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March 12

Online school books

Are there any good websites that has uploaded school books(study materials) for free viewing according to USA, UK syllabus?

USA- Grade 1 to Grade 10

UK- Key Stage two to Key stage four — Preceding unsigned comment added by ABLVH (talk • contribs) 02:02, 12 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Threat of use of nuclear weapons by Russia

I haven't been following the news on the invasion of Ukraine too closely, but has Putin actually threatened to use nuclear weapons (first strike), or is that just being inferred? DirkvdM (talk) 15:04, 12 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

He ordered his nuclear forces to be on "high alert", in furtherance of his fictional narrative. --←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 15:51, 12 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

(edit conflict):Putin did say: Whoever would try to stop us and further create threats to our country, to our people should know that Russia's response will be immediate and lead you to such consequences that you have never faced in your history. He also put his nuclear forces on heightened status.^[1]. --2603:6081:1C00:1187:B105:198:D408:6E7D (talk) 15:55, 12 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, those things I knew. But "consequences that you have never faced in your history" could also mean crashing ISS (which Russia controls, right?) on a city. Although 'in your history' is a bit puzzling. DirkvdM (talk) 16:10, 12 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

You can find his speech on YouTube (link not allowed here) in Russian, of course. Some translations differ slightly. Is it a threat, saber rattling, or a bluff -- you decide for yourself. 2603:6081:1C00:1187:B105:198:D408:6E7D (talk) 16:28, 12 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Why is the YT link "not allowed here"? Is there a copyright infringement? There must be several versions, including some with subtitles? Martinevans123 (talk) 16:33, 12 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

I tried; presumably all YT links are blocked for some reason (not "reliable"?). 2603:6081:1C00:1187:B105:198:D408:6E7D (talk) 16:50, 12 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Maybe just Russia-based YouTube links? --←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 16:55, 12 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Here's one (excerpt) from The Telegraph UK -- add https:// to: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5YeX8eCLgA

2603:6081:1C00:1187:B105:198:D408:6E7D (talk) 17:06, 12 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

As shown by Andy's example below, Youtube links are not blocked. And to be clear, you don't need to use a template I can simply convert your link to a URL by adding https:// and it works fine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5YeX8eCLgA . It's possible there's an edit filter limiting IPs but I doubt that as well as I had no problem adding a Youtube link to the sandbox other than needing to do the CAPTCHA required for all external links.

I suspect the reason you had problems adding Youtube links is you were trying to add links to the Youtube URL shortener service youtu.be. The Youtu.be domain is blocked, as are most URL shortener services and it's what Youtube will provide when you use their share link function. If you want to share a URL link you will need to copy/share the URL from your browser or otherwise convert the URL to use the main youtube.com domain.

If you want to link to a specific time and don't know how to do it manually or convert the Youtu.be URLs into Youtube.com ones, you can use the Youtube share URL service and their time stamp function. Then open the URL in your browser then share/copy the URL from your browser. Note initially the URL will probably include youtu.be as a tracking element, but the spam blacklist entry is properly implemented so will not block these [2]. But in case, the tracking element will probably disappear after a short while, you don't even need to play the video. (I guess Youtube rewrites the URL after a short time, perhaps so bookmarks and shares from the browser don't keep the tracking element.)

While the general block on URL shortener services makes sense, I've never been sure there's a good reason for one on the Youtube service since AFAIK you can only link to Youtube with it and at least for videos both links will include the same video ID so any blocked links will still be blocked provided whoever added them did the regex correctly. I'm not sure about links to other parts of Youtube like playlists or channels but I suspect they are the same. However I never bothered to check for any discussion that lead up to the block or challenge it if I didn't see a good reason since I don't care enough.

And for further clarity I'm fairly sure we've never physically blocked an entire channel. This is or rather was [3] an RT live stream of some Putin speech. You can see I can link to it fine although you probably won't be able to access the content on Youtube because of Youtube blocking content from Russian state funded broadcasts [4]. Note that it would be difficult to block links to specific channels on our side anyway, or at least channels which are as active as RT etc were. You'd need to make a continually updated list with all the video IDs. While this could be scripted, our blocking tools whether edit filters or the spam blacklist aren't really set up for dealing with such a large list AFAIK so it's likely to be fairly resource intensive on the server side. Simpler would be to get a bot to revert additions as they come like User:XLinkBot.

Nil Einne (talk) 01:37, 13 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

{{YouTube|_5YeX8eCLgA}} renders as: Video on YouTube. Het boйhe! Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 17:23, 12 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Also, on 22 Feb 2022, after comparing US / NATO foreign policy to pre-war NAZI Germany, he added:

As for military affairs, even after the dissolution of the USSR, and losing a considerable part of its capabilities, today's Russia remains one of the most powerful nuclear states. Moreover, it has a certain advantage in several cutting-edge weapons. In this context, there should be no doubt for anyone that any potential aggressor will face defeat and ominous consequences should it directly attack our country.

Excerpt: Video on YouTube

Full speech: Video on YouTube

2603:6081:1C00:1187:B105:198:D408:6E7D (talk) 18:38, 12 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

This quote is about retaliation after an attack on Russia, not the Ukraine. And again it is unclear how he would retaliate because he mentions both nuclear weapons and 'several cutting-edge weapons', whatever he may mean by that. Above all he is being very vague. But hey, even a dictator is a politician. :) DirkvdM (talk) 11:29, 13 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Putin put his nucleaf forces on high alert, but how exceptional is that in a wartime situation? At what point would the USA, the other country that has a shitload of nuclear weapons, take that step? DirkvdM (talk) 12:17, 13 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

We are not, "technically", at war with Russia. --←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 14:16, 13 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

The statement referred to "a wartime situation". This very much is such. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 11:21, 14 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

That is not what I meant. Russia put its nuclear forces on high alert, but does that constitute a threat or is it normal procedure when at war? And what kind of war? Since the USA is the only other country with that many nuclear weapons, it is the most logical choice for comparison. Albeit not the only one. DirkvdM (talk) 15:16, 13 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

War? What war? Putin is just liberating helpless Ukrainians from those darn NAZIs who don't realize that they lost WW2. Just read his speeches. 2603:6081:1C00:1187:682F:B845:5D26:61A0 (talk) 15:39, 13 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

We won't know if Putin's threat is not real until it doesn't happen. --←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 16:52, 13 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

We have to live through the war to know if the war killed us. Blueboar (talk) 19:41, 13 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Huh? Even if the intention is liberation, it is still a war. Armies are fighting each other, and that is pretty much the definition of war. You seem to have been brainwashed by Putins state-controlled media. Reporters risk 15 years imprisonment if they use the term 'war' for this. DirkvdM (talk) 11:41, 14 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Those comments might have been a bit facetious. 2603:6081:1C00:1187:91B5:A97A:7A92:DCA4 (talk) 15:05, 14 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

But my point seems to get lost here. I am not suggesting the USA is at war. I am just curious at what point the USA would put its nuclear forces on high alert, war or no war. I assume there is a procedure for that. DirkvdM (talk) 11:51, 14 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

The DEFCON article might provide some insight. The current level is DEFCON 3: [5] --2603:6081:1C00:1187:91B5:A97A:7A92:DCA4 (talk) 14:59, 14 March 2022 (UTC) . . . Edit: note that public websites like that one "estimate" the current DEFCON level; the actual status is not publicly released. 2603:6081:1C00:1187:91B5:A97A:7A92:DCA4 (talk) 15:17, 14 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Regional marketing

When I was a kid, I always looked forward to the late winter baseball annuals various publishers put out that would discuss off-season moves, play-off chances, etc. One of the things I found neat is that they almost always had pictures of my local team on the cover, which I assumed was due to them being contenders/champions (this was in the late 80s, early 90s). Then at some point I learned that this wasn't the case; the publishers had regionally specific covers, so that the editions sold in Canada featured the Jays or Expos, while those in the midwest might features the Cubs or White Sox, etc. I can think of various ways to describe this practice, but is there a specific industry name for it? We might say that the different covers are "regional varieties", but what would the overall strategy be called? Matt Deres (talk) 15:25, 12 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Target marketing? --←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 15:52, 12 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Spot on. The Economist does the same thing, and even moves content further forward for regional interest. DOR (HK) (talk) 17:36, 12 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you both! But, wouldn't "target marketing" be even more broad? Like, deciding to include a token female writer to attract that demographic or introducing a funny mascot to attract kids would also be target marking, right? I'm kind of hung up on my particular example because online news sources (and other sites, I guess) do the same thing, though very badly. I'd like to research it or talk about it and feel I still don't have quite the right term. Like, I live in Kitchener, Ontario, and Google News knows that, so they target me geographically but the region they use is way too broad, probably because it's done from an American POV. I see local news stories from Victoria to Moncton because, after all, we're geographically quite close, being in Canada together. It's like someone in LA having to sift through stories about the Kalamazoo public library changing their hours because, after all, they're both in the US and local to each other. So, I'd like to learn more about how it's done and if there's any way to address it when it's done poorly, but I'm not trying to correct the entire concept of marketing, just this particular kind. :-) Matt Deres (talk) 18:19, 12 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

@Matt Deres The example you describe is definitely target marketing. But you might find the term "geographic segmentation" useful? -- asilvering (talk) 03:11, 14 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Вестнику Минского губернского комиссара №126 8.08.1917

Anyone knows if possible to encounter "Вестнику Минского губернского комиссара" (could be 'комиссариата'), №126 8.08.1917 online? --Soman (talk) 17:14, 12 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

I only found ru:Вестник Минского губернского комиссара, and its links, which have snippets from some other editions. Card Zero (talk) 09:18, 13 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Lieut.-Colonel Samuel Fleming

Is Lieut.-Colonel Samuel Fleming (fl. 1922), a Metropolitan Police magistrate cited in Tipton Catastrophe, the same person as [6]? Can we find dates, military service, burial, etc? Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 17:20, 12 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

From the British Medical Journal, 1926, Samuel Fleming (Bachelor of Medicine, magistrate) obituary? --Askedonty (talk) 18:16, 12 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Wikidata entry Q111204490 on the final report on the Tipton Catastrophe links to Q75434466 on Samuel Fleming, which links to the entry on thepeerage.com. While the identification is extremely plausible, I do not immediately see a reliable source that seals it. --Lambiam 08:58, 13 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

No, Q111204490 links to Samuel Fleming (Q111203799); there is note on the latter's talk page, which I added, querying the possible overlap with Q75434466. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 12:01, 13 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

The obituary + ancestry.com establish a link. The obit states that a daughter of the magistrate married one Major Piet Vanderbyl. Ancestry.com has an en entry Pieter Voltelyn Graham Van der Byl naming Joyce Clare Fleming as his spouse, also named in our article Pieter Voltelyn Graham van der Byl. The entry on the magistrate's wife Elizabeth Knox Clare Ball at ancestry.com names both Joyce Clare Fleming and Suzanne Ashley Fleming as daughters, with the latter closing the connection with the entry at thepeerage.com. --Lambiam 09:25, 13 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you. In that case I will now merge Q111203799 and Q75434466. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 12:01, 13 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

All data now at Samuel Fleming (Q75434466) and obituary transcribed at wikisource:British Medical Journal/1926/Samuel Fleming, M.B., C.M. - we just need burial details. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 13:00, 13 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]