Law expert

18/05/2024

02/04/2024

04/03/2024

06/02/2024

Squares and variously shaped commons are prominent features of London's landscape. Of note are Grosvenor Square, site of the F.D. Roosevelt Memorial, and Trafalgar Square, which features a statue of Lord Nelson, hero of the Battle of Trafalgar (1805); the National Gallery borders the square.

London's other major cultural institutions include the British Museum, which houses collections of antiquities, prints, and manuscripts and the national library; the Victoria and Albert Museum of decorative arts; and the music and arts complex located on the South Bank of the Thames, begun in 1951 for the Festival of Britain.

The development of the city's outlying areas was promoted by the opening of the world's first electric underground railway in 1890. Major roads and rail lines radiate in all directions. Dock activity and river traffic are controlled by the Port of London Authority. The London (Heathrow) International Airport is located in the western reaches of Greater London. Area City, 1 square mile (2.7 square km); Inner London, 124 square miles (321 square km); Greater London, 610 square miles (1,579 square km). Pop. (1992 est.) City, 3,900; Inner London, 2,632,100; Greater London, 6,904,600.

06/02/2024

The City of Westminster, which stretches along the River Thames, is one of the country's wealthiest boroughs and is famed for its commitment to historic renovation. It includes Westminster Abbey and Westminster Cathedral, Buckingham Palace, the principal government offices, important shopping districts, New Scotland Yard, luxury hotels, the Tate Gallery, and the National Gallery. Retail shopping areas are concentrated around Oxford Street. Kensington High Street and Knightsbridge are also major shopping districts. The shops spread west and south toward King's Road in Chelsea.

London's East End, containing neighbourhoods such as Aldgate and Whitechapel, now constitutes the borough of Tower Hamlets. The area is historically associated with the Cockney dialect and became an infamous slum during the 19th century. The East End was the most heavily bombed area of London during World War II and subsequently benefited from extensive rehabilitation.

Parks, gardens, and churchyards abound in Inner London. The most celebrated parklands are the six royal parks that sweep through London's West End: St. James's Park, oldest of the six central royal parks, bordered on the north by the half-mile-long Mall that terminates at the Queen Victoria Memorial; Buckingham Palace Gardens, bordered on the east by the royal residence; Green Park, plainest of the royal parks but fringed on the east by lavish, once-private buildings; Hyde Park, with its famous Speakers' Corner for soapbox orators; the more elegant Kensington Gardens, with the Victorian Gothic Albert Memorial and an 80-acre (32-hectare) cultural centre; and Regent's Park, home of the Zoological Gardens and Regent's (Grand Union) Canal.

06/02/2024

The chalk basin within which London is built is filled with younger sediments including solid rock, sands, clays, terraced pebble gravels, and Thames alluvium. The climate within the basin is relatively mild, with January to July mean temperatures ranging from 37.4 to 72.5 F (3 to 22.5 C); rainfall amounts to 21 inches (533 mm) a year.

Founded by the Romans as Londinium in the 1st century AD, the town experienced tremendous growth in trade and population during the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Extensive building projects were initiated after the Great Fire of 1666, and London became the dominant centre not only of the nation but of its expanding empire. During the 19th century, the problems caused by rapid industrialization, such as pollution and disease, were slowly remedied through advances in public health and other services. Heavy damage from aerial bombings during World War II brought the greatest setback in the history of modern London. Reconstruction and new development restored much of the city's grandeur, and relocation of manufacturing and shipping outside the city shrank its population and hastened its transition to a centre of international trade and finance. Tourism and retail trade are other major sectors of the city's economy; and, because London is the nation's capital, government services are also an important sector.

The City of London, about 1 square mile (2.7 square km) in area, is the core of an area called Inner, or Central, London, which contains the City of London and 13 of the 33 boroughs of Greater London. The central point in the City of London is an open space from which eight streets radiate. On the southern side is Mansion House, residence of the lord mayor of London. Lombard Street, the traditional banking street, is nearby, as are the Bank of England headquarters, the Royal Exchange, and the Stock Exchange. To the east is the fortress-castle known as the Tower of London, whose core dates from the late 11th century and is surrounded by constructions from many periods of English architecture. To the west lie the Inns of Court, longtime chambers and offices of barristers and lawyers-in-training, and the Royal Courts of Justice, or Law Courts. The City of London and the City of Westminster are linked by the Strand, an avenue upon which are located two of London's oldest churches, St. Clement Dane's and St. Mary-le-Strand

03/02/2024

Ancient Sculpture

Sculpture has been a means of human expression since prehistoric times. The ancient cultures of Egypt and Mesopotamia produced an enormous number of sculptural masterworks, frequently monolithic, that had ritual significance beyond aesthetic considerations (see Egyptian art; Assyrian art; Sumerian and Babylonian art; Hittite art and architecture; Phoenician art). The sculptors of the ancient Americas developed superb, sophisticated techniques and styles to enhance their works, which were also symbolic in nature (see pre-Columbian art and architecture; North American Native art). In Asia sculpture has been a highly developed art form since antiquity (see Chinese art; Japanese art; Indian art and architecture).

The freestanding and relief sculpture of the ancient Greeks developed from the rigidity of archaic forms. It became, during the classical and Hellenistic eras, the representation of the intellectual idealization of its principal subject, the human form. The concept was so magnificently realized by means of naturalistic handling as to become the inspiration for centuries of European art. Roman sculpture borrowed and copied wholesale from the Greek in style and techniques, but it made an important original contribution in its extensive art of portraiture, forsaking the Greek ideal by particularizing the individual (see Greek art; Etruscan art; Roman art).

Western Sculpture from the Middle Ages to the Seventeenth Century

In Europe the great religious architectural sculptures of the Romanesque and Gothic periods form integral parts of the church buildings, and often a single cathedral incorporates thousands of figural and narrative carvings. Outstanding among the Romanesque sculptural programs of the cathedrals and churches of Europe are those at Vezelay, Moissac, and Autun (France); Hildesheim (Germany); and Santiago de Compostela (Spain). Remarkable sculptures of the Gothic era are to be found at Chartres and Reims (France); Bamberg and Cologne (Germany). Most of this art is anonymous, but as early as the 13th cent. the individual sculptor gained prominence in Italy with Nicola and Giovanni Pisano .

The late medieval sculptors preceded a long line of famous Italian Renaissance sculptors from Della Quercia to Giovanni da Bologna. The center of the art was Florence, where the great masters found abundant public, ecclesiastical, and private patronage. The city was enriched by the masterpieces of Ghiberti, Donatello, the Della Robbia family, the Pollaiuolo brothers, Cellini, and Michelangelo. The northern Renaissance also produced important masters who were well known individually, such as the German Peter Vischer the elder, the Flemish Claus Sluter, and Pilon and Goujon in France.

In France a courtly and secular art flourished under royal patronage during the 16th and 17th cent. In Italy the essence of the high baroque was expressed in the dynamism, technical perfection, originality, and unparalleled brilliance of the works of the sculptor-architect Bernini. The sculpture of Puget in France was more consistently Baroque in style and theme than that of his contemporaries Girardon and the Coustous.

03/02/2024

Techniques and Materials

Sculpture embraces such varied techniques as modeling, carving, casting, and construction—techniques that materially condition the character of the work. Whereas modeling permits addition as well as subtraction of the material and is highly flexible, carving is strictly limited by the original block from which material must be subtracted. Carvers, therefore, have sometimes had recourse to construction in which separate pieces of the same or different material are mechanically joined together. Casting is a reproduction technique that duplicates the form of an original whether modeled, carved, or constructed, but it also makes possible certain effects that are impractical in the other techniques. Top-heavy works that would require external support in clay or stone can stand alone in the lighter-weight medium of hollow cast metal.

The principal sculptural techniques have undergone little change throughout the ages. Hand modeling in wax (see wax figures), papier-mache, or clay remains unaltered, although the firing of the clay from simple terra-cotta to elaborately glazed ceramics has varied greatly. Carving has for centuries made use of such varied materials as stone, wood, bone, and, more recently, plastics, and carvers have long employed many types of hammers, chisels, drills, gauges, and saws. For carrying out monumental works from small studies, various mechanical means have been developed for approximating the proportions of the original study.

Bronze casting is also a technique of extreme antiquity (see bronze sculpture). The Greeks and Chinese mastered the cire perdue (lost-wax) process, which was revived in the Renaissance and widely practiced until modern times. Little Greek sculpture in bronze has survived, apparently because the metal was later melted down for other purposes, but the material itself resists exposure better than stone and was preferred by the Greeks for their extensive art of public sculpture. Metal may also be cast in solid, hammered, carved, or incised forms. The mobile is a construction that moves and is intended to be seen in motion. Mobiles utilize a wide variety of materials and techniques (see also stabile). Contemporary practice emphasizes the beauty of materials and the expression of their nature in the work.

14/04/2023

George W. Stener, entering as city treasurer at this time, and bringing no special financial intelligence to the proposition, was really troubled. Henry A. Mollenhauer, one of the men who had gathered up a large amount of the old city warrants, and who now wanted his money, in order to invest it in bonanza offers in the West, called on Stener, and also on the mayor. He with Simpson and Butler made up the Big Three.

“I think something ought to be done about these warrants that are outstanding,” he explained. “I am carrying a large amount of them, and there are others. We have helped the city a long time by saying nothing; but now I think that something ought to be done. Mr. Butler and Mr. Simpson feel the same way. Couldn’t these new loan certificates be listed on the stock exchange and the money raised that way? Some clever broker could bring them to par.”

14/04/2023

This, as one might readily see, destroyed the politicians’ little scheme to get this loan at ninety. Nevertheless since they desired that the money tied up in the old warrants and now not redeemable because of lack of funds should be paid them, the only way this could be done would be to have some broker who knew the subtleties of the stock market handle this new city loan on ‘change in such a way that it would be made to seem worth one hundred and to be sold to outsiders at that figure. Afterward, if, as it was certain to do, it fell below that, the politicians could buy as much of it as they pleased, and eventually have the city redeem it at par.

13/12/2022

For all the attention Adam Smith receives as the father of modern economics, most of his lasting influences are best classified as moral and social – maybe even anthropological. Smith was a Scottish professor of moral philosophy at Glasgow, and most of his economic insights were byproducts of this pursuit. Smith championed self-interest as enlightening and beneficial, and he viewed political or business power with contempt.

Smith was wrong on many of the details of his economic theory; like Karl Marx after him, Smith operated under the assumption of the now-defunct labor theory of value, for example. Smith either ignored or never fully addressed other aspects; he lacked a full-bodied theory of prices and made virtually no mention of time factors. Still, there are some valuable economic lessons left to be learned from his classic book, “An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.”

1. The Main Causes of Economic Growth Are Division of Labor and Accumulation of Capital

“Each individual becomes more expert in his own peculiar branch, more work is done upon the whole, and the quantity of science is considerably increased by it.”

Adam Smith begins “The Wealth of Nations” with a simple discussion of the division of labor within a pin factory. From that point forward, his focus never really deviates; in some ways, “The Wealth of Nations” is a tribute to the nearly endless applications of this fundamental economic concept.

The division of labor increases productivity for three reasons: it saves time and reduces setup costs, repetition and specialized education lead to increased dexterity and productivity, and it encourages the invention of machines or automation in the specialized areas. Smith didn’t discover these truths, but he did bring them together.

Smith also makes frequent reference to the stock of an economy, meaning savings and accumulated capital. Without pre-existing capital, businesses and entrepreneurs can’t hire workers, build factories or begin production. Smith understood that an economy requires savings to grow, for savings fuel investment and credit.

2. Voluntary Exchange Will Not Take Place Unless Both Parties Believe They Will Benefit

“Give me that which I want, and you shall this which you want, is the meaning of every such offer; and it is in this manner that we obtain from one another the far greater part of those good offices which we stand in need of.”

It’s inaccurate to think of economics as a science about market gains and losses. What economics really studies is how separate individuals benefit each other; namely that they do so unintentionally. Smith’s crucial insight is that markets and society improve naturally when people are allowed to trade freely.

Basic deductive logic proves that people do not enter into a trades voluntarily when they don’t expect to gain; otherwise they would not make the trade and would be better off staying put. Each successful trade sends a signal in the market that a certain good or service has value; if this happens enough, greater forces will be mobilized to bring about that good or service in greater abundance.

Nobel-winning economist Milton Friedman once said, “Most economic fallacies derive from the neglect of this simple insight, that market participants trade to benefit themselves.” Friedman and Smith also knew that interfering with voluntary exchanges has the opposite effect.

3. Government Intervention Disrupts the Efficient Distribution of Resources on the Market

“But though the law cannot hinder people of the same trade from sometimes assembling together, it ought to do nothing to facilitate such assemblies, much less to render them necessary.”

Though Smith believed in a functional, limited government, he didn’t want governments interfering with trade. Smith most famously used this argument against the prevailing economic theory of his time, something he labeled as “mercantilism,” because it favored subsidies and tariffs. Smith showed that free moving markets maximize the efficient flow of resources, which maximized the public good. Overreach by bureaucrats only hinders this process because it interrupts with crucial market signals.

Even though two trading partners accidentally create greater value by voluntarily exchanging, no third party can create additional value by forcing an exchange to take place – nor can a third party create additional value by forcefully interfering with the exchange of two separate parties. Rather, Smith felt that politicians and crony businessmen would likely use power to enrich themselves at the expense of the poor.