University of Cambridge

2008-05-26T00:10:47Z

RalphTuck:

The '''[[University]] of Cambridge''' commonly referred to as '''Cambridge University''' or simply '''Cambridge''' is an institution of higher learning based in [[Cambridge]], [[England]], and the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world. Cambridge was established in 1209 [http://www.cam.ac.uk/cambuniv/pubs/history/records.html] by scholars fleeing the hostility of the townsmen in [[Oxford]].

Cambridge is a confederation of colleges, faculties, and institutions[http://www.cam.ac.uk/cambuniv/pubs/works/]. The University administration is relatively small compared to the size of the University. Many functions that are normally carried out by the central university bureaucracy in other universities are carried out by the colleges. The functions of the colleges include teaching and research. Degrees are however conferred by the University. A person with a degree from Cambridge can put 'Cantab.' after their name and degree, ''Cantab.'' being short for the Latin name for the town, which is ''Cantabrigia''.

The Universities of Oxfod and Cambridge collectively are often known as "Oxbridge".

==List of colleges==
The following is a list of Cambridge colleges and halls as of 2008.[http://www.cam.ac.uk/colleges/]

*Caius College
*Christ's College
*Churchill College
*Clare College
*Clare Hall
*Corpus Christi
*Darwin College
*Downing College
*Emmanuel College
*Fitzwilliam College
*Girton College
*Gonville College
*Homerton College
*Hughes Hall
*Jesus College
*Lucy Cavendish College
*Kings College
*Magdalen College
*New College
*Newham College
*Peterhouse College
*Queens College
*Robinson College
*St Catherine's College
*St Edmund College
*St John's College
*Selwyn College
*Sydney Sussex College
*Trinity College
*Trinity Hall
*Wolfson College

==External links==
*[http://www.cam.ac.uk University of Cambridge]

[[Category:British Universities]]

Tony Blair

2008-05-26T00:08:27Z

RalphTuck:

{{Prime Minister
|image=Tblair.jpg
|seq=73
|term_start=May 2 1997
|term_end=June 24 2007
|previous=John Major
|party=Labour Party
|next=Gordon Brown
|birth_date=May 6 1953
|birth_place=Edinburgh
|death_date=
|death_place=
|spouse=[[Cherie Blair|Cherie Booth]]
|spouse2=
|religion=[[Roman Catholic]]
}}
'''Tony Blair''', full name '''Anthony Charles Lynton Blair''' (born May 6, 1953) is a former [[Prime Minister]] of the [[United Kingdom]] who preceded [[Gordon Brown]] and succeeded [[John Major]]. The [[Labour Party]]'s longest-serving Prime Minister, he served from May 2, 1997 to June 27, 2007. Blair is also the only person to have led the Labour Party to three consecutive general election victories, and the only Labour Prime Minister to serve more than one full consecutive term.

He was elected to the Labour Party leadership in 1994 following the unexpected death of his predecessor, John Smith. As well as being leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister, Blair also served as the [[MP]] for Sedgefield, a constituency in [[County Durham]] in North East England.

While the Labour Party is a self-described "democratic [[socialist]] party"<ref>[http://www.labour.org.uk/index.php?id=labourdemocracy]</ref>, Blair coined the phrase "[[New Labour]]" to distinguish his own pro-[[business]] policies from the more [[collectivist]] platform of his predecessors. He also used the phrase "[[The Third Way]]". He was criticized by some more left-wing members of the Labour Party for "selling out" to conservative thinking, particularly in his support for the [[United States]] in the [[Iraq War]]. On the other hand, Blair's policies were decidedly [[liberal]] by American standards: they have included increases in taxation, increases in government spending (particularly on public schools and Britain's [[National Health Service|socialized healthcare system]]), the introduction of an increased minimum wage, and support for equal rights for homosexuals in employment, and the provision of civil partnerships for same-sex couples.

== Personal ==
[http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/Page4.asp] The son of a barrister and lecturer Leo Blair, Tony Blair was born in [[Edinburgh]], but spent most of his childhood in Durham. At the age of 14 he returned to Edinburgh to finish his education at Fettes College. Blair was known as a cheeky, rebellious, and argumentative schoolboy, and at 17 he was threatened with expulsion for persistently breaking school rules.<ref name="bbc">[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/6506365.stm BBC News | UK | UK Politics | The Tony Blair Story]</ref>. After leaving Fettes with three A levels he studied law at [[Oxford University]], and went on to become a barrister (Lincoln's Inn) himself, before entering politics. Blair married his wife, Cherie Booth QC a barrister and daughter of the actor Tony Booth, in 1980, and they have four children. Cherie hails from [[Liverpool]].

Blair is a competent guitar player and at university was a member of a rock band called Ugly Rumours. His favourite music includes [[The Beatles]], [[The Rolling Stones]], [[Led Zeppelin]], [[Free (band)|Free]], [[Bruce Springsteen]], [[U2]], [[Coldplay]], [[The Foo Fighters]], and [[Simply Red]].<ref name="bbc" />

While Blair rarely discusses his religious faith in public, he is a convinced Christian. His wife Cherie is a Catholic and Blair converted to Catholicism in 2007.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7157409.stm]</ref>

==Blair's political career==

A combination of the Labour Party's new-found moderation, Blair's personal popularity and the deep unpopularity of the Conservatives under [[John Major]] resulted in a landslide victory for Blair and his party in the 1997 general [[election]], ending 18 years of [[Conservative]] government. Labour easily won re-election in 2001 and in 2005, although with losses.

Blair became the first active prime minister to be interviewed in a police investigation, in December 2006<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/6292033.stm BBC NEWS | UK | Scotland | Honours police quizzed McConnell]</ref> and again in January 2007<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6320399.stm BBC NEWS | Politics | Blair interviewed again by police]</ref>, over allegations he had illegally ''nominated'' donors to the Labour Party for peerages - the so called "Cash for Honours" scandal. The government stressed that he was being interviewed only as a witness however, and the nominations of the money lenders were rejected by the independent appointments' commission.<ref name="bbc" /> However the allegations were a popular story in the media, and dogged his final months in office.
Tony Blair was superseded by [[Gordon Brown]] as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in June 2007.

==Blair's policies==

During Blair's tenure as Prime Minister, the [[Labour party|Labour]] government made the Bank of England independent, allowing them to set the nation's interest rates (which had previously been set by the Chancellor of the Exchequer), and has introduced a national [[minimum wage]], in 1998, which has gradually been increased over time. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have gained their own legislatures, and limited attempts have been made to devolve power to the regions of England (although these have not been successful). Blair's government has also banned fox-hunting and cigarette smoking in public places.

One of the most controversial aspects of Blair's premiership was been his commitment to and support of the Iraq war, which strongly divided opinion, both in Parliament and among the British people. His strong support of America and President [[George W. Bush]] in particular have set him apart from most European leaders, especially with the parties of the left (including his own Labour Party). This came at considerable political cost with his own popularity suffering greatly, and the Government lost considerable support in the 2005 general election as a result.

==Blair and the media==

In the 1990s in particular, Blair was seen as a charismatic leader, with formidable media performing skills. His most famous television appearance was his tribute to [[Diana, Princess of Wales]] on the morning after her death in August 1997, in which he described her as "the People's Princess" and "the Queen of Hearts". Blair has, however, acquired a reputation for excessive news management, and even for dishonesty, particularly after the Iraq War.

He is also the only Prime Minister to provide his own voice in an episode of ''[[The Simpsons]]''.

==See also==

* [[British politics]]
* [[Labour Party]]

==References==
<references/>

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blair, Tony}}
[[Category:United Kingdom Prime Ministers]]

Talk:Friedrich Hayek

2008-05-25T17:47:13Z

RalphTuck:

Is F.A. Hayek really a capitalist?
He may support capitalism, but I think that he should fall under economics.

[[User:Cthx]]

He is indeed a capitalist, seeing economic freedoms as inseparable from personal freedoms. He is not a conservative, see:

Hayek, FA: "Why I am not a Conservative", in "The Constitution of Liberty", Chicago 1960

Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

University of Cambridge

Tony Blair

Talk:Friedrich Hayek