Monday, December 31, 2007


In Chinese history, Legalism (Chinese: 法家; pinyin: Fǎjiā; Wade-Giles: Fa-chia; literally "School of law") was one of the four main philosophic schools in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period (Near the end of the Zhou dynasty from about the sixth century BC to about the third century BC). It is actually rather a pragmatic political philosophy, with maxims like "when the epoch changed, legalism is the act of following all laws", and its essential principle is one of jurisprudence. "Legalism" here can bear the meaning of "political philosophy that upholds the rule of law", and is thus distinguished from the word's Western sense. The school's most famous proponent and contributor Han Fei (韓非) believed that a ruler should govern his subjects by the following trinity:

Fa (法 fǎ): law or principle. The law code must be clearly written and made public. All people under the ruler were equal before the law. Laws should reward those who obey them and punish accordingly those who dare to break them. Thus it is guaranteed that actions taken are systemically predictable. In addition, the system of law ran the state, not the ruler. If the law is successfully enforced, even a weak ruler will be strong.
Shu (術 shù): method, tactic or art. Special tactics and "secrets" are to be employed by the ruler to make sure others don't take over control of the state. Especially important is that no one can fathom the ruler's motivations, and thus no one can know which behaviour might help them getting ahead; except for following the 法 or laws.
Shi (勢 shì): legitimacy, power or charisma. It is the position of the ruler, not the ruler himself, that holds the power. Therefore, analysis of the trends, the context, and the facts are essential for a real ruler. Introduction
Primarily members of the ruling class, the Legalists emphasized that the head of state was endowed with the "mystery of authority" (勢 shì), and as such his decisions must always command the respect and obedience of the people. The emperor's very figure brought legitimacy. In emphasizing the power of ruler-ship, Legalists such as Shen Dao (ca. 350-275 BC) and Shen Buhai sought to devalue the importance of the charismatic ruler. Skillful rulers hid their true intentions and feigned nonchalance. To ensure that all of his words were revered, the wise ruler kept a low profile. Thus, theoretically, by cloaking both his desires and his will, the Emperors checked sycophancy and forced his subject to heed his dictates. While Shang Yang (the Prime Minister of Duke Xiao of Qin) would allow rulers to listen to musical instruments rather than focus on foreign policy, Han Feizi (the Legalist scholar most admired by the First Qin Emperor, Qin Shihuangdi) demanded more of the wise ruler. A good leader, by Han Feizi's standards, must not only accept the advice of loyal ministers when shown to be in error, but must also extend courtesy to those beneath him and not be too avaricious. The adept ruler also understood the importance of strictness over benevolence. Although the ruler was expected to be paternalistic, the Legalists emphasized that being too kind would spoil the populace and threaten the state's internal order. Interestingly, according to Han Grand Historian Sima Qian (ca. 145-86 BC), while the First Qin Emperor hid himself from the rest of the world (perhaps due to a desire to attain immortality) and thus maintained a low profile, he did not necessarily follow all of the Legalists' advice on the role of the ruler.

The role of the ruler
To aid the ruler and help prevent misgovernance, Shen Buhai – a minister from the state of Han for fifteen years - formalized the concept of 術 (shù, "methods"), or the bureaucratic model of administration that served to advance the ideal Legalist ruler's program. To the Legalists, the intelligent minister was the ruler's most important aide. Whereas the minister's duty was to understand specific affairs, the ruler was responsible for correctly judging ministers' performances. Stressing that ministers and other officials too often sought favours from foreign powers by abusing their positions, Han Feizi urged rulers to control these individuals by the two handles of punishment and favour. Officials were required, through fear, to ensure that ministers' accomplishments were neither greater than nor inferior to the assigned undertaking. According to the eminent Sinologist Robin Yates, newly discovered Qin legal codes show that officials were required to correctly calculate the exact amount of labor expected of all artisans; if the artisan was ordered to perform either too much work or too little work, the official would be held accountable. Thus, in Legalist theory, ministers and other officials were prevented from performing some other official's duties and were punished if they attempted to blind the ruler with words or failed to warn the ruler of danger. One consequence of this situation was that the ministers could always be held accountable for royal misadventures while the ruler's name was never to be tarnished. By emphasizing performance, however, over sophistry, the Legalists hoped to eliminate bureaucratic corruption and intrigues amongst the officialdom through fear.

The role of ministers in Legalist thought
The laws supported by the Legalists were meant to support the state, the king, and his military. They were also reform-oriented and innovative. In theory, the Legalists believed that if the punishments were heavy and the law equally applied, neither the powerful nor the weak would be able to escape state control. The Legalists especially emphasized pragmatism over precedence and custom as the basis of law. Guided by Legalist thought, the First Qin Emperor would weaken the power of the feudal lords (although not completely as previously discussed), divide the unified empire into thirty-six administrative provinces, and standardize the writing system. Reflecting Legalist passion for order and structure, Qin soldiers were only mobilized when both halves of tiger-shaped tallies (one held by the ruler and the other by the commanding general) were brought together. Likewise, all documents in the empire had to have recorded the year they were written, the scribe who copied them, and up to the exact hour of delivery. Accepting Shang Yang's earlier emphasis on the standardization of weights and measures, the First Qin Emperor would also accept Shang Yang's philosophy that no individual in the state should be above the law (by ensuring harsh punishments for all cases of dissent) and that families should be divided into smaller households. While there is reason to doubt Sima Qian's claim that the First Qin Emperor did in fact divide households into groups of ten, certainly the other examples of standardization and administrative organization undertaken by the First Emperor reflect the importance of Legalist thought in Qin law. Based on promoting the interests of the state, Qin 法 (law) served as a vehicle to both control the populace and eliminate dissent.

The purpose of law
The Legalist philosophers emphasized the primacy of the state over individual autonomy. The lone individual had no legitimate civil rights and any personal freedom had to strengthen the ruler. Han Feizi, in particular, would be very caustic towards the concept of individual rights. Fundamentally, the Legalists viewed the plebeian (common people of lower class) and his actions as evil and foolish.
However Legalism allowed the common people to gain in rank if they perform well, e.g. soldiers were allowed to gain in rank by the number of heads the soldiers collected. The soldier may even gain noble rank. In contrast, some other states allow only the well-connected to gain higher ranks. Another example would be Lü Buwei originally a merchant was able to become Chancellor of China, an occurrence that would never happen in the other 6 states.
Consequently, according to Shang Yang's The Book of Lord Shang, the people themselves wanted a ruler to generate order. Social cohesion in the Legalist state mandated that the populace never escape punishment. The Qin dynasty used the people, for example, to maintain vigilant mutual surveillance over one another under threat of death.
This intrastate realpolitik would end up devouring the Legalist philosophers themselves. Shang Yang, in advocating the state's right to punish even the heir-apparent's tutor, would run afoul of the future King Huiwen of Qin (r. 338-311 BC). Whereas at one point, he had the power to exile his opponents (and, thus, eviscerate individual criticism) to border regions of the state, he died when torn into pieces by chariots. Similarly, Han Feizi would end up being poisoned by his envious former classmate Li Si, who in turn would be killed (under the law he had introduced) by the violent Second Qin Emperor he had helped to enthrone.

Legalism and individual autonomy
Most Chinese philosophers and political thinkers have had very negative views toward Legalism blaming it for what today would be considered a totalitarian society. Many Chinese scholars believe that it was a reaction against legalism that gave Chinese Imperial politics its personalistic and moralistic flavor rather than emphasis on the rule of law.
However, this view of the Qin may be biased, as most of the Chinese historical records were written by Confucian scholars, who were persecuted under the Qin.

Power politics between the philosophies
In later dynasties, Legalism was discredited and ceased to be an independent school of thought. However, both ancient and modern Confucian observers of Chinese politics have argued that some Legalist ideas have merged with mainstream Confucianism and still have a role to play in government.The philosophy of imperial China can be described as Confucianism externally and legalism internally儒表法裏, i.e. sugarcoating the harsh legalism ideas with a surface of Confucianism. Although during the Sui and Tang dynasty, buddhist influence were also included externally.
More recently, Mao Zedong, who had some knowledge of ancient Chinese philosophy, compared himself with Qin Shi Huang and publicly approved of some Legalist methods. One such method approved in the eighties under Deng Xiaoping administration is the reward and punishment, which has increased the size of the Beijing government in the process. However, since the 1990s the related concept of the rule of law has gained currency.

Decline
The Confucian thinker Xun Zi is sometimes considered as being influenced by or having nourished Legalist ideas, mostly because two of his disciples (Li Si and Han Fei) were strict Legalists.

Related figures

Confucianism
Meritocracy
Mohism
Platonism
Realism (Political philosophy) Legalism (Chinese philosophy) Related philosophies

Taoism
Stoicism

Friday, December 28, 2007

Whitchurch Hospital
Whitchurch Hospital is a psychiatric hospital in Whitchurch, an area in the north of Cardiff. As well as general psychiatry, services include elderly psychiatry, neuropsychiatry, forensic psychiatry, rehabilitation and addiction services. It is part of the Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust.
The hospital was previously named the Cardiff City Asylum. It was founded in 1904 and opened on the 15th April 1908. The current facilities are considered obsolete and unsuitable for the requirements of 21st Century psychiatry. As a result, there is an ongoing programme to phase out and replace the current building. Some facilities have been moved to newly-built units elsewhere, such as the acute psychiatric wards at the LLanfair Unit, Llandough Hospital. Other wards have been replaced by community-based services such as Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment Teams. The remaining facilities will be moved to a new purpose-built hospital to be constructed on the site of the adjoining Tegfan Day Hospital. This new hospital is expected to be completed in 2010.

Thursday, December 27, 2007

History
Calvados belongs to the region of Basse Normandie and is surrounded by the departments of Seine-Maritime, Eure, Orne, and Manche. On the north is la Baie de Seine, part of the English Channel. On the east, the Seine River forms the boundary with Seine-Maritime. Calvados includes the Bessin area, the Pays d'Auge, and the area known as the "Suisse normande" ("Norman Switzerland").
Calvados' most notable places include: Deauville and the formerly elegant 19th-century casino resorts of the coast.

Geography
Agriculture dominates the economy of Calvados. The area is known for producing butter, cheese, cider, and the apple-based spirit that shares its name (see Calvados (spirit)).

Economy
The inhabitants of Calvados are called "Calvadosiens" (male) and "Calvadosiennes" (female). In 1999, Calvados counted 648 299 inhabitants; making it the 30th most populated French department.
Age distribution in Calvados :
More than 75 years old : 7.2 % 60 - 74 years old : 13.16 % 40 - 59 years old : 25.52 % 20 - 39 years old : 28.53 % 0 - 19 years old : 25.6 %

Demography
The Bayeux Tapestry is on display in Bayeux and makes the city one of the most-visited tourist destinations in Normandy.
Juno Beach Centre at Courseulles-sur-Mer, Calvados, commemorates the D-Day landing of the Canadian liberation forces at Juno Beach during World War II in 1944.
The cult of Saint Thérèse de Lisieux brings large numbers of people on pilgrimage to Lisieux, where she lived in a Carmelite convent.
Each year, Deauville hosts the Festival of the American Movie, and the beach resort of Cabourg hosts the Festival of the Romantic Movie (September).
Also yearly, the city of Caen celebrates the festival of the electronical cultures called "Nordik Impakt".
The local dialect of Norman language is known as Augeron.

Culture
The department of Calvados has several areas that are visited by tourists: The Bessin, the Plaine of Caen, the Bocage Virois, the Côte de Nacre, the Côte Fleurie and the Pays d'Auge.
Calvados, thanks to the port of Ouistreham, is an interesting entrance to the continent for the Britains citizens. There are two airports : Caen-Carpiquet and Deauville Saint Gatien.
Several beaches of Calvados are popular for water sports, including Cabourg and Merville Franceville.

Calvados Tourism

Aquatic sports are often played on the coasts and beaches, for example, kite surfing and beach volleyball
For the season 2007/2008, the soccer team of Caen will play in the Ligue 1 French championship (Elite) See also

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Penalty shootout
Penalty shot redirects here. You may be looking for Penalty shot (ice hockey).
A penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches which would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to penalty shots, with a single player taking one shot on goal from a specified spot, the only defender being the goalkeeper. Teams take turns, the winner being the one with the most number of successful goals after a specified number of attempts. If the result is still tied, the shootout usually continues on a "goal-for-goal" basis, with the teams taking shots alternately, the winner being the one to score a goal that is unmatched by the other team. This may continue until every player has taken a shot. If there is still no result the match may be declared a draw, or the winner may be declared by a random method such as flipping a coin.

Rationale
A penalty shootout is usually used only in situations where a winner is needed (for example, a round where one team must be eliminated) and other methods such as extra time and sudden death have failed to determine a winner. It avoids the delays involved in staging a replayed match in order to produce a result. A common complaint of penalty shootouts is that they do not fairly determine the better team in overall play, but only the better team in the one, rather narrow, discipline of taking penalty shots.

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Armistice
An armistice is the effective end of a war, when the warring parties agree to stop fighting. It is derived from the Latin arma, meaning weapons and statium, meaning a stopping.
A truce or ceasefire usually refers to a temporary cessation of hostilities for an agreed limited time or within a limited area. A truce may be needed in order to negotiate an armistice. An armistice is a modus vivendi and is not the same as a peace treaty, which may take months or even years to agree on. The 1953 Korean War armistice

Monday, December 24, 2007

Current roster

Current depth chart

Argentina

  • Marcelo Nicola
    Pepe Sanchez
    Hugo Sconochini
    Croatia

    • Arijan Komazec
      Damir Mulaomerovic
      Dino Radja
      Stojko Vrankovic
      England

      • John Amaechi
        Estonia

        • Aivar Kuusmaa
          Tiit Sokk
          Germany

          • Patrick Femerling
            Michael Koch
            Sascha Dirk Hupmann
            Greece

            • Nikos Galis
              Panagiotis Giannakis
              Fanis Christodoulou
              Lazaros Papadopoulos
              Antonis Fotsis
              Takis Koronaios
              David Stergakos
              Liveris Andritsos
              Dimitris Kokolakis
              Giorgos Kolokithas
              Apostolos Kontos
              Memos Ioannou
              Kostas Politis
              Konstantinos Patavoukas
              Kiriakos Vidas
              John Korfas
              Giorgos Kalaitzis
              Nikos Boudouris
              Nikos Ekonomou
              Israel

              • Oded Kattash
                Ireland

                • Pat Burke
                  Italy

                  • Ferdinando Gentile
                    Lithuania

                    • Ramūnas Šiškauskas
                      Robertas Javtokas
                      Serbia

                      • Dejan Bodiroga
                        Žarko Paspalj
                        Željko Rebrača
                        Montenegro

                        • Vlado Scepanovic
                          Slovenia

                          • Jaka Lakovič
                            Spain

                            • Ferran Martinez
                              Turkey

                              • Ibrahim Kutluay
                                Ukraine

                                • Alexander Volkov
                                  United States

                                  • Dominique Wilkins
                                    Byron Scott
                                    Antonio Davis
                                    John Salley
                                    Anthony Avent
                                    Tracy Murray
                                    Ariel McDonald
                                    Darryl Middleton
                                    Johnny Rogers
                                    Edgar Jones
                                    Byron Dinkins


                                    • Rodney Buford
                                      Lonny Baxter
                                      Tony Delk Selected Former Players



                                      International Record

                                      Greek Championships: 28

                                      • 1946, 1947, 1950, 1951, 1954, 1961, 1962, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
                                        Greek Cups: 10

                                        • 1979, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1993, 1996, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007
                                          European Championships - Euroleague: 4

                                          • 1996, 2000, 2002, 2007
                                            Referee's Cup: 28

                                            • 1946, 1947, 1950, 1951, 1954, 1961, 1962, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
                                              Doubles: 5

                                              • 1982, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007
                                                Triple Crown: 1

                                                • 2007 Honours

                                                  Women
                                                  Coach: Flag of Greece Giannis Gereoudakis
                                                  Panathinaikos BC
                                                  Selected Former Players

                                                  Greek Championships: 3

                                                  • 1998, 2000, 2005
                                                    Greek Cup: 1

                                                    • 2000
                                                      Double: 1

                                                      • 2000