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The State Administration for Religious Affairs said, "The government only administrate religious affairs related to state and the public interests and will not interfere in the pure internal religious affairs". |
The official Xinhua News Agency said the new rules are "an important move to institutionalise management of reincarnation of living Buddhas". Tulkus are indeed an important element in Tibetan Buddhism, forming a clergy of influential religious figures. It is believed they are continuously reincarnated to take up their positions anew. Often there is more than one candidate competing to be recognised as the actual reincarnation, and the authority to decide who is the true claimant carries significant power. |
The decree was implemented in response to clergy's protests about the reincarnation of living Buddhas "against religious ritual and historical convention", according to the Chinese government. The most high-profile dispute about living Buddhas happened between the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government about the selection of the 1995 Panchen Lama, whose influence in Tibetan Buddhism is second only to the Dalai Lama. Over 1,000 living Buddhas have been reincarnated through this legal channel in Tibet and other areas in China since 1991. |
The Golden Urn was established by the Qing Qianlong Emperor to allow the Qing dynasty Emperor of China to determine the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama in case of a dispute. There are two Golden Urns issued by the Qianlong Emperor. One is enshrined in Jokhang Temple in Lhasa for choosing Dalai and Panchen Lama reincarnations, the other is in Yonghe Temple in Beijing for choosing Mongolian Jebtsundamba Khutughtu reincarnations. The 7th Panchen Lama, Palden Tenpai Nyima, used the Golden Urn for the first time in 1822 to choose the 10th Dalai Lama, Tsultrim Gyatso. |
In 1936, Golden Urn was also institutionalized in the Method of Reincarnation of Lamas《喇嘛轉世辦法》 by Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission of the Central Government. |
Most recently, in November 1995 the Golden Urn was controversially used to name Qoigyijabu (Gyancain Norbu) as the 11th Panchen Lama. This action was approved by the Chinese government, but opposed by the Government of Tibet in Exile. In May of the same year, the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso had named Gedhun Choekyi Nyima as the 11th Panchen Lama. |
The Khalkha Mongol nobles' power was deliberately undermined by Qianlong when he appointed the Tibetan Ishi-damba-nima of the Lithang royal family of the eastern Tibetans as the 3rd reincarnated Jebtsundamba Khutuktu Lama instead of the Khalkha Mongol which they wanted to be appointed. The decision was first protested against by the Outer Mongol Khalkha nobles and then the Khalkhas sought to have him placed at a distance from them at Dolonnor, but Qianlong snubbed both of their requests, sending the message that he was putting an end to Outer Mongolian autonomy. The decision to make Tibet the only place where the reincarnation came from was intentional by the Qing to curtail the Mongols. |
The 10th Panchen Lama Choekyi Gyaltsen was born Gonpo Tseten on 19 February 1938 in today's Xunhua Salar Autonomous County of Qinghai, to Gonpo Tseten and Sonam Drolma. When the Ninth Panchen Lama died in 1937, two simultaneous searches for the tenth Panchen Lama produced two competing candidates, with the government in Lhasa (who had selected a boy from Xikang) and the Ninth Panchen Lama's officials (who picked Tseten) in conflict. The Republic of China government, then embroiled in the Chinese Civil War, declared its support for Tseten on 3 June 1949. Guan Jiyu, the head of the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission, joined Kuomintang Governor of Qinghai Ma Bufang in presiding over Tseten's enthronement on 11 June as Choekyi Gyaltsen at Kumbum Monastery. The Dalai Lama's government in Lhasa still refused to recognize Gyaltsen. |
The Panchen Lama supported China's claim of sovereignty over Tibet, and China's reform policies for Tibet. Radio Beijing broadcast the religious leader's call for Tibet to be "liberated" into Tibet, which created pressure on the Lhasa government to negotiate with the People's Republic. In 1951, the Panchen Lama was invited to Beijing as the Tibetan delegation was signing the 17-Point Agreement and telegramming the Dalai Lama to implement the Agreement. He was recognized by the 14th Dalai Lama when they met in 1952. |
The 7th Dalai Lama Kelzang Gyatso was born in Lithang of Eastern Tibet, in the present-day Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of present-day Sichuan province. At that time, the Dalai Lama's throne in Lhasa was occupied by Ngawang Yeshey Gyatso, who had been installed by Lha-bzang Khan as "the real 6th Dalai Lama" in place of Tsangyang Gyatso. Ngawang Yeshey Gyatso still held this position (though most Tibetans did not consider him to be a legitimate Dalai Lama) when a monk at Litang monastery, spontaneously channeling the Nechung Oracle, identified Kelzang Gyatso as the reincarnation of Tsangyang Gyatso. Since this presented a contradiction of Lha-bzang Khan's Dalai Lama, it was a controversial matter and potentially dangerous to the child. Subsequently, the Tibetan leader of a delegation from Lhasa covertly confirmed that the child was Tsangyang Gyatso's reincarnation. The child was quietly taken into Litang monastery for protection and training. In 1715, the Kangxi Emperor sponsored Kelzang Gyatso's entrance into Kumbum Monastery. This entrance was marked by formal ceremonies due to a Dalai Lama and thus signified a public challenge to Lha-bzang Khan's Dalai Lama. He was ordained by Ngawang Lobsang Tenpai Gyaltsen. His reign started when he was 12. |
= = = David Harvey (television) = = = |
David Harvey |
is an Irish-based television presenter and media executive. |
In his native Ireland, he is well known as the presenter of "Crimeline" on Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ), Ireland's national broadcaster. He hosted the programme from 1992 to 2003. Earlier in his career, he worked as a producer and presenter with Irish radio stations Radio Nova and Century Radio. |
He was CEO of the Irish-based City Channel and was a founder of Star Broadcasting, the company that owns Sunshine 106.8. He also hosted the David Harvey Show on 4FM. |
In 2013, Sharon Murphy lodged complaints on behalf of the Galway One World Centre with the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) regarding racist remarks callers made on the David Harvey Show on January 16, 2013. The BAI ruled in October 2013 that Harvey and the station didn't go far enough to counter the racist remarks. |
David Harvey served as President of the Blackrock College Union in 2011-12. Harvey chairs the Board of the People in Need Trust, and was chairman of the governing body of the Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT). He is chairman of the National Library of Ireland. |
= = = Günter Dreibrodt = = = |
Günter Dreibrodt (born 26 July 1951 in Roßlau) is a former East German handball player who competed in the 1980 Summer Olympics. |
He was a member of the East German handball team which won the gold medal. He played all six matches and scored thirteen goals. |
= = = Competitive Tax Plan = = = |
The Competitive Tax Plan is an approach to taxation, suggested in the United States, that would impose a 10–15% value added tax (VAT) and reduce personal and corporate income taxes. The plan was created by Michael J. Graetz, professor at Columbia Law School and a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Tax Policy. Graetz states that the plan would generate enough revenue so that families with $100,000 of annual income or less — almost 90% of all current filers — would not have to pay income taxes or file tax returns. The Competitive Tax Plan would provide a new payroll tax offset to replace the Earned Income Tax Credit and to protect low and moderate income workers from any tax increase under the new system. Under the initial proposal, households with an annual income of more than $100,000 would be taxed at a flat 25% rate and the corporate income tax rate would be reduced to 25%. Graetz argues that reducing the corporate tax rate "would make the United States an extremely attractive nation for corporate investments for both U.S. citizens and foreign investors". In 2013, Graetz presented an updated version of his plan for 2015. |
Michael J. Graetz is professor at Columbia Alumni of Tax Law. He was born at November 20, 1944, in Atlanta, Georgia. He is married and has five children. He is also a leading expert on national and international tax law. He has taught at University of Virginia Law School, University of Southern California, California Institute of Technology, and Yale Law School, and also worked as assistant to the secretary and special counsel for the Department of the Treasury. Graetz won the Daniel M. Holland Medal by the National Tax Association. He has written more than 80 articles on a wide range of tax, international taxation, health policy, and social insurance issues. |
In his work we can see that in comparison to OECD ( Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) , he call the U.S. as a "Low Tax Country" , meant as the total federal, state and local tax revenues as a percentage of GDP( Gross Domestic Product) are much lower than the one of OECD. What can be interesting is that the Income Tax in the U.S. in comparison to EU27 and OECD is equal or even higher. The U.S. has according to Graetz's data from 2010 low consumption taxas a percentage of total taxation. Further he mentions that the U.S. has been the only OECD country without a VAT in comparison to more than 160 countries all over the world that has already have a VAT. This needs to change according to his work. So he came with the so called " the five pieces of competitive tax plan" The steps are: |
There are some basic principles in the proposal for the goods and service tax: |
Proposed VAT is 12.9%. |
The next point in the competitive tax plan is to shrink the income tax. He proposed to limit the income tax only to high income earners in order to ensure federal tax progressivity. Another step is to provide a Family Allowance of $100,000 for married couples ($50,000 for singles, $75,000 for heads of households). This step will eliminate great part of income tax return( more than 120 million), and it also will resulted in fewer than 20 percent of all U.S. tax units will be required to file income tax returns. He stated specific levels of income tax rates. For example, for married couples it will be: |
The next step of the Proposal is to "Reduce and Reform the Corporate Income Tax". Proposed tax rate is 15 percent. This step should solve the problem with international income taxation as it reverse current law’s incentives to locate deductions here and income abroad. It will also repeal the Corporate Alternative Minimum Tax. It should simplify small businesses taxation. |
Another part of the plan is to protect low and middle income families in the way that delivering new child credits through debit cards that can be used at the cash register. All children qualify for $1,500 per child( but for married couples with more than $150,000 ($75,000 singles and heads of households), these credits phase-out at a rate of 5%*). For low and moderate income workers it will be even more. |
Next to protecting low and middle income families, the plan also speaks about protecting low and moderate income workers by providing a Payroll Tax Credit of 15.3 percent for wages up to $10,000 and $1,530 per worker for all workers with earnings between $10,000 and $40,000. This credit eliminates all payroll taxes for workers with $10,000 or less of earnings, also it eliminates at least the employees’ share (half) of payroll taxes for workers with earnings below $20,000. Above $40,000 this credit phases out at a rate of 7.65 percent. |
No formal bill for the Competitive Tax Plan itself is in Congress; however Senator Ben Cardin's Progressive Consumption Tax Act has many similar features. |
= = = Coast Guard Air Station San Diego = = = |
U.S. Coast Guard Air Station San Diego (CGAS San Diego) is a Coast Guard Air Station based in San Diego, California, United States, across the street from San Diego International Airport. CGAS San Diego operates three MH-60T Jayhawk helicopters off the Coast Guard ramp. |
CGAS San Diego is also adjacent to Sector San Diego which houses two 41-foot Utility Boats, two USCG rigid hull inflatable boats (RHIB's), one RB-HS and three RB-S. Being implemented are two Special Purpose Craft-Law Enforcement (SPC-LE), which are USCG vessels used for maritime Law Enforcement. The SPC-LE's have three Mercury Marine engines along with some of the most advanced electronics systems in existence. Also at the station are two USCG Coastal Patrol Boats. The air station is physically separated from the rest of the airfield, such that USCG fixed-wing aircraft must cross a busy, 6-lane city street to reach the runway; street light activation opens the locked gates to the airfield and the air station, and also stops traffic while aircraft are traversing the street. |
Lindbergh Field opened on October 16, 1934 on the Pacific Highway. The San Diego International Airport East Terminal opened on March 6, 1967, and the West Terminal opened July 11, 1979. A new Commuter Terminal opened July 23, 1996. It is self-contained, full service facility with four gates used by seven commuter airlines to handle 25,000 passengers each day. Construction of the expansion of the West Terminal ended in November, 1997. Almost 14 million passengers travel through Lindbergh Field each year. The 27 passenger and cargo airlines operate more than 500 flights each day from the runways. |
On December 11, 1935 negotiations between the City of San Diego and the U.S. Government were concluded which provided of tideland for the construction of a Coast Guard Air Station adjacent to Lindbergh Field, the Municipal Airport. This project had the strong support of many people and agencies, and particularly the Harbor Commission and Department of San Diego and the Chamber of Commerce. The area for this station was deeded to the Coast Guard at no cost, after approval by citizens of San Diego, at a municipal election held in April 1935. |
Construction of the Air Station was undertaken in 1936 with funds provided by the Federal Public Works Administration. The M.H. Golden Co. was the contractor. The area had to be dredged from the bay and filled and brought up to grade level. Long piles were driven in the soil at the building sites for stabilization. The contract called for one hangar with lean-to, a mess hall, a barracks building, two aprons, a runway to the field, and a small wooden seaplane ramp. During and prior to this time a Coast Guard Air Detachment was maintained on Lindbergh Field in one-half of a commercial hangar. This detachment was led by Elmer F. Stone after May 21, 1935. Stone is one of Coast Guard Aviation's most colorful figures. |
In April 1937, the Air Station was commissioned. The first commanding officer was LT S.C. Linholm, who later became Commander of Eleventh Coast Guard District. There had, however, been an Air Patrol Detachment active in San Diego between 1934 and 1937. At the time this was the only Coast Guard air base in California. |
Coast Guard Air Station San Diego saw no radical changes as a result of the declaration of war in 1941. The unit continued to watch and report the activities of fishing boats in the area, to provide assistance in cases of distress, and to provide transportation by air for other government departments. Air Sea Rescue operations were given primary focus from October 1943 on. Between January 1 and December 1, 1944, a total of 124 aircraft went down in waters covered by this unit. Of the 201 pilots and crewmen involved, 137 were saved, 59 were killed outright by mid-air collisions or impact with the water, two are missing, and three who might have been saved were lost because of improper equipment or the failure to locate them promptly. |
In June 1972 a major rebuilding plan was proposed. On January 26, 1983, a ceremony was held signaling the completion of the project. |
In April 1997, the Port of San Diego began a master plan for San Diego International Airport. The goal of the plan is to provide incremental, cost-effective improvements to SDIA to meet the region's near-term demand for air service while a long-term regional air transportation strategy is developed in collaboration with the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) and other transportation agencies. |
= = = The Dub Room Special (soundtrack) = = = |
The Dub Room Special is an album by Frank Zappa, released in August 2007. It is a soundtrack for the film of the same name, and combines recordings from a TV-show performance on August 27, 1974, and from a concert in New York City on October 31, 1981. The album, originally prepared for vinyl release by Zappa, was first sold at Zappa Plays Zappa shows in the United States during August 2007. Shortly thereafter, it became available for mail order. |
Each copy of the CD contains a small souvenir piece of tape from Zappa's Utility Muffin Research Kitchen studio. The album has liner notes by John Frusciante. |
All songs written by Frank Zappa. |
= = = Ernst Gerlach = = = |
Ernst Gerlach (born 19 March 1947 in Schönebeck) is a former East German handball player who competed in the 1980 Summer Olympics. |
He was a member of the East German handball team which won the gold medal. He played one match and scored two goals. |
= = = Gene Mako = = = |
Constantine "Gene" Mako ( ; January 24, 1916 – June 14, 2013) was an American tennis player and art gallery owner. He was born in Budapest, capital of Hungary. He won four Grand Slam doubles titles in the 1930s. Mako was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1973. |
His father, Bartholomew Mako (), graduated from the Budapest Academy of Fine Arts in 1914. He started to work as a draftsman for his mentor Viktor Madarász. He was an avid soccer player himself. He fought in World War I. After the war, he left Hungary with his wife, Georgina Elizabeth Farkas Mako () and only son, traveling first to Italy, then stopping for three years in Buenos Aires, Argentina, before settling in Los Angeles, California. There he created works for public places like churches, libraries and post offices. Gene attended to the Glendale High School and the University of Southern California although he was offered a Hungarian University Scholarship in the meantime. He quit before graduation. |
In 1934 he won the NCAA championships in singles and the doubles (with Phillip Caslin) while playing for the University of Southern California where he lettered at USC for three years (1934-36-37). He also won the boys' singles event at the U.S. National Championships in 1932 and 1934 and the boys' doubles in 1932, 1933 and 1934. |
Mako was especially successful as a doubles player with his partner and friend Don Budge. They competed in seven Grand Slam finals, four of which they won. |
In 1936 Gene Mako and Alice Marble won the finals at the US Mixed Doubles Championships against Sarah Palfrey and Don Budge (6:3 and 6:2). They won the Newport Casino Invitational Tournament three consecutive times, from 1936 to 1938. |
From 1935 to 1938 Mako was a member of the United States Davis Cup team and played in eight ties. The US team won the Davis Cup in 1937, defeating the United Kingdom in the final at Wimbledon, and again in 1938 in the final against Australia at the Germantown Cricket Club in Philadelphia. As a Davis Cup player he compiled a record of six wins and three losses. |
Mako was in the U.S. Top Ten in 1937 and 1938 (reaching as high as No. 3), and was ranked World No. 8 by A. Wallis Myers of The Daily Telegraph in 1938. That year he reached the U.S. final at Forest Hills versus his double partner, Don Budge, who was in pursuit of the first Grand Slam. Unseeded, Mako reached his only major singles final on victories over sixth-seed Frank Kovacs and the third and first foreign seeds, Franjo Punčec and John Bromwich. |
In 1939 he was suspended and banned from playing for breaching the amateur rules. He and Don Budge allegedly accepted a sum of 20A£ for an exhibition match in Australia, which was against amateurism. Afterwards he continued to play tennis at that time during the Second World War while serving in the Navy. He also played professional basketball while stationed in Norfolk, Virginia. |
In 1973 Mako was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. In 1999 he was elected to the University of Southern California (USC) Athletic Hall of Fame. |
He possessed strong serve and powerful smashes but due to several injuries in his career, he had to give up his power game. He preferred a volleying style, which he perfected with quickness, good angle selection and pacing paired with strategy. |
Apart from being a sportsman, Mako composed music in his early 20s. He's the author of two songs, namely "Lovely as Spring" and "What Did You Dream Last Night?". He also starred in the 1938 musical "Happy Landing" and the 1941 war comedy "Caught in the Draft", although he remained uncredited in both movies. Mako married actress Laura Mae Church in Manhattan in 1941. A month later, World War II broke out, and he joined the United States Navy. After this, he worked in a broadcasting studio. After his retirement, he designed tennis courts. His wife worked as an interior designer. He was involved in wrestling and was hired as a coach at the California Institute of Technology while also coaching the basketball team. He owned Gene Mako Galleries in Los Angeles, California. He also published a book about his father titled "Bartholomew Mako: A Hungarian Master, 1890-1970". In the final decade of his life, he taught art to up-and-coming artists. He died in 2013 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, aged 97, of pneumonia. |
= = = USS Oswald A. Powers (DE-542) = = = |
USS "Oswald A. Powers" (DE-542) was a United States Navy "John C. Butler"-class destroyer escort launched during World War II but never completed. |
The name "Oswald A. Powers" was assigned to DE–542 on 28 September 1943. "Oswald A. Powers" was laid down at the Boston Navy Yard at Boston, Massachusetts, on 18 November 1943 and launched on 17 December 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Ella M. Powers, mother of Ensign Oswald A. Powers, the ship namesake. |
Construction of "Oswald A. Powers" was suspended before she could be completed. On 30 August 1945, she was assigned to the Atlantic Inactive Fleet in an incomplete state. On 7 January 1946, the contract for her construction was cancelled, and the incomplete ship was sold on 17 June 1947 to the John J. Duane Company of Quincy, Massachusetts, for scrapping. |
= = = The Land Before Time XIII: The Wisdom of Friends = = = |
The Land Before Time XIII: The Wisdom of Friends is a 2007 direct-to-video animated film and the thirteenth film in "The Land Before Time" series. |
Littlefoot has been having nightmares of Grandma Longneck falling to her death, which almost occurred during an earthquake, but Grandma Longneck luckily saved herself before she fell. Grandma Longneck comforts and teaches Littlefoot important life lessons called "Wisdoms". Later on, Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky, Spike, and Petrie meet three yellow-bellied dinosaurs, Loofah, Doofah, and Foobie. They have lost their way while traveling to distant Berry Valley. Loofah, Doofah, and Foobie seem to be too unintelligent to find their way back, so Littlefoot and the others decide to help their new friends whilst sharing Wisdoms along the way. |
During the trip, Littlefoot and his friends have been pursued by a quartet of Sharpteeth, led by a Sharptooth with a scar that goes around his head. They made it to a Watering Hole and meet other yellow bellies. Earlier, Loofah mentioned a so-called "wise one" among the Yellow Bellies but Littlefoot cannot find no sign of him. Littlefoot begins to lead the Yellow Bellies across the Mysterious Beyond to reach the Berry Valley, however, Littlefoot has never been to Berry Valley and worries that he might make unwise decisions while he came to teach the Yellow Bellies how to be wise. His friends reassure him that he should trust in his feelings to let him know what to listen to. |
As an intense storm occurs, Littlefoot leads the Yellow Bellies onto a plateau for shelter, but Doofah becomes separated from the group, going the wrong direction. Once the storm ends, Littlefoot and his friends were able to find her and she rejoins the group. The sharpteeth attack again, but they were able to defeat them when the Yellow Bellies bounced up and down. After the Sharpteeth were defeated, they finally made it to Berry Valley. Foobie is revealed to be the "Wise One" all along. Littlefoot and his friends reunite with their family and they return to the Great Valley. |
The music was composed by Michael Tavera and the new songs were written by Michele Brourman and Amanda McBroom. |
This was the third film in the series without James Horner's original score from the first film; the first two were "" and "", although Michael Tavera's older themes from previous sequels can still be heard. |
The film was revealed on the official "Land Before Time" website seen in a trailer. |
Almost every sequel is highlighted by a celebrity guest voice; in the case of this film, they are Academy Award winner Cuba Gooding Jr. and Sandra Oh of "Grey's Anatomy". |
The same production team remains, although this marks the debut of Jamie Mitchell, who replaces Charles Grosvenor as director. Therefore, Grosvenor is credited as a supervising director. |
The film was released on DVD on November 27, 2007 with the TV series's episode, "The Hidden Canyon", included as a bonus feature. |
"The Wisdom of Friends" received a nomination for "Beast Feature Film, Ages 5-8" at the 2008 Kids First! Film Festival, losing to "Barbie & the Diamond Castle". |
= = = Roxborough, Manchester = = = |
Roxborough is a former estate and now a small community south of Mandeville in Manchester, Jamaica. It was the birthplace of Jamaican National Hero and politician Norman Washington Manley. |
The estate was originally called "Roxbro Castle". Over the years the great house became derelict until, despite renovation proposals, it was destroyed by fire in 1968. there are again proposals from the Jamaica National Heritage Trust to restore the building. |
The main economic activity is small-scale agriculture in which the principle crops are corn, bananas, sugarcane, ackee and marijuana. |