House balcony, and urged them to go on to seize the national television center at Ostankino. Khasbulatov also called for the storming of the Kremlin. With some people already dead on the streets, Yeltsin declared a state of emergency in Moscow. The leaders of parliament were still not discounting the prospects of a compromise with Yeltsin. The Russian Orthodox Church acted as a host to desultory discussions between representatives of the parliament and the president. The negotiations with the Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch as mediator continued until October 2. On the afternoon of October 3, Moscow police failed to control a demonstration near the White House, and the political impasses developed into armed conflict.

The storming of the Russian White House

Between October 2�4, the position of the army was the deciding factor. The military equivocated for several hours about how to respond to Yeltsins call for action. By this time dozens of people had been killed and hundreds had been wounded. Rutskoy, as a former general, appealed to some of his ex-colleagues. After all, many officers and especially rank-and-file soldiers had little sympathy for Yeltsin. But the supporters of the parliament did not send any emissaries to the barracks to recruit lower-ranking officer corps, making the fatal mistake of attempting to deliberate only among high-ranking military officials who already had close ties to parliamentary leaders. In the end, a prevailing bulk of the generals did not want to take their chances with a Rutskoy-Khasbulatov regime. Some generals had stated their intention to back the parliament, but at the last moment moved over to Yeltsins side. There was also the role played by the special police and the brute force of the special units of the Ministry of the Interior. On the evening of October 3, after taking the mayors office, anti-Yeltsin demonstrators marched toward Ostankino, the television center. But the pro-parliament crowds were met at the television complex by Interior Ministry units. A pitched battle followed. Part of TV center was significantly damaged. Television stations went off the air and 62 people were killed. Before midnight, the Interior Ministrys units had turned back the parliament loyalists.s bombard the Russian White House on October 4, 1993. On October 4, army tanks began to shell the White House. By sunrise, October 5, the Russian army encircled the parliament building. Troops entered the White House and began to occupy it, floor by floor. Hostilities were stopped several times to allow some in the White House to leave, but Khasbulatov and Rutskoy stayed to the bitter end before surrendering. Many in the building, including Rutskoy and Khasbulatov, were taken away in the end in buses. By mid-afternoon, popular resistance in the streets was completely suppressed, barring an occasional snipers fire. Crushing the second October Revolution, which, as mentioned, saw the deadliest street fighting in Moscow since 1917, cost hundreds of lives. Police said, on October 8, that 187 had died in the conflict and 437 had been wounded. Unofficial sources named much higher numbers, up to 1500 dead, mostly inside the White House. In any event, nearly all victims were killed by troops, loyal to Yeltsin. Russian Army and Interior Ministry lost 12 soldiers, at least 9 of which were accidentally killed by their own men. It had been a close call, Yeltsin owed his victory to the military, the former KGB, and the Ministry of Interior, not to support from the regions or a popular base of support. But he was backed by the military only grudgingly, and at the eleventh hour. The instruments of coercion gained the most, and they would expect Yeltsin to reward them in the future. A paradigmatic example of this was General Pavel Grachev, who had demonstrated his loyalty during this crisis. Grachev became a key political figure, despite many years of charges that he was linked to corruption within the Russian military.^{Notes and references} The crisis was a strong example of the problems of executive-legislative balance in Russias presidential system, and, moreover, the likelihood of conflict of a zero-sum character and the absence of obvious mechanisms to resolve it.^{Notes and references} In the end, this was a battle of competing legitimacy of the executive and the legislature, won by the side that could muster the support of the ultimate instruments of coercion.^{Notes and references}

Public opinion on crisis

The Russian public opinion research institute VCIOM (VTsIOM) conducted a poll in the aftermath of October 1993 events and found out that 51% of those polled thought that the use of military force by Yeltsin was justified and 30% thought it was not justified. The support for Yeltsins actions declined in the later years. When VCIOM-A asked the same question in 2003, only 20% agreed with the use of the military, with 57% opposed. When asked about the main cause of the events of October 3-4, 46% in the 1993 VCIOM poll blamed Rutskoy and Khasbullatov. However, ten years following the crisis, the most popular culprit was the legacy of Mikhail Gorbachev with 31%, closely followed by Yeltsins policies with 29%.

Yeltsins consolidation of power

Immediate aftermath

In the weeks following the storming of the Russian White House, Yeltsin issued a barrage of presidential decrees intended to consolidate his position. On October 5, Yeltsin banned political leftist and nationalist parties and newspapers that had supported the parliament. In an address to the nation on October 6, Yeltsin also called on those regional councils that had opposed him � by far the majority � to disband. Valery Zorkin, chairman of the Constitutional Court, was forced to resign. The chairman of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions was also sacked, and the president took the opportunity to deprive trade unions of many of their administrative functions so as to whittle away their direct working ties to their rank-and-file membership. Yeltsin decreed, on October 12, that both houses of parliament would be elected in December. On October 15, he ordered that a popular referendum be held in December on a new constitution. Rutskoy and Khasbulatov were charged on October 15 with organizing mass disorders and imprisoned. They were later released in 1994 when Yeltsins position was sufficiently secure. Russia needs order, Yeltsin told the Russian people in a television broadcast in November in introducing his new draft of the constitution, which was to be put to a referendum on December 12. The new basic law would concentrate sweeping powers in the hands of the president. The bicameral legislature, to sit for only two years, was restricted in crucial areas. The president could choose the prime minister even if the parliament objected and could appoint the military leadership without parliamentary approval. He would head and appoint the members of a new, more powerful security council. If a vote of no confidence in the government was passed, the president would be enabled to keep it in office for three months and could dissolve the parliament if it repeated the vote. The president could veto any bill passed by a simple majority in the lower house, after which a two-thirds majority would be required for the legislation to be passed. The president could not be impeached for contravening the constitution. The central bank would become independent, but the president would need the approval of the State Duma to appoint the banks governor, who would thereafter be independent of the parliament. At the time, most political observers regarded the draft constitution as shaped by and for Yeltsin and perhaps unlikely to survive him.

The end of the first constitutional period

On December 12, Yeltsin managed to push through his new constitution, creating a strong presidency and giving the president sweeping powers to issue decrees. (For details on the constitution passed in 1993 see Politics of Russia The Constitution and Government Structure.) However, the parliament elected on the same day (with a turnout of about 53%) delivered a stunning rebuke to his neoliberal economic program. Candidates identified with Yeltsins economic policies were overwhelmed by a huge protest vote, the bulk of which was divided between the Communists (who mostly drew their support from industrial workers, out-of-work bureaucrats, some professionals, and pensioners) and the ultra-nationalists (who drew their support from disaffected elements of the lower middle classes). Unexpectedly, the most surprising insurgent group proved to be the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (whose program was neither liberal nor democratic). It gained 23% of the vote while the Gaidar led Russias Choice received 15.5% and the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, 12.4%. LDPR leader, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, alarmed many observers abroad with his hands. Russia now has a prime minister who heads a cabinet and directs the administration, but the system is an example of presidentialism with the cover of a presidential prime minister, not an effective semipresidential constitutional model. (The premier, for example, is appointed, and in effect freely dismissed, by the president.)

Notes and references

¹ Celestine Bohlen, Yeltsin Deputy Calls Reforms Economic Genocide, New York Times, February 9, 1992.
² The Central Banks efforts got in the way of pro-Yeltsin, Western-oriented leaders were seeking to carry out a decisive neoliberal economic transformation of Russia. They undermined the regime of fiscal austerity that the Yeltsin government was attempting to pursue. See, e.g., Thomas F. Remington, Politics in Russia (New York: Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers Inc., 2002), p. 50.
³ For further details see Margaret Shapiro, Yeltsin Dissolves Parliament, Orders New Vote, Washington Post, September 22, 1993.
⁴ It is still hotly debated among Western economists, social scientists, and policymakers as to whether or not the IMF-, World Bank-, and U.S. Treasury Department-backed reform policies adopted in Russia, often called shock therapy, were responsible for Russias poor record of economic performance in the 1990s. Under the Western-backed economic program adopted by Yeltsin, the Russian government took several radical measures at once that were supposed to stabilize the economy by bringing state spending and revenues into balance and by letting market demand determine the prices and supply of goods. Under the reforms, the government let most prices float, raised taxes, and cut back sharply on spending in industry and construction. These policies caused widespread hardship as many state enterprises found themselves without orders or financing. The rationale of the program was to squeeze the built-in inflationary pressure out of the economy so that producers would begin making sensible decisions about production, pricing and investment instead of chronically overusing resources, as in the Soviet era. By letting the market rather than central planers determine prices, product mixes, output levels, and the like, the reformers intended to create an incentive structure in the economy where efficiency and risk would be rewarded and waste and carelessness were punished. Removing the causes of chronic inflation, the reforms architects argued, was a precondition for all other reforms: Hyperinflation would wreck both democracy and economic progress, they argued, only by stabilizing the state budget could the government proceed to restructure the economy. A similar reform program had been adopted in Poland in January 1990, with generally favorable results. However, Western critics of Yeltsins reform, most notably Joseph Stiglitz and Marshall Goldman (who would have favored a more gradual transition to market capitalism), consider policies adopted in Poland ill-suited for Russia, given that the impact of communism on the Polish economy and political culture was far less indelible.
⁵ For further details see Rusnet.nl, Pavel Grachev Updated March 12, 2003
⁶ Since the release of Argentine political scientist Juan Linzs 1985 influential essay Presidential or Parliamentary Democracy: Does it Make a Difference? the argument that presidentialism is less likely to sustain stable democratic regimes has gained widespread currency in Western comparative politics literature. According to Linz, conflict is always latent between the president and the legislature due to competing claims to legitimacy derived from the same source: electoral mandates from the very same body of citizens. Thus, a conflict can escalate dramatically since it cannot be resolved through rules, procedures, negotiations, or compromise.
⁷ See, e.g., Stephen White, Russia: Presidential Leadership under Yeltsin, in Ray Taras, ed., Postcommunist Presidents (Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1997), pp. 57�61.