Plato quotes :-

The good is the beautiful.

That man is wisest who, like Socrates, realises that his wisdom is worthless.

Every king springs from a race of slaves, and every slave has had kings among his ancestors.

What is wholly real is wholly knowable, and what is utterly non-existent is completely unknowable.

I wonder if we could contrive… some magnificent myth that would itself carry conviction to our whole community.

Our object in the construction of the state is the greatest happiness of the whole, and not that of any one class.

There will be no end to the troubles of states, or indeed, my dear Glaucon, of humanity itself, till philosophers become kings in this world, or till those we now call kings and rulers really and truly become philosophers.

Plato
An outline biography

Plato was born around 427 B.C. into a most influential family and, as he grew into manhood, he became deeply involved in the study of poetry. He also had a limited early grounding in philosophy including the ideas of Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans.

Plato probably knew of Socrates from early in his life but was probably only really introduced to Socrates’ ideas when he was into his own early years of manhood, he was informally taught by Socrates and was greatly influenced by Socrates’ own interest in questions about virtue and the foremost necessity of attempting to cultivate a noble character. Under this influence he seems to have adopted views which were respectful of the serene contemplation of truth by philosophers who were committed to the public good.

Given Plato’s family background of service to the state he might well have been destined for a political career. At the time when he might have attempted to enter into a political life Athens had suffered severe reverses in the Peloponnesian Wars, this left her political life diminished. Plato was also greatly alienated from politics by the way in which his friend and mentor Socrates had been sentenced to death by those involved in politics.

After Socrates trial and death in 399 B.C. Plato and some other friends of Socrates, in disillusionment and fears for their own safety, spent some time abroad and probably visited schools of philosophy in these years.

These times abroad included time spent in Megara (then a powerful city state neighbouring Athens), Cyrene on the North African coast, Tarentum in the south of the Italian peninsula, Egypt, and Syracuse in Sicily. Having fled from Syracuse after falling foul of its ruler Dionysius Plato was captured by a rival of Athens and only released on the payment of a ransom by a merchant from Cyrene.

Plato wrote extensively during these years of exile, returning to to Athens in 387 B.C. and soon thereafter establishing a school that was known as the Academy which developed into a much frequented institution of higher learning. The Academy was located about two kilometres outside the city walls and was named after the Attic hero Academus. The Academy was intended to provide its students with an education suitable for legislators and administrators trained in the search for truth for its own sake. Pure Mathematics and Jurisprudence featured as a central elements of the curriculum.

At the Academy it became something of a habit for the students to walk about whilst in discussion. This led to students becoming known as Peripatetic School from the Greek word for such walking about.

Eudoxus of Cnidus, one of the foremost mathematicians of the day, moved his school from Cyzicus to Athens to join in co-operation with the Academy.

Prior to the establishment of the Academy, and the slightly earlier school of Isocrates, the youth of Athens in search of education had had to resort to the services of freelance Sophists of variable quality who offered their services as would-be educators.

In 367 B.C. Dionysius I of Syracuse expired and was succeeded by his thirty year old son who was installed as Dionysius II. This Dionysius was not that well educated and the challenges faced by any ruler of Syracuse, particularly from an expansionary Carthage, were immense. In these circumstances Dion, a brother in law to Dionysius, strongly urged that Plato should undertake the task of personally tutoring Dionysius II.

With great personal reluctance Plato, who had been living a life devoted to philosophy at his Academy, decided that he would have to leave behind his important and satisfying role there in the hope that he could be of help to Dionysius II.

Plato returned to Athens in 365 B.C. after Syracuse became involved in an outbreak of conflict. It was in this year that a young man with Macedonian connections, by the name of Aristotle, entered the Academy.

Plato was again called to Syracuse but, as before, Dionysius II did not prove to be a ready student. Plato was able to extricate himself from Syracuse and, as a tangle of events unfolded over the next few years, Dion usurped the throne only to be murdered in 354 B.C.

Plato died around 347 B.C. and was buried in the grounds of the Academy.

Aristotle is credited with holding a very high opinion of Plato’s character describing him as a man:-

“Whom it blasphemy in the base even to praise”.

At his death Plato left behind him a body of works that was unprecedented in bulk, let alone quality of original content.

The Academy in the short term passed to Speussipus, a nephew of its’ illustrious founder, and in the longer term survived in name at least for more almost one thousand years until, in 529 A.D., it was closed by order of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian as being inimical to the Christian faith

Source : http://www.age-of-the-sage.org/greek/philosopher/plato_biography_quotes.html

இடுகையிட்டவர். முனைவர்.இரா.குணசீலன்

தங்கள் வலைப்பதிவினைப் பார்க்க வரும் பார்வையாளர்கள் பற்றிய மதிப்பீடு தங்கள் வலைப்பதிவினை மேலும் பயனுள்ளதாக ஆக்க துணைபுரியும்.வலைப்பதிவுக்கு வரும் பார்வையாளர்களைப் பற்றிப் பல இணையதளங்கள் இலவச மதிப்பீடு சேவையை வழங்கிவருகின்றன.அவற்றுள், (http://alexa.com//” ),(http://addfreestats.com//” ),
(http://www.google.com/analytics///” )
ஆகிய இத்தளங்களின் சேவை குறிப்பிடத்தக்கதாகவுள்ளது.
இத்தளங்களுக்குத் தங்கள் கூகுள் பயனர் கணக்கின் வாயிலாகச் சென்று ஒரு தொடர்பை ஏற்படுத்திக் கொள்ள வேண்டும்.பின் அவர்கள் தரும் ஜாவா ஸ்கிரிப்டை தங்கள் வலைப்பதிவில் ஆட் காட்கட் பகுதியில் ஒட்டவேண்டும். பின் வழக்கம் போல தங்கள் கூகுள் கணக்குப் பகுதியில் சென்று பார்த்தால்,ஜிமெயில்,பிளாக்கர்.ஆர்குட் போல அலெக்ஸா,ஆட்பிரி,கூகுள் அனாலடிக்ஸ் என ஒரு பகுதி இருக்கும் தங்கள் மின்னஞ்சலைப் பயன்படுத்துவது போல அதன் உள்நுழைந்து பார்த்தால் அங்கு, தங்கள் வலைப்பதிவை எந்த குறிச்சொல் கொடுத்துப் பார்த்தார்கள்,எவ்வளவு நேரம் பார்த்தார்கள், எந்தப்பக்கத்தை பார்த்தார்கள்,அதனை எவ்வளவு நேரம் பார்த்தார்கள்,போன்ற பல தள மதிப்பீட்டு அறிக்கைகளை வரைபடங்களோடு காண இயலும்.

பதிவு செய்தவர் Wafiq

உங்கள் இமெயில் ‏கணக்கிற்கு முன் பின் அறிமுகமில்லாதவர்களிடமிருந்து தினமும் உங்களுக்கு வேண்டாத ‏மெயில்களெல்லாம் வந்து குவிந்து உங்கள் மெயில் ‏‎பாக்ஸை நிரப்புவதைப் பார்த்திருப்பீர்கள்.

நீங்கள் கேட்காமலேயே உங்களிடம் பொருட்கள் அல்லது சேவைகளை வழங்குவதற்கு வர்த்தக நோக்கில் வரும் இந்த வேண்டாத ‏மெயி‏ல்களையே ஸ்பாம் (spam) எனப்படுகிறது. வேண்டாத ‏ இந்தக் குப்பை மெயில் அனுப்புவோரை ஸ்பாமர் (spamer) எ‎ன்பர்.

‏‏இந்த ஸ்பாம் எமக்கு நேர விரயத்தை ஏற்படுத்துவதோடு சில வேளைக ளில் வேண்டாத பிரச்சினைகளிலும் சிக்க வைத்து விடுகிறது.

வர்த்தக நோக்கில் வரும் ‏ ‏ இந்த ஸ்பாம் மெயில்கள்,
• எமக்கு அவசியமேயில்லாத பொருட்கள் மற்றும் சேவைகள்
• நம்ப முடியாத விலைக் கழிவுப் பொருட்கள்
• ‏இழந்த இளமையை மீட்டுக் கொள்ள மருந்து மாத்திரைகள்
• பல்கலைக் கழகம் செல்லாமலேயே பட்டப் படிப்புச் சா‎‎‎ன்றிதழ்கள்
• மலிவு விலையில் கணினி மெ‎‎‎‎ன்பொருள்கள்
• இணையம் வழி சூதாட்டம்
• குறுகிய காலத்தில் உங்களை குபேரனாக மாற்றும் திட்டம்
• மற்றும் ‎ சட்ட விரோத செயல்களுக்கு உதவுதல் போன்‎‎ற
தலைப்புகளை (subject) கொண்டிருக்கும். ‏ ‏இந்த தலைப்பைக் கொண்டே ‏ ‏இவை ஸ்பாம் அஞ்சல் எ‎ன்பதை அடையாளம் கண்டு கொள்ளலாம்.

(12 நவம்பர் 2009 புதிய தலைமுறை இதழில் வெளிவந்த விக்கிப்பீடியா அறிமுகம். என் நேரமின்மை காரணமாக, வெளிவந்த கட்டுரையின் இறுதிப்பகுதியை ஆசிரியர் குழு எழுதியது. இதழ் நடைக்கு ஏற்ப சில சிறிய மாற்றங்களும் உண்டு)

Most of us are fortunate enough to live in countries with a lot of wide open space and a few friendly neighbours. But there are some countries that are very densely populated. This is a list of the ten most densely populated nations in the world.

1. Monaco [Wikipedia]

Monaco is the world’s most densely populated country and second-smallest independent nation; with a population of just 32,410 and an area of 1.96 square kilometers (485 acres), Monaco is the world’s smallest French-speaking sovereignty.

2. Singapore [Wikipedia]

Singapore is a highly populated island nation located on the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. A popular destination for both tourism and business, Singapore is also one of the richest countries in the world because of its highly developed economy. Singapore has been rated as the most business-friendly economy in the world, with thousands of foreign expatriates working in multi-national corporations. The city-state also employs tens of thousands of foreign blue-collared workers from around the world. With a totalpopulation density of over 6300 people per square kilometer, it ranks 2nd in the world.

3. Vatican City [Wikipedia]

Landlocked within the Italian city of Rome with approximately 44 hectares (108.7 acres), Vatican City is the smallest independent state in the world. As the center of the Catholic religion, the tiny city-state only holds about 821 citizens, but due to the small area, it is ranked 3rd in population density.

4. The Maldives [Wikipedia]

The Maldives is an island nation consisting of a group of atolls located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives’ twenty-six atolls encompass a territory featuring 1,192 islets, roughly two hundred of which are inhabited by local communities. According to a 2006 census, there is apopulation of 298,842 living on a total area of only 298 square kilometers.

Would it have been better if he wasn’t there?

It was once imparted to the father over the phone, yet now it’s men themselves who often tell their exhausted partner the sex of the child she has just delivered. But could men be more of a hindrance than a help in the delivery room?

French obstetrician Michel Odent says yes, and even blames fathers for an increasing rate of births by Caesarean section.

At a debate hosted this week by the Royal College of Midwives, Mr Odent will argue against what he dubs “the masculinisation of the birth environment”.

The presence of an anxious male partner in the labour room makes the woman tense and slows her production of the hormone oxytocin, which aids the process of labour, so the French doctor contends.

This, he says, makes her much more likely to end up on the operating table having an emergency Caesarean section.

“Having been involved for more than 50 years in childbirths in homes and hospitals in France, England and Africa, the best environment I know for an easy birth is when there is nobody around the woman in labour apart from a silent, low-profile and experienced midwife,” he says.

“Oxytocin is the love drug which helps the woman give birth and bond with her baby. But it is also a shy hormone and it does not come out when she is surrounded by people and technology. This is what we need to start understanding.”

He will be debated by Duncan Fisher, a leading advocate for fathers, who, while pressing for more preparation for fathers, argues they are there because women want them to be – “and we should trust mothers’ instincts”.

Graciela Rocha with one of her Brazilian mint plants

A cup of Brazilian mint tea has pain relieving qualities to match those of commercially available analgesics, a study suggests.

Hyptis crenata has been prescribed by Brazilian healers for millennia to treat ailments from headaches and stomach pain to fever and flu.

Working on mice, a Newcastle University team has proved scientifically that the ancient medicine men were right.

The study is published in the journal Acta Horticulturae.

In order to mimic the traditional treatment as closely as possible, the Newcastle team carried out a survey in Brazil to find out how the medicine is typically prepared and how much should be consumed.

The most common method was to produce a decoction. This involves boiling the dried leaves in water for 30 minutes and allowing the liquid to cool before drinking it as a tea.

Children are the future and it is the responsibility of adults to protect them and ensure that they get the best footing in life. Unfortunately this is not always the case in many nations around the world – including our own! This list looks at ten of the worst situations that children today are forced to face. It is hard to believe that these situations still occur, but learning about them is a good way to start trying to help.

Palestinian children are taught to hate Jews, to glorify “jihad” (holy war), violence, death and child martyrdom almost from birth, as an essential part of their culture and destiny. As captured on an Israeli video documentary produced in 1998, a “Sesame Street”-like children’s program called the “Children’s Club” — complete with puppet shows, songs, Mickey Mouse and other characters — focused on inculcating intense hatred of Jews and a passion for engaging in and celebrating violence against them in a perpetual “jihad” until the day the Israeli flags come down from above “Palestinian land” and the Palestinian flag is raised.

In Madrasas, Islamic schools for study of pure Islamic religion, the culprits are the religious teachers; and the victims include helpless innocent underage students. The sacred teacher-student relationship is given a new definition in these Islamic schools. Following is the bitter experience of a 12 years old madrasa student from Kenya who was rescued during January 2003.

“It was a terrible place, they chain both legs and both arms, sometimes hands and feet together, They beat us at lunch time, dinner time and grab both legs and hands and give us lashes on the buttocks. We sleep in chains, eat in chains, and go to the toilets in chains. Sometimes we are hooked on the roof in chains and left hanging. We have to memorize the Koran and get punished if we cannot recite the Koran in the classroom”.

Chaining incidents are rare in Bangladeshi madrasas. Child torture incidents in madrasas are reported mostly in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Sudan. The number ofstudents are estimated somewhere between eight hundred thousands to one million. They are often run by religious organizations and lure young children mainly from poor families by providing free food and lodging. Some of the schools even provide intensive political and armed training.

According to UNICEF, 25,000 children die each day due to poverty. Around 27-28 percent of all children in developing countries are estimated to be underweight or stunted. The two regions that account for the bulk of the deficit are South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Some 1.1 billion people in developing countries have inadequate access to water, and 2.6 billion lack basic sanitation. Almost two in three people lacking access to clean water. Some 1.8 million child deaths each year as a result of diarrhea. For the 1.9 billion children from the developing world, there are: 640 million without adequate shelter (1 in 3), 400 million with no access to safe water (1 in 5) and 270 million with no access to health services (1 in 7). 10.6 million died in 2003 before they reached the age of 5 (same as children population in France, Germany, Greece and Italy.) 1.4 million die each year from lack of access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation. 2.2 million children die each year because they are not immunized. Millions of parents in developing countries must daily cope with the fact that their children may not survive the first critical years of life; in many cases, the diseases that threaten their children’s lives are preventable.

Of the 50 million refugees and displaced people in the world, approximately half are children. War is the primary factor in the creation of child refugees. It is also a principle cause of child death, injury, and loss of parents. In the last decade, war has killed more than 2 million children, wounded another 6 million, and orphaned about 1 million. Children also flee their homes because they fear various forms of abuse such as rape, sexual slavery, and child labor. Circumstances of birth also play a role in depriving children of a legal home. Each year 40 million children are not registered at birth, depriving them of nationality and a legal name.

The combined ravages of AIDS and war have created a large pool of orphan refugees and displaced children, particularly in Africa. The toll of Rwanda’s civil war, for example, left orphan children to head some 45,000 Rwandan households, with 90 percent of these headed by girls. “Separated Children” are those under age 18 and living outside their country of origin without parents or legal guardians to care for or protect them. Every year, about 20,000 separated children apply for asylum in Europe and North America. Overall, children account for approximately half of all individuals seeking legal asylum in developed countries. Separated children are not often legally recognized as refugees in western countries. In Europe, for example, where there may be as many as 50,000 separated children at any given time, only an estimated 1-5 percent of those who apply for asylum are granted refugee status.

More than 100 million children do not have access to school. Of the children who enroll in primary school, over 150 million drop out, while user fees, including levies, are still charged for access to education in 92 countries and that such charges have impact on excluding girls. 77 million children worldwide are not able to go to school due to lack of funds. For socially disadvantaged segments of the population like poor inhabitants of cities, AIDS orphans and the physically challenged, any access to education is often particularly difficult to obtain. The consequence of this lack of access to education is that 15 percent of those adolescents between 15 and 24 in third world countries are illiterate.

Location often contributes to a child’s lack of access and attendance to education. In certain areas of the world it is more difficult for children to get to school. For example, in high-altitude areas of India, severe weather conditions for more than 7 months of the year make school attendance erratic and force children to remain at home. Gender also contributes to a child’s lack of access and attendance toeducation. In 25 countries the proportion of boys enrolling in secondary school is higher than girls by 10% or more, and in five; India, Nepal, Togo, Turkey and Yemen, the gap exceeds 20%. The worst disparity is found in South Asia, where 52% of boys and only 33% of girls enroll; a gap of 10%. Enrollment is low for both boys and girls in sub-Saharan Africa, with rates of just 27% and 22%. Girls trail respectively behind. It is generally believed that girls are often discouraged from attending primary schooling, especially in less developed countries for religious and cultural reasons.

தஞ்சை ஜில்லா கல்விச்சங்க துணைத் தலைவரும், நாடறிந்த நாவலரும்,
வழக்குரைஞருமான
நீடூர் அல்ஹாஜ் ஏ.எம்.சயீத் நீடூர்

“… … அண்மையில் கோப்பன்ஹேகில் உலகப் பெண்கள் பிரச்சினை குறித்த ஒரு கருத்தரங்கம் நடந்தது.  பெண்ணினத்திற்கு சமத்துவம் வேண்டும்; பெண்கள் முன்னேற வேண்டும் என்றெல்லாம் அந்த கருத்தரங்கில் விவாதிக்கப்பட்டிருக்கிறது.  1400 ஆண்டுகளுக்கு முன்னமேயே தாய்குலத்திற்கான பிரச்சனைகள் அனைத்தும் ஒட்டுமொத்தமாக தீர்த்துவைக்கப்பட்டுவிட்டன.  ஆகவே, இஸ்லாமிய சமுதாயத்தில் பிரச்சனைக்கே இடமில்லை. காலப்போக்கில் நாம் மாற்றான் கலாசரத்திற்கு அடிமையாகி, அலைக்கழிந்துவிட்டோம்.  நம்மை நாமே சீரழிவைத் தேடிக்கொண்டோம்.  அரபு நாடுகளிலே பெண்களுக்கு மஹர்கட்டியே திருமணம் நடைபெறுகிறது.  அங்கு ஆண் ஏழையாகிவிடுகிறான் – பெண் பணக்காரியாகிறாள்! இந்த விழாவில் கலந்து கொள்ள பயந்து கொண்டு கோழைகள் பலர் வரவில்லை.  மஹர் தான் நம் சட்டம்.  ஹிந்துக்களிடையேதான் இந்த வரதட்சனைப்பழக்கம்!  பெண்களுக்கு அங்கே சொத்துரிமை இல்லாததால், பெண்ணுக்கு சீராக ஹிந்துத்தந்தை மகளுக்குக் கொடுப்பதில் நியாயமிருக்கிறது.  ஆனால் இஸ்லாத்தில் பெண்ணுக்கு சொத்துரிமை இருக்கிறது.  ஆகவே வரதட்சணைத் தேவையில்லை.

1974-ம் ஆண்டிலே தஞ்சை மாவட்டத்திலே மாய+ரத்தில் மகாநாடு கூட்டி, தீர்மானம்போட்டு, சட்டம் செய்து, கையெழுத்து வாங்கியிருந்தோம்.  புலனளிக்கவில்லை.  74-க்கு பிறகு 80 நடந்து கொண்டிருக்கிறது.  74-ல் போட்ட சட்டத்தை மீறாதவன் நான் ஒருவன்தான்! மற்றவர்களையெல்லாம் மீறிவிட்டார்கள்.  எதையுமே நாம் அநுஷ்டானப+ர்வமாக (Pசயஉவiஉயட) அணுக வேண்டும்.  இந்த வரதட்சனைக் கொடுமைக்கு 60 விழுக்காடு பெண்கள் தான் காரணமாயிருக்கிறார்கள்.  மகளுக்குக் கொடுத்த சீரை மகன் மூலம் வாங்கித் தீர நமது தாய்மார்கள் துடியாய்த் துடிக்கிறார்கள்.  பெண்களுக்கு இதில் பொறுப்பு உண்டு.  கைக்கூலிக்கு அடிப்படைக் காரணம் நம்மிடையே மார்க்கக்கல்வி சூனியம்.  நும் மத்தியில் போதிய மார்க்கக் கல்விக்கூடங்கள் இல்லை.  அப்படியே அங்குமிங்குமாக தீனியாத் பள்ளிகளை ஆரம்பித்து வைத்தால், நமக்கு தீனியாத் கல்வி பயிலும் ஆர்வமும் ஏற்படுவதில்லை – நமது குழந்தைகளையும் மதரஸாக்களுக்கு அனுப்பி வைப்பதுமில்லை.  மஹரைப்பற்றி அறிந்து கொள்வதற்கு நம் பெண்களுக்கு எந்த அளவுக்கு மார்க்கக்கல்வி தெரிந்திருக்கிறது? நாம் என்பதை நாம் யோசித்துப் பார்க்கவேண்டாமா? எல்லாவற்றுமே விலை ஏறியிருக்கும் இந்த 1980-ல் ஒரு பெண்ணுடைய விலையை – மதுரை – 100, 200 ரூபாயாக வைத்துள்ளோம்.  இதுகேலிக்குரியது.  தலாகின் கொடுமை பற்றி நாம் அனைவரும் தெரிந்திருந்தால் இவ்வளவு மலிவாக பெண்ணுடைய வாழ்வு பாழாகிவிட அநுமதிப்போமா? கூக்குரல் இட்டால் மட்டும் போதாது.  சுரியான அணுகு முறை (Pழளவைiஎந யிpசழயஉh) நம்மிடையே வேண்டும்.  எண்ணம் சிறப்பாகயிருந்து, கூட்டுச்செயல் உருவாகுமானால் உங்களைக் கண்டு சமுதாயம் பயப்படும்.  அந்த அடிப்படையில் இன்றே சபதம் எடுத்துக்கொண்டு செயல்படுங்கள்.  பெண்கள் முகாமிலே தொண்டர் படையை ஏற்படுத்துங்கள்.  இறைவன் நம் பக்கம் இருந்து நமது தூய கடமைப் பணிகளுக்கு உரிய பலனை ஈட்டித்தருவது திண்ணம்” என்பதாக சுமார் 1 மணி நேரம் வரை சயீத் சாஹிபவர்கள் தமது வழக்குறைஞர் பாணியிலே, ஆதாரங்களை முன் வைத்து உணர்ச்சிகரமாக உரை நிகழ்த்தினார்.