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June 13

Lgbt news in Kenya

Isn't there something in the news to legalize same sex activity in Kenya? Like how it says so in this article: https://legabibo.wordpress.com/2016/05/23/kenya-could-become-the-next-country-in-africa-to-legalize-homosexuality/ 50.68.118.24 (talk) 03:31, 13 June 2016 (UTC)

You ask us if there is something in the news about legalizing same sex activity in Kenya, and then you link to an article about legalizing same sex activity in Kenya. I'm not sure what you want from us. Rojomoke (talk) 04:11, 13 June 2016 (UTC)

Yes. The Quixotic Potato (talk) 08:54, 13 June 2016 (UTC)

Read the article you cite very carefully - there is a big difference between mounting a court case to challenge the current law, and actually getting the law changed by the country's legislature. This describes what might turn out to be the first step in a process - or it might come to nothing. Having worked in Africa, and knowing how homosexuality is viewed in most African cultures, I think it unlikely that we will see much liberalisation in this area for a long while yet. Wymspen (talk) 09:02, 13 June 2016 (UTC)

The question is a bit confusing; I interpreted it as "Is there something in the news about legalizing same sex activity in Kenya", not as "Is there something in the news that states that same sex activity in Kenya will be legalized". The blogpost the OP linked to says: "Kenya Could Become the Next Country in Africa to Legalize Homosexuality" (emphasis mine). The Quixotic Potato (talk) 09:09, 13 June 2016 (UTC)

For the record: LGBT rights in Kenya, which hasn't been updated in months. Carbon Caryatid (talk) 10:14, 13 June 2016 (UTC)

Chaco War

the german article says, that Brazil was not interested in having such a huge border with Argentina and that brazil didn't enjoyed that bolivia and paraguay have no border together, so the Brazilians have caused a pressure from themselves and from Bolivia against Argentina, to give up some land in the chaco (especially the land what has caused a border with brazil).
My question is, if anything of this is really true and if yes, how could Brazil make so much pressure that they give up friendly (!) some land space from themselves - and why brazil hasn't enjoyed to have a huge borderline with Argentina. I have never ever heard that a country give up a land absolute friendly for no exchange without any war. Thank you!--Ip80.123 (talk) 16:20, 13 June 2016 (UTC)

I can't speak about these particular border changes, but countries have sometimes agreed land transfers without any direct warfare being involved. Two examples are the Alaska purchase and the Louisiana purchase – doubtless there have been others. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 185.74.232.130 (talk) 18:03, 13 June 2016 (UTC)

Although large amounts of money changed hands in both those cases, but probably still cheaper than a war. Alansplodge (talk) 19:00, 13 June 2016 (UTC)

the funny thing is that in the whole german and english article is nothing talked about any money, brazil just had made a pressure that the country of Chaco is non-argentine... But you are right, they should have got money but there is no information about money. --Ip80.123 (talk) 23:08, 13 June 2016 (UTC)

There have also been cases where the transfer was far from friendly, but did not result in a war. See 1939 German ultimatum to Lithuania and Munich Agreement. No longer a penguin (talk) 07:04, 14 June 2016 (UTC)

A key concept is that of the Buffer state - a way of avoiding conflict between powerful neighbours by leaving a weak, independent country between them. The classic example is Afghanistan in the 19th century - deliberately left un-colonised to ensure that British India and Russian Central Asia did not have a common border which could have been a point of conflict. Wymspen (talk) 07:53, 14 June 2016 (UTC)

A bit more reading makes me wonder which war you are asking about. The Chaco War (1932-35) was between Paraguay and Bolivia, with no significant involvement of either Brazil or Argentine. What you ask seems more likely to be about the Paraguayan War (1864-70) which did result in both Brazil and Argentina taking large chunks of territory formerly belonging to (or at least claimed by) Paraguay. In that case, neither country actually gave up their own land - they just disagreed about how much of the Paraguayan land they should take. Argentina wanted to simply divide the whole country and take half each, while Brazil wanted Paraguay to continue as a buffer state. Wymspen (talk) 13:48, 14 June 2016 (UTC)

That's exactly it, and that's what the German article roughly says. In English, Paraguayan War#Territorial changes and treaties explains what happened. Warofdreams talk 15:39, 15 June 2016 (UTC)

I think this with lithuana is not really a good example. --Ip80.123 (talk) 22:25, 14 June 2016 (UTC)

something like a spider veine

This question has been removed. Per the reference desk guidelines, the reference desk is not an appropriate place to request medical, legal or other professional advice, including any kind of medical diagnosis, prognosis, or treatment recommendations. For such advice, please see a qualified professional. If you don't believe this is such a request, please explain what you meant to ask, either here or on the Reference Desk's talk page.

This question has been removed. Per the reference desk guidelines, the reference desk is not an appropriate place to request medical, legal or other professional advice, including any kind of medical diagnosis or prognosis, or treatment recommendations. For such advice, please see a qualified professional. If you don't believe this is such a request, please explain what you meant to ask, either here or on the Reference Desk's talk page. --~~~~

Tevildo (talk) 23:22, 13 June 2016 (UTC)

June 14

Kidnappings where the person is unaware of being kidnapped

I watched the Simon Sez review by the Nostalgia Critic and I was wondering if there any known examples of kidnappings where the person was unaware of being kidnapped. Nowadays most people have a smartphone, so if this happened it probably happened a while ago. For example, you think you are going on a romantic cruise with your new boyfriend/girlfriend, but that person (or an accomplice) makes sure the letters you send home do not reach the intended recipient, and demands ransom for your safe return. It seems to me that a carefully worded ransom letter (e.g. if you send x amount to bank account y you will see person z back within 2 weeks) is in itself not illegal (AFAIK, IANAL). I guess you can even send the person back home sooner if the amount has not been paid, and claim that the "ransom letter" was actually a request for funding for an extended trip. I am aware of Wikipedia:Legal disclaimer. I am not talking about cases of Stockholm syndrome and I am not talking about ransom demands by people who do not actually know where the person they demand ransom for is. (((The Quixotic Potato))) (talk) 13:47, 14 June 2016 (UTC)

Not responsive to your request for examples, but my understanding of general principles is that two elements of kidnapping are that the kidnapper must have moved the kidnappee, and done so against the kidnappee's will. Soliciting a ransom for someone not kidnapped is, without an intervening statute making it something else, is larceny by false pretenses. I don't think it'd even be attempted kidnapping since ransom isn't a necessary element, so all that exists is the mens rea, and no substantial step towards the actus reus. —/Mendaliv/^2¢/_Δ's/ 14:15, 14 June 2016 (UTC)

Thank you, good point. The easiest solution is probably to imagine me doing airquotes whenever I say the word kidnapping (and variations thereof). (((The Quixotic Potato))) (talk) 14:27, 14 June 2016 (UTC)

Under federal law in the United States, a kidnapper is one who "unlawfully seizes, confines, inveigles, decoys, kidnaps, abducts, or carries away and holds for ransom or reward or otherwise" another person. 18 U.S.C. § 1201. It is "the involuntariness of seizure and detention which is the very essence of the crime of kidnapping." Chatwin v. United States, 326 U.S. 455, 464 (1946). So the initial abduction can be accomplished by inveigling or decoying the victim, but the victim must then be held involuntarily. I can imagine a situation where the victim, having first been inveigled under false pretenses, is falsely told and believes that he or she cannot leave due to some reason that is beyond the kidnapper's control, but I don't know of any examples of such. John M Baker (talk) 14:41, 14 June 2016 (UTC)

2016 Orlando nightclub shooting

What none of the media outlets that I've read explain is HOW one person was able to KILL that many people. It's all very well saying oh he shot that many people but believe me, people don't just stand around and say 'shoot me, shoot me'. It's hard to believe one assailant could single handedly kill that many people. As I understand it even in FL getting hold of an AR15 that's capable of automatic or burst fire is difficult. Getting hold of a magazine with 30 rounds or more is again, difficult. The gun is chambered for 5.56mm which is more likely to wound than a 7.62 equivalent. So his shot placements must have been ungodly. Hence my skepticism. Pointers? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.35.190.215 (talk) 20:20, 14 June 2016 (UTC)

Omar Mateen had approximately three hours before the police raided the building. Also, even a semi-automatic AR-15 is capable of a high rate of fire, if the trigger is pulled rapidly. DavidLeighEllis (talk) 21:55, 14 June 2016 (UTC)

Let's see. Crowded nightclub, few exits, AR15, point-blank range. Regretfully, shooting fish in a barrel. Your skepticism. My a***. --Tagishsimon (talk) 22:04, 14 June 2016 (UTC)

And thank you IP82. for the trolling. _Muffled ^Pocketed 22:07, 14 June 2016 (UTC)

One factor to consider is Fight-or-flight response. The shooter is the only one who knows what's going on, and can take advantage of the confusion of the targets. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 22:36, 14 June 2016 (UTC)

I saw a news report that claimed approximately 200 rounds were fired. That would give him about two rounds for every person injured or killed, not counting the fact that a single bullet can easily injure multiple people when firing into a crowd. He would have to have been carrying a lot of ammo, but given enough time and limited interference it seems entirely doable. I don't think it makes much practical difference, but apparently he was actually carrying a Sig Sauer MCX and not an AR-15 as originally reported, though they are pretty similar in terms of capabilities. Dragons flight (talk) 07:45, 15 June 2016 (UTC)

I hope you can help me even if I talk about german law..

I have seen a windows 10 forum to talk about problems with win10. The Forum has a typical format how answers are shown up, including profile pictures and the usernames. Well I have seen an answer, which has also posted a link and I have clicked on the link because the "Answer" said something like "I found a solution! you need to install >this<". I have seen later, that the Username of this post is "Adsense" and the profile picture is only a standard.

My question is now, why is it not forbidden to place Ads in a forum made-up like a real answer from a real person? I heard a lot of Dating websites have been shut down or have paid a lot of money, because the guys on the website haven't written to real women, they were bots with female pictures talking to them. I don't understand why does Forums, which fake answers, don't getting shut down also. I hope everybody can understand my question.. --Ip80.123 (talk) 20:54, 14 June 2016 (UTC)

No, we can't. It's not legal or permitted to do so here, and if you should be asking this anywhere it's at the German WP. μηδείς (talk) 21:08, 14 June 2016 (UTC)

Dude. Look at my response. It contains no legal advice, yet it does give references. It might even be helpful to OP. This is all totally fine. SemanticMantis (talk) 15:14, 15 June 2016 (UTC)

I question the impermissibility of answering such questions. I have restored the question removed by Medeis, because there is certainly no law that says someone cannot even ask a question, hence there is no basis on which such a question should be deleted without any acknowledgment or reference to its deletion. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 08:54, 15 June 2016 (UTC)

Here's a news story [1] that talks a bit about Germany cracking down on certain types of internet fraud. We have an article on Law of Germany. It doesn't say anything about fraud, but some of the linked pages may. You can also read our pages on fraud, internet fraud, impostors, and social engineering. That is all fun reading, but won't really tell you a specific answer. For that, I'd suggest you ask your local German law enforcement agency about social engineering and internet fraud/impostor laws. SemanticMantis (talk) 15:12, 15 June 2016 (UTC)

which answer do you mean SemanticMantis ? And I think my question is universal, does anyone of you know if it is forbidden in germany for a Forum to make fake posts with a bot which is showing ads in form of a potencial helpful answer? --Ip80.123 (talk) 22:14, 15 June 2016 (UTC)

Right- this question "if it is forbidden in germany... " that is the question we can not specifically answer. You'll have to talk to either a German lawyer or police agency to clarify. We can give you information and we can give you references but we can't really say "that thing you mentioned is illegal in X jurisdiction". That would be giving legal advice, because it would be interpreting the law and applying it to a certain specific set of facts. I've defended your right to ask this question, and I've given you what references I can. I could find more if I spoke German, but I do not. When I search in English, I find sites like this [2], that attempt to explain bits of German law in English, but that's no good for your purposes. If you know the German words for "fraud" and "impostor" or "impersonation", those are the kinds of laws I recommend searching for. But if you live in Germany and speak German, just call your local police department, it might be just that easy :) SemanticMantis (talk) 22:30, 15 June 2016 (UTC)

The original question "...why is it not forbidden to..." is not at all a request for legal advice. It takes the non-existence of a prohibition for granted and asks about the reasons or legal principles behind it. In many cases that's a question that can be answered with references, even if it would take a lot of research reading bills, reports from parliamentary committees, judgments, literature on legal doctrines etc. etc. Sjö (talk) 05:17, 16 June 2016 (UTC)

London Marathon competitiors

Can anyone point me to asource that analyses the London Marathon by nationality? I am specifically trying to discover if a Cambodian person has ever competed. Richard Avery (talk) 22:37, 14 June 2016 (UTC)

I'm not aware of such a resource, but nationality is listed in the results databases which are available for more recent marathons if you search online. I've quickly looked at 2016, 2012 and 2008, and there were no runners who identified as having Cambodian nationality in any of those races. Warofdreams talk 16:03, 15 June 2016 (UTC)

Thanks for trying WarofDreams, I'd seen those too, but I was hoping (probably rather too optimistically) for a full database. Richard Avery (talk) 07:11, 16 June 2016 (UTC)

June 15

What's this violin song?

Reminds me of the Imperial March and the Funeral March but not close to either. More upbeat than the Funeral March and faster. My guess is 1700s to Beethoven era. Not staccato or fast like Vivaldi's Winter (or that season that sounds like everyone's rushing through last second Christmas shopping 18th century style). It might be an anthem I heard in the Olympics. Or from the Red Violin or a Mozart movie. Or maybe not, I haven't seen those films in over a decade. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 08:25, 15 June 2016 (UTC)

That'a an outstanding collection of contradictory and/or ambiguous clues. 1700s to Beethoven era cannot sit in the same ball park as The Red Violin, which was by John Corigliano, who is very much alive. As it's "not close" to either the Imperial March or the Funeral March, what is it about those pieces that reminds you of it? -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 08:43, 15 June 2016 (UTC)

Some of the movie was set in that time period and had music of its style. National anthems can predate the Olympics. The range of the 8-10 notes I remembered is small (A# or B — D or D# if my whistle to frequency app's any good) (the phone's been dropped so much it effed up the microphone so take that with a grain of salt)). First note, then up 2 or 3 semitones, then play 1 semitone above that 3-4 times (quicker notes), then down to 1 flat below Note 1 in a few steps, then first note's pitch again. It sounds a bit ominous but not as much as the Imperial/Funeral March. If it's a national anthem I heard at the Olympics it's one of the more martial ones of the post-fascist era (I don't actually know what the Nazi/Vichy/Tojo/Franco etc. anthems sound like, they might actually be mild like Mussolini's instead of super-martial like the Imperial March for all I know). I'd be more exact but Vivaldi's rushing Christmas shoppers song became an earworm for awhile and I forgot the tune I'm asking about after that. It's bowed, not plucked. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 22:30, 15 June 2016 (UTC)

Suggest you try Musipedia.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 09:00, 15 June 2016 (UTC)

Am I missing something, Sagittarian Milky Way? Did you link to the clip? Otherwise it's a bit hard to see how we might be able to help. --ColinFine (talk) 10:27, 15 June 2016 (UTC)

I'm not even sure that's where I heard it. More information above. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 22:30, 15 June 2016 (UTC)

Where's that? At no point above have you either linked to the piece in question or mentioned which movie you heard it in. Is this a telepathy test? {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 185.74.232.130 (talk) 13:50, 16 June 2016 (UTC)

In lieu of anything resembling Musical notation we are asked to recognize "something ominous" that goes First note, then up 2 or 3 semitones, then play 1 semitone above that 3-4 times... Nothing could be more......_{satisfactory.} AllBestFaith (talk) 14:15, 16 June 2016 (UTC)

Hey User:Sagittarian Milky Way, I can't help, but unlike the others, I don't think you're totally crazy for asking, or for thinking that someone might be able to answer based on description. This kind of thing gets solved regularly on Ask Metafilter. You can try there and I give it roughly even odds of getting you the right answer, but it will cost you $5 for your lifetime account. SemanticMantis (talk) 20:57, 16 June 2016 (UTC)

Thanks. Maybe later. I'm on maximum save mode till September. I realized there would be a high chance no one knew (at least @ WP:RD). Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 22:13, 16 June 2016 (UTC)

Professions that get out from the office

Why aren't there many stable professions that don't involve being chained to a desk or cubicle all day, other than doctors? 2A02:C7D:B954:1900:7076:5C65:BDAA:C722 (talk) 16:51, 15 June 2016 (UTC)

But there are. See List of professions.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 17:12, 15 June 2016 (UTC)

It's kind of hard to skim that list for things that don't largely involve sitting at a desk. Off the top of my head:Park ranger, Surveyor, health inspector, police officer, fireman, EMT, paramedic. SemanticMantis (talk) 17:32, 15 June 2016 (UTC)

There are indeed many jobs that don't demand sitting at a desk most of the day, but you're not wrong to think that desk jobs are very common. Here [3] is some NPR reporting on the stats from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. While not explicitly sorted by "desk job", the chart makes it easy to see that most Americans' employment involves a lot of sitting at a desk, and that this percentage has probably grown a bit since 1972 (e.g. manufacturing dropped from 23% to 9% in that period). As to why - I'm not sure. Probably something to do with capitalism and a move away from a manufacturing economy to a service economy. These stats are for USA but UK, AU, and CA have all seen decline in manufacturing jobs over the past 50 years. SemanticMantis (talk) 17:32, 15 June 2016 (UTC)

There seems to be some confusion here: the author of Shantavira's list (and I) would recognise very few of SemanticMantis's list of jobs as "professions". Professions, in our view, are generally prestigious jobs, and societies frequently attach more prestige to sedentary occupations. Nothing to do with the shift to a service economy. Henry^Flower 17:59, 15 June 2016 (UTC)

a digression on the semantics of "profession"

"A profession is a vocation founded upon specialized educational training". It takes specialized training to do all of the things I listed. Heck, there's even police academy, which is a specialized institution to give said specialized training. If OP is interested in prestige or salary or anything else, he should say so. Maybe you don't assign much prestige to these professions, but that's not really something I was considering when framing my response ;) SemanticMantis (talk) 18:10, 15 June 2016 (UTC) It'd be better to respond to what I actually said, rather that what you'd like me to have said. :) HenryFlower 18:47, 15 June 2016 (UTC) I've stricken everything except the first two sentences, which are solely response to what you actually said. To reiterate for clarity: there's nothing about prestige in the definition of "profession," though I acknowledge that words can have different connotations in different contexts. Cheers, SemanticMantis (talk) 19:16, 15 June 2016 (UTC) Well, that's a very modest start. Unfortunately, your first sentence is a partial definition (how did you manage to mislay the rest of it?), and not the one used on the list which we were discussing. Perhaps a little more striking? HenryFlower 20:23, 15 June 2016 (UTC) These days, all workers, from the US President down to the lowliest shelf stacker, are expected to operate "in a professional manner". But, at least according to the traditional nomenclature conventions, only a very small proportion of workers get to say they have a "profession" as distinct from an occupation, job, career, etc. I think that distinction is either fast approaching, or has reached, or is well past, its use-by-date. -- Jack of Oz [pleasantries] 20:38, 15 June 2016 (UTC) More striking? Why? My responses are fine. If you don't like them, that's fine too, but I'm not going to jump through hoops at your request. I am under no obligation to make quotes of a certain length nor will I change anything else I wrote. Anyone is free to read the article or other definitions and come to their own conclusions. It's very simple: you said the things I was talking about were not professions, based on prestige. I think that they are professions, based on specialized training, and I think this is in accordance with the definition given in our article, and other definitions I've checked, including NOAD and Wiktionary. It is perhaps a fuzzy and nebulous concept, all the more reason why I see no reason to argue about classification- we don't have to agree. I honestly am very confused by your position. I think it's very clear that police officers and paramedics require specialized training. They also have to be licensed or certified in some manner, as do health inspectors and firemen. But that's not really the point. As I said, we don't have to agree, I'm just spelling out my rationale. I am fairly certain OP didn't come here to watch us argue over what is and isn't a profession, and whether the term should be construed narrowly or broadly. I tried to help as I could, and provided some references. I suggest you either do that, or move on, because this is not helping anybody. As such, I'm collapsing this up to the last response relevant to OP. Have a nice day, SemanticMantis (talk) 21:14, 15 June 2016 (UTC)

June 16

Arthur Burns, politics, Jimmy Carter

According to the article on wikipedia, while Burns was at the Federal Reserve, he may well have manipulated the United States economy into short-term gains to help Richard Nixon, a Republican, get reelected. Is there any evidence, or even speculation, anywhere that Burns might have done the opposite while Carter, a Democrat, was president, to keep Carter from being reelected?144.35.45.98 (talk) 01:25, 16 June 2016 (UTC)

It would have been difficult, given that Burns left the Fed a little more than a year into Carter's term. --jpgordon^{𝄢𝄆 𝄐𝄇} 22:03, 16 June 2016 (UTC)

coursera thing

Heard that coursera is removing their online courses, I read it here, only if they could add their courses in wikiversity. That'd be great. Is that possible to work on? Just asking. :) :)

Cheers from Nepal. :) :) Learnerktm 11:15, 16 June 2016 (UTC)

Hi Learnerktm, that's something you would need to discuss with Wikiversity, which is a separate project from us here at the English Wikipedia (although hosted by the same Wikimedia foundation). Try asking at https://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Wikiversity:Colloquium. Rojomoke (talk) 13:25, 16 June 2016 (UTC)

Read the Wikipedia article about Coursera which is a for-profit company in California that offers online courses. The Wikimedia Foundation is a non-profit organization. Coursera's website https://www.coursera.org/ provides a contact page. That would be a place for your proposal which you might address to Coursera's CEO Rick Levin. AllBestFaith (talk) 14:09, 16 June 2016 (UTC)

AllBestFaith courses run free, we need to pay for certificates... wow! talking with CEO. Who'd listen if s/he is CEO? That's why asking here to fellow wikipedians. Actually, wanted to know if that works ... running courses like moocs in wikiversity... :) Thanks anyway. :) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Learnerktm (talk • contribs) 14:59, 16 June 2016 (UTC)

Right, I think what ABF was trying to say is that it would require permission from *both* Coursera and Wikiversity. I imagine that both places might be very interested in reaching Nepal, but I don't know if Coursera would allow their copyrighted materials to be moved over to creative commons license of wikiversity. As it stands now, you can reach Coursera content, right? So I don't know why they'd want to "give up" their material, so that it can then be changed. This is why ABF brings up "for profit" - coursera's goal is to make money by helping people, wikimedia foundation's goal is just to help people, and asking for money to keep that happening. There's an important difference, which is why you don't see a lot of previously copyrighted material released into the public domain. (Mozilla being an interesting and notable exception). SemanticMantis (talk) 16:16, 16 June 2016 (UTC)

What does it mean Rabbaniyeen (muslim term?)

What does it mean Rabbaniyeen in this video on YouTube? 93.126.88.30 (talk) 15:22, 16 June 2016 (UTC)

Sp. Rabbaniyyah = 'Godliness'; on of those immaginary concepts religious types create, to distract attention from what's really going on. (Note: WP:NRS ) _Muffled ^Pocketed 15:41, 16 June 2016 (UTC)

Yes, RABBANI means divine in Arabian. Rabbani is also a significant given name to muslims, examples[4]: Mohammed Ahmad Ghulam Rabbani Burhanuddin Rabbani (1940–2011) was former President of Pakistan; Burhanuddin Rabbani (1940 – 2011) was President of the Islamic State of Afghanistan from 1992; Khondkar Siddique-e-Rabbani b. 1950 is a Bangladeshi Biomedical physicist and notable for developing the Focused Impedance Measurement method; Abdul Al-Rahim Ghulam Rabbani is a citizen of Pakistan currently held in the United States Guantanamo; Mullah Mohammad Rabbani Akhund (1955 – 15 April 2001) was one of the founders of the Taliban movement; Ali Sina Rabbani is an Iranian footballer. AllBestFaith (talk) 17:37, 16 June 2016 (UTC)

Highest price paid for:

1) Food or Meal or Dining plate meal or whatever that falls into this category

2) Accommodation or Rent or Shelter or whatever that falls into this category

3) Clothes or Accessories or whatever that falls into this category

4) Earnings or Possession of wealth or whatever that falls into this category

Apostle (talk) 19:31, 16 June 2016 (UTC)

I fear that your categories are far to vague. Does the ISS count as Shelter? Are the crown jewels Accessories? Does Sir Philip Green's £100 million yacht count as Accommodation? Does it have to be a meal for one person, or does the massive stock of food sent to alleviate a famine count? Wymspen (talk) 19:41, 16 June 2016 (UTC)

Maybe if OP would tell us why he needs these questions answered, it would give us a hint as to the type of information he was looking for. Dismas|^(talk) 20:23, 16 June 2016 (UTC)

I'm assuming OP is just curious, and would like to know any answers that could reasonably be defended. SO ISS and Crown Jewels are interesting candidates for most expensive shelter/accessories, but that doesn't mean other responses won't also be interesting :) SemanticMantis (talk) 20:37, 16 June 2016 (UTC)

Bill Gates has the highest net worth in the world, see list here [5]. SemanticMantis (talk) 20:37, 16 June 2016 (UTC)

Saffron isn't usually eaten as a meal, but by weight it is more valuable than gold [6]. SemanticMantis (talk) 20:37, 16 June 2016 (UTC)

This guy [7] has a shirt made of solid gold, cost US$235,000. SemanticMantis (talk) 20:53, 16 June 2016 (UTC)

I'm not sure I believe them but The Guardian says you can rent Liechtenstein for $70,000 per night [8]. SemanticMantis (talk) 21:41, 16 June 2016 (UTC)

That sounds very low. [9] includes a hotel room allegedly 60,000 Swiss Francs a night and [10] includes one US$86,094 including taxes (which they say is nearly 100k). Another list [11] although probably there's a lot of overlap. That earlier list mentions The 13 and [12] provides details on an alleged price of £70,000 although it sounds like this is fairly speculative. Anyway [13] is another. Some of these may have other suites of similar price and Liechtenstein isn't that small so it's probably not that hard to spend $70k on accomodation in these hotels even if their most expensive suite is less than that. Chartering a yatch is another option and may be up to $1 million a week [14]. Nil Einne (talk) 15:47, 17 June 2016 (UTC)

Cleopatra allegedly had the most expensive meal of all time (to win a bet with Mark Antony): an extremely valuable pearl, which she dissolved in vinegar and drank. Clarityfiend (talk) 22:30, 16 June 2016 (UTC)

There's a fine article on Wikipedia about a painting that depicts this, written by some very clever fellow. I helped out, too.--Shirt58 (talk) 01:13, 19 June 2016 (UTC)

There were some $600,000 tyres sold recently. For that price I would want 4! http://mashable.com/2016/06/16/worlds-most-expensive-tyres/#PrOUfAGwrqqW --TrogWoolley (talk) 09:29, 17 June 2016 (UTC)

I am pretty sure the highest price paid for possession of wealth is human life, but that is probably not the answer you were looking for. (((The Quixotic Potato))) (talk) 10:22, 17 June 2016 (UTC)

Take a look at VeryFirstTo, which has a number of these kind of claims on their site. --Dweller (talk) Become old fashioned! 11:04, 17 June 2016 (UTC)

Thank you all so far. Regards. -- Apostle (talk) 05:04, 18 June 2016 (UTC)

June 17

Creating a new article HELP

Hi, My article for Notheia anomala got refused by the editor and I was given some feedback on what to edit. I have done the edits - but there was no re-submit button??? Now I'm not sure how to get my article to be re-reviewed.

Icey28 (talk) 00:07, 17 June 2016 (UTC)

Icey28, you removed the "Resubmit" button with your last edit. Dismas|^(talk) 00:26, 17 June 2016 (UTC)

Icey28, you're welcome. Dismas|^(talk) 21:11, 17 June 2016 (UTC)

Gay Gadsden Flag

I am curious if there is a flat image of the rainbow #ShootBack Gadsden flag. I have seen photos, but am looking for a flat image suitable for computer wallpaper. Thanks. μηδείς (talk) 06:53, 17 June 2016 (UTC)

Best I could find is [15]. Since File:Gadsden_flag.svg is an SVG and I'm sure we have SVG rainbow flags (and actually you don't really need one), it's fairly trivial to make one. Nil Einne (talk) 09:09, 17 June 2016 (UTC)

save space, avoid really irrelevant "stuff"
The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it.
Well here I made one [16]. Note I intentionally didn't upload it to wikipedia or commons since there's a possibility the work of combining the rainbow flag with the Gadsen flag and adding the #ShootBack hashtag is sufficiently creative etc to be eligible for copyright protection, and I have no idea who the creator is and what rights they've released it under if so. If anyone disagrees or knows more than me, I used [17], File:Gadsden_flag.svg and File:Gay_flag.svg to make it and in terms of any rights of mine, they are released under CC0. Nil Einne (talk) 10:11, 17 June 2016 (UTC) Hm, you could've simply used one of the existing ones (and maybe add the hashtag to it). For example this one from GayPatriot. I would not recommend it... I am not sure if it means what you think it means, and I am not sure if you agree with the viewpoints of some of the people who use those flags. [18] For more, see here and/or here. (((The Quixotic Potato))) (talk) 13:28, 17 June 2016 (UTC) That one from GayPatriot looks to be basically a cut down version of what I linked above at hausrules.us. (Although I'm a bit confused about the white part on top, maybe neither of them are the original version.) It's fairly flat but has odd colours, probably partly because it's a photo of a printed flag rather than a simple construction. Maybe also due to excessive compression/lots of compression cycles. (It being a photo seems more obvious with the version I linked to as you can see it's not entirely straight as clear from the white line.) Maybe this was enough for Medeis but I'm fussy about such things so while I'd never want to use such an image in my life, if I did want to use one I'd want something decent rather than a poor photo. Nil Einne (talk) 15:21, 17 June 2016 (UTC) "I may disagree with what you say, but I support your right to say it, and if you have to say it, dammit, do it right, with vector graphics!" Lol, say what you will about medeis, I think she's well aware that some people will interpret this image as advocating gun-based retaliation against those who would attack gay people for being gay. This [19] is another image involving guns and gay symbols, one that some may find more appealing. Anyway, all the more nice of you to make up a nice SVG image for public use, even if you don't personally like it :) SemanticMantis (talk) 15:29, 17 June 2016 (UTC) Some people may interpret it as saying that you are a teabagger who is (pro-)gay, others may interpret it as advocating gun-based retaliation against those who would attack gay people for being gay. I am generally pro-free speech (there are exceptions of course), but I also believe actions have consequences (e.g. if you say or do certain things others might think you are stupid). Here is a quote attributed to Pope John Paul II: "Violence and arms can never resolve the problems of men." (and yes, I am an atheist). Some people have claimed that the terrorist in that nightclub was gay. And this is also interesting. This PDF costs 12 dollars. (((The Quixotic Potato))) (talk) 15:59, 17 June 2016 (UTC) I really don't know where you get "retaliation". It seems obvious to me, especially in context (the flag appearing a few days after the 2016 Orlando nightclub shootings), that it's about self-defense (or proper defense of another). I suppose the symbols and words could be stretched to be about retaliation, but in context it doesn't seem like the most obvious meaning. --Trovatore (talk) 20:20, 17 June 2016 (UTC) Yeah, sure, I agree there are a a few different possible inferences people may draw; I was merely commenting that I think medeis can handle her own semiotics. BTW, that last paper looks interesting, here [20] is a freely accessible copy. SemanticMantis (talk) 17:12, 17 June 2016 (UTC) Awesome, thank you! (((The Quixotic Potato))) (talk) 17:19, 17 June 2016 (UTC) @SemanticMantis: Maybe it can be used to improve the homophobia article. Can you please post it on that talkpage? (((The Quixotic Potato))) (talk) 17:32, 17 June 2016 (UTC) Done, but I'm not sure how useful it will be. It's a WP:PRIMARY source right? I personally have no problem with using some primary sources to support claims in articles, but a) I don't think that's normal WP policy and b) I have absolutely no expertise in the area of homophobia research, so while I'm happy to pass on the ref, I can't help improve that article. Maybe a secondary source could be found that reports on that research paper, that would be better. SemanticMantis (talk) 19:31, 17 June 2016 (UTC) One does not need to have any expertise in a subject to be able to improve the WP article on that subject. All one needs is interest and desire and time and the ability to track down decent sources. Sources provide the expertise. -- Jack of Oz [pleasantries] 21:27, 17 June 2016 (UTC) Duly noted, however I personally only make substantive edits to articles whose topics I am already well familiar with. I mean I'm sadly familiar with homophobia, but not the scientific research on the topic. SemanticMantis (talk) 21:35, 17 June 2016 (UTC) @SemanticMantis: Thanks again! I agree. I think it can be useful as a starting point, but I know very little about this subject so I prefer to leave it to the experts. (((The Quixotic Potato))) (talk) 20:00, 17 June 2016 (UTC) Thanks, bu Nil answerered this in the first post. μηδείς (talk) 20:26, 18 June 2016 (UTC)

Resolved

Manchester Schoolboys U15 1960

I am iooking for any information regards to the games played between Sept/Dec 1960 by manchester boys U15 rugby team, one was against huddersfild and the other against nuneaton. any help would be gratefully recieved. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Brentwood20 (talk • contribs) 12:24, 17 June 2016 (UTC)

Elephant statue?

Is this a man-made elephant statue or just a natural stone pattern?--93.174.25.12 (talk) 15:44, 17 June 2016 (UTC)

In the context of the article - about discovering hidden cities in the Cambodian forests - it is clearly being identified as a statue. As the photographer must have got a lot closer to it than we are able to do through a photo, I see no reason to doubt that identification. 86.191.126.192 (talk) 15:54, 17 June 2016 (UTC)

Here are elephants carved at Angkor Thom about 12th-13th century. It takes strong faith to suppose the pictured clump was ever a realistic elephant statue. AllBestFaith (talk) 16:08, 17 June 2016 (UTC)

pronunciation guide.

Why are the pronunciation guides you use so utterly unhelpful?? Can't you just use a more common-sensical suggestion than the unpronounceable, undecipherable symbols currently in use??? 64.20.206.10 (talk) 19:02, 17 June 2016 (UTC)

See Help talk:IPA for the official answer to this question. Tevildo (talk) 19:18, 17 June 2016 (UTC)

Tevildo's link explains the policy on WP, but I am sympathetic to your frustration. I was annoyed by this at first too. But don't get mad at WP for following the international standard. If you want to get mad at anybody, get mad at the people who published your textbooks and dictionaries, for teaching you a non-standard, insular system for pronunciation guides. I admit IPA takes some time to learn, but so do all systems. I've found this [21] web page useful for helping me learn IPA. With a little practice, you'll see it's just as easy to understand. SemanticMantis (talk) 19:43, 17 June 2016 (UTC)

Tangent: I was disappointed when the OED's second edition switched to IPA. The first edition used a scheme that appears to describe many dialects at once; the second edition's IPA tells us only the Oxford pronunciation. —Tamfang (talk) 09:06, 18 June 2016 (UTC)

I always have to look at the IPA guide to understand a lot of the symbols as well but I can understand why they're used when I consider the many ways even basic English words are pronounced. There are so many regional differences in accent that it's difficult to use any other system with much accuracy. Dismas|^(talk) 19:53, 17 June 2016 (UTC)

If you use Linux, BSD or a AppleMac you can install lexconvert.py, eSpeak and Python, then use lexconvert --try unicode-ipa '/ˌwɪkᵻˈpiːdiə/ ' to use speech synthesis to render an approximate pronunciation. It should work on Windows as well, but I haven't tried it. LongHairedFop (talk) 20:23, 17 June 2016 (UTC)

@LongHairedFop: That is really cool, thanks! SemanticMantis (talk) 21:37, 17 June 2016 (UTC)

Forgive a slow-witted old fogey: install it from where? —Tamfang (talk) 09:08, 18 June 2016 (UTC)

I've witnessed plenty of pointless arguments of the form "it sounds like [word]" "no, it sounds like [other word]" between speakers of dialects that pronounce the reference words differently, each of them writing with common sense and in good faith; these arguments could have been prevented by using IPA. —Tamfang (talk) 09:06, 18 June 2016 (UTC)

IPA used to annoy me until I realised that it is extremely clever. Usually (but not always) one spelling specifies the various ways a word would be pronounced by people in different parts of the English-speaking world. Thincat (talk) 09:24, 18 June 2016 (UTC)

Help with targeting aboveboard charity (specific to elephants)

I have decided I want to donate to a charity that specifically helps with saving the lives of elephants. The problem is that I really don't know how to vet charities – and I am very wary of throwing away my money on crooks. I have just seen too many stories over the years of unscrupulous operators setting up charities that are either entirely money-making fronts, or, in between, those that actually do some good work, but when looked at, only some small percentage of the money is used for charitable purposes.

Can anyone advise some aboveboard charities in this area, and possibly what resources you looked at to to determine they were above-board, so I might know how to do that for myself? Thank you--108.54.152.77 (talk) 22:10, 17 June 2016 (UTC)

If in the US, try the Charity Navigator: [22]. StuRat (talk) 00:32, 18 June 2016 (UTC)

I want to endorse and reinforce StuRat's recommendation here. Charity Navigator is the "gold standard" in the United States, and I invite other editors to mention similar sites in other countries. On the specific issue, I believe that the World Wildlife Fund is a good performer. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 05:41, 18 June 2016 (UTC)

In the UK the Charity Commission for England and Wales is the regulatory body for all charities - and lets you check that a charity is genuine and complaint with the rules. For what it is worth, my advice would be to support a good general conservation charity, rather than one that focuses on a single animal. Unless a whole ecosystem is protected, individual species will struggle. Wymspen (talk) 17:50, 18 June 2016 (UTC)

June 18

Defining Continental Asia

The Continental Europe article says that this term is usually defined as excluding the islands of Iceland and the British Isles. This makes clear sense because these are islands not connected to the mainland. However, it is sometimes defined as excluding the Scandinavian peninsula.

But, how about in defining Continental Asia?? This term doesn't have a special Wikipedia article; it just re-directs to Asia. Thus, Wikipedia says nothing about what this term excludes. It's clear that it excludes the Philippines, Indonesia, Japan, and Sri Lanka, as well as European Turkey. But is there anything else the term is sometimes defined as excluding for reasons paralleling Scandinavia not being considered part of continental Europe?? Georgia guy (talk) 14:54, 18 June 2016 (UTC)

Do you have any reason the term is used at all? The full list of Asian island nations includes Maldives, Cyprus, Singapore, East Timor, Brunei, and possibly Bahrain, although that is joined to the mainland by an artificial causeway, as well as those you list. Rojomoke (talk) 20:52, 18 June 2016 (UTC)

On the Bahrain thing: If they built a bridge connecting Tasmania to mainland Australia, or Sri Lanka to India, would that mean that Tassy and SL are no longer islands? I very much doubt it. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 21:55, 18 June 2016 (UTC)

I would say Rojomoke is right. While continental Asia is a concept which I guess could exist, it doesn't seem particularly common. And the somewhat funny thing about this in reference to what Jack said is a search finds mosts references to continental Asia seem to be to Pulau Palawan and the somewhat weird claim to be the southernmost point of continental Asia despite being on an island off another island.

It's perhaps worth considering why the concept of continental Europe is so common, it's surely at least partly because we're speaking English and the inventors of that language came from an island which isn't part of continental Europe. So continental Europe referred to those other guys. While there are some fairly universal differences between continental Europe and the British Isles as mentioned in our article (most only about 1 century old), some of the distinctions/asumptions made of what things are like in the continental Europe are I would suggest not as clearcut as continental Europe may imply since even ignoring Scandinavia. Continental Europe is a big area, much more than France and Germany. The Scandinavia issue likewise seems to be at least partly due to historical local separation.

For Asia, I don't think you have anything that similar, there's far less of a view of the rest of Asia as "one place". Afterall Asia itself as a concept originated probably mostly because of the European view of it as "that other place". And even in modern times, although there's some degree of a shared Asian identity e.g. with things like the Asian Games and other such groupings (often sporting ones) or stuff like Asian values, there's still much less of a continent wide view. (Consider also the related question of who's "Asian" which as hopefully people know can vary quite a bit from country to country. Notable even in a place like Singapore or Malaysia where the definition would often include those from SEA, East Asia and South Asia, the definition still may not always include those from West Asia or Central Asia.)

On the flip side, Maritime Southeast Asia and Mainland Southeast Asia is a thing. And you also have stuff like mainland China.

Nil Einne (talk) 03:55, 19 June 2016 (UTC)

Profound question

Is the university basically one big calculator. So say for instance, an apple drops off a tree. What happens to the apple is governed by maths, speed it falls, density as are the effects of gravity on it. Essentially number crunching is going on here but obviously on a fu**ing MASSIVE scale (look at the whole universe) surely something *or some one* god you may say has created a massive calculator, that's created us. Just like I struggle with the concept of infiniy I struggle to imagine all this stuff is hapening on the fly — Preceding unsigned comment added by 109.233.213.17 (talk) 16:50, 18 June 2016 (UTC)

(I take it you mean the universe, not the university, although a big calculator may help you out there, too.) You might be interested in the watchmaker analogy view of God. StuRat (talk) 17:40, 18 June 2016 (UTC)

The OP is clearly overwhelmed. He should consult his local Lost and Profound. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 19:47, 18 June 2016 (UTC)

The universe is governed by the laws of physics, and math is used to describe those laws (or what we know of them). ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 17:42, 18 June 2016 (UTC)

I beg to differ. Physics describes the known universe, it does not govern it; and as new discoveries are made, physics needs to play catch-up. If a group of scientists observed some event that was unexplainable by the laws of physics, they would need to rethink those laws and come up with an explanation. (Or put it down to some sort of collective hallucination, on the basis that "such a phenomenon does not exist; physics tells us so", but that would be somewhat unwise imo.) -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 21:50, 18 June 2016 (UTC)

The universe obeys the laws of physics. That doesn't mean we know what all those laws are. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 00:11, 19 June 2016 (UTC)

The OP asks us to consider the universe as a deterministic system which is a philosophical position, see the article Determinism. The view is tenable in Classical physics if one sets no limit on complex details, it is fundamental to computer science, it dismisses the notion of Free will by asserting Behaviorism, but it meets objections in Quantum physics that holds that fine-grain events such as Radioactive decay and movement of particles have randomness that cannot be predicted. AllBestFaith (talk) 22:18, 18 June 2016 (UTC)

We may not be able to predict radioactive decay, but that doesn't mean that there isn't a deterministic formula thatcan predict (define) that decay. -- SGBailey (talk) 22:59, 18 June 2016 (UTC)

It's clear that the universe can do computations on a scale much larger than the computers that we've built so far. It's not clear what that means, if anything. It's probably a cognitive error to think that the large amount of computation demands an explanation. Competition for limited resources is an important driver of biological evolution, so it may be that human-level intelligence can only arise in limited-resource environments. It doesn't follow that resource limits are a property of Existence Itself, or, if there are limits, that they'd be small enough to be comprehensible to humans. -- BenRG (talk) 02:15, 19 June 2016 (UTC)

UK motorway slip road: solid white line across road?

What does this mean eg [23]? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 37.152.200.104 (talk) 21:09, 18 June 2016 (UTC)

Well, the obvious reference would be the Road Markings section of the UK's Highway Code. But the only solid white lines across the road it shows are the one at a stop sign, and one at "signals or police control"; and there don't seem to be any signals or police in the picture. I post this negative answer only to save others from doing it. --69.159.60.83 (talk) 04:46, 19 June 2016 (UTC)

(edcon)It is, by its nature (solid, across carriageway), a stop line. Ive never seen one in that position though. Maybe you stop here if you cant safely merge into the mway traffic? --178.103.190.96 (talk) 04:51, 19 June 2016 (UTC)

Are card games ever fake? (geographically)

Is North ever at a lower latitude than one of the other 3 players? In Manhattan you'd probably face the wall (30° clockwise, no problem). But do they ever not give a fuck and have South face Queens or something? What happens if the walls are 45° off and even the streets say Northeast, Southeast, Northwest or Southwest not N, S, E or W? (Like central Atlanta) Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 22:27, 18 June 2016 (UTC)

Can we get a little context for what this question is about for those of us playing at home? Dismas|^(talk) 22:29, 18 June 2016 (UTC)

Duplicate contract bridge is often played in a hall which is not N/S aligned. And even when it is, the players called "North" are often not geographically "North". -- SGBailey (talk) 22:56, 18 June 2016 (UTC)

"And even when it is, the players called "North" are often not geographically "North"." Why not? That is so wrong. If your corners are right angles and not 45° off you should have no excuse. Is East at least to your right when you enter when it's geographically S/W/N? Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 23:09, 18 June 2016 (UTC)

You know fine well that NESW in bridge is a local convention with no requirement for alignment to any wider geographic coordinate system. --Tagishsimon (talk) 23:30, 18 June 2016 (UTC)

In every game I have ever played of any card game with four players, the player is South, and the rest are where you'd expect, to their right, left, and opposite. Is this a joke? μηδείς (talk) 00:10, 19 June 2016 (UTC)

In the Laws of Duplicate Bridge, Law 3 states:

Four players play at each table, and tables are numbered in a sequence established by the Director. He designates one direction as North; other compass directions assume the normal relationship to North.

So North is whichever way the director (referee) says it is. In my experience as a duplicate bridge player, directors typically make North the direction toward the wall where their own station is (typically with the supplies, scoring computer, etc.)—I've seen it stated that this is normal practice, but I can't remember where, to provide a citation. This may vary in large tournaments where there are multiple directors in the same room. I'm sure any other games where compass directions are used would follow similar practice. --69.159.60.83 (talk) 04:42, 19 June 2016 (UTC)