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June 11

Person who said this one thing and a term

quote

I remember reading this quote one one time and it goes something to the tune of:

"Isn't it amazing how music can bring out our deepest emotions: hapiness, sadness, fear, anger, without even saying a word?"

I just can't remember who it was. I am almost positive it was a woman, but it could also be a man. I don't know. Does anybody recognize this?

term

I was playing a piece of music and it just made me feel sad (hence the quote) and I wanted to play it like I was sad, and expressing my feelings with it. What is this called? I remember doing something like this in theatre(er?) that was called something like emotional recall where you think of something sad and put that into the part your doing. But what is it applied to my situation? Yhanks. schyler 00:57, 11 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

What Said said about Indo-European

Edward Said said something some years ago about the unreality (or something) of the idea of the Indo-European, or Indo-Aryan, or Aryan, language group. At least, so say a lot of people. It seems he allegedly said something about not trusting a German who uses the words "Aryan" and "Semitic" in the same sentence.

A great deal of Googling of what seemed to be promising combinations gave me an exposure to a colossal load of offensive garbage by lovers and haters of ES, but nothing useful. (Though there was actually one note by some heretic who said he'd like to see the actual passage before commenting on it.)

Please, can anyone point me to the actual passage in context?

I don't know what Said said (nor do I particularly care that much, since he was not a linguist, and not particularly qualified to comment on technical linguistic matters) -- but the reality of the Indo-European and Semitic language groups is established beyond question in scientific linguistics. (However, the idea of Indo-European and Semitic "races"[sic] is of course nonsense.) The German word for "Indo-European" is "Indogermanisch". In linguistic terminology, the word Indo-Aryan actually means the group which encompasses Indian languages (those related to Sanskrit) and Iranian languages. (I have no idea what "Indo-Aryan" means to Edward Said and racists, nor do I want to know.) AnonMoos 15:57, 12 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Must say, I agree with every word except as to caring about it. Not that I'd tell anyone else whether to care; but I'm curious, and not just idly, whether such a major politico-scholastic figure, at least as perceived in the media, came up with something so absolutely stupid -- not ignorant, he wasn't that, but deliberately maliciously racist stupid -- as this appears to be. Sorry, forgot to sign the previous one -- Dandrake 16:30, 12 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Question about reckoning one's age in China

I read or heard once, somewhere, that it was customary in China to say that a newborn baby is one year old, and to increment the age at the start of the lunar new year (instead of on the person's birthday). Is this true? And if it is true, can anyone help me find a quotable source for it? I've mentioned this point in one of the footnotes of the article United States v. Wong Kim Ark, but I would really like to include a citation if possible. Richwales 05:54, 11 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

  • I don't know about China, but the custom of incrementing ones age at the start of the year instead of having individual birthdays was used in Japan until at least the last century (I am unsure whether some Japanese still continue this practice). My source for the Japanese usage is an anime called Sakura Wars, which is set in 1920s Tokyo. The explanation of the custom came about in an episode where a character from Europe grew upset that no one was interested in celebrating her birthday. I will keep an eye out for a Chinese source though. Road Wizard 10:00, 11 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

dragonwings the grade school reading book is my source for the same understanding, and concerned chinese in san francisco around the turn of the century earthquake (1902? 1903? 1904? something like that). the protagonist was put in the wrong grade as a result. 82.131.186.141 10:47, 11 June 2006 (UTC).[reply]

See East Asian age reckoning. No citation is provided in the article though. --Kusunose 13:35, 11 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I have now added sources for both Chinese and Japanese systems to the external links section of the page Kusunose mentioned. Road Wizard 14:35, 11 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Mittal Steel Company vs Arcelor

On what legal basis can Arcelor refuse selling itself to Mittal Steel Company, the highest bidder? Is there even an economic justification, or is it pure Indophobia? deeptrivia (talk) 12:06, 11 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

It´s not pure Indophobia (at least I hope it´s not). It´s a mainly political issue. "They" defend that the whole sector is vital for France and therefore should be in french hands, by extrapolation European. This excuse is also used in America with the harbours. It is the same excuse everywhere. It´s called protectionism and exists in every country of this planet. We like that foreigners invest their money in our country, but as soon some as*hole shouts: "This (whatever) should be in our national hands!" everybody just turns stupid. It is supported by lying politicians because the "dumb masses of voters" will vote on them because of these double-standart measures. And still they say that democracy is always the best answer for everything. It´s plain case of not doing what we preach to everyone. Flamarande 12:31, 11 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Unfortunately, protectionism of French companies and companies involving French interests is a thorny issue at the moment. The French government has been receiving some criticism lately for stalling in the process of liberalising their takeover rules, as part of a wider EU initiative. The accusations stem from the fact that French companies have been taking over firms in other EU countries like the UK since their rules were liberalised, but companies in other countries can't take over French ones. [1] Road Wizard 12:48, 11 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Hey, it´s not only the frogies! Everybody does it. The French are only a bit more...obvious? Flamarande 12:55, 11 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I am not saying it is just the French, but as you mentioned the reason for the refusal is because of French interests, I thought I would provide the editor with an example where the French situation is discussed. As the article says, in that example the French can be accused of double standards, but they haven't broken any laws. Road Wizard 13:10, 11 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Indophobia is situated between Indonesia and Montenegro. The ravenous islands grow pure scented flowers of green taxes. Yous should have been there in the summer when tigers and goats perform their rituals of love and the shepherds go cutting boughs to bbq them. --DLL 19:27, 11 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Lyudmilla Pavlichenko

"The recruiter initally rebuked her, suggested a nurse specialization instead, but after being presented her marksmanship certificate, assigned her to the Red Army's 25th Infantry Division". Ridicolous. In the Red Army (and in the other communist Army) woman were conscripted. Vess

Lyudmila Pavlichenko - The quoter put in two 'l's. I found it by putting a section of the quote into google and in quotes. --Username132 (talk) 14:46, 11 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I don't see anything in that sentence that suggests she wasn't conscripted. Vess, if you think something needs correcting (and there's plenty that needs correcting) please go right ahead and edit it. If you're uncertain, leave a note on that article's discussion page. --Shantavira 15:34, 11 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Also, women were conscripted, but they weren't always allowed to be in combat roles, and that seems to be what the article is going on about. It does sound like folklore, though, and I wouldn't be surprised if it were false, but not because the Soviet armies were actually equal opportunity in conscription. Geogre 15:48, 11 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

"Getting Over" People

When trying to "get over" someone after a relationship, the best advice I can come up with involves focusing on the person's flaws and/or finding someone to replace them. Is there any other/better advice to quicken the process? --Username132 (talk) 14:27, 11 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Try not to think about them. Think about how much better you are off (presumably). Focus on new opportunities and goals. Overcome new barriers and enjoy life. :) --Proficient 14:39, 11 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
And try to remain on friendly terms with them. They might appreciate having a friend they can turn to when their next relationship ends.--Shantavira 15:38, 11 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
  • Practically, the best suggestions I can offer are 1) write a letter stating your complaints, but do not send it (very important), 2) Do what you can to reduce the lost Other to the status of just any other person, as the pain of rejection is comprised both of loss and of insult ('you say that I am less worthy than someone else; I love you, so I value your opinion, so I am, indeed, worthless'), and the sooner the Other becomes "just some person with an opinion," the sooner one element of the pain is removed, 3) Devalue the lost things (affection, sex, intimacy) by reminding yourself that you are no different today from yesterday, that your life may be less rich, but it is not actually impaired. Ultimately, nothing will take the sting away, but I recommend avoiding at all cost regret. Regret will do no good to you, to the beloved, or your peace, and it will cheapen the good by alloying it with pain. Geogre 15:46, 11 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

don't focus on their faults. I think you're trying to get over a man, so this might be unfamiliar to you, but the best way is porn. search until you find a type you find real hot, hotter than your ex at least.

Don't convince yourself they're evil, or you're better than them or put them down, all I can say, is keep on good terms with everyones, spend some time with freinds if you need support, and keep occupied. Also I wouldn't find someone to replace them straight away, because then you get those clingy "on the bounce" relationships where there only in it because they're getting over some one, and nobody likes them.
Alfred Lord Tennyson: 'Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. Philc TECI 22:36, 11 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Isn't that from Romeo and Juliet? Or was only the sentiment there? Skittle 10:18, 12 June 2006 (UTC) Yeah, just the sentiment. I think I always expect them to say it, but they never do.... Skittle 10:21, 12 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
There is a Buddhist text that recommends thinking of the beloved as a bag of offal. A recent translation expresses it rather forcefully. "You have plenty of filth of your own. Satisfy yourself with that! Glutton for crap! Forget her, that other pouch of filth!" (Bodhicharyavatara 8.53) Hope this helps. --Shantavira 07:12, 12 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I would advise you to put her out of your mind, avoid all contact with her, and more or less pretend she does not exist.

The N.K. Fairbank Company

What is the value of a little catalog put out by the N.K. Fairbank Company in 1899? It deals with soap wrappers. Coolthings 15:18, 11 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Probably very little, but have you tried checking the price of similar articles on eBay? --Shantavira 15:41, 11 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Older Civilization in Recorded History

Based on recorded history, is the Chinese civilization older than the Mesopotamian and Persian civilizations?Patchouli 16:04, 11 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Probably the Mesopotamians slightly edged all the others when it came to the development of writing. Otherwise, the question might be hard to define in a way tha would admit of an exact answer. AnonMoos 15:46, 12 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Linus Yale, Sr.

Was he the one that invented the Yale lock?

  • I think you just tried to blank your question as you had already found the answer. Unfortunately, you also inadvertently blanked most of the other questions on this page at the same time. Please try to be a little more careful in future. In case you haven't found your answer, please see Pin tumbler lock. Road Wizard 16:49, 11 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Mabogo/Mobogo the killer/bull

Has anyone any information concerning pictures/card games no longer produced un the title of Mabogo/Mobogo???? Thanks

June 12

Music

Is there a word meaning a group of musical works? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 203.20.208.10 (talk • contribs) 18:10, June 11, 2006 (UTC)

First that comes to mind is a medley, but without further explanation as to what you want, it's kind of hard. schyler 02:02, 12 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Do you mean oeuvre? Geogre 03:35, 12 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Or album? Or opera? Grutness...wha? 06:04, 12 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Suite was what came to mind for me. Then you have more specific terms like song cycle. — Haeleth Talk 20:52, 12 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
.. and not just song cycles (like Schubert's); there is orchestral and more: Smetana, Má Vlast, and of course Herr Wagner's Ring? --Seejyb 21:49, 12 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
  • Is a song cycle a single entity, or a group of entities? Is each song more like the movement of a symphony than a musical work in its own right? What would a group of song cycles be called?
  • People also talk about performing or recording the complete "cycle" of Beethoven/Mahler/whoever's symphonies, but this is a misnomer as they are discrete works and were not conceived as forming a larger group (in contrast with Smetana, Schubert/Schumann lieder cycles etc). "Set" might be a better term.
  • 10 marks for ingenuity to Grutness for "opera", which is the plural of "opus" (work). "Opera" now mainly refers to a particular genre of music/drama, and in that sense it has become a singular word, which is why it can be pluralised to "operas" without any objection from purists. A composer who referred to "my opera" would not be talking about his/her collected works, but to a specific work, such as La Boheme. JackofOz 02:15, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I rejected "opera" as requiring an object. It is not the plural of "opus." (Still some Latin left in my head, though most of it leaked out.) Instead, it's Italian. Geogre 03:16, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Our article suggests it started out as the Italian plural of the Latin word opus. JackofOz 03:27, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Opera is the Latin plural of the Latin word opus. It is not an Italian plural. It is not clear how an Italian plural of the Latin word opus would be formed, as the rules of the Italian grammar operate on the gender, which in Italian is masculine or feminine, while opus is neuter, and further depend on which vowel (-a, -à, -e, -è, -o) is the last letter, while opus does not end on a vowel. In Italian, the word opera is either singular, and then just means "work" (of art etc.), or specifically "opera" (people singing and then dying theatrically), or it is possibly plural, but then it is a Latin word injected into the midst of an Italian discourse. --LambiamTalk 11:33, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Hmm, I've never seen a neuter Latin noun form a plural with an interposed -er. Geogre 11:53, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
For opus see, e.g., [2]. There is also the neuter noun genus with plural genera. Not a noun but an adjective, but also getting -er- in other cases than the nominative or accusative singular, is vetus (old), which is also the neuter form, with neuter plural vetera. --LambiamTalk 12:24, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

More general groupings could be 'body', 'genre', 'style' or 'catalog'. -LambaJan 03:12, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Napoleon Bonaparte

Whould it be possible for someone today to rule an empire as large as Napoleon Bonapartes?

Thanks -anon —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.193.39.27 (talk • contribs) 18:34, June 11, 2006 (UTC)

Yes, the current rulers of China rule an empire larger both population and size.

Until 15 years ago the soviet rulers also ruled a vest ad diverse empire. They used methods very similar to Napoleon- that is ruling the conquered territories as nominally independent puppet states. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 152.163.100.72 (talk • contribs) 18:58, June 11, 2006 (UTC)

Maybe. A empire is a region ruled by (usually but not always) an empress or emperor. So you could say that lots of countries now are bigger than Napoleon's empire. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 203.20.208.10 (talk • contribs) 18:52, June 11, 2006 (UTC)

It is far easier to rule a large empire now. In Napoleon's time, you didn't have instant communications with every part of your empire 24-hours a day. In my opinion, the new empires are not countries. They are businesses, such as the Wal-Mart empire. Calculate the land and people controlled by Wal-Mart and it is a viable country all its own. --Kainaw (talk) 13:15, 12 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Is it possible? Yes, certainly. Russia, Canada, the United States and the People's Republic of China are all larger than Napoleon's empire in sheer size. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Brazil, and Indonesia (in addition to the US, Russia and the PRC, above, but not Canada) control larger populations than Napoleon did. However, the only empire still in existence today is the Empire of Japan, which is about the same in population as Napoleon's empire but much smaller in land area. —Cuiviénen 21:14, 12 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Don't know about Japan. Its head of state may be an emperor, but Japan itself (herself?) if not considered an empire in any sense. It does not have any such title in its official name and it makes no claim to control of territories outside its borders (apart from disputed possessions such as the Kurile islands). JackofOz 23:44, 12 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
There used to be an empire of Japan. However, they lost it all in WWII. --mboverload@ 05:58, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The deal with Japan - Japan is technically an empire. However, the emperor (if there is one) does not assume as much power. It did lose all of its gains from WWII, but no more.

Genghis Khan's empire was the largest in human history, but it didn't last long. EamonnPKeane 14:25, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Info on the Society for the Domination of Women

I heard about the Society for the Domination of Women on an old show from the late 50's. He was calling it something that sounded like SODA or SODAWO. I tried googling it but found nothing. Any info or place to look would be awesome! Thanks -Katrina —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 151.205.81.18 (talk • contribs) 19:40, June 11, 2006 (UTC)

It sounds to me like it would have been a joke, and even if it wasn't a joke, such an organization would probably have been rather ephemeral. But you can look at Loving Female Authority and Matriarchy... AnonMoos 15:43, 12 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, /soda probablly was a joke. However in the theirs was an organization called the womans party it took fairly radical feminist positions (at least for the time period) and was sometimes fairly or unfairly labeled as antiman. Perhaps "soda" is spoof on them.

The very extreme feminist organisation was Valerie Solanas' Society for Cutting Up Men (SCUM). We also have an article on the SCUM Manifesto which includes a link to an online copy.-gadfium 06:06, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

No, its not a feminist org. but quite the opposite. He was saying he believed and the Society promoted, that women shouldn't work, should stay home, should stay out of politics, shouldn't be allowed to vote, shouldn't go to college, etc. He was very serious about it. BaptistKitty 22:56, 13 June 2006 (UTC)Katrina[reply]

Salaries of justices of the SCOTUS

The POTUS makes $400,000, but what do the justices make? Do they have other sources of income? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Ronbarton (talk • contribs) 21:31, June 11, 2006 (UTC)

According to the articles Chief Justice of the United States and Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, the Chief Justice earns $208,100 per annum and the Associate Justices slightly less: $199,200. --Canley 05:12, 12 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Arthur C. Clarke Book

Sorry...I didn't get my answer yet? I want to know the names of all 3 books of Arthur c. clarkes trilogy "The Blue Planet Triology" I have read one. "The Reefs of Taprobane"

But i couldn't find any of these books in his book index in wikipedia. So anyone wh knows them, plz update the article asap.

Sithara from Sri Lanka. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 220.247.209.130 (talk • contribs) 05:52, June 12, 2006 (UTC)

The Coast of Coral (vol. 1), The Reefs of Taprobane (vol. 2), and The Treasure of the Great Reef (vol. 3). —Wayward Talk 13:44, 12 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Wow, all three of those are listed clearly in the article Arthur C. Clarke. What a strange place for an encyclopedia to keep such information. --Kainaw (talk) 14:51, 12 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Actually, only one of the volumes was listed in the article. I added the other two after I posted them here :) —Wayward Talk 15:20, 12 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

IS the surname FRESE related to the Double Decker Bus

IS the surname FRESE related to the design, development, invention, or "in any way" to the Double Decker Bus?

First name may (or not) be Joseph, Henry, or William.

This name is of German decent around Hamburg, Germany. William Frese came to the United States in the late 1800's. Lived in Virginia.

His son was Joseph Henry Frese Sr., born in America (Virginia, died 1935 in Oakland, CA). ... I was told this man was associated with inventing the Double Decker Bus. Perhaps the design or even "re-design" area. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Minkiee (talk • contribs) 09:50, June 12, 2006 (UTC)

Depending on the exact age of the gentleman, I suspect he was not the inventor of the original double-decker bus, but it is possible that he created one of the many redesigns. One of the references in our Double-decker bus article quotes a former British Prime Minister, William Ewart Gladstone, as saying "Yes, gentlemen, the way to see London is from the top of a 'bus—from the top of a 'bus, gentlemen." As Mr Gladstone died in 1898, this suggests that at least one form of double-decker bus was well established before that time. Road Wizard 17:37, 12 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The word "bus" is a clipping of "omnibus," and so finding exact references is complicated. In 1898, and certainly earlier, the omnibus was not going to be, of course, an internal combustion vehicle, so Gladstone was probably not referring to what the questioner is interested in. Geogre 17:45, 12 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Simple two-deck horse-drawn buses were in London as early as the 1860s [3] with modern-ish designs by the 1870s [4]. The modern double-decker is essentially just the old one without the horses, so it's not that far off. Shimgray | talk | 16:36, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I am asking here because I have had lots of trouble finding anyone's "NAME" connected with ANY of the designs, re-designs or the inventing of the double decker bus. Do you know "WHO" holds the patent for it? - and/or - WHO is credited for 'inventing' it??? Thanks!

General Kim Williams

Who was General Kim Williams?

All I know is that he was a scion of the House of Williams of North Wales, and was alive prior to 1800 possibly a lot earlier. He may have resided in Southern Ireland

Colinjr 17:55, 12 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

De Berry Huguenot

Who were the De Berry brothers? And when did they arrive in England/Wales/Ireland?

They were Huguenot refugees.

Colinjr 17:58, 12 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

If you type in De Berry on the search bar to the left, you will get quite a few Wikipedia articles about people with this name. Otherwise, we'd have to know more about the brothers (which is what you don't know, I guess).
I checked a French name list but couldn't find De Berry. My ancestors were Huguenot and their names are there. You could also search for "de berry" huguenot on Google or Yahoo or another and you'll find lots of information. --Halcatalyst 02:53, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Could it be a mis-hearing/mis-spelling of Du Barry? This someimes happens with "foreign" names.(hotclaws**== 12:27, 13 June 2006 (UTC))[reply]

Please identify this science-fiction short story

When I was a child I read a short story that has affected me greatly. I'd like to reread the story now that I'm an adult, but can't locate it. Here's a plot synopsis...

The planet has been entirely overrun by humans. The society measure it's progress in kilograms of brain mass, and everyone lives in very dense cities. Human waste is shipped out to sea, and kelp is harvested to eat. As a hobby, a man keeps alive the last remaining patch of grass, a bird or other small animal, maybe a lizard or something, in his apartment. One day he receives a notice form the government that his building will be torn down to construct an even larger housing complex, and he is order to vacate. He can't take his pets with him, so he destroys everything and then commits suicide.

I read this story about 25 years ago, but I think it was in an anthology of science-fiction short stories from the mid-1960s. I thought it was by Heinlein, but after searching through many of his works, I'm not so sure anymore.

Thanks for your help, Andy 216.98.254.8 19:25, 12 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I think it's by Isaac Asimov -- if memory serves, it was one of a pair of stories dealing with the "last living non-human thing", one glorifying and the other lamenting the concept. However, I don't recall the titles. — Lomn Talk 19:51, 12 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I can confirm Asimov. Political Mind 20:38, 12 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It actually sounds rather un-Asimov-like to me, and I've read many (but not all) of his short stories. But if others confirm, disregard this. :-) zafiroblue05 | Talk 00:33, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I think maybe I found it: 2430 AD? Didn't get a very good review at this website, though. --vibo56 talk 19:07, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]


Thanks much for everyone's help! I'll check out the Asimov stories... Andy216.98.255.107

Help!!!

My Grandfather was in World War 2 but his name is not in the world war 2 veterans list. Why is that??? His name is Raymond J. Bastian!

Not listed in what list? What country, even? Rmhermen 23:37, 12 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
There is an article List of World War II veterans. The people listed all have a Wikipedia article and are notable for other reasons than being a veteran. --LambiamTalk 11:46, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Sorry but there were 16 million soldiers and sailors involved in WWII just in the U.S. I don't think we can put up a list that big on here. If he was U.S., there is a registry here: [[5]] where you can add his name if he isn't there already. Nowimnthing 17:52, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

history

I want to know more about Beringia.

Well, we don't always get what we want. schyler 23:26, 12 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Generals from wwII

Are their any WWII Generals from any nation who still live?

So far, I've only found one: Robert Moncel was promoted to brigadier general in the Canadian armed forces in 1944. Still looking, though. —Zero Gravitas 05:11, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Unlikely. Officers who held rank above brigadier-general would invariably have been in their forties and would, of course, now be exceptionally old. Nevertheless, there are/were numerous officers who became generals, even field marshals, after the war. Some of the last surviving I've managed to locate include Field Marshal Waldemar Levy Cardoso (according to the article, served as a lieuttenant-colonel during WWII), Brigadier-General Robert E. Galer (died in June 2005), Brigadie James "Speedy" Hill (died in March Telegraph 2006, Guardian 2004), and Brigadier John Profumo (died in January). SoLando (Talk) 13:43, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

nineteenth century latin america

why would latin political stablility be such a challenge to latin leaders in the nineteeth century ?

See colonialism or the course materials you've probably been asked to read. Geogre 03:11, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

education in the US

What is the percentage of people in the US who have a BA or higher? What is the percentage of people in their mid to late 20's who have a BA or higher?

For information up to 2004, see NCES tables. For males and females age 25+, 27.7% had a bachelor's degree or higher. For males and females between 25 and 29, 28.7% had a bachelor's degree or higher. Ziggurat 02:45, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I'm not the person who asked the question but nice answer! It's a very nice resource, unfortunately the tables seem to go from "high school completion or higher" to "Bachelor's degree or higher". What do you suppose the percentages look like for "any college credit", 1 year of college credit, and associate's equiv. (2 years). Demographic surveys (marketing) frequently supply "some college". What percentage do you suppose has this but less than a college degree in America? (perhaps including currently enrolled students...) 87.97.8.197 19:46, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Manatory retirement age

What is the mandatory retirement age for British military officers?

Hitler's biological children

Are their any known or suspected biological children of Adolf Hitler?

No. - Nunh-huh 23:52, 12 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

But what if their were, could they still be his? VdSV9•♫ 01:44, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Actually there was an utterly fascinating student film filmed in a documentary style done on what would happen if they cloned Hitler. They did it to see if genetics would make him turn into the same person. He didn't. However, when he and other people found out he was "forced" by society to start looking like Hitler. Extremely thought provoking, something you rarely see in the movies. --mboverload@ 05:56, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
And let´s not forget David Gardner and his story about 'The Last of the Hitlers' [6] --nodutschke 14:21, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
See The Boys From Brazil. User:Zoe|(talk) 16:34, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]


That rather reminds me of Robert Harris' book Archangel, which theorises about a possible child of Joseph Stalin.

There is also a fictional Australian movie "Children of the Revolution" about a son of Joseph Stalin. Andjam 09:38, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Hitler apparently never had sex with Eva Braun (or anyone) because he saw himself as genetically inferior (short, brown eyes, black hair) to the tall, blond, blue-eyed Aryan race he was building and so he didn't want to perpetuate his genes. Also he only had one ball, so it probably hurt a lot. EamonnPKeane 14:20, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Condom use

When did condom use become regular?

See the history section on the condoms article. Also: please sign your comments by adding four tildes (~~~~) to the end of each one. Emmett5 23:51, 12 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

June 13

Most movies

File:MGM Ident 1928.jpg
World's most prolific actor?

Anybody know what actor or actress has appeared in the greatest number of movies?

  • Could you clarify the following?

-Are you only concerned about North American/Europeans Films?

-Do you consider a very small role, or a voice role as an "appearance"?

-What exactly do you mean by "movie"? (e.g. does a made-for-TV movie count?

--CE

  • heh. I like Pharos's suggestion. As far as humans go (other than mentioning the man with the gong in the J Arthur Rank movies, that is), it will almost certainly be someone from the silent movie era, since they were churned out at a great rate of knots. It was not unusual for silent movie stars to appear in a dozen movies per year. Grutness...wha? 01:46, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Not the answer but; the Gunness book of records says that John Wayne is the actor with the greatest number of lead roles: 142 of 153 films. MeltBanana 02:31, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Christopher Lee would have to be up there. He has appeared in 227 films, and is still going strong. JackofOz 02:44, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I'm not sure even they could match John Wayne or Christopher Lee, but pornographic 'actors' and 'actresses' appear in shockingly high numbers of "films" (especially if you count every cut of a set of scenes as a film). A pornographic actress may have a career of 18 months and appear in 100 filmic products. I suppose this is, yet again, one of those examples of why it pays to specify. Further, though, and more seriously, Bollywood outpaces Hollywood in number of films and yet has a smaller set (over time) of lead players, so I should imagine that some of the major stars of Indian cinema would pass even the infamous Kevin Bacon. Geogre 03:10, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
When this triva question is asked, the usual answer given is Tom Mix , but there were virtually all silent shorts. A British bit part actor called Sam Kydd is well-known for turning up with minor roles in hundreds of films. Jooler 10:56, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
According to imdb, Indian actor Adoor Bhasi made 553 movies. Mel Blanc is credited with 952 appearances, but most of those were cartoon shorts and almost all were voices, not screen appearances.
I have found more. Actor Tom London has 597 credits. Edmund Cobb has 605. Bud Osborne has 590. Actress Bess Flowers has 709. User:Zoe|(talk) 17:25, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

What about the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group woman in the white dress holding the torch? She didn't even get paid for that.

graduation and tassels

Which direction does one move the tassel at high school graduation - right to left or left to right, and why?

According to this page tassels are worn on the right before the graduate receives the diploma, and on the left afterwards. Why? Sounds like a question for the Straight Dope. Ziggurat 02:40, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Oedipus complex

Is Oedipus Rex the first documented expression of the Oedipus complex known? In other words, are there any documented evidence of any form, expressing the ideas of Freud's Oedipus complex that date back before the play: Oedipus Rex?

Any help available would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Do you mean the psychological complex or the event? The complex was first described by Freud, to the best of my knowledge, and used the event (killing the father and marrying the mother) from Oedipus Rex as the metaphor for that complex. To clarify: the play doesn't psychologize or extend the event to a psychological directive inherent in all humans, that's the complex, and came much later. If you're asking whether there are any events in literature of a similar kind that predate Oedipus Rex, I'm not aware of any. Ziggurat 03:41, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

If you read the sources both the Oedipus and Electra complexes are shockingly badly named but what do you expect from a coke-head?(hotclaws**== 12:32, 13 June 2006 (UTC))[reply]

Freud surely didn't rely on the fiction of Sophocles to form his conception of the Oedipus Complex. By that I mean, Freud surely didn't rely on that play as being the defining moment of when his theory of that particular aspect of human sexuality began. The play was simply a very convenient tool to express Freud's basic theories of human sexuality. Just as "sodomy" surely existed before the biblical tale of Sodom and Gomorrah, and that vain human tendency to attempt to lessen the value of what one cannot obtain surely predated Aesop's Sour Grapes fable, the Oedipus Complex was surely not "invented" by Sophocles. Loomis51 22:10, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

War Power of US Congress

Representative John Murtha who is an outspoken critic of the continued U.S. military presence in Iraq says that he will still continue to vote for the $8 billion monthly tab.

Prima facie, I thought that he is hypocritic. However, maybe I don't clearly understand the War Powers Clause (Article 1, § 8, clause 11) and the revelant statutes. Could it be that even if all the members of Congress like Rep. Murtha and Robert C. Byrd stopped funding the war, then they still wouldn't be able to stop the war? That it would just give ammunition to war proponents to attack Murtha and his fellows for not supporting the troops.

Can you explain this matter to me? Does there need to be 1/2 or 2/3 of Congress to stop the war?Patchouli 04:44, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

It appears that you are mixing two different things. By Constitutional definition, the "war" in Iraq is a "police action". The United States has not had a "war" since World War II. Because it is Constitutionally a "police action", Bush only required authorization from Congress to use force - which he received. As for funding, Congress sets the budget. They could cut military funding in an attempt to stop the war by depleting financial resources, but the President can divert military spending from other areas (like border patrol). Congress could then pass a law about diverting funding if they liked. However, as it stands, Congress is very busy being politicians. They voted to authorize use of force. They have continually voted to authorize a lot of money to continue using force. All the while, they've been pointing at Bush and blaming him for everything. It makes me wonder if the citizens of the United States will ever hold Congress responsible or will they continue to blame President after President for the actions of Congress. --Kainaw (talk) 12:25, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
  • Hypothetically speaking, if the Congress wanted to stop funding the Iraq War, would there have to be a supermajority in both congressional chambers or a simple majority?Patchouli 17:05, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Just to make things clear, those who oppose the war but vote for funding are doing so in order to make sure that US troops are kept safe. User:Zoe|(talk) 17:26, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Paying for Iraq is a funding issue. It would require 3/5th vote. 2/3 is reserved for changing Congressional rules (I assume this included ammendments to the Constitution). As for why a senator or representative would be against the war and still vote for funding it, that is speculation. One may be for keeping troops safe, while another has a manufacturer of HMMWV armor in their state and yet another is paid off by a civil contractor doing joint business with the military in Iraq. One could even use it to ensure people continue hating Bush for the war until the next election. --Kainaw (talk) 18:10, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Just curious, where can I find the 3/5th rule? Loomis51 21:51, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It is found in the supermajority article. "The United States Senate requires a supermajority of 60 percent (3/5) to move to a vote through a cloture motion, which closes debate on a bill or nomination, thus ending a filibuster by a minority of members."Patchouli 02:06, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]


It could be a simple majority vote for a budget vote - but I'm not sure. I know it doesn't require a "supermajority" which is 3/4 vote. A 3/5 vote pops up all over with Congress (such as a 3/5 vote to end a filibuster). So, since I wasn't sure if it was a 3/5 or a simple majority, I opted for the greater of the two. I'd rather be wrong with 3/5 than wrong with >50%. --Kainaw (talk) 22:26, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I'm pretty sure spending bills are no different from other bills and require only a simple majority. But if people in the Senate really objected to it, they could filibuster. It would take a three-fifths vote in the Senate to end the filibuster. -- Mwalcoff 00:31, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

  • I think it would be possible for 41 US senators to cut funding to the Iraq War by filibustering and sinking the bill for war funds. Concurrently, they could pass a law to forbid Bush from diverting funds to the war with the help of 10 additional senators, thereby bring the war to a halt or lowering troop deployment to 50,000 in an ideal world.Patchouli 02:42, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
  • I have been proved correct since today US senators voted 93-6 to shelve the proposal, which would have allowed "only forces that are critical to completing the mission of standing up Iraqi security forces" to remain in 2007 - forget about blocking funding. I am personally on the fence about staying in Iraq, but I wanted to verify that it isn't just President Bush who is holding the troops in Iraq singlehandedly. John Kerry and five other Democrats were in the minority on the vote — Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, Barbara Boxer of California, Robert Byrd of West Virginia, Tom Harkin of Iowa, and Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts.[7]Patchouli 20:37, 15 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Highest Paid Athlete in 1986

I have spent literally hours over the last couple days searching for the name of the highest paid athlete in 1986, with our without endorsements. I found one site that said it was possibly Geoge Foster of the New York Mets. Can this be true? Thank You!!! CEP --65.111.193.170 05:18, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

For what sport and what country? What about Diego Maradona? I'm sure he made far more money in 1986 than anyone playing baseball in the US. Adam Bishop 16:30, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

timeline

timeline by editor 1

i'm looking a time line about cathy freeman...

THANKS!!!!!

Have you looked at Cathy Freeman yet? JackofOz 06:27, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
  • This question was deleted by another editor by mistake and has now been restored. Road Wizard

timeline by editor 2

Can anyone give me the timeline of indian forts? i really need help.

PS> some jerk changed this question already, no need for you to do it again. plz answer only, [broadband PA redacted].

Could you clarify your request? The statement as it stands is quite vague. — Lomn Talk 16:31, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I have split this question in two because there appears to have been a misunderstanding. This edit was a new question about Cathy Freeman. Whilst this edit asked a question about Indian fort timelines on June 8. I think the author of the Idian question assumed that someone had deleted their question and replace the Cathy Freeman one with this. The June 8 question is still listed here. Now that both questions are restored, this will hopefully resolve the misunderstanding. Road Wizard 20:26, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Cherry

Another random phrase question: Does anyone know where the phrase "X is cherry" (for instance, "the car is cherry", meaning there is nothing wrong with it) comes from? Thanks in advance for any ideas! — QuantumEleven 06:43, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Fairly vulgar, but I believe it refers to the item being untouched and virginal. I.e. the usage derives from the slang usage of "cherry" for hymen. Geogre 11:47, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Tends to be "mint" in the UK,so flavour comes into it?(hotclaws**== 12:33, 13 June 2006 (UTC)) I always assumed 'in mint condition' and hence 'mint' originally referred to freshness, but that may be a little too folk-etymology. Skittle 16:02, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I'm under the impression that "mint" is in reference to the minting process, i.e. just made, not related to the flavor. — Lomn Talk 16:29, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
As soon as I read your edit summary I did a little forehead slap.... :-) Skittle 16:32, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Editions of John Calvin's Commentaries

I have trandlated Calvins Commentaries on the Epistles of St Paul into Afrikaans. In his Commentaries on Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians he dedicated it to a certain Christophorus, Count os Wittenberg. This implies that these commentaries were published in one volume. Where can I get a list of the Latin editions published during and after his lifetime? I also ned a list of translations of these commentaries in English, French German and Dutch or in any other langusge if such a translation exists. My thanks in anticipation of a reply. (I heve a neurological balance problem which makes it virtually impossible to visit liberaries) Prof. S. Postma e-mail stepostma at mweb dot co dot za (email translitterated with the aim to avoid you spam or worse).

Instead of visiting libraries, might a little visit on the net be of some help ? We'll try also, let the winner win! --DLL 18:49, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
That site has front pages photographs of those buks and tells things like : "Calvin wrote commentaries on all of Paul's epistles; most of these were published individually from Romans in 1540 through Titus in 1548 and Hebrews in 1549. He published a revised edition ..." Take a look and tell us if you liked it. --DLL 19:07, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

English Comic Verse

I am looking for the text of a comic verse,which begins:-

"Upon the river's bank serene A fisher sat, where all was green, And looked it!

At last, when light was growing dim, he saw a fish, or the fish saw him, And hooked it"

Each verse has the 'double entendre' of those shown above.

Tony

Check out this page. --vibo56 talk 15:50, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Cameron vs, Brown

In the UK who would likely win in the next general election Cameron's party (Conservative) or Browns party (Labor)? Who is personally more popular Cameron of Brown?

From my personal point of view, David Cameron has done a pretty good job at charming the media since he became leader of the Conservative Party. However, he is only now starting to reveal his party's policies, and there has been quite a negative reaction to these (particularly considering withdrawing the European Democrats from its aliance with the European People's Party). Gordon Brown is likely to be the next leader of the Labour Party (note how the name of the party is spelled). He is suffering at the moment from the fading popularity of Tony Blair's government, but many see him as good for the economy (or at least better than anyone else around). If Cameron's policies continue to meet with negative reaction and Brown is able to stamp his own authority on Labour, it's going Brown's way. Otherwise, we're in for a close race. The third party, the Liberal Democrats, also have a new leader, Menzies Campbell. He is generally regarded as too old and cautious to bring the party into better fortunes. However, if the gap between Labour and Tories is narrowed, the Lib Dems may become a vey important part of the next government. — Gareth Hughes 10:53, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Nobody knows right now; election predictions this far out are notorious for being clobbered by external events. A classic example was the 2001 Australian federal election, where John Howard's Liberal Party looked like it was in serious trouble until external events intruded and the incumbent government exploited them to the hilt.
The best-known tools we have we have for answering your questions are probably opinion polls. If you look through the online archives, of, say, The Guardian, you'll almost certainly find relevant articles on pertinent public polling on this question.
One further answer to your question can be found on the betting exchanges. At the moment, BetFair has a betting market open on the next general election, and the odds for Labour and the Conservatives are pretty much the same. So it seems that in the collecting judgement of the punters, the next election is a tossup at this stage. Interestingly, the odds on a hung parliament are lower than either, indicating that they think that is the most likely possibility! --Robert Merkel 23:13, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Music question

I'm trying to find the name and artist of a song I heard. I heard it in the movie A Night at the Roxbury, but it is not on the soundtrack album. Part of the song (techno/insturmental) is briefly heard in a scene where the brothers are arguing in the car (I know, that's like every other scene in the movie!). The music is kind of suspenseful, agitated. Any ideas? - Cybergoth 14:46, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

There are a few tracks listed in the film's entry in the IMDB that don't appear on the soundtrack. It's probably one of those. Might help to narrow your search down a bit. --Richardrj 15:07, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
That was super-helpful! I found the song in 30 seconds - it's "Nightmare" by Brainbug. Thanks - Cybergoth 15:40, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Significance of metal stars on New England US buildings

Does anyone know the significance of all the stars on the sides of buildings throughout New England, USA? Some are attached to braces to anchor brick walls to a building, but why a star? And there are lots of decoration stars even on civil war era buildings. BrianInFrederick 15:04, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

There is some information for you in the Barnstar article, although it does not state specifically why a star shape was chosen. --LarryMac 16:26, 13 June 2006 (UTC)*[reply]

any conection with Hex Marks? (hotclaws**== 11:23, 14 June 2006 (UTC))[reply]

How to upload spreadsheet into article

Dear Wikipedia,

Can you please help me with an upload. I have done a graphical analysis of one of the movements (Lauda Jerusalem) of Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monteverdi_Vespers_of_1610). I noticed that images can be uploaded but did not see any references to spreadsheets.

Thank you very much!

Stan Baker Richmond, VA

You can add tables to the articles using either HTML table tags or WikiMedia table structure. That will allow a grid of data to be easily added. If it is a graph you want to add, save it as an image and upload it. --Kainaw (talk) 17:03, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

looking for typical 'Chinese' mountains

Hello,

I don't know if this belongs here, but I would like to know more about those 'typical' Chinese mountains. Whenever mountains of China (in the People's Republic of China) are shown, they show these quite tall, how to say this, sharp peaks all close to each other. I find this very beautiful, but I would like to know, what are they called and where (in what province, because China is really big) are they?

This is what I mean : http://www.georgeandpaula.com/photos/china/china15.jpg

Evilbu 16:12, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

See Himalaya. They are rather new in the mountain sense - so they are tall and pointy. Very old mountains, like the Smokey Mountains in the U.S. are flat and round. --Kainaw (talk) 17:01, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

What do you mean? I really don't think the picture shows Himalayan mountains? I don't any snow?Evilbu 19:15, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

but you also don't any verb...
I mean, click on the word Himalaya and you will see an article about a huge range of mountains in southwest China (and neighboring countries). That is not the only mountain range in China, but it is the largest. As for snow, what makes you think that every mountain in the Himalaya range has snow on it? That's just silly. I did look at other photos in the collection of the photo you included. It appears to be a trip from Beijing to the Great Wall, and then up the Huanghe River to the foothills of the Himalaya. But, that is just a guess since he didn't label them. --Kainaw (talk) 19:41, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
There are a large number of mountain ranges in China, and it will be quite difficult to identify the specific ones in the photo you linked to. I must admit, however, that the ones in the photo don't look like any part of the Himalayas I have ever seen. A quicker way to answer your question may be to contact the creator of the photo at the website you listed (http://www.georgeandpaula.com). Their website says "George" took it on his 1986 tour of China. Road Wizard 19:47, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Definitely not the Himalayas. This is a vague recollection from a course in Asian art I took way too long ago, but the "typical" Chinese mountains that one finds in ink and wash painting are mostly from the Song Dynasty of China. If I'm remembering correctly, the Northern Song dynasty (960-1127) had its capital in Kaifeng, where the mountains are quite rugged, while the Southern Song (1127-1279)had its capital at Hangzhou, south of the Yangtse River where the hills are much more rounded and the climate lends itself to mist. The court artists obviously painted whatever was around them so, going way out on a limb, I would guess that you are thinking of the Southern Song rounded hills around Kaifeng, perhaps of the Yangtse or a nearby tributary. Take a look at the pictures in those articles and see if they strike a chord. - BT 19:47, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Those pictures look to me exactly like the mountains I saw travelling along the Li River in China - i took a couple of pictures just like that; i'm thinking of this one in particular. Hope this helps! СПУТНИКCCC P 20:08, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Darn it, you beat my correction! The photos at Lijiang River in Guangxi Province look pretty similar. - BT 20:15, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Korean swirly thing

What is that Korean swirly symbol that looks kind of like a yin-yang? I see it all the time in Korean restaurants and I think there's a big one hanging in Gimpo airport. It's red, white, and blue and it looks like a yin-yang but there are three swirl things instead of two. Is there an article about this? Thanks!

interesting question. is it depicted to the left of the first picture here? (It seems to match your description, but with black for red. If that's what it looks like we can look for more pictures, history, culture, etc, and with some help from koreans on wp I think (based on what you said above) that the symbol would merit a nice article. 87.97.8.197 19:29, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
That's it, except I usually see red instead of black! I see that thing all the time. Surely it means something.
It's called the Sam-Taeguk, and is a variation of the Taeguk symbol, seen on the flag of South Korea.--Pharos 23:25, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
See also article Triskelion for somewhat similar-looking symbols; I added a picture of the 1988 Seoul Olympics logo to Taeguk. AnonMoos

Need Help finding the Title to a series of books, please...

I read this series of book sabout 10 years ago and would really like to find them, the problem is that I can't remember the title or the author. The books were about this girl who was somthing of a warrior, she also had "seeing" powers. She was on a quest, I think that she had purple eyes. If anyone has any idea of what I'm talking about- or can help me in finding the series I would really appreciate the input.

Thank you- E

Is it Witch Baby? [8] Just a guess from googling (girl quest "purple eyes") Nowimnthing 20:09, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]


Unfortuantely it's not- but this looks like an interesting read...Thanks though.* Witch World series by Andre Norton?(hotclaws**== 11:27, 14 June 2006 (UTC))[reply]

I'm almost certianly wrong, and I'm definitely too old for popular contemporary sci-fi/fantasy, but didn't Ursula K. LeGuin have orange skin and funky eyes for one of her protagonists in the Earthsea books? Geogre 12:21, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you all for your help...I actually found the answer from another site. It's a Tamora Pierce series...

Doctors and medical care in the early industrial revolution

Hi. I'm trying to find some info on the above topic, (I'll be refuting whether doctors managed to solve the healthcare problems of industrialising Britain) and not doing too well. Basically looking for info on basic medical healthcare in the early industrial revolution, (mainly over the 1800's) and looking for examples. Any suggestions? (Any help gratefully accepted)

As a starter, you may wish to read through the articles listed in Category:British doctors. At least a few of the articles I checked were about doctors of the 18 hundreds. Road Wizard 21:21, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Roy Porter's last book, I believe, was on the history of medicine in the 18th century. Rather large, and not very readable by his standards (the metaphors he pursues feel forced to me). Additionally, Michel Foucault's The Birth of the Clinic is short, but it's primarily about France during that era. Geogre 00:11, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Old Radio Show

I heard this old radio show one night on late night radio (right before bed to, bad idea) It was about some astronauts thats went out to space and some problems happened and the ship blew up... well when it did the 5 or so who were left when floating off in different directions in space. The story then went on about how one by one they went insane or killed them selves or died. Like one went into the sun and the last one plumeted into the earth. Well then the show ended with this little girl in the park with her mom and telling her mom "look it a shooting star" and it was the guy going into the earth. It was kinda scary (especially considering I was laying in bed in the dark by my self and it was like midnight). I've tried looking for it and asking people but no one know what it was. Any ideas would be great! Thanks BaptistKitty 22:55, 13 June 2006 (UTC)Katrina[reply]

  • I think we might need some more information. First off, what country were you in when you heard it on the radio? Also, roughly how long ago was it? (A month, a year, etc.) Road Wizard 23:02, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It's "Kaleidoscope" by Ray Bradbury. It appeared as a short story in The Illustrated Man. --Joelmills 00:16, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Oh, thats it!! Thanks for the help! Katrina 03:14, 14 June 2006 (UTC)Katrina[reply]

ER and insurance

Hi, i've always wanted to know the answer to this question but, in my european surroundings (i'm british), no one is able to give me an fact based, non-aren't-americans-bad type answer. basically, given that america has no universal health care (tut tut) and given that alot of people dont have health insurance (is it really as high as 40 million?) what happens when a non-insured person is in a serious accident? is he left on the hospital doorstep? is he treated then presented which a large bill which he can never pay back? or does the hospital, in a moments fiscal blindness, do it pro bono? or does it vary completely? thanks! 87.194.20.253 23:32, 13 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

American hospital emergency rooms are required to treat all patients, those who can't pay, don't and end up raising the bills of those who can. Some doctors also treat uninsured patients for free (especially those with life-threatening conditions), which may require those doctors to raise the health fees of their other patients. Emmett5 00:17, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

All of the above, but the last 2 are by far the most common. All US hospitals that benefited from public money are required to render some charity care to the poor by the Hill-Burton Act. This is satisfied in a variety of ways. Because there have been real instances where a critically ill or injured person has been turned away at the door (usually by sending them in an ambulance to a hospital the accepts indigient patients), there are regulations in nearly all states that prohibit hospitals with emergency departments from transfering or denying service to someone with a condition that represents a threat of real harm even if they cannot pay. The majority of ED visits in big cities by the poor however do not fall into that category from a medical perspective. Finally, your last scenario is also all too real as well, and hospitals often turn unpaid bills over to bill collectors. Unpayable medical bills are a factor in a minority of bankruptcy filings. alteripse 10:48, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

As I'm told by Americans, the real problem with emergency care in the US arises not if you are very very poor; you'll get your emergency needs taken care of, and probably paid for you. The problem is that if you have any money at all you are then liable for the bill, which may run to tens of thousands of dollars, and probably more than you would pay in other countries. The moral of this story: if you are visiting the US be very, very sure you have medical insurance. It also explains why European travel insurance comes in three price ranges: Europe (cheap); Everywhere except the US (expensive); Everywhere including the US (very expensive). DJ Clayworth 14:05, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]


Thanks guys! exactly what i needed i know...87.194.20.253 12:01, 15 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

June 14

Ulm

What is the nearest airport of any kind to Ulm, Germany?

Humans

On average, what is the most ticklish part of the body? Most of the time I get feet but that's not my main turn-on.

On a purely anecdotal and subjective basis, I would guess the soles of the feet (not the feet in general) and the elbows... AnonMoos 01:05, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It depends on the person, but tickling should give you the answer. --ColourBurst 01:37, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Are you referring to a sexual "turn-on"? Erogenous zones and ticklish zones are not necessarily the same places. Tickling can definitely be a turn-off if done to excess. JackofOz 04:36, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
On average, surely it would be somewhere near the waist. Soles of feet and top of head would average there, to start with. Grutness...wha? 08:51, 15 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Validity of Ayatollah Khomeini Quotes Condoning Pedophilia/Bestiality

My question concerns quotes attributed to Ayatollah Khomeini in the new book "The Dunces of Doomsday: 10 Blunders That Gave Rise to Radical Islam, Terrorist Regimes, and the Threat of an American Hiroshima" by Paul L. Williams. The book is published by WND Books (World Net Daily) and the author is obviously quite conservative (even President Bush and Donald Rumsfeld are "dunces" - apparently not conservative enough). The bias of the author and the sheer outrageousness of the quotes greatly aroused my suspicion.

Anyway, here are the quotes. From page 53:

"A man can have sexual pleasure from a child as young as a baby. However, he should not penetrate; sodomizing the child is OK. If the man penetrates and damages the child, then he should be responsible for her subsistence all her life. This girl, however, does not count as one of his four permanent wives. The man will not be eligible to marry the girl's sister... It is better for a girl to marry in such a time when she would begin menstruation at her husband's house rather than her father's house. Any father marrying his daughter so young will have a permanent place in heaven." (the citation given is listed on page 205, "Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Tahrirolvasyleh, vol. 4 (Gom, Iran: Darol Elm 1990), 186.")

The other quote appears (the position of the quote is a bit odd) to be attributed to Khomeini (with no citation given), from page 61:

"A man can have sex with animals such as sheep, cows, camels, and so on. However, he should kill the animal after orgasm. He should not sell the meat to the people in the village; however, selling the meat to people in a neighboring village is permissible."

Did Khomeini really write these things? If so, is there possibly some context that could explain them? Or was he really straight out condoning these things?

Thank you.

-Edvard

The Tahrirolvasyleh reminds me a bit of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, both in terms of its proliferation (solely by virulent opponents of its alleged author) and its overall vibe of spuriousness. The fact that this author (presumably without ironic intent) describes Jimmy Carter as "the worst president in America's history" makes me doubt not only his credibility but his sanity. It doesn't help that his book is published by World Net Daily, which combines the humanity of Der Stürmer with the journalistic integrity of The National Enquirer. Bhumiya (said/done) 05:00, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
That's a bit uncalled for. WND does more to highlight and condemn the use of the Protocols than its critics. Andjam 06:57, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
  • I haven't read Paul L. Williams' book. But Jimmy Carter himself was fooled by Khomeini's rhetoric that ostensibly championed freedom of speech and press. As a result, Carter was on the fence in terms of supporting Muhammad Reza Pahlavi, would only begrudgingly welcome the Shah into the US on 22 October 1979 for medical treatment, and really wanted to befriend the Ayatollah until Khomeini endorsed the storming of the US Embassy in Tehran 13 days later.

In fact, the Shah knew that Carter would not help him topple Khomeini which is why after his overthrow on 11 February 1979, the Shah fumbled in Africa trying to enlist the help of Egypt and Morocco to return to power which did not work out.Patchouli 06:19, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Use of "Merovingian" in Proust

I thought it would be easy to figure this out, but all the definitions I find for "Merovingian" are like "of or relating to the first Frankish dynasty..."; but what does Proust mean when he uses in _Swann's Way_? What is the cultural significance of it, as the narrative is set in the late 19th century? Thanks!

Well he seems to use it in a variety of ways[9]. Merovingian Past probably just means the distant past, while Merovingian age probably refers to the fact that the Merovingians were the beginning of the dark ages. Please wait while someone comes along to explain that the dark ages were not as dark as they are made out to be. Another allusion which the Merovingians are often used for is the idea of petty, local despotic rulers compared to the all encompassing Roman empire. Finally, as a writer Proust may have been thinking of the Merovingian script.MeltBanana 03:04, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Banned Books

Are there any books that are banned by the United States government which even adults over 21 are prohibited access thereto?Patchouli 07:02, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

There are no books currently banned by the United States Government, that I am aware of. However, it is possible for a public school district to ban a book from their curriculum, for a locality to ban books from their local library, and for other local-level censorship to occur. A direct answer to your question is given here. Note that the article's implied speculation concerning instruction manuals on dirty bombs is wrong -- it's perfectly legal to print that information, and I've read international security journal articles that have discussed the same. (And it certainly doesn't take a nuclear physicist to figure it out anyway.) This page might also shed some light on the issue. --DavidGC 07:27, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Is a library not buying a book equivalent to banning it? Andjam 09:30, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
No. A library has two functions when it comes to books. They maintain a collection of books that are considered important. They hold a temporary collection of new and popular books that will soon be forgotten. If I write a book and get some fly-by-night publisher to make a few copies, there is absolutely no reason for the library to purchase it. That isn't because it is banned. It is because the book is neither important or popular. --Kainaw (talk) 13:07, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice. between 1996 and 2002 I assume many books were implicitly banned for fictive depictions of minors (drawings, etc) that would [if they had depicted actual underage persons instead] constitute child pornography. The article I just links concludes "In a 6-3 opinion, the Court decided that the two above provisions were unconstitutional because they abridged 'the freedom to engage in a substantial amount of lawful speech.'" Of course, any books today that actually consist of underage actors engaged in sexually explicit conduct would be "banned" (both possession and distribution), but such a book would never even see publication, except self-published, with penalties for doing so. Books aren't banned in the united states for "political" reasons, if that's what you're thinking, but there are penalties in some states for hate speech (if you incite someone to violence against members of a protected group, tell them how to commit the violence, etc). Once you get into this class of legal issues all sorts of things limit free speech, from copyright law, contractual obligations (NDA's on trade secrets) national security (releasing classified documents you're privileged to, but this wouldnt apply to you unless you were the one abusing your security clearing), libel, etc. These are all free speech issues. But I'm not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice. Talk to a lawyer if you're interested in what restrictions there are on publishing in the united states. 82.131.188.126 09:49, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

the closest recent thing (other than the pedophilia) I can think of is Hit Man which was not really banned by the U.S. courts, but the publisher settled out of court and agreed to destroy all copies. Interestingly some claim that made it public domain and have since published it online. Private businesses can of course censor what they carry. Government funded libraries and schools can choose what materials they carry according to local community standards, but as far as the government officially banning a book or movie it has happened in the past, esp. during McCarthyism but not recently. Nowimnthing 13:23, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Although not now banned James Joyce's Ulysses was banned for 11 years in the U.S.A, from 1922 til 1933. The U.S.A post office famously burned at least one batch of 500 copies which were imported into the country. It took a court case to get the ban lifted. AllanHainey 11:17, 15 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
For more on which one may read United States v. One Book Entitled Ulysses (cited as 72 F.2d 705, 707 [C. A. 2d Cir. 1934], affirming 5 F. Supp. 182 [D.C. S.D.N.Y. 1933]), as is summarized here. Joe 16:56, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

oldest town in europe

Hi could you help me ..I have been trying to find out which is the oldest town in europe and keep coming up with conflicting info . There seems to be alarge number of towns which claim to be the oldest. I would greatly appreciate your help in this matter. In naswering coudl you also provide some historical back ground tho the town

The conflicting info is probably because about sixty or seventy towns/cities across Europe claim they are 'the oldest town in Europe'. It's just lies - I've been to four cities that I know of that have a restaurant that is 'the oldest in Europe'. I don't think there'd be a definitive answer - it all depends on your definition of town. Proto||type 11:33, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Humans (and their ancestors) have lived together in organized communities since way before recorded history, so the question is impossible to answer without a very precise definition of "town" that (just to start with) places it somewhere within recorded history. You might want to try approaching this by reading our article on civilization. --Shantavira 12:27, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

List of oldest continually-inhabited cities gives the nod to Damascus, about 6,500 years old. EamonnPKeane 13:42, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Of course Damascus isn't actually in Europe. AllanHainey 14:29, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Just wait. --DLL 17:51, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Gadir (current Cadiz) is considered the "most ancient city still standing in western Europe." But yeah, who knows. --RiseRover|talk 20:49, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The answer becomes obvious once you define "oldest", "town", and "in Europe". --Serie 21:28, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

longest war in world

Kindly tell me, which was the longest war to have occurred in the whole world ? Please do not take into account any mythological views.Thanx. - KUTTU.


Well, by a simple Google search, it shoes that there is a consensus on the Hundred Years War being the longest war ever. Little tidbit though, it was actually called the one years war, but only at the beginning :) schyler 12:11, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Once again, it's a question of definition. According to our article on long Wars, the Three Hundred and Thirty Five Years' War between the Netherlands and the Isles of Scilly, [was] technically the longest war ever.--Shantavira 12:32, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Do not forget the eternal war between good and evil. --DLL 16:46, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

That one's mythical: there's no such thing as "good". --Serie 21:29, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]


       Thankxx, for the references on long wars. But i am 
  really searching for a war - which was not a combination of
  petty battles, nor a culmination of several minor wars
  between arch rivals, and without any declared ceasefire .
  It might be nothing near those figures(yrs.)you mentioned,
  still, it should be a CONTINUOUS war , in real sense. It's
  not necessary, that it should be an ancient one , you can
  cite instances of modern day wars, till date.   
                                         thankxxx, once again
                                                       KUTTU.
You might be interested in the Thirty Years' War: thirty years of near-constant fighting in Germany. --Serie 19:29, 15 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Confucianism report

I have been asked to write a report on "The teachings of Confucius as recorded in the Analects".

I am having trouble thinking of how to write and structure this. Is there a set number of teachings that he had in the Analects? Or should I just go over some of the main ones? Or is there some kind of an outline I could follow?

Help would be appreciated, thank you.

Have you considered reading Analects of Confucius, or did you simply want someone else to write it for you? --Kainaw (talk) 13:03, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Yes I have considered reading that. I have read it over several times, as well as other Wikipedia articles. I didn't ask anyone to write anything for me. All I asked was if anyone had suggestions on how to structure such a report on Confucius' teachings within the Analects. Have you considered reading PROPERLY, or do you simply jump to conclusions ALL the time? gelo 14:23, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I assume and jump to conclusions. It makes life more like a rollercoaster ride. I would suggest using the same structure as the article, with one addition. Who is Confucius? What are the Analects? When were they written? Why are they important? Basically, it is the generic structure that SHOULD be taught in any writing class: Who What Where When Why. In this case, the Where is assumed to be China. --Kainaw (talk) 14:28, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Who is Confucius? What are the Analects? When were they written? Why are they important?
Do your own homework, Kainaw.
82.131.188.126 15:24, 14 June 2006 (UTC). sorry, read too quickly[reply]


Ok, so you suggest to use the article outline. Well, the question is more concerning the TEACHINGS of Confucius as recorded in The Analects, and the present article on the Analects does not contain anything in much detail on the teachings contained therein.. gelo 06:56, 15 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

BBC comeback list does not include de Gaulle

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5048382.stm

Because of Alan Garcia's comeback in Peru, BBC made a comeback list.

Why is de Gaulle missing?? Evilbu 13:59, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Because they forgot him. Because the wretched hack who wrote the list hadn't heard of him or failed to do his research. Because the list isn't exhaustive. Pick one or other of the reasons from the above non-exhaustive list. --Richardrj 14:10, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Did you use the form at the bottom of the article to suggest people they missed? I assume they left him out for two reasons. First, he's French and the BBC is British. Second, my limited knowledge of him is that he rose to power through the military and then fell out of favor in 1968 and retired. I don't know of a major comeback. --Kainaw (talk) 14:11, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
How about because he never really made a comeback (unless you count the first time he was elected as PM then President as France as a comeback from the period during which he wasn't the unelected head of the French Government in Exile). He was President of France once, albeit for 10 years, and was generally popular until he got increasingly unpopular, he resigned & later died. AllanHainey 14:21, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

In order to avoid confusion, what I would see as a comeback, is the start of the Fifth Republic of France, in the late fifties. Evilbu 14:59, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

To be fair, they did say "a guide to some" of the most successful comebacks. They never claimed it was a complete list, and they even asked people to nominate other entries. JackofOz 21:17, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Er... De Gaulle did spend a decade "crossing the desert" (from the end of the provisional post-war government in 1946 to his presidency in 1958). See Charles_de_Gaulle#1946.E2.80.931958:_The_desert_crossing. David.Monniaux 11:49, 17 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I have proof that the FDA is tapping my phone calls?

Is this considered legal?—Yipe 15:42, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Yes. General Eisenhower • (at war or at peace) 16:15, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Are you sure it's the Federal Drug Administration that's doing it? Phone tapping is generally done by the FBI, CIA, NSA, and other law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Emmett5 16:46, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The FDA is the Food and Drug Administration. Maybe he or she is attempting to traffic in flour that hasn't been properly entoleted. --LarryMac 16:52, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
We have a long and detailed article on telephone tapping that describes the legal position. --Shantavira 17:18, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Don't you remember that thing Bush did? "In order to protect the freedom(s) of the american people.."? It had a name... the bill of whatever I guess...
A line that comes to mind is Big Brother is watching you. VdSV9•♫ 17:23, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Yes. I do remember. Back in 1978. Wasn't he a raging DWI drunk at the time? It is amazing how he was passing laws back then, but the conspiracy theorists can't be wrong. --Kainaw (talk) 17:25, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Something very odd is going on with this user... all their edits are on user pages about sockpuppets, and then there's this in his contributions:
  1. 08:52, June 14, 2006 (hist) (diff) User:NSA powered vandalbot (very funny, ha ha) (top)
  2. 08:51, June 14, 2006 (hist) (diff) User talk:Pgk (rv vandalism by FDA powered vandalbot)
  3. 08:50, June 14, 2006 (hist) (diff) User talk:152.163.100.131 (→Your edit to Crab Nebula your vandalism by FDA powered vandalbot) (top)
  4. 08:48, June 14, 2006 (hist) (diff) User:El Pgk (you're working for the FDA aren't you?) (top)
  5. 08:48, June 14, 2006 (hist) (diff) User talk:El Pgk (please stop tapping my phone calls!)
  6. 08:47, June 14, 2006 (hist) (diff) User talk:Pgk (rv vandalism by NSA powered vandalbot)

-Goldom (t) (Review) 17:56, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I don't see what's so odd about that—Yipe 18:20, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It does seem rather obsessive, I suppose. As does categorizing people's accounts as part of AOL DoS attacks without posting any supporting evidence for your assertions, at least at first glance. --DavidGC 18:58, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Yeah, patriot act, thanks kainaw. VdSV9•♫ 18:59, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, it is legal to have proof that the FDA is tapping your phone. User:Zoe|(talk) 16:14, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

American President buried in another country

I once heard a triva qestion that was who is the armerican president buried in another country. Sadly I was not able to hear the answer. Does anyone know? Thanks

Jack should know this... VdSV9•♫ 17:13, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Check this site. Every United States President is buried (or at least has a gravesite) in what is currently the United States. It is possible that one was buried in a place that was later turned into a state. --Kainaw (talk) 17:14, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I reached the same conclusion from searching Find A Grave - US Presidents and Vice Presidents. George Washington has a memorial in London, but was buried at Mount Vernon. It could be a trick question, depending on how it was phrased - e.g., I can think of a couple of U.S. Presidents who weren't buried in the U.S.A (or anywhere else).... or "American" could be interpreted to include South America and Canada. Or it might just be an error by the question master. --TheMadBaron 17:57, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Contrary to an increasingly widespread belief, I don't actually know everything, VdSV9. Only most things, and all the things worth knowing. (Lol) No, I've never heard of any POTUS being buried outside the US. Funnily enough, though, I was thinking only 3 or 4 days ago about creating a Wikipedia article with a list of the burial places of US Presidents and similar personages. But I would say that, wouldn't I.  :--) JackofOz 21:11, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Ooh ooh! I got it– John Tyler died and was buried in Confederate Virginia (he was also an elected member of the Confederate government at the time).--Pharos 21:27, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
But the confederate states never achieved the status of a separate country, did they? Were they ever recognised by any foreign power as a nation separate from the USA? JackofOz 00:14, 15 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
See the article... it is an iffy subject. --Kainaw (talk) 00:51, 15 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Why, thank you, Kainaw. I never knew that. JackofOz 04:38, 15 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
  • I'm pretty sure TheMadBaron has the right idea. The question as I've traditionally heard it are "Which U.S. presidents are not buried within the United States?"

Template:Spoiler And the answers are this one, this one, this one, this one, and this one. --Metropolitan90 02:50, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Completeness about Israel - Arab conflict.

Well, i have went through the articles about the arab israel conflict, and think that the manner in which all the data has been poured in that article, isnt too good, and makes it too complex to understand. I am a regular avid reader of wikipedia's articles, and have a collection of my own, amounting to about 500 Mb. But talking about this particular article, the article presents the facts, but does it in a very complex way. Of course, the problem itself is very complex. Compared to other articles of wikipedia, it isnt very recommendable. So if any of volunteers could modify it upto the standards of wikipedia, it would be great. I myself could do it, but dont have much knowledge about the happenings, so didnt do it. Wish some volunteer would make that article more simpler to understand. Thank You.

There might be a less complex version in the Simple English wikipedia, but feel free to remove unnecessary complexities in this version, too. Emmett5 23:06, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

But please discuss it on the article's Talk page before making massive changes. User:Zoe|(talk) 16:16, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Olympic boxer

Where is more information about Salamo Arouch? He was a Greek Jew who boxed as a middleweight in the Olympics (what year?), won at least one medal, and was deported to Auschwitz, but survived. He was portrayed in the 1989 movie Triumph of the Spirit. 66.213.33.2 21:27, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Hm. good question. We don't seem to have a page on him, and more surprisingly neither does http://www.jewishsports.net/. Unrelated, but you might also be interested in the movie Sunshine, starring Ralph Fiennes, part of which was based on the story of Attila Petschaeuer, a Hungarian-Jewish Olympic fencer who sadly did not survive his time in a WWII concentration camp. As for which Olympics, it would almost certainly have been the 1936 games in Berlin. Grutness...wha? 09:23, 15 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I did a little googling, and it appears that he won some sort of pan-Balkans middleweight title in 1939, but not an Olympic medal (though he did participate).--Pharos 09:51, 15 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

largest city

Can anyone tell me, or even know at that, at what is the largest city in the world by area?

According to a google search, Los Angeles is the largest city in the world by area, followed by Greater Auckland. --Fuhghettaboutit 22:15, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
See List of cities by surface area. It does depend on how different countries define 'city' though, as some include larger regions for administrative reasons. There's a decent discussion of the difficulties here. Ziggurat 22:16, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Hmm. My results from google sure are at odds with that list (Los Angeles isn't even listed). I think this is a parameter definition issue. Maybe the best answer is that it depends on the parameters you use to define the boundaries of a city's area.--Fuhghettaboutit 22:34, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I'd say that Los Angeles is the best bet for the real biggest city by area (i.e. continuous conurbation), and I've certainly heard that Greater Auckland is very spread out. But I have no reliable sources for that assumption! Maybe Guinness knows? Ziggurat 00:00, 15 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Our article at Los Angeles, California claims it is the eleventh largest city in the United States, so this claim seems a little odd. Juneau, Alaska has a size of 3255 square miles, much of it water. User:Zoe|(talk) 16:41, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Certainly Kalgoorlie and Mount Isa stretch the traditional definition of city. What about Sydney, Australia? 12,000 sq km apparently.

Sydney is not a "city" as such, but a conurbation, I suppose. It is comprised of a number of different local government areas, most of which are cities in their own right, eg. Parramatta, Liverpool, Randwick, etc. Most Australian state capitals are similarly organised. Brisbane is the exception. It is governed by a single council, the Brisbane City Council, whose budget is greater than that of the state of Tasmania. JackofOz 00:10, 15 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The same is true of Auckland, with technical and administrative divisions like Auckland City, North Shore City, Manukau City, and so forth. Ziggurat 00:16, 15 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Regardless of it's administrative structure, Sydney is definitely bigger than Brisbane. Randwick is only about 10 km from the CBD. These days Parramatta and Liverpool seem to seamlessly blend into Sydney.

Mount Isa is often considered the largest by area as - as pointed out above, Sydney is a conurbation. Similarly Auckland is a conurbation - Dunedin is the largest individual city by area in New Zealand though - like Mt. Isa - it contains a large rural hinterland within the city limits. Grutness...wha? 09:16, 15 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

its actually alice springs (in australia) or at least so i was told by the tour giude. its a tiny town (10,000-ish) but because its in the middle of the desert, they just drew the city limits miles away (for fun, it seems). it has one suburb which is 180km (100 miles) from the city centre and apparently the whole area is larger than switzerland! you could check the Guiness book of world records for the definitive answer i suppose. 87.194.20.253 19:26, 15 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

wikipedia

Wikipedia, tell me. This sight is pretty much run by all the users right? well what if a user puts something on that is not true? what will you do then? what if its true, like do you research it within minutes or...wut?

We do have a page that addresses this, but in brief: If you add something in, and you don't provide a source for me to check it, and I don't think it's true, I will remove it. I am more likely to remove it than spend the time and energy sourcing every comment added without a source. And often this happens within minutes. Skittle 22:56, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Recent Changes are closely monitored by many wikipedians. And although there is a chance misinformation can creep into articles most things are caught quick. If looking for reliability of information be sure to see if the article has citations for all of its facts. Featured articles are also articles that meet a level of quality, and are peer reviewed by many wikipedians and can be considered quite reliable. --DennyCrane Talk 23:38, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Wikipedia is run by volunteers, and it relies on the fact that most people would rather help the world with new information than harm the world with false information. It also relies upon the fact that other readers will remove nonsense and mistakes. If those two things fail, users can nominate articles for deletion if they fail our guidelines. In addition, administrators watch recent pages, new pages, and the candidates for speedy deletion. That said, Wikipedia is not authoritative, and we are very clear about that. While most accounts rate our information as on par with print encyclopedias, we do not guarantee it, and our general reliability is a testimony to how generally true my first two sentences are. Geogre 02:45, 15 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

luxuriosnous

does wikipedia have a list of top 10 most luxurious places to live? i dont know how it would be measured but, u never know...

Try watching the Travel Channel. I remember the "Top Ten" lists they put on. Not sure if they still have them now.Wizrdwarts (T|C) 23:05, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

first class/ second class townships

What is the difference between a first class and second class township?

I am not sure. Could you tell us where you came across the expression? Thanks. Road Wizard 23:46, 14 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It depends on the state. -- Mwalcoff 01:27, 15 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
You get more legroom in first class townships, also someone comes around with a drinks trolley. AllanHainey

June 15

Las Vegas Trip

I'm going to visit Hoover Damn on Monday, driving from Las Vegas. I've been looking at the map for anything of interest between Las Vegas and the dam, but I can't find anything. Anyone live in the area? Is it just a stretch of desert (the kind I had to deal with when I lived in 29 Palms)? --Kainaw (talk) 01:00, 15 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I drove through there last year, and if I recall correctly there ain't much there at all. When you get close to the Dam there's the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, but aside from that nothing springs to mind. Ziggurat 01:02, 15 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Directly between Las Vegas and the dam, there's not much. Boulder City is vaguely interesting for its history, but the extra time is more worth spending at the dam (or rubbernecking the construction of the new bridge). But the dam is only 30 miles, mostly hilly for the last half of it. Oh, if you're a railroad buff, one branch of the Nevada State Railroad Museum is in Boulder City; I don't know if it's any good. There are a lot of interesting side trips around Lake Mead. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 04:57, 15 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Boudhayana

Does anyone have any further information on Boudhayana other than mere reference?

French military stance towards Germany, 1936

I heard recently (on an internet forum of all places) that France was ready to march troops over the border into Germany in 1936 but was restrained from such an action by the British government, who preferred to appease Hitler, implying that there was a great divison in the Allied camp pre-war. The result of the discussion, which I did not get involved in, was perhaps predictable and essentially the British alone got blamed for letting Hitler accumulate so much power. To what degree should the British government be blamed for trying to avoid another European war, considering that Europe had not recovered from and had certainly not forgotten the impact of the Great War. Did France explicitly threaten or recommend military action against Germany, and does this mean that they had more comprehension of the threat that Hitler posed?

Further to this question, can anybody theorise on the consequences of such a preemptive action. Germany was not entirely ready for a large war in 1939, never mind 1936, and obviously there are far more implications aside from the military ones. Some might say that Hitler was not likely to fight at this stage against the largest ground army in Europe, especially if France was the one taking agressive action. However it is likely that Germany would have been forced into conflict extremely early given Hitler's style of leadership, given that his stance was, from the beginning, 'All or nothing'.

I've just concluded a 3 year History degree during which I spent my last year studying Nazi Germany (with Ian Kershaw, no less), so I already have an extremely good working knowledge. I understand the issues I have raised already but was hoping to refresh my memory on this particular issue, but could not find any sort of page with the details of 1936 French military stance here on wikipedia. I'm sure there is one but searching yielded nothing.

Nice one!!!

cassidy

I haven't studied this for a few years, but the thing it reminds me of is when Hitler remilitarised the Rheinland - although in reverse. As I recall, the British government were keen to oppose him (although not in any position to do so), and so appealed to the French, who refused to take action because they were about to have an election, and didn't want to plunge France into a war - ironically, the Germans having been under orders to withdraw if they met any resistance due to their inability to fight a protracted conflict at that point.
As regards the speculation... who knows :) Mnemeson 03:08, 15 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I haven't thought about this for a while, but I believe that in France, many people would have wanted to avoid war if at all possible...remember that a large portion of the fighting of World War I took place in northern France, and the trauma of that was still fresh in people's minds.
Some search terms for you to try are "Popular Front" or "Front populaire" (the coalition of left-wing parties that came into power in 1936) and "Léon Blum" (the Socialist prime minister at the head of that coalition). There's also a book that I haven't read, but purports to deal with your question: Strange Victory by Ernest R. May. This book's title alludes to another book, L'étrange défaite or Strange Defeat by Marc Bloch, whose contents I do not remember.--Tachikoma 04:18, 15 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I can't give you the whole story as it's been a while since I've looked at the subject myself, but maybe I can give you a few extra pieces of the puzzle to help you out. You probably already know most of this, but here goes: Due to the Treaty of Versailles Hitler had to very surrepticiously build up the German army during the 1930's. This meant being on reasonably good terms with the then extremely pacifist Government of Britain. In 1936, German military forces were still extremely weak, and posed no threat to France or Britain. France could have easily overrun Germany with very little resistance. But I'm sure you already knew that. (Of course, this action by France would have been considered, by todays standards, as "an illegal pre-emptive war based on nothing more than mere speculation and suspicion, with no hard evidence, of the threat posed by a brutal dictator who had the habit of murdering his own people", and should France have actually sent troops into Germany, they would surely be regarded by today's standards as "illegal occupiers of a sovereign nation".)
The one instance where I would differ from your summary of the situation in 1936 is in your terminology. Back in '36, I wouldn't say that the Brits were looking to appease Hitler, rather, as I said, their Government was extremely pacifist and many sort of sympathised with Germany's situation, in the sense that they felt that the Treaty was overly harsh and that all that Hitler really wanted to do (despite the fact that Mein Kampf was published 12 years earlier clearly outlining Hitler's true goal -- it was no secret) was rebuild Germany into a proper European power and restore the dignity it deserved. So basically what I'm saying is that 1936 was too early too speak of appeasement, as that seems to imply that Hitler was seen as a serious threat, and that actions were taken to convince him to change his policy of expansionism. True appeasement only began a little while later, when Hitler gradually but continuously began to appear to be more and more of a threat to the stability of Europe. I believe the policy if the British at that point in time (i.e. 1936) was not appeasement at all, but rather a naïve devotion to pacifism (i.e. make love not war), and, save for those constant rantings in Parliament by that paranoid, babyfaced, half-drunk, cigar smoking "warmonger" has-been MP from Kent, an ignorant blindness to what were Hitler's obvious intentions. Sorry I couldn't speak of the French position, as I'm far less informed as to the politics of France at the time than of Britain. In any case, I'm sure you already know most of this at least, if not all, so I'm sorry if all I just said is just a repetition of the basics of the lead-up to WWII. I just hope that I may have added perhaps one or two little elements that may have slipped your mind. Loomis51 11:16, 15 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

True, appeasement in 1936 was not the right phrase to use, but the general idea was there. I recognise that Germany was in no position to fight in 1936 (the four year plan, in which Hitler stated he wanted the country ready for a war in 4 years, was only put forward in 36), especially against France. Also the problems regarding such a preemptive action are very clear, in all likelihood I think the French, if they did move, would be forced to withdraw after a short time and Hitler would merely be delayed. Perhaps even not that much as it would be easier for him to gain international support.

The French having been hit the hardest by WW1, and going through the process of an election, were unlikely to go to war without very good reason, and the British did have a pacifist government.

Basically, all very good points. :)

Still I am looking for any evidence to the contrary, ie explicit French recommendation for action. I ****ing hate it when somebody just invents facts to try and bolster their argument on a message board, it's so stupid.

cassidy [After computer problem & edit conflict]

As you no doubt know France did invade the Ruhr valley in 1923 but had to abandon it after a German workers strike & campaign of passive resistance. As to anotherproposed invasion in 1936, presumably in response to German reoccupation of the Rhineland, I'm not aware that this was ever seriously considered by the French (though a few politicians may have advocated it). I believe at this time the French were more focussed on beefing up the Maginot Line and extending it along the Belgian border than taking any offensive operations. During this period the French overall seem from what I've read to be more focussed on the defensive than offensive with relation to Germany.
As regards the British attitude there was a general feeling there that Hitler was "only going into his own backyard" and there was, with a few exceptions, felt to be no harm in this as it was simply allowing a redressing of an extrememely harsh treaty. I'd agree with Loomis51 that it is far to early to characterise this as appeasement - that only began once there was a real threat posed by Germany to Britain and when Hitler began moving in on other countries/areas with partially German populations. AllanHainey 14:05, 15 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]


Clinton's internal US travel?

I remember reading back in 2000 odd that Clinton had visited 49 US states, but there was one he'd flown over a hundred times, and never landed in. A bit vague, and Google doesn't seem to know much about his internal travel, but I was wondering if anyone knew which one he'd missed out?

cheers! Mnemeson 03:11, 15 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

  • I guess he could have flown over Alaska many times on trips to Asia, but I would be surprised if he hadn't visited there somtime (there are a lot of military installations there etc.). Or it could just be some small state near DC like Maryland or Delaware (which has no significant commercial airport) that he just always drove to.--Pharos 03:41, 15 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

just a question...

Hi. I just want to ask that what would be the best answer to the question "Is good always right?"

Thank You...!!

I think you would need to define "good" and "right". Also, it is possible for someone to do something that they believe is good and right but actually be doing the wrong thing, like giving money to a friend in difficulties, who then spends it on drink and gets in a wreck.
If you define "right" as meaning legal then there are many instances when "right" might not be "good". It was illegal for Germans to hide Jews from the authorities in Nazi Germany, but in this case the good thing would have been to ignore the law. -- Chris Q 07:20, 15 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
"The best answer" is something for you to decide as you finish your essay ;).
If you are defining "good" with reference to others you will find ample historcical backing for a "yes" (see ethic of reciprocity). "Good as right" could also be taken as (a very much simplified) expression of utilitarianism.
You should probably also look at Goodness and evil and Enlightened self-interest (the last is a rather weak page unfortunately). Marskell 10:23, 15 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Merthyr rising 1831

why did William Crawshay the ironmaster try to stop the workers from rioting?

Because he was a rich industrialist in the area? He did write an account of the riots The Late Riots at Merthyr Tydfil. MeltBanana 21:57, 15 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Lord Franklin

Jane Griffin, Lady Franklin, offered a reward of £10,000 for information as to the fate of her husband's expedition in search of the North West Passage. Did anyone ever receive the reward? 86.135.35.146 11:55, 15 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]


The Canadian Encyclopedia [12] states that John Rae was given this award in 1854. See the article for fuller details. --Jaslib 18:29, 15 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Lord Franklin should redirect to John Franklin, but I can't create pages. 64.122.245.143 00:01, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It does now. Good song by Pentangle, too, IIRC. Grutness...wha? 10:42, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

St John the Baptist.

Thank you for taking the time to check this for me. We are having a discussion on St John the Baptist and the quote "I am that I am" is said to be attributed to him. Having checked my bible in the Gospel of St John, and a quick look through the Gospel of St Luke is there any other place I can look or do you know who this quote is attributed to in the very first instance.

Thank you in anticipation. Mags

Magal, 2002, aAre you thinking of the First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 15:10)? Or perhaps Exodus 3:14 where this is said by God to Moses? --Shantavira 15:15, 15 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Shantavira is right: "I am that I am" is what God says to Moses. We have almost no quotes from the baptist in the Bible. Geogre 18:42, 15 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

John the Baptist did say a few things, but the only place in the Bible the the phrase "I AM that I AM" is found is Exodus 3:14: "And God said unto Moses, I AM that I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you." Katrina 20:30, 15 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Jews in tennis

I seek an email address for Encyclopedia Judaica, or any other way to communicate with them. They have a section on "Jews in Tennis & Squash" which is very incomplete and needs editing. I will appreciate your help. Please respond to <--email address removed-->. Thank you.

Did you try going to their website and clicking on "contact us"? --Shantavira 17:53, 15 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

help!!!!!!!!!

Jeremy Hyett 16:08, 15 June 2006 (UTC)When did canada and australia become seperate from the britsh empire of 1920[reply]

Dominion AnonMoos
1920 ? --DLL 21:40, 15 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Name that tune

Going crazy trying to recall the name of this composition. Very well known so someone should get it easy. Here's the intro (or something) in cheapo notation: 

      Db          Db          Db    
C C C    C, C C C    C, C C C    C,                                                C
                                    Bb Bb
                                          Ab,           Ab Ab Ab       Ab       Ab
                                              G  G               G        G          G G
                                                   F F,            F F      F F

¦ Reisio 16:12, 15 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Could you upload a file of you humming it, for those of us who can't read music notation?
Ok, you can't read music, but you can type those letters there and hear (a Db is the black note before the D, marked #C) The air tells me nothing. --DLL 21:38, 15 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The Barber of Seville. It's on the list of classical pieces used in cartoons. —Keenan Pepper 01:25, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Just to clarify that answer a little bit it is part of the overture to the opera, and is played by violins and violas with a cello and woodwind accompaniment. --Wisden17 19:57, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks guys. :) It's sad, but before I posted I actually checked exactly that, but I was too impatient to wait apparently two entire minutes to see if it was in there. :p ¦ Reisio 21:22, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

viking school

can wikipedia guys write a short article about the viking school? its located in viking, alberta, canada.

Generally, Wikipedia only lists famous schools. So unless something is notable about your school, no. BUT if there is something notable, you can always register on Wikipedia and start the article yourself. Emmett5 23:51, 15 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

  • Be sure to name it appropriately and to satisfy all elements of the deletion policy. Otherwise, it will probably be deleted. If the school is notable in itself, then it should be ok. If it's just another school doing the things schools do, probably not. (Now, if it were a Viking school.... "Class, pay attention! This is how you slaughter the monk holding the psalter without getting blood on the gold you're taking." "And now Harald will demonstrate the proper way of wearing the bear-sark and going berserk.") Geogre 13:02, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
  • Generally, Wikipedia only lists famous schools Since when? WP:SCHOOL. User:Zoe|(talk) 16:48, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
    • That's not policy, and the matter is not settled. Make an article on Anonymous Public School, and it could well be on AfD the same day. If you want to be safe, make sure the school has something about it that's worth knowing, and not just a Yellow Pages entry. Geogre 18:00, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
      • Although I am all for deleting schools which fail notability, there is an organized "we shall keep all schools regardless of the content of the article" movement which immediately marshalls and votes keep on all school AfDs. I am not advocating such a position, merely indicating its unfortunate existence. User:Zoe|(talk) 18:10, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
    • Sorry, Zoe. I'm just still furious about those people, and I see now that you were being a bit bitter in your comment, too. "Movements" to ensure that "every article" of any sort seem to me to be counter to reference works of any sort. There is no "every" that is valid, IMO, or yours, I gather, and so the partisanship that leads people to such unnatural positions is poison to the body. Geogre 11:41, 17 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

British Religion

Which council of 664AD accepted Catholicism as the religion of Britain?

I asked which council of 664AD accepted Catholicism as the religion of Britian? I was re[lied to by Gareth rather tersely I think. As a first time user of this site I did try searching first but could not find what I was after. Please Gareth either answer of perhaps think that the person enquiring could be a novice to the site.
LMany thanks

[email removed to prevent spam]

Try typing 664 in the searchbox (or simply click on "it" as I have provided a link) it will lead to a page which describes the main events of that year, one of which is the Synod of Whitby, which seems to me to be what you are looking for. Flamarande 20:08, 15 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Many thanks for taking time to reply -

oil business - advisor . consultant

I am looking for a petroleum adviser or consultant to assist me with my trade leads. I have found thousands of trade leads for oil and oil by - products. I need someone , who would help me put the deals together. Is there anyone who would assist me? Thanks, <-- email removed -->

cities

can anyone give me information on what the rating is for csi: crime scene investigation as of 2006 so far?

Rating as in number of viewers, or in terms of age rating? Road Wizard 23:34, 15 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

amps

hi, i was wondering which rock band or music artist of any kind in rock music is said to be the loudest on stage. its said to be ozzy osbourne or the who but i think otherwise.

Spinal Tap's go up to 11... ;) AnonMoos 22:38, 15 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
No fair, I was going to say that! Anyway, I believe the current record-holder is Manowar (band), with 129dB, above the hearing threshold of pain (see here for details). Ziggurat 03:17, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Just reread your question and noticed that you specified rock music; that one I don't know, although The Who are described on this webpage as the loudest. Ziggurat 03:24, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Out of interest, why don't you class Manowar as rock music? Anyway, Swans were also one of the loudest, although our article doesn't give a dB level for them. --Richardrj 04:51, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
edit conflict According to a couple sources [13] [14] The Who holds the Guinness world record for a 1974 show at 126 decibles. This source [15] says it is Deep Purple but doesn't give a decible. Wikipedia lists the Who at 130 Decibles but doesn't source it. Another unsourced statement [16] says 150 Decibles has been reached in America but doesn't say who. I saw another report that gave 140 dB but again did not source. There was a court case against the smashing pumpkins where a fan claimed hearing loss due to 125 dB music. This [17] claims that fan cheers at one concert were recorded at 128.8 dB. It is probably an impossible question now as there are quite a few bands that play around at that upper end from 120dB to 130dB. Pain starts to kick in at 120 dB so I don't see anybody going much above what they are now or you would have fans rolling in the aisles. Nowimnthing 03:26, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Disaster Area :) Seriously, I doubt there's any ISO standard procedure for measuring rock band sound levels - do you measure them from 5 centimetres from the speakers? --Robert Merkel 05:06, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I also severly doubt there's a standard procedure for that kind of stuff...it also depends quite a bit on the stage, the sound setup in use and the stage technicians. I've been to a number of rock and metal shows over the years, I've seen Slayer, Motörhead, Sepultura etc, but the only show that was so loud it was definitely past the pain threshold was Eric Clapton back in 1992. -- Ferkelparade π 11:47, 17 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I haven't been to an arena show since I was 1975, but I've been to a great many shows. Postage stamp sized stages, clubs that were converted from garages or supermarkets or strip-teases, and the performance that I actually went outside to hear (because it was too painfully loud inside) was Husker Du in 1982. With concrete walls, cement floor, and low ceiling, in a club that was just an alley with a bar at one end, it was excruciating. Geogre 03:44, 18 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Elizabeth Fretwell

The great Australian operatic soprano Elizabeth Fretwell died "on the weekend" of 3-4 June. She was extraordinarily reticent about self-promotion (which may help to explain why there's no WP article on her). Characteristically, her death has barely been reported at all - I've found only one vague reference to it on Google. Does anybody know her exact date of death? JackofOz 22:44, 15 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Surprisingly, there are zero articles about her at news.google.com. The only thing I could find relevant was a posting on Opera-L, which isn't really verifiable. User:Zoe|(talk) 16:51, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

ancient rome quote

What's that quote about how the young generation is going to the dogs, values are in decline, people have no respect for their elders, no morals etc, the punchline is that it is some ancient roman dude? Thanks!

I believe you're talking about one of these, yes? Ziggurat 03:13, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I believe you're referring to the famous phrase "O Tempores! O Mores!"... uttered by the master of rhetoric himself: Cicero. 82.131.188.130 23:55, 16 June 2006 (UTC).[reply]
I think that was "O tempora! O mores!". JackofOz 00:53, 17 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

June 16

Hypothetical questions about copyright law

I have a couple questions about copyright law. It need not be confined to U.S. law.

1. If an artist dies before completing a work, can it be protected by copyright law as though it were complete? For instance, if a famous author created a plot or several chapters of a book, but never finished it, would it be treated as a finished work?

2. This next question is more abstract. If an author finished, say, nine of ten chapters of a book, but left the final chapter unwritten (but its content strongly implied), could another author write the final chapter and make money from it, perhaps by selling it as a "companion" to the unfinished work? Or would copyright law prevent this? Are the implications of the author protected by copyright? Bhumiya (said/done) 00:19, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Answers: 1. You can copyright just about anything if its more than a few sentences long. My science teacher regularly coprights the lab worksheets he rights.

2. I don't know, sorry. Emmett5 03:28, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

For 1., see Copyright#Obtaining and enforcing copyright. There's no necessity for a work to be finished before it is copyrighted; under most laws the copyright comes automatically with the act of writing it.
For 2., yes, copyright law typically prevents this as a derivative work unless it's a satire (see Fanfiction#Legal issues in the United States and abroad).
Please note that I'm not a lawyer, so if it's a real legal issue you should talk to someone who knows what they're talking about :) Ziggurat 03:36, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
These are very interesting questions. For an account of a remarkably similar scenario, check out Franz Kafka's The Trial. Kafka actually died before completing this work, which nonetheless is seen by most as his masterpiece. In fact, as is not entirely unusual for many artists, he utterly despised everything that he wrote, and explicitly instructed his good friend Max Brod to burn all of his unpublished works upon his death.
Kafka then died and Brod was faced with an incredibly difficult dilemma: What was worse? To follow Kafka's ridiculous instructions and deny the world this literary masterpiece? Or to ignore what was basically the last will and testament of a dead man concerning the disposition of his own rightful property? Fortunately for all of us, Brod chose the latter, despite the moral ambiguity of his choice.
(In fact, this question seems a bit too similar to the scenario discussed above concerning Kafka. Is the questioner perhaps entertaining the thought of writing the final chapters of The Trial that Kafka never got around to finishing, and then trying to copyright it? I know, I know, assume good faith, assume good faith, assume good faith...I think I'll have those three words tatooed on my forehead. After all, these must surely be purely hypothetical questions). Loomis51 21:41, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
No, nothing so sinister. I was just wondering about the limitations of intellectual property law. I was imagining what might happen if a major contemporary author, e.g. Philip Roth or Salman Rushdie, began writing a novel, but never finished it. Even if the unfinished work were copyrighted, which it no doubt would be, the story would be left open. What would prevent an enterprising author from writing a veiled conclusion to the novel, wrapping up the themes but not actually using the original names of the characters, etc? Eventually someone starts a rumor about the nature of the novel, which creates interest, and the rest you can imagine for yourself. The work is certainly derivative, but if it is derived only from the themes of the original unfinished work, which are arguably universal, then how can the author be prosecuted? Probably not an issue of pressing import, but there we are. Bhumiya (said/done) 22:46, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
No worries, Bhumiya, I pretty much knew you weren't planning anything like that. I just tend to have this incorrigible cynical streak that always seems to question the motivation behind a question. It's actually gotten me into a bit of a mess here at Wiki, but I digress.
What you're talking about is actually a very interesting theme in the philosophy of IP (Intellectual Property) law. On the one hand, all art is derivative. Name me one love story that wasn't inspired, to at least some degree, albeit probably unintentionally, indirectly and completely unconsciously, to Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.
But Shakespeare's been dead for centuries, and as such there is no copyright violation in reproducing his works. Contemporary authors, however, are a completely different story.
When it comes to contemporary artists, the law is at best rather vague and arbitrary. For example, in music, I believe there are a certain number of "bars" that you can legally reproduce from a copyrighted piece of music into a new piece. Some other areas are a bit fuzzy. Are you familiar with the legal mess that George Harrison got into when one of his songs, My Sweet Lord, was determined to be too similar to another song by the Chiffons and therefore a copyright infringement? IP is a very fuzzy area of law, and I honestly couldn't give you a definite answer as to how a court would react to your scenario. Sorry that I couldn't be of much help in actually answering the question, but I hope I at least gave you something of an understanding of basic IP law. Loomis51 00:55, 17 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
No, this is all very helpful. I was just curious as to whether such a situation had come up. Thanks for the responses! Bhumiya (said/done) 06:44, 17 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

If God exists

Question moved here from Wikipedia:Reference desk/Science by JackofOz

If God exists and the Jews are indeed God's chosen people, why did he allow his people to suffer and almost be wiped out during the holocaust? Why didn't he choose to smite the Nazis? --84.65.185.138 00:23, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

God doesn't exist.  :-) -Quasipalm 00:25, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
If Santa Claus knows who's naughty and who's nice, why does everyone (except Jews, Muslims, etc.) get Christmas presents? (Cj67 00:32, 16 June 2006 (UTC))[reply]
Test of faith? If you have ever read the old testament, you will know that God can be a bit of a bastard to his 'chosen people' like that. I suppose that you *could* argue that God smote Hitler with madness and delivered the Nazis into the hands of their enemies... --Kurt Shaped Box 00:44, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
This is in essence the problem of evil; why does evil exist in a world with an omniscient, omnipotent God? There are many proposed explanations. Some people believe it has to do with free will; that is, we have free will to choose our path. In this philosophy, God could control any or all of us, but in a sense, this is "boring", animating people is like playing with a doll's house. Giving people free will and letting them interact and evolve is far more "interesting". This philosophy tends to a posit a god who interferes little with humanity or the universe, but is more of a creator-turned-spectator. — Knowledge Seeker দ 00:58, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
This isn't a question that science can answer. You would do better to ask a theologian or a philosopher. —Bkell (talk) 01:02, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Or play Black & White... -- Миборовский 01:09, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Yeah... I really don't think this question ahs ANY scientific value... Try humanities, or talk to a Rabbi or a philosopher. Political Mind 01:28, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Where did you get the idea that God should prevent "evil" things happening and allow only "good" things to happen? Who told you that that is the way God operates, or should operate? Why do you have such human expectations of an intrinsically non-human being? If you accept there is an omnipotent, omniscient and eternal being who created the entire universe, how can you simultaneously question the infinite wisdom of such a being? I'm reminded of King Alfonso IX (dubbed "The Wise") who said "Had I been present at the creation, I would have given some useful hints for the better ordering of the universe". (Nice one, Al). Just as learning cannot occur without mistakes, justice cannot exist without injustice, at an individual level and at a societal level. That is not to condone or rationalise away any injustices that have ever been done to the Jews or any other society, but to realise there is a divine purpose behind everything. Not just the things we'd like there to be a divine purpose behind, but everything without exception. (Thus endeth today's lesson.) JackofOz 01:58, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

So, what is the divine purpose behind the holocaust? And why can't justice occur without injustice? --Bowlhover 03:27, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I never claimed to know what the divine purpose of anything is. I just believe there is one. It makes life worth living. Without injustice, there would be no need to make the distinction between the 2 concepts. Things would just be as they are, neither just nor unjust. It's only because injustice occurs that humans then perceive a need for justice. In that sense, justice defines itself out of our primordial egoic yearnings. A world that is always just would be like the Garden of Eden before the fall, or Utopia. Not only boring, but destined not to stay that way. That's the thing about humans. We create the seeds of our own destruction, but we are also the agents of our own salvation. "We are blended creatures, half-abject and half-divine". JackofOz 08:11, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Um...this isn't science. Where would a question like this go? --M1ss1ontomars2k4 (T | C | @) 04:59, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Questions of classification, nomenclature and taxonomy are of great important to science. (lol) JackofOz 06:26, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Question I always want an answer for is, if God is omniscient, then he knows exactly what the consequences of his actions and words are. He knew when he told Adam 'Don't touch that fruit' that saying it in that way (incidentally to someone with no concept of right or wrong) would lead to him eating the fruit. He would also (being omnipotent and omniscient) know a way of wording it such that Adam had completely free will, but would choose not to exercise it in this case. If God is all powerful, he effectively manipulated events to make Adam break the rule he gave him. God's a bastard. What have I missed? Skittle 09:21, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Do you believe the story in Genesis is literally true, Skittle? It's no more literally true than creating the world on Day 3 and creating the fish on Day 5 and the land animals on Day 6. There's no point using an obviously made up myth to prove that God is a bastard. Besides, God couldn't be a bastard because he'd need parents who weren't married. Not only didn't he have unmarried parents, he didn't have parents at all. He created himself out of nothing (mystery 1), but at no particular time (mystery 2), and yet he has always existed (mystery 3) and always will (mystery 4). You can't apply human concepts of morality to God and expect him to conform. He's pulling the strings, not us. JackofOz 10:33, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Well of course I don't. But some people do, and they must have an answer that satisfies them. Personally I think the whole concept of free will is a jip if you've got an omnipotent, omniscient god involved. But then I think free will is a jip anyway, so let's leave it at that... The question is really directed at people who a) believe Genesis is literally true b) believe Adam and Eve's actions were a 'fall' c) believe in an omniscient, omnipotent god d) have thought about this sort of thing. Of course, if someone else knows what their standard response is to this sort of thing, that would do too. Skittle 10:38, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Back to the original question, and if you really want to believe in God (and who am I to stop you?) then the Biblical/Tanakh Book of Job might provide a plausible piece of reasoning. Grutness...wha? 10:55, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Oh, great. We get everyone who wants to make fun of religion. Wonderful. For the question itself, remember the Talmud: "On the sufferings of the virtuous or the prosperity of the wicked, we can say nothing." Let's start, though, by realizing that death cannot be an evil for the pious. If it were, then all humanity would be an example of wickedness, as all persons are fated to die. Second, death occurring early or late must not be, from a cosmic point of view, a sign of justice or injustice. Third, the sufferings of the Elect are pain and unjust in human terms and yet, in a larger sense, may not be. Fourth, God did smite the Nazis. They're not running the world now, are they? Fifth, demanding that only the evil suffer and the good to always prosper is to insist on a world where, for example, any poor person would be wicked and any wealthy person would be favored by God. Sixth, if God has never made the material conditions of the virtuous reflect their spiritual worth in such a minor and obvious way as bank balance, then why would you presume to judge God's will in history by the sufferings of the holocaust? Geogre 12:57, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I've got plenty of ideas on the subject, but no need to worry, people. I won't DARE touch this question! I've learnt my lesson! Loomis51 21:07, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I think you are looking for Problem of evil. DJ Clayworth 19:10, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

See theodicy or, more specifically, Holocaust theology, which came about as an attempt to reconcile the events of the Holocaust with Jewish theology. But if you want my opinion, the concept of God is incoherent and self-contradictory. God is a square triangle, a married bachelor, a teapot orbiting Mars, a known existence without a known essence, a cluster of incompatible epithets and abstract superlatives. The persecution of Jews is an all-too-human problem, just like the persecution of Kurds, Ainu, infidels, queers, etc. It's sociological, not celestial. Bhumiya (said/done) 23:09, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Ok, I can't help it, here's my two cents: Yes the concept of "God" is an incredibly incomprehensible one. It's full of paradoxes, such as the omnipotence paradox etc... Put simply, God, should s/he exist, is simply beyond our tiny primate brains to comprehend.
But, at the same time, should we turn to science for some more rational, comprehensible answers to those same mysteries of the universe, we inevitably run into a series of remarkably similar paradoxes, such as: If the universe "began" with the "Big Bang", what was going on the day before? If the universe is ever expanding but of a finite area, should one somehow reach the end of the universe, what exists one foot beyond that ultimate end to space as we know it? The most likely scientific answer to both of these questions would simply be "nothingness".
I realize that "God" may be a concept that is quite simply beyond our meagre human minds to grasp, but, at the same time, I would argue, so is the completely incomprehensible concept of "nothingness". Just as Bhumiya describes the concept of God, "nothingness" can equally be described as "incoherent and self-contradictory. ["Nothingness"] is a square triangle, a married bachelor, a teapot orbiting Mars etc...
In MY opinion, atheism is actually remarkably similar religion. Both consist of the belief in the unprovable. The religious firmly believe in the ultimately unprovable existence of God, while atheists firmly believe in the ultimately unprovable concept that God does not exist. Both are beliefs in the unprovable. In MY opinion, (though I personally am not an agnostic), the natural "scientific" position on the existence or non-existence of God is agnosticism. Science simply has no proof either way. Loomis51 01:40, 17 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
God is not responsible for the actions of people, he is not a divine scapegoat, someone you can always turn to and say "why the fuck did you let that happen". If thats is your view, that is a very selfish take on things. Philc TECI 23:45, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Loomis51, you misunderstand the Big Bang and should read up before making comments. The universe is space and time. There is no "day before the big bang" because time didn't exist the way it does now. Also, since the universe by definition is all inclusive, it's not expanding into space, space itself is expanding. The theory of the big bang creates some difficult questions, but it's no where as messy as the theory of god. -Quasipalm 00:44, 18 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
You're absolutely right, Quasipalm, I totally misunderstand the Big Bang theory. In fact I'd even go further to say that I'm incapable of fully understanding the concept, and I probably never will be, no matter how much I read up on it (yes I've read the wiki article, but to no avail, it's simply beyond my grasp). Apparently your intellect is greater than mine on this area, as you seem to be able to fully grasp the concept of a "period", (for lack of a better term,) when "time didn't exist as it does now", but I simply cannot. Also, with regards to the expanding universe, I never said that the universe is expanding into space. That would be a rather easy concept to understand. Quite the opposite. Space is a void. What "exists" (or doesn't "exist" for that matter) beyond that void, is even more difficult to comprehend. Essentially it's not simply a void as simple space is, but a void devoid of void. Perhaps it's all crystal clear to you, but for me it's all too completely incomprehensible of a mess for my tiny primate brain to grasp. My point remains the same. If we (excluding those of us who claim to understand them so clearly) are willing to somehow accept the concept of these "incomprehensibles", I just think it's rather presumptuous of us to dismiss the possibility of yet another "incomprehensible", that being, the existence of a Supreme Being. Loomis51 10:50, 18 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
People sometimes use the holocaust as some sort of argument against the existence of God. "Bad things" are in enormous abundance all around us all the time (maybe we should start a list on Wikipedia). So let's not get hung up on one particular "bad thing" (ok, to some people, the worst thing). It's not that bad things happen, that's a given - it's what we do about them that matters. That's why Victor Frankl's message is eternal. "Man's search for meaning" is what we're all here for. If nothing else, that was one "very good thing" to come from the holocaust. JackofOz 00:34, 17 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Wayne Wilcox

Does anybody have any information on Wayne Wilcox, American actor/singer? I checked the article, and it was only a stub. If someone could expand it... Political Mind 00:52, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

k. 175

Okay, this is a weird question, but is Mozart's 5th piano concerto, k. 175, considered one of his forgettable immature works? KeeganB

It is fairly famous, I am very familiar with it. However, he does have more famous works, definetely. Political Mind 01:09, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It's not forgettable, but it's not great music either. However it is interesting as being the first of his piano concertos that was all his own work, ie. it wasn't an arrangement of the music of other composers. I suppose if the catalogue of his works was being redone from scratch, it would be renamed Piano (or Keyboard) Concerto No 1. JackofOz 08:23, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Oh, and when you also separate out the concertos for 2 pianos and 3 pianos, the number of Mozart's concertos for solo piano that were original works turns out to be 21 (not 27). Still a healthy number. Is this a record for piano concertos? JackofOz 00:47, 17 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

How to log in

I tried to set up an account. I was asked for my user name and a password. I tried to do this but apparently my user name was inappropriate! What did I miss. Thanks, Harry M. Mahn

Information on usernames (including which are inappropriate and why) can be found here. You may also want to check Help:Logging in. Ziggurat 01:42, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Now you've got me curious. If you told us the name maybe we can explain why it was considered "inappropriate". I'm assuming, since you were apparently very surprised from the response you got, that the name you chose wasn't vulgar or offensive. Of course this may be personal or sensitive information and you have every right to keep it private. If you don't want to reveal the name I fully understand. (Nonetheless, I'm so curious!...pleeeeease? lol) Loomis51 20:57, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I don't know the original contributor, but I can say that Wikipedia has a username policy that prohibits account names that use terms like "hacker" or "vandal", names that could be easily mistaken for another user, names that are identical to celebrities, and names that seem to advertise a particular company or product. There are other restrictions as well, but you get the idea. --Tachikoma 13:43, 17 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Queston: German POWs held in France after WW I

I have heard German soldiers held as POWs during WW I were held on after that war to do labor as part of German reparations to France.

I have tried to find out more on this subject but am unable to do so.

Do you know anything about this subject?

KingArt

Information

Dear Sir/Madam I am currently researching Reynold Alleyne Nicholson's work on Rumi's Masnavi (done in eight volumes, published between 1925-1940). Could you please send me any information concerning this work, if you have, or show me where I can give the information about R.A. Nicholson and his work. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia I could find only some words about him.

Thanks in advance Manizha

Here is a bibliographic reference to this work: The Mathnawí of Jalálu'ddín Rúmí, edited from the oldest manuscripts available, with critical notes, translation and commentary by Reynold A. Nicholson, in 8 volumes, London: Messrs Luzac & Co., 1925–1940. Contains the text in Persian. First complete English translation of the Mathnawí. The book is still in print: [18] [19], although it is not quite clear what one will get for one's money: one cover mentions books III and IV, the other books V and VI. But this: [20] is probably complete. Does this answer your question? If not, could you please be more specific about the kind of information you are looking for? --LambiamTalk 14:33, 17 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Music: Chamillionaire's association with Motown Records

I answered my own question. Chamillionaire is a Universal Records artist sold under the Motown imprint. I'm off to change the Wiki article.

Source 1 Source 2

Excellent. --Proficient 11:22, 17 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Ich bin ein Berliner

does anybody know of a website where they have video or audio of JFK's "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech?

This page has copies of a number of important speeches: http://durov.com/speeches.htm, and the one you are looking for is here: http://www.rechi.ru/jfkberlinaddress.mp3 You can find more information on it here: http://apella.ac-limoges.fr:16080/lyc-perrier-tulle/europ/history/dochist/speeches/term/JFK_berlin.htm --Valentinian (talk) 08:48, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Twin Cities

Dear Madame/ Sir

I've been recently researching the life of Vlad III Tepes, Prince of Wallachia, and I've come across the article of Târgoviste, Wallachia's Capital. On that article I found reference to the expressions "Twin Cities". The article refers to several Twin Towns as an example and although I've already researched the term "Twin Cities" I couldn't find a relation between the examples given in the Târgoviste article and the meaning of the expression "Twin Cities". Can You clarify the meaning for me please?

Thank you Diogo Vieira Neves

In this context, a twin city is the same as a "sister city". It normally means that the two cities have official visits and cultural exchanges from each other from time to time. Apart from local politicians; school classes or musical bands are also favourites to be sent to the other town. Very often, the arrangement also means that local politicians try to find possible trading partners for their own industries / factories in the other town. You can read more at Town twinning. The idea became a European trend following World War II, as a way of establishing peaceful contacts to other cultures / old enemies. A pretty new idea at the time. The European Union runs a programme to support such initiatives. Valentinian (talk) 13:09, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Civil Rights-American Political Movements

I am searching for the origin and connotation of step'nfetch it. Perhaps Uncle Tom's Cabin. I know the general meaning. Thanks--- The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.238.217.204.

I believe it began as a character on a radio show. Geogre 12:52, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Stepin Fetchit was an African American actor who played many stereotypical roles in early Hollywood. User:Zoe|(talk) 16:57, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

What precise date were two 1974 albums released

I am trying to track down the precise release date for two songs that were both released _sometime_ in 1974. One is "Bad Detective" by New York Dolls (from their album Too Much Too Soon. The other is "Kung Fu Fighting" by Carl Douglas which was a #1 single. Both use a musical phrase known as the Asian Riff. My question is-- which of these two songs came first? Obviously, recording or composition date for each song would be ideal, but I'll settle for release date. How do you find the release date for 1974 songs? --Alecmconroy 13:22, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

What you need is the archives of the record charts. You say that Kung Fu Fighting was a No.1 single, so you need to find out what date it was in the charts. Then do the same for the New York Dolls album, if it made the charts that is. I've just found Hot 100 number-one hits of 1974 (USA), which shows that Kung Fu Fighting was at #1 on Dec 7. As you say, though, it may have been written and recorded months earlier.
I doubt that the complete album charts are available online, because people like Billboard (and Guinness in the UK) make money by selling their books. So the New York Dolls date might be trickier to track down, unless you look in a book. --Richardrj 13:59, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Aha-- well, making progress. Thanks for the Dec 7 info. Now I just need the album chart- hopefully someone who has the book will turn up.--Alecmconroy 16:36, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

passports

How long does it usually take to renew an expired passport?

In the U.S., several weeks, I think -- but you can pay extra for expedited processing. AnonMoos
In the UK, it seems to depend on the season you submit your request: over the summer season, it can take as long as three months (although there is a fast-track service). EvocativeIntrigue TALK | EMAIL 14:03, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Trainspotting (Irvine Welsh book) - language question

I know this seems like a trivial matter, but i was just wondering as to what scottish people mean by the word 'Draftpak' which crops uf frequently in Irvine Welsh's novel Trainspotting. It seems to be a container for carrying beer, but the characters also refer to people they don't like and consider beneath them as 'Draftpaks' so I was hoping someone would clear up the meaning(s) of the word for me. thank you very much.

Moved question to language reference desk. EvocativeIntrigue TALK | EMAIL 13:58, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Revealed Knowledge of the Prophecies and Times by Nathaniel Brassey Halhed dated 1794

Dear Sir/ Madam

I have a book written by Nathaniel Brassey Halhed dated 1795. The title of this book is Revealed knowledge of the Prophecies and Times and Restoration of the Hebrews.

This appears to be an original book judging by the appeareance of the paper and of the cover, it is in good condition and legible.

Would you be able to tell me anything about his book?

Its value and perhaps who might be interested in it.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

regards, Claudia

Start by looking at Nathaniel Brassey Halhed. As far as your book goes, what it's worth is what people are prepared to pay for it. I looked him up on a couple of rare book websites, and there was no mention of your book, but others by him seem to go for anything between $200 and $1000. So you might have a valuable item on your hands. --Richardrj 14:25, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Are you sure it is not this book: A REVEALED KNOWLEDGE OF THE PROPHECIES AND TIMES, Book the First, wrote under the direction of the LORD GOD and published by His Sacred Command, it being the first sign of Warning for the benefit of All Nations; Containing with other great and remarkable things not revealed to any other Person on Earth, the Restoration of the Hebrews to Jerusalem by the year of 1798 under their revealed Prince and Prophet. London, Printed in the year of Christ 1794., which was allegedly written by Richard Brothers? As to the value, next to the rarity, a lot depends on the condition of the book, and even for a ballpark assessment you will need appraisal by an expert. --LambiamTalk 17:37, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

heaven

Hey. If there's a heaven and hell, what do you believe? do you believe that if ur good you go to heaven because u had a good life or u go to hell because now its the opposite turn. u had a good life and now deserve a bad...? and plus, on wikipedia its not physically described but is maybe true how heaven is the place of not only peace but luxury and dreams?

We believe. Everyone believes in something.
That depends on your definition of belief. I know of at least one philosopher who regards the concept of belief as invalid. Bhumiya (said/done) 23:19, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
For myself, I do believe. Plenty of things. And I discover what is good or bad for my brothers and sisters everyday. For the moment being, I don't believe in a heavenly retaliation nor care for heaven, but who knows ? --DLL 18:53, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I don't believe in either, but anything's possible. --Alex.dsch 18:54, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
No, only possible things are possible. Obviously contradictory things aren't possible. ("An object whose existence prevents its existing or having ever existed"). 82.131.188.130 23:49, 16 June 2006 (UTC).[reply]
I am not sure, but isn´t a Christian supposed to admit that he is a sinner, beg forgiveness for his sins, accept the love and forgiveness of Jesus, worship and love God, BEFORE he can go to heaven? Your name has to written down in a "book of the good guys". Good deeds are suposedly simply not enough. Flamarande 20:47, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Not necessarily. There's always sola fide. Personally, I agree with the great Epicurus:
Death is nothing to us; for that which has been dissolved into its elements experiences no sensations, and that which has no sensation is nothing to us.
So as I see it, it's not a question of "where you go", but what you do with the time you have. Bhumiya (said/done) 23:19, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The Catholic position is that the sum total of all your good deeds throughout your life counts for nothing if you happen to commit a mortal sin and die without an act of contrition. Like the chain is only as strong as its weakest link. JackofOz 00:01, 17 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Well, sort of. Their point is that what counts is whether you are in sin or not, that each sin requires contrition, confession, and forgiveness by Christ. If that seems difficult, the opposing side of perserverance of the saints is just as troubling. The "once saved always saved" has led some people (some in the news recently) to argue that they are, indeed, supposed to be judging "sinners" and giving them grief because, when Jesus said "Let him who is without sin cast the first stone," they are, indeed, without sin and therefore should throw stones. I wish I were joking about that, but I'm not. I think most theologians settle for what Paul and James both said: faith without deeds is no faith, and deeds without faith are just random actions. Therefore, at death it would be faith and deeds, but perhaps not a ledgered account or Father Guido Sarducci's fine system. Geogre 13:54, 17 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Bah, and you need priests for what? Basicly its the old story of the carrot and the stick. Religions tell you that you have to do good deeds so you will get to heaven (good reincarnation in budhism) and frighten you with: "if you do bad deeds you will go to hell (bad reincarnation in budhism)". If someone really believes in this, and follows these guidelines because of these reward/punishment threats then he isn´t really doing it out the "kindness of his heart" or "because he is really a good person". He is doing it because he craves the reward and fears the punishment. Under a certain point of view such a person has the moral sense of the "proverbial donkey". People who do good deeds and don´t expect nothing in return are the persons who really matter. Flamarande 23:59, 17 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

municipality

What is the largest municipality in the world by area? Not metropolitan area but just the municipality?

This might be helpful http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_by_size_%28area%29. --Proficient 11:25, 17 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

June 17

Trying to remember a person

A while ago, I stumbled upon a Wikiquote article (there was one on Wikipedia, too) on a really interesting man. I think he was an officer in the American civil war who supported equal rights for women, was anti-slavery, very progressive. He was asked to run for governor of Illinois and refused because he was told he would have to pretend to be religious (he wasn't). A lot of his really interesting quotes were about religion and how belief in Hell was contrary to belief in a benevolent god. Does anyone know who he was? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Emmett5 (talk • contribs) .

You could look through Special:Whatlinkshere&target=Governor_of_Illinois and see if any of the article titles ring a bell for you.-gadfium 03:53, 17 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Would that be Robert Green Ingersoll? --vibo56 talk 13:04, 17 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, it is. Thank you very much! Emmett5 19:02, 17 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Heresy in non-Abrahamic religions

It's common to hear about heresy in discussion of Christianity (e.g. Cathars, Gnosticism, Protestantism), Islam (e.g. Al-Muqanna, Nation of Islam, Ahmadiyya), and Judaism (e.g. Reconstructionism). I have never heard the word used in reference to Hinduism, Buddhism, or any animistic or polytheistic religions. Is this just a matter of terminology, or are Abrahamic religions especially dogmatic? Bhumiya (said/done) 06:40, 17 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Probably the answer is "both." Revealed religions have non-negotiable sets of truths, and God, in Abrahamic religions, is the only God and demands the recognition of no others. Combine the solitary truth of revelation with the demand of purity, and you have a requirement to be pure and of one teaching (ortho-doxy). Additionally, though, "heresy" isn't used in religions that don't have a central structure that approves religious views (no Vatican, no council, no sanhedrin, etc.). At the same time, Buddhism has huge splits in it, and Hinduism is amazingly diverse. Were there a central authority (and some versions of these religions have central authorities), there would be condemnation of the others, but I doubt "heresy" would be used. Geogre 11:52, 17 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The term is sometimes used in connection with Socrates' Trial, as in: The trial and condemnation of Socrates on charges of heresy and corrupting young minds is a defining moment in the history of Classical Athens.[21] And in the book A Survey of Hinduism by Klaus K. Klostermaier there is a chapter entitled "Hindu Dharma: Orthodoxy and Heresy in Hinduism".[22]. But of course the original context of the term is that of "orthodox" Christianity, and for something to be declared a heresy you need an authoritarian body safeguarding the purity of the one and only true belief, and therefore also a notion that there is such a thing as "the one and only true belief" in the first place.
Heresy is what the minority believe; it is the name given by the powerful to the doctrines of the weak. Robert Ingersoll
--LambiamTalk 15:13, 17 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Postscriptum. Here is a lecture referring to heresy in "True Buddhism": [23]. --LambiamTalk 15:23, 17 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Of course, neither Judaism nor Islam has a central religious authority, yet they have "heresy". Thanks for all the responses. I wasn't aware of the Hindu or Buddhist connections. Bhumiya (said/done) 15:50, 17 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I wouldn't say "of course." Both have and have-had, depending on your sect and time. There is no "Vatican" in either, but that's a long way from saying that there isn't a long and well ordered system of ensuring orthodoxy. Geogre 15:53, 17 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Feelings for ex-partners

I have feelings for 3 ex-partners, and given the right circumstances, would get back together with each one (not at the same time, of course). So my question is: how common is this? (ie feelings for more than one ex). Please note this is not a request for ways to get over them. 132.181.7.1 07:05, 17 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Surely it's normal. Oftentimes you see divorced/separated folks get back together. --Proficient 11:29, 17 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Extremely common. They (provided you weren't completely off your tree when you got together with them) obviously have at least some of the traits which you find desirable in a partner, so it's not surprising that you still find find yourself interested in them. --Robert Merkel 11:40, 17 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Writing a story

Well, I'm just trying out to write a detective story , to get rid off the boring hours of my summer vacation, here in India.I do know i'm a layman for that matter, & don't expect anything brilliant. But a few questions are troubling me before i proceed any further . These are : #1. Can i use the name of any reputed hotel/restaurant/bar etc. as the venue, in my story ? Will it cause any problem if it's published in the college-magazine/little-mag etc.? #2. Suppose i mention an innovative way of drug-trafficking/murder in the story - can i be involved in any legal issues- now, or later? #3. Should i give preference to ethics over reality ? Thanking you,--[[User:Pupunwiki]] 07:08, 17 June 2006 (UTC)

  • The answers to #1 and #2 are probably "no big deal," if you have the standard "this is a work of fiction" disclaimer. At least in the US, dectective fiction is very commonly set in real places, and creative writing professors teach students to use as many actual brand names and locations as possible. (I disagree with that advice, but they don't let me near the writing students.) #3 is the interesting one. (You're about to find out why they don't let me near the writing students.) Essentially, you're asking Aristotle's questions from Poetics. Aristotle said that poetry (meaning all fiction) is superior to history because history merely tells us what happened, while poetry tells us what should or must happen. From this, and from Horace and Plutarch (Moralia) on the same subject, we ended up with the concept of poetic justice. The idea is that a greedy man will, in poetic justice, not prevail and that his downfall will be linked to his specific failure, to his greed. Modernism moved away from poetic justice because most Modernists felt that the world was too indifferent and the good too unknowable to dictate the fiction, and so most Modernists moved toward a different kind of poetic justice, a psychological poetic justice, where the external events may favor the vicious and punish the virtuous, but there would be a psychological vengeance, a psychological justice, one way or the other. Interestingly, detective fiction has always been the most conservative, morally. While everyone else wrote about an indifferent world and unrelenting suffering, most detective fiction (emphasis on "most," because not all) retained the literal poetic justice. The answer to #3, therefore, is "obeying ethics rather than reality will be more expected and palatable to readers, but obeying reality over ethics could be more rewarding." Geogre 12:02, 17 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I would just advise that you not use the product or place in a bad light, or they may sue you, but if it's just setting, they probably wouldn't mind the free advertising. User:Zoe|(talk) 21:26, 17 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Or you could use a pseudonym. Bhumiya (said/done) 03:51, 18 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
       Thanks a lot for your kind suggestions.                                  
  I reconsidered about mentioning the name of any famous hotel etc. 
       etc. in the story, & have decided not to do so. I think
       a disclaimer, really shatters a reader's enthu , to a great
       extent, though it serves my purpose. 
    Secondly, i am not intented to harm the good-will of the said
       public places, neither would i do any free advertising('cause
       i'm not so generous).
    As far as pseudonym is concerned, i don't think it would prove
       to be a great help , once investigators involve me in
       a legal suit(after all i'm the bearer of the pseudonym).
             Thanks again,--59.93.255.177 12:04, 18 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

-Pupunwiki

wikipedia

what is the meanin og literature given by Henry van Dyke?

Portland, Oregon and palm trees

Do palm trees grow in Portland? If so, could someone show me any photos? Thanks. Un sogno modesto 08:49, 17 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

worldwide album and single sales

who has sold the most singles/albums worldwide? Elvis or Queen?

According to Guinness, The Beatles have sold the most physical albums, if this is what you mean. (link) Dar-Ape 21:10, 17 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I think the questioner is referring to singles -- 45's. Elvis Presley had the record for singles sales, by a good margin. I suppose the question is whether Queen passed him or not. Geogre 11:59, 18 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Sabots/Clogs

What is the difference between a clog and a sabot?

None, except that the first word is English and the second is French. See sabot and clog. --Shantavira 11:06, 17 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
  • I think you'll find that in Lancashire( My home) clogs were made with a thick wooden sole,often studded for longer wear in the wet conditions(see "Matchstick men",the song contains lines about the sparking the brads in the sole caused when used on cobbles) with a leather top,either buttoned or laced. They are still made today and very confortable and hard wearing they are too.I think the Dutch also have the leather topped clogs as well.There are sites on the web where people sell traditional clogs which have lots more info on this but I can't track down one just now....hotclaws(81.136.157.206 06:34, 18 June 2006 (UTC))[reply]

Toccata

Listening to Sky (band)'s Toccata I was ceratin it was used as a soundtrack in a film or TV programme. Anyone know which one? -- SGBailey 14:03, 17 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Body odor

Maybe an indelicate question, but I've wondered for a long time: Did almost everybody in history, up until the early 20th century, have terrible B.O.? Probably the working people did, but then, if they all did, maybe they didn't notice it. After all, fish don't know they're wet. But what about wealthy people? Did they just dab on some perfume before putting on their heavy wool clothes? Did men do this? Did wealthy people bathe several times a day? 66.213.33.2 15:12, 17 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Read the article on Body odor, especially the part about social history. Furthermore, the growth of the bacteria producing the smell requires a certain permanency of a humid environment. When clothes (if any) are timely changed, aired and allowed to dry, and excess perspiration is regularly removed (not using the same stinking rag all the time!), there isn't that much of a problem. Then there's also the issue of what you're used to. Forget about the working people; wealthy people from Western "civilization" were most likely the worst big-time stinkers in history, because they wore the most clothes and were, if possible, more adverse to bathing. I'm not even touching on the itchy and yucky issue of wigs, under which they might hide something oozing perfume. In some religions (Islam) one is supposed to be clean when praying, something that definitely helps the olfactorily more sensitive people in one's environment to remain focussed on the prayers. --LambiamTalk 15:51, 17 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Further, the sense of smell is the most easily fatigued (why you can't smell your own breath, unless it changes suddenly after eating something). That's why people who live in the shadow of a paper mill, for example, won't smell the sulfurous smell unless they go away and come back. Therefore, yes, people in, for example, 1710 London stank like crazy, and their city stank worse than they did, what with human waste flowing down the gutters to Fleet Ditch and then going out to the Thames, the people there probably couldn't smell it. According to quite a few sources, the practice of armpit and genital shaving was to reduce the surfaces of odiferous bacterial growth. (I'm skeptical about that, myself, as it can't explain leg shaving, for example, and probably has roots in a more psychological than sensory impulse.) Geogre 15:59, 17 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Cool question, I always wondered this too... cause we now have a bunch of deodorants and perfumes which didn't exist then, and if they did, they where quite expensive... and also they wore all those heavy clothes of which they didn't have more than maybe 4 or 5 dresses cause they too where expensive...and they didn't have washing machines nor detergents nor perfumed soap...or anything... wow... I'm glad to have been born in the 80's! . --Cosmic girl 19:30, 17 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Se also : Business Objects. --DLL 20:16, 17 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
To augment what Lambiam was saying, clothing, prior to the 1830's or thereabouts, was most often worsted (wool), and it was not treated for washing. Therefore, one couldn't wash clothes very conveniently and have them fit again. After the advent of King Cotton, that changed, albeit slowly. For one thing, linen and hemp had been used before for clothes that were meant to be washed frequently, but these were "peasant" clothes as outer wear, and so cotton clothing was first associated with being like shifts and other underwear. Getting people to accept cotton as formal outer wear or as fancy dress wear has been a project going on up to the present day. (Think about formal clothing -- suits and dresses -- and how cotton is a "lesser" cloth compared to wool or linen.) Prior to widespread wool clothing, people wore leather, and that wasn't washable, either. Therefore, a fine dress or suit of clothes would be worn only until it was foul, and then it wouldn't be worn again. One historian estimated that nobles in England were spending 30% of their total income on clothes in the 1640's. Some of this was fashion, and nearly as much was utility. Geogre 21:13, 17 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Indian Parliament seating plan?

Please explain the seating plan diagram of the Indian Parliament.--— Preceding unsigned comment added by 220.226.70.73 (talk • contribs)

We had a similar question a few days ago on June 6. You can find the answer to that question in our archives here. Road Wizard 23:30, 17 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Looking for name or any info about a short story

I read a short story a couple years ago, and can't recall its name, the name of the book it was in, or the author's name. Any would be nice. All I remember about it (not much, but distinctive) is that it was a very, very strange story, probably best described as absurdist, that the Virgin Mary was a character in it, and that a few points in it where the word "bumped" was used, the letters were misaligned up and down to look as if the word itself was bumped. Strange, I know. Thanks for any help. -Goldom (t) (Review) 18:02, 17 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Postmodernism

What is postmodernism's conception of a succesful person (or of succes in general)? Since modernism's idea of success is quite clear I think.( and I don't want to be answered that it is a hippieish,democrat,university philosophy prophesor..please... lol).--Cosmic girl 19:25, 17 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I think it is hard to get an unambiguous answer to this question; the postmodernist take would be that the notion of success is a social construct that is relative to one's (equally ambiguous) embedding in and relation to one's social context (like someone can be a successful science fiction author but a failure as a mainstream author). --LambiamTalk 01:12, 18 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I agree with Lambian, but I would go a little further and say that postmodernism, in my experience, places far more importance on passive, subjective perception than on active, quantifiable achievement. To a hardcore postmodernist, "success" is associated with one's perspective and means of expression. However, postmodernism is more of a tendency within critical theory than a coherent ideology in its own right. Indeed, one noted characteristic of postmodernism is its incoherence and inconsistence.
Personally, I consider postmodernism irrational, duplicitous sophistry, vainly and cynically concerned with erudite obfuscation. It is (for its very survival) chronically disconnected from reality, as evinced by its disdain for anything clear and grounded, above all science and falsifiability. One might say the ultimate goal of postmodernism is to gain respect and disciples by affecting a comprehension of reality superior to that of the reader. In both its methods and applications, postmodernism is similar to theology. Indeed, I would say they are one and the same. Only their building materials differ. On a personal note, Cosmic Girl, if you have issues with religion, you ought to have issues with postmodernism as well. Postmodernism is religion and religion is postmodernism. Bhumiya (said/done) 04:24, 18 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
"Postmodernism is religion and religion is postmodernism." I think there are some pretty substantial differences between the lump of academic philosophical positions which are usually called "postmodernism" and anything which resembles a coherent much less organized religion. Unless you consider all philosophy to be essentially "religion" (and therefore render the term "religion" empty), I don't see how you can claim that postmodernism "is religion" and that religion "is postmodernism". With your comments on clarity and obfuscation I think you're confusing Derrida with all of postmodernist thought (it is questionable whether Derrida was even "postmodern" at all). Personally I think it is telling that postmodern is so ill-defined that almost all people who use the term use it to attack views that almost nobody holds. --Fastfission 05:09, 18 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

u know what Bhumiya... I really don't think what u say is right...since, postmodernism = death of truth and religion = impossing of a truth. --Cosmic girl 15:00, 18 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

June 18

Which Film has been in production for over 20 years (and still filming)?

A few years ago I saw a BBC documentary about an ongoing British movie project where new scenes have been filmed every year for many years. There was also an interview with the lead (only?) actor, he was a famous British classical actor (in the style of Ben Kingsley, Anthony Hopkins, etc - but I can't remember who it was). The project appeared to be an independent/art type movie.

Psychonaut3000 01:34, 18 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Flippant answer: The Anglo Saxon Chronicles: The movie! Geogre 03:33, 18 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy took about twenty years to make, and killed Douglas Adams in the process, but for most of that time it was just a script, not actually being filmed. Tyrhinis 17:04, 18 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Publishing a book

Hello, I wrote a book and I am wandering how to do so. Can someone tell me the steps? And also can you answer the following questions?

  1. In my book I have some pictures that are from other places and have copyrights on them, what is the exact precedure I have to take to be able to use that? Who do I have to ask for permission?
  2. My book is non-fiction based on history and for some of the information with is very detailed I don't have an exact source because I read it a long time ago and can't find the book. Is that ok?
  3. Does anyone know any good publishing companies and/or agents in Toronto?
  4. What is the copyright office in Canada called?
  5. Who would be intrested in reading a book about the complete history of Iran, from 3000 years ago until now?
Thanks a lot --(Aytakin) | Talk 01:52, 18 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
1. Yes you need premission to use copyrighted images, and you probably have to pay a fee for their use. If you're able to find an agent and/or publishing house to take you on, they should be able to track down the copyright owners.
2. No, in a non-fiction book you need to state your sources, otherwise it won't be taken seriously.
3. Many American publishing houses have offices in Toronto, but send your manuscript to every publishing house and agent you can find. Make a list and start at the top, send it one publishing house at the time, if you get rejected, cross it off your list and send the manuscript to the next on the list. If you run out of names on your list, just start at the top again. Many successful authors have been rejected 30+ times before they where accepted, so don't give up.
5. Since Iran is in the news alot lately, the interest for the country is at an all time high, and I think many would want to read about its history. But not knowing your focus in the book, it's dificult to answer your question. Is it written more for historians or the general population?
Good luck -- Eivindt@c 04:06, 18 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Do not send your complete manuscript to any publisher. Unless your name is well known, they will dump it. What publishers want is a contents list, a chapter by chapter synopsis, and a sample chapter. Only if they like that will they ask for a complete manuscript. Also note that many publishers these days will only accept submissions on disk, rather than hard copy, so it's worth phoning to check first. Also do some homework first and find out which publishers produce that sort of book. Some publish only fiction, for example. Also note that many publishers these days receive hundreds of submissions every month and will not return manuscripts except by special arrangement.--Shantavira 07:29, 18 June 2006 (UTC) (a publisher)[reply]

First woman on a coin

Excluding symbolic figures like Marianne and Britannia, who was the first woman to be featured on a coin? If she was a queen, then who was the first non-queen to appear in this capacity? Bhumiya (said/done) 02:14, 18 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I can't identify an individual woman, but this source says some Roman coins featured an empress. However, the source does not claim the coins were the first depictions of females on the currency, so other ancient civilizations may have done so first. In terms of non-rulers, the first US coin in general circulation to feature a woman was in 1979. [24] I suspect though that some other country would have produced an earlier coin that depicted a woman who was not a ruler. Road Wizard 02:34, 18 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I'm flipping through "Greek Coins" by Ian Carradice, and the first obvious example of a coin with a portrait of a historical woman included there is Cleopatra of Antony-and-Cleopatra fame (it seems that Greeks didn't commonly include personal portraits of their rulers on coins before the time of Alexander the Great). But many of the feminine depictions on earlier coins look like perfectly ordinary heads of women wearing earrings, and you wouldn't be able to tell that a symbolic/divine portrayal was intended without additional knowledge. AnonMoos 06:26, 18 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Musa of Parthia appears on some Parthian coins c. AD 1. The wives, mothers and daughters of Roman emperors often appeared on coins; see for example [25], [26]. Gdr 18:37, 18 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I think rulers and their wives are disallowed by the question. Otherwise, I'd go with Arsinoe (or "Arisnoe Philadelphos"). She's about...200 BC? Geogre 21:22, 18 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

how came christans eat pork?

Hello every1,

I am looking over the differences between old Jewish customs and the changes in Christianity

e.g Circumcision, Sabbath, "correct slaughter of animals", eating pork.

I have found circumcision - St. Paul writing and the Council in Jerusalem decison.

Sabbath, I understand is disputed by different sect in Christianity.

How about slaughter and appropriate meat?

The council of Jerusalem strengths the issue about slaughter and meat, as I understand.

So my question is: how came (when, why, etc..) Christans eat pork and sluaghter (eat) with blood?

Thanks, so much

Because it's delicious. - Nunh-huh 12:19, 18 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It is possibly one of the examples of where the early Christian churches had to sacrifice some of their less important beliefs for reasons of practicality. The church began in an extremely hostile environment with the Roman Empire seeing them as a potential threat due to the "king" they kept proclaiming as the ruler of the world, and the vast majority of Jews who did not convert seeing them as an abomination. In that sort of situation, they had to make some tough decisions in order to appeal to a greater number of people (trying to convert someone by saying you have to give up all of your favourite foods or kill off your livestock would have been a little difficult). Another example of where this type of decision occurred was with a certain pagan spirit festival, which became incorporated into Christianity as All Hallows Eve (Halloween). Road Wizard 12:35, 18 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
...and with a certain pagan Winter solstice festival, which became incorporated into Christianity as Christmas. -- Christianity is a mix of Jewish and non-Jewish (Greek, Roman, and others) traditions. Chl 13:44, 18 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
  Thanks for the answer, but,

I am less interested in practical consideration. my question is in what way, did they justify the theological change from Judaism. e.g actual circumcision is changed to spiritual one (of the heart) and instead of circumcision, you get baptism to symbolize the connection to god (if I understand correctly). Then the Council of Jerusalem acknowledged Paul's view (which was different from other apostles). But the same council said don't eat meat with it's blood! (which symbolize the correct way to slaughter an animal)

So, was there a similar process regarding slaughtering, pork and all the rest of the forbidden animals (there are quite a lot of them)?

Thanks again.

The main issue had been settled—Gentiles would not have to be circumcised in order to become Christians. While Paul (and Peter, Act 11:5–10) believed there was nothing "unclean," it was wise to avoid those relatively minor practices that would likely offend Jewish Christians. As time passed and the church spread into predominately Gentile areas, there was no longer any reason to follow the Jewish dietary laws. —Wayward Talk 14:07, 18 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
There is Peter's vision in Acts 10: He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air. Then a voice told him, "Get up, Peter. Kill and eat." "Surely not, Lord!" Peter replied. "I have never eaten anything impure or unclean." The voice spoke to him a second time, "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean." Acts 11 describes how Peter is questioned about consorting and eating with gentiles, whereupon he recounts this to the other apostles, with good effect: When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, "So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life." So the eating of pork is justified by direct command from God not to call it impure. In the narrative of Acts this precedes the Council of Jerusalem, Acts 15. --LambiamTalk 14:18, 18 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Darn, Lambian gave the right answer before I could, again. Could those of us interested in belittling religion please refrain from answering questions? At this point, I think we get it: you're upset. I don't see how you profit yourselves or the questioners, though, by this constant reiteration. Geogre 14:24, 18 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
That particular interpretation of the vision is not universally supported. This source says the vision was not about whether the food was unclean, but rather was associating with gentiles unclean. However, I am not sure if the views expressed by the source I quoted are widely held, or just a personal opinion. Road Wizard 14:26, 18 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks Lambian. It's a very good answer for the Pork issue. In http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unclean_animals#Judaism, lays more quotes the help to clarify the issue. However, something still remains for me to be happy.

The same Council in Jerusalem, restated the Noahide laws (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noahide_Laws), which states: "For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; that ye abstain from meats[18] offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled ..." – Acts 15:28-29

So, Pork is o.k, but how about blood, strangled animals ?

Well in the verse quoted above (Acts 15:28-29) it says to abstain "...from blood, from the meat of strangled animals..." schyler 18:08, 18 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Powers (civics question)

Can you please help me with powers of the president and the prime minister of India?--Saksham Sharma 12:41, 18 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

We have articles on both the President and Prime Minister of India. If they do not hold the answer to your question, please let us know. Road Wizard 14:35, 18 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

health

I am a 19 year old boy. I am growing fatter each day. Can you help me out with this. a diet chart or someting.

The thing about diets is, you have to find one you can stick with. Every day. For the rest of your life. If you have to use a chart or count calories, you probably won't stick with it. Two simple tips:
  • Drink water instead of soda, juice, or beer. Water has zero calories, and -- unlike what the ads tell you -- it quenches thirst as well as any other drink.
  • Cut down on fast food (burger restaurants, take-out pizza, cafeteria food, and so on). Its full of calories and full of disgusting stuff no one in their right mind would want to eat (see Super Size Me). Try making your own sandwiches instead.
--Chl 13:59, 18 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Our article on dieting has lots of useful information, as well as links to relevant websites. Physical exercise is also very important.--Shantavira 14:14, 18 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
However, please don't use Wikipedia as a substitue doctor. Make sure that any exceptionally radical diet (i.e. Atkins, South Beach) that you enter has his (or her) approval. Emmett5 16:23, 18 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Simpsons episode featuring a "Portugal vs Mexico" soccer match

Can anyone tell in which episode of The Simpsons a soccer match between Portugal and Mexico takes part? An excerpt from the episode can be found here. Thanks!

The Cartridge Family --  SLUMGUM  yap  stalk  16:50, 18 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Characters in 19th century opera.

I am trying to find a list/source of 19th century operas by title which also contains the characters in each opera. From: Nairbeldraw

Our page List of operas contains a list of opera with their year of debut (the name of the page should be list of opera since opera is the plural of opus). I don't know if there is a page with exclusively 19th century opera though. schyler 18:14, 18 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Not quite, schyler. As discussed on these pages recently, "opera" started out as a Latin word, the plural of "opus". It has evolved into a singular English word in its own right. Beethoven wrote one opera, Verdi wrote many operas. Cheers JackofOz 20:44, 18 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Che Guvera

Che wanted to end the US with a unilaterial nuculear strike, as such he seems like a terrorist. Why is he now so honored?

Present your references to such claim, please. Afonso Silva 19:05, 18 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

First of all, the name is "Che Guevara", not "Che Guvera". As far as I know he didn't want to attack the US, he only wanted a Cuban communist workers' state free from any American intervention, see history of Cuba. Given that similar Communist leaders were far more radical and extremists, I would say that it's not strange to see him honored, but nevertheless El Che isn't liked by all Latin Americans nor all Socialists. I'm Argentine, and if you want to know my opinion he was more like a disgrace for our country than a pride; many people here see him like a "national traitor" who served other country than his own.

info on a painting

I have a very old painting.There is no artist signiture that i can see. The title of the painting is "Sunny Skies and Freindly Hearts".It is at least50 years old i know.Could somebody possibly find me some info on it. 

                                                                  Thank You
                                                                  Jenny silvers
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