Wikipedia:Reference desk/Humanities

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Latest comment: 19 years ago by Canley in topic Closed session
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October 18

Carlo Santana???

Who is this guy?? Isn't he a guitarist or what???

I have no idea whether Carlo Santana is an excellent, mediocre, or truly appalling guitarist, but Carlos Santana is a very fine one. --Robert Merkel 00:30, 18 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Hurricanes vs cylocnes

should judges be elected in U.K?

No. :) --Robert Merkel 00:25, 19 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
Yes NPOV MeltBanana 22:47, 19 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

'Ender's Shadow' by Orson Scott Card

This question concerns the following passage found in OSC's book Ender's Shadow on pages 209 and 210. I have the paperback book, not sure if it's different from the hardcover. Regardless, it's at the beginning of chapter 12.

'I've told you about those older boys, too. You have the same data I have.'

'Do we have all of it?'

'Do you want all of it?'

'Do we have the data on all the children with scores and evaluations at such a high level?'

'No.'

'Why not?'

'Some of them are disqualified for various reasons.'

'Disqualified by whom?'

'By me.'

'On what grounds?'

'One of them is borderline insane, for instance. We're trying to find some structure in which his abilities will be useful. But he could not possibly bear the weight of complete command.'

'That's one.'

'Another is undergoing surgery to correct a physical defect.'

'Is it a defect that limits his ability to command?'

'It limits his ability to be trained to command.'

'But it's being fixed.'

I know that the boy undergoing surgery is Achilles, that's certain. What I don't know for sure is who Colonel Graff is calling 'borderline insane.'

A few possibilities come to mind: Ostensibly, Crazy Tom is the first choice, because of the moniker. However, I'm leaning toward Bonzo Madrid, commander of Salamander Army. Given his agression towards Ender, and Graff's special attention for Ender, it seems Graff would have become hyper-sensitive to any sort of threat to Ender, and expressed that in his evaluation of Bonzo.

It's a question that's been bothering me for some time, and no one else around here reads the books, so I have no one to discuss it with. Any help you could give would be appreciated.

I would guess at Crazy Tom. The moniker is part of it, though I think it's more the stated notion that he's the oldest child at Battle School who doesn't have an army (not bearing the weight...) but goes on to be one of Ender's subcommanders (some structure in which...). Griff seems to realize, though (and I forget in which book, probably this one) that Bonzo is pretty much worthless and uses him as a test for Ender -- that doesn't seem to mesh with the "some structure" part of the comment. — Lomn | Talk / RfC 13:43, 18 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Question!

Hello,

I'm doing a project on Pierre Trudeau's quote "Just watch me". I was wondering where he said this, like ___location wise??
On Parliament Hill. See the CBC's clip of the interview. —Charles P. (Mirv) 01:20, 18 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Bible translations

In your article "Bible translation", within the table of languages, there is no translation in Serbian language. I believe this was not intentional.

  • No, it was certainly not an intential omission. It's just that we are a volunteer-written encyclopedia, and we haven't quite covered everything yet. If you know something about Serbian Bible translations, please add that to the article.--Pharos 06:19, 18 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Born?

Hi I'm doing a book report on the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe and I need to know when he was born!

pLEASE TELL ME[SORRY CAPITALS]its on thursday.


Thanx, Lauren

See the C.S. Lewis article. He was born November 29, 1898.

Jazz1979 09:42, 18 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Super Sentai 30th anniversary

A user has asked this question via the Help Desk mailing list about information on our Super Sentai article. I have also placed this question on the article talk page in the hope of finding someone who might know the answer. The user asked:

Couldn't you tell me how official is this info

Armored Helmet Task Force Beetle Five is the 30th Incarnation of Super Sentai and will feature an Insect Ranger Team. The new show starts February 2006 in Japan.

Is it still a rumor, or the 30th sentai will really be insect-based, and what colours are suggested to apply?

Thanks for any assistance you can provide.


Capitalistroadster 10:12, 18 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Lorry fleets

Could you please find out for me which company owns the largest lorry fleet in the world?

--62.24.112.55 10:24, 18 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Asked and answered before. Wikipedia:Reference_desk/Humanities#World.27s_largest_lorry_fleet and Wikipedia:Reference_desk/Humanities#lorries. KeithD (talk) 10:34, 18 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

French animal

Bold text Please could somebody proficient in French tell me what type of animal marseile is? I am not sure of the spelling but I think it sounds like that pronounced in English.

Thanks, Steve --10:28, 18 October 2005 (UTC)

I don't know of any animal by that name, nor does my Petit Robert. Do you means Marseille? That's not an animal. --Diderot 15:51, 18 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
There was a monkey in Friends called Marcel. I don't suppose that is the one you are looking for. smurrayinchester(User), (Talk) 16:01, 18 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Online dating webpages

I checked the number of dating ads on an online dating webpage, searching for men seeking women, and women seeking men, in the city I live in and in the same age bracket. The sex ratio in the ads was approximately 70% men, 30% women. I had expected it to be 99% men, 1% women. Were my expectations completely ludicrous? Outside pornographic webpages, is there any research in the sex ratio of such dating ads? JIP | Talk 11:29, 18 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

  • I wouldn't call your assumption ludricous, just far off-base. When it comes to dating sometimes women are just as willing as men. A lot of people seem to have a fear of remaining alone, which is why dating sites are thriving. Personally, I think finding the right person is something one is perfectly capable of doing on their own without the help of complete strangers. - Mgm|(talk) 12:38, 18 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

The Grapes of Wrath

I'm reading The Grapes of Wrath... I know, I know, I'm the only American who didn't read this for high school English... :) Anyway, there's a character named "Rose of Sharon". What I'm wondering is why she's called this. Maybe I missed it if it was explained early on in the book. Was her mother's name "Sharon" and there were two girls by the name of Rose who were cousins? Dismas|(talk) 12:10, 18 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

It's primarily a Biblical reference, a phrase used in Song of Solomon, the book of erotic poetry, to describe the Beloved. — Lomn | Talk / RfC 13:49, 18 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
From chapter 2, verse 1 — if you'd like to read it. The actual flower so described was probably an asphodel or crocus rather than a rose. Also, you might want to check out Book of Revelation chapter 14, verses 18 and 19 for them there grapes. --Gareth Hughes 15:20, 18 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

California's "Baby Bar" exam

What is your question? - Mgm|(talk) 18:34, 18 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

US-Mexico Border Length

Hello, I was wondering what the length of the border between the United States and Mexico was?

Thanks, J

United States-Mexico border says 3,141 km (1,951 miles). –Hajor 15:15, 18 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

But much of the US-Mexican border runs along the course of the Rio Grande, and as Lewis Fry Richardson and Benoit Mandelbrot noted (the latter in the paper How Long Is the Coast of Britain?) natural features like coastlines, rivers, and watersheds, may not have well-defined lengths: their measured lengths can depend on the lengths of the rulers used to measure them. Gdr 17:17, 19 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

borders on rivers are measured by the length of an imaginary line in the middle of the river. Therefore, things like docks, boat slips, and tributaries do not affect the length of the border. -Drdisque 22:03, 19 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

The US-Mexico border lies along the deepest channel, not the middle of the river. However, in either case the border is still fractal-like, so the length is still not well-defined. (Though there might be well-defined sections where the river is canalized.) Gdr 13:18, 21 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Post Office's "Managed Service Point"

I saw a business which had in its window a barcode from the U.S. Postal Service giving a code number for the "Managed Service Point." What is a Managed Service Point? PedanticallySpeaking 16:05, 18 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

This link explains what an MSP is: [1]. -- Canley 03:05, 21 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

questions

answers. --fvw* 19:05, 18 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

and bears, oh my! --AndyJones 00:36, 29 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Florida Law

I'm searching to find what the law is on having pets in vehicles in Palm Beach County Florida. Is there any kind of seat belt or back seat only law in place?

Calling the Palm Beach police department would probably be the easiest way to find this out. Dismas|(talk) 04:02, 19 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
(561)688-3000 is the Palm Beach County Sherrif's Office. In the future, please sign your questions with your name or user name. Thanks. Superm401 | Talk 04:20, 19 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

associate justices

Who were the associate justices in warren e. burgers court? I had trouble finding this.

You'll want the List of Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States; specifically, the section sorted by Chief Justice. — Lomn | Talk / RfC 20:49, 18 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Major General C. M. Barber (WW II)

I am looking for some biographical information on Major General C. M. Barber (British Second Army) for an article in the German Wikipedia on the Barber-Lyashenko-agreement (de:Barber-Ljaschtschenko-Abkommen) of November 1945 which realigned the border between the English and the Soviet zone in Schleswig-Holstein. Can you help? Thank you --Concord 20:57, 18 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

House Of Representatives Post Office Scandal of 1991

Hello, is there a good summary of the events that made up this scandal? I am looking for names of the people involved, a good idea as to how much money was involved, and who was eventually convicted. Thanx

October 19th

MCI Worldcom

Where did the MCI Worldcom merger go wrong? Besides corrupt leadership, how did the companies perform together? Weren't they doing better together, albeit from a scandal that led to bankrupcy later. Did either have a history of criminal accounting behavior or scandals before the merger? Would it be considered a good merger anyway? On which original company did the blame lie?

That's one giant question -- if someone answers it completely and empirically they should get an MBA on the spot. If you haven't already read it, Bernard Ebbers would be a good article to read about the downfall -- it seems to talk about it more than MCI does. ---Quasipalm 01:45, 19 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
There was an episode of Frontline that delved into this - frontline: the wall street fix --RevWaldo 15:52, 23 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Samba Sector

Hi, does anyone know where exactly the Samba Sector along the Line of Control between India and Pakistan is? --Plastictv 01:42, 19 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Its probably a geographic military division. User:Nichalp/sg 07:59, 1 November 2005 (UTC)

Women in Louisiana Government

Why do women get equal oppotunity to participate in Louisiana government?

See suffrage. Dismas|(talk) 03:58, 19 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
Actually, the men had a moment of bad judgement. Seriously, please do your own homework. See the top of the page. Superm401 | Talk 04:32, 19 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

australia

1. Which Australian State capital was named after a member of the British Royal Family?

2. Which state capital (Australia) was not named after a person?

3. Name the Austlian pilitical party whose formation is closely linked to the central Queensland town of Barcaldine?

Please read the top of the page where it says that we won't answer homework questions for you. Please see the article on Australia. Dismas|(talk) 03:56, 19 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
  1. Adelaide after Queen Adelaide:
  2. Perth after Perth, Scotland:
  3. The Australian Labor Party with claims that the first branch meeting was held under the "Tree of Knowledge" in Barcaldine, Queensland. There are also claims that the first meeting was in Balmain, New South Wales. Capitalistroadster 07:56, 19 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
There's few things more damaging to a child than two parents setting vastly different boundaries ;o) --bodnotbod 12:41, 27 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

schreck

Did Julius Schreck (July 13, 1898 – May 16, 1936; an early Nazi Party member & first commander of the Schutzstaffel) have any children? Did he have a son named Hans?

how does the punnet square prove tsarevich alexis not to suffer from hemophilia?

I was taken by suprise in reading wikipedia's article on the Tsarevich Alexis Nicolaievich of Russia. In which it was stated that by using the "punnet square" method of tracing recessive phenotypes throughout a family, there was no evidence as to why the tsarevich should have hemophilia. I've read, and I presume understand, wikipedia's articles on both hemophilia and the punnet square. Yet, I'm still confused as to why he couldn't have the disease. The article also says that a more recent diagnosis points to thrombocytopenia. I can only gather that both of these illnesses result in a low platelet count, but can't find much else to distinguish one from the other. Any explanation as to why the tsarevich wouldn't have been born with hemophilia or differences in hemophilia and thrombocytopenia would be greatly appreciated...

Can you give us the exact spelling of the article title so the link isn't red, and I will review the comment to which you allude? Hemophilia and thrombocytopenia are not very similar clinically, and even in the late 1890s were distinguishable clinically and by a CBC. Osler has separate chapters on the two diseases in his 1892 edition of Principles and Practice. Hemophilia does not cause a low platelet count. Furthermore, the Punnett square is a method of sorting population statistics to determine probable method of inheritance of a trait, and is less useful for determining whether an individual in the population might or might not have it. A pedigree of his family with accurate info on who had or did not have the condition would be a far stronger piece of evidence with which to refute a putative X-linked disease. Perhaps JFW could contribute his hematological expertise here. alteripse 05:21, 19 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

As Alteripse points out, what you are reacting to (previously in our article...for how long?) is complete bogosity. There is one active "web pretender enthusiast" who has chosen someone as his candidate for the "surviving" tsarievitch. His candidate died of a splenic malignancy, and he has tried...very inventively, but alas, not very realistically...to claim that Alexi suffered from thrombocytopenia, not hemophilia, in order to enhance the "candidacy" through yet another imaginative leap between marrow disorders and hematologic malignancy (I could look up the details, but as he's simply wrong, I haven't bothered). As Alteripse points out, though thrombocytopenia and platelet disorders both cause bleeding, the similarity stops there. They cause different kinds of bleeding, and the events of Alexi's life are instantly recognizable to anyone familiar with the diseases as a coagulopathy and not a platelet disorder. The "web enthusiast", not recognizing this, plagued the alt.talk.royal list, etc. with this nonsense a few years ago. I suspect he's paid Wikipedia a visit. A few other points: one third of all hemophilia cases are sporadic, occurring with no previous family history. Lack of a family history shouldn't cause one to doubt the diagnosis. And the Punnett square is completely inapplicable to this! The family tree (with affected members) is well-known and demonstrates X-linked inheritance...there may or may not be a copy somewhere on Wikipedia.- Nunh-huh 06:13, 19 October 2005 (UTC) P.S. The family tree is in our hemophilia article (or here: Image:Haemophilia family tree.GIF - Nunh-huh 06:15, 19 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
Ahhh, you supplied the missing piece of information-- the crank with a Mission. alteripse 12:12, 19 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

September 11 bombing

Hello my name is Morgan and i go to Elim Christian College. At the moment i am doing a resesrch assingment on the September 11 bombing. I am wondering if you could send me some information on it to help me achieve my assignment. Thankyou my e-mail address id (email removed) Morgan

As per the instructions at the top of this page, your email has been removed, any replies will posted below your question, like this one. Maybe a good start would be our article September 11, 2001 attacks, which is the first entry using "September 11 bombing" in the search bar to the left. If you want more detailed information, your question may need to be more specific. Good luck! --Commander Keane 07:10, 19 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
Just to check, is this what you wanted, becasue it wasn't a bombing, maybe I'm confused?--Commander Keane 07:13, 19 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
And have a look at World_Trade_Center, and the Sept 11 wiki memorial. If you wanted the 1993 Bombing, there's a link there from the World Trade Center article. - Nunh-huh 07:17, 19 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Inappropriate places for children to urinate.

What could be causing one of my Preschool children to be urinating outdoors in the playground? This usually occurs if he has already been reprimanded for other incorrect behaviours, usually minor offences.

Forgive me for asking the obvious question, but does he have access to a more appropriate place to relieve himself? That is, are there bathrooms available, and can he use them? (Consider that he may be afraid of being in the bathroom by himself, or conversely, he may be afraid of other children being able to see his private parts.) You say he does it after being reprimanded; do you think he may be possibly doing it as a sign of disrespect, as in "pissing on one's grave" (though it's unsettling to think that he would be aware of that behavior at that age), or maybe doing it to get more attention? Have you talked to his parents about this, and whether he behaves this way at home? Garrett Albright 12:02, 19 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

My first response is that your son must must think he's French because I just got back from a week in Lyon and three different times I saw 2 or 3 year old boys, assisted by their mothers, peeing in public on the ground. So if this isn't a recessive French gene, there are three possibilities. One is that he is suddenly urinating with much greater volume and frequency than a couple of weeks ago and he is having accidents because he can't get to the appropriate place in time. If there is a big increase in urination, take him today to get his blood sugar checked. If you don't think he has French genes, and this is not a manifestation of a sudden increase in urine volume, then this is just a social behavior issue.

Part 6 of your mission as a parent is to civilize the offspring you have presented to us. Don't yell in class, don't throw stones on the playground, don't pee in public, learn to wait in line, sleep at night instead of the daytime, don't break vases, pay your taxes and don't tell evil jokes-- the whole bit. My point is that you should not think of this as any sort of perverse act and the probable answer to the "what could be causing it" part of your question is "a full bladder". It is natural to pee outdoors when your bladder is full. It is unnatural to hold it and donate it to the great white porcelain altar. However, if you don't intend to move to France and his father isn't around, you need to teach him the ways of your tribe. Rule number 31 of the social code says "guys don't urinate in public where other people who are not close guy friends can see them." There are subchapters to the guy code dealing with acceptable degrees of intimacy for such public action. Since we don't see guys doing this in front of other people, we can infer that most people learn this rule fairly easily, so take heart.

Finally, if you think he has precociously mastered the social rule and is doing this as a deliberately transgressive action, you are dealing with a different type of challenge, which is to teach him what ways of showing he is annoyed with an adult or an adult rule are socially acceptable (i.e., he can get away with) and which he cannot. That is part 9 of your mission as a parent and unfortunately we are out of time... alteripse 12:09, 19 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

For the record, I hardly ever see anybody urinating in public in France except for bums. The last time I saw such things happen was in Edinburgh, with Scots apparently full of beer. David.Monniaux 22:46, 20 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

I think if his peers show him that its not acceptable than it will be much more effective than you trying to show him. Sigmund Freud would probably call this something like a "urine expulsive" stage as he theorized that many children who do not want to be toilet trained would take a poo as often as possible to "rebel" and eventually grew up to be messy people. Of course, freud lact much in the way of empirical evidence to support his theory. -Drdisque 21:59, 19 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

His "pee-rs"?!? Muahahaha! - Nunh-huh 23:10, 20 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

German Bundeswher

HI i have a question. can a non german citizens join\enlist to the german bundeswher? and if yes how do they do it? please send me the answer to my converstaion page Oraien (I've added a header to the question). - 131.211.51.34 11:11, 19 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

You might want to be careful as for some countries enlistment in a foreign military can strip you of your citizenship, so you should check your local laws. According to this, Nach Angaben der Berliner "tageszeitung" dienten Ende 2001 Männer und Frauen aus 87 Nationen bei der Bundeswehr, which translates roughly as according to the Berlin daily, men and women from 87 nations served in the military at the end of 2001. So they clearly take foreign nationals. As to how you would actually enlist, you could try contacting someone through http://www.bundeswehr.de. — Laura Scudder | Talk 16:15, 28 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
To join the German Bundeswehr, you have to have German citizenship. The reference above about people from 87 countries serving in the Bundeswehr just refers to the ethical background of these people, not their current citizenship (which is German). Hope I could help,--nodutschke 11:21, 29 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Doubts about the Indo-European Theory?

i have heard that there are some doubts expressed about the Indo-european theory but i have not been able to find anything related with that on wikipedia. Can you please tell me what has alternatively been proposed and where the doubts are based? thank you in advance -- yendome

Have a look at Indo-European languages#History: that section links to some other articles that you may find useful. Note that there have always been disagreements about the details of these theories, but none of these question the general idea of genetically related languages. By that, I mean that no one doubt can bring down the whole edifice. It is most likely that what you have heard is a disagreement about one of the many different theories that make up the study of Indo-European linguistics, rather than a disagreement with the entire field. --Gareth Hughes 13:49, 19 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
(after edit conflict)
On the whole, the existence of the Indo-European family is not being challenged. The arguments in its favour are every bit as convincing as those of evolution. However, some of its implications are being - and always have been - challenged. These attacks tend to fall into one or more of the following categories:
  • Debates over the relationship between linguistic genealogy, ethnic and cultural genealogy, and biological heredity.
  • Debates over the geographic and ethnic roots of proto-Indo-European.
  • Debates related to the effect of language contact on the entire notion of cladistic language family trees.
The first tends to go hand in hand with nationalism and in some cases sheer racism. The second is barely less so. The third strikes me as a reasonable subject of debate, but a difficult matter in light of both the difficulty in talking about language contact in the prehistoric past, and the existence of total wackos who see such racist, ethnocentric, nationalist bull in every discussion of the Indo-European expansion.
Of the not totally nutso things I've seen on the subject, the ones that could be true, and if they were are not automatically grounds for some asinine programme of ethnic cleansing, are all about the potential effect of contact linguistics on the development of prehistoric Indo-European languages. For instance, there were people in Europe before the Indo-Europeans. They spoke something. They probably were not exterminated by the Indo-European advance. Did that something have an effect on the languages spoken in Europe in historical times? If so, is there evidence of this? The same can be said of India and Iran. Take a look at Germanic substrate hypothesis for one example.
But do watch out. This kind of discussion is still charged with a millennium of cruft and bad blood over who lived where before the Völkerwanderung. --Diderot 14:01, 19 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Presidential Cabinet

What role did James Buchanan play in the Department of state?

Secretary of State. Which is to say, he ran the thing. --Quasipalm 19:10, 19 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

coconut grove fire

I was interested in not only the fire itself but also history on when the building was built and what type of construction type was used i.e. platform, balloon, wood or ordinary construction, etc.

Our article on the Cocoanut Grove fire doesn't have all that info but might have some other info of interest. If you have information that would improve the article, by all means, you're welcome to update it. Dismas|(talk) 21:42, 19 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Ok

this is not a normal enquiry!

I am writing from England and in 1991 I first met Sandra Kruger who lived at 18 Talbot Street, PO Box 11779, Brakpan North X 1, 1545. I am desperately trying to find her again, as we said we would not lose contact...but as life goes, we all go our separate ways.

I do not expect you to help me find her, but it would be great if you could point me in the right direction, or give me the website i need to try and trace her.

This lady looked after me so well, and i know she would be so happy to hear from me.

With thanks

Jan Molloy

(You shouldn't post your address here, to protect yourself from spam and crazies.) Is this Brakpan in South Africa? How thoroughly have you searched, both on-line and in Real LifeTM? Googling for <sandra-kruger gauteng> yields a promisng handful of hits. –Hajor 00:01, 20 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
Yes Brakpan is in South Africa. I have phoned Telkom (the local telephone company) and they have no numbers of any Krugers living in Talbot Street, Brakpan. Best thing is for you is to contact the "YOU" magazine because they have a "Desperately seeking" column. You can contact them at seekingATyouDOTcoDOTza I also see that they have a website You Magazine --Jcw69 07:04, 20 October 2005 (UTC)Reply


Toyko

Good morning, my son is currently doing a school project on Toyko.One of the questions, we are having a problem with is.List problems of living in Toyko.I gave him a couple of examples such as,overcrowded population,pollution and high cost of living.I am sure their would be many more,can you help.I appreciate your assistance. Thank You Glenn Charters

The subway system is really complicated. Seriously, it looks like you hit up on the major points there, though really it's no worse than big cities in the west such as Los Angeles. I assume you have already perused our Tokyo article? (Note the spelling, please.) Garrett Albright 14:23, 20 October 2005 (UTC)Reply


How about Japans lack of raw materials? Thats why they invaded Manchuria, and thats why their economy has become so production orientated. For example, Japan imports iron ore from australia and smelts it into steel which it exports throughout the world.

Mike

Yes, but that isn't unique to Tokyo… Garrett Albright 15:42, 21 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

October 20

Life expectancy in Somolia

What is the life expectancy and literacy rate of Somolia

According to the CIA World Factbook the life expectancy is: total population: 48.09 years, male: 46.36 years, female: 49.87 years (2005 est.). And literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write, total population: 37.8%, male: 49.7%, female: 25.8% (2001 est.) Dismas|(talk) 01:53, 20 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

What impact did using trees to build ships have on Colonial Jamestown?

They didn't have to use geese. Please do your own homework. — Lomn | Talk / RfC 13:59, 20 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Charles Dickens' works as published in magazine installments

I would like information on which of Dickens' books were published in installments in U.S. magazines,the names of those magazines, and the years of publication. Thank you very much.

I suggest you start by reading the Charles Dickens article, and then reading the articles and external websites linked from there. Thryduulf 12:47, 20 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Defence studies

what is operational art?



Art lover


Operational art. please open you eyes and try to search for it yourself. it took me all of two seconds to get this link, and I didn't even have to leave wikipedia. give us a break. --Ballchef 08:02, 20 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

But on the other hand, chill a little... Trollderella 01:44, 28 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Effects of Consciousness on matter

What are the leading ideas on the effect of Human consciousness on matter? Along the lines of Dr. Emoto's studies on the ice crystal formations when exposed to written words, music and Human language. What books or articles can I read to find out more?

I know nothing of this, but I assume the vibrations caused by the sound of words and music could affect crystal formations. I doubt and "Conscienceness" is involved. Nelson Ricardo 02:05, 24 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
I presume the questioner really meant consciousness. There is of course the possibility that consciousness is defined by matter i.e the particular chemical and electrical state within our brains. If this was the case, then you could I suppose, theorize that human consciousness effects matter and vice versa but as usual with these questions, you would very quickly dissapear up your own philosophical asshole. --Majts 19:51, 26 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
  • You might want to look at our article on Masaru Emoto. His work is not accepted by mainstream science. There is no scientific evidence that "consciousness" has anything to do with his ice crystals. There is no accepted scientific theory by which the writing of words onto bottles of water would produce differences in the way they freeze in accordance to the semantic meaning of the word. But anyway, you don't have to take my word on it. Read Emoto's claims, read his critics, decide for yourself; it doesn't matter much to me what you believe. Our article contains links to both pro- and anti-Emoto websites, they are probably a good source of departure. --Fastfission 05:21, 27 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Order of the Dragon

I am doing research on my family background. It appears that background includes the Order of the Dragon. I have read the information on the Order in your Encyclopedia and would like additional historical information. I have tried contacting some of the modern day groups that claim to be part of the Order, but they do not reply and what information they have on their web page seems to include a lot of fantasy. Can you point me to some good non-fiction historical references.

Thanks,

Andrew Sarkany

A rose is a rose

A rose is a rose -original source

Probably the most mis-quoted piece of poetry of all time.

The full correct quote is:

  • "Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose, is a rose".

It starts with the word "rose", not with the word "a". The word "rose" appears 5 times.

It's from "Sacred Emily" (1913) by Gertrude Stein. Cheers JackofOz 16:08, 20 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Quiet Riot

Who is the blonde guy? I looked on every Quiet Riot site i could think of, it shows the names but i cant click on his picture to see what his name is.


Yes, i figured out that Kelli Garni was the person i was talking about, it was after i sent this. I remember looking at a picture of him with a bass, and didnt think about checking on the band member's list to see what the name of the bassist was. I have been looking and searching and it was driving me crazy, just to find out all i had to do was look at the band member's names and their instruments. Thank you very much!

Jungian psychology

There is a search bar to the left, at the top of the page. If you typed there exactly what you did here, and hit enter, you would have found this. Natgoo 18:10, 20 October 2005 (UTC)Reply


Looking for the title of a song

Hello every one. I've been hearing a song on the radio this year (and maybe last year)and I am willing to know who sings it (I'm living in France, for those who wonder). the singer is a lady and she sings in english. The song starts with a few sentences that are talked (not sung) and that end with something that sounds like "... and even though you got a man, he'll still be turning you on". The chorus is something like "ohohohoho he's turning you on ohohohoho he's turning you on". I've been looking on Google but the lyrics I have quoted above probably contain a few mistakes so it didn't work. The rythm of the music and the voice of the singer really makes me think about the singer Kelis but i've been looking on her page and she didn't release any single whose title has the word "turn" or "turning", so i'm not sure whether it's her or not. Thank you for all the answers and sorry for the possible mistakes in this message.

I have found the answer: the singers are the twin sisters "Nina Sky" and the song is "Turnin' me on".

October 21

1981 Springbok tour

Howdy

I am studying the 1981 Springbok Tour of NZ for my NCEA level 1 history. I am stumpted on my last focusing question, which is "What were the differing responses to the tour overseas?". Basically what did other countries think of us at the time. I need items of evidence so websites, books etc would be very helpful.

Cheers Mike --210.55.101.192

  • Mike,

My recollection as an Australian was that it caused problems in the Commonwealth of Nations especially amongst African nations. African nations had previously boycotted the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal in protest against New Zealand participating in protest at an All Black tour of New Zealand. Our 1981 Springbok tour contains further information. This link contains a number of references including books [4]. Depending on where you are in New Zealand, the Auckland public library and the University of Canterbury both have useful resources. Capitalistroadster 07:49, 22 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

gorian lock

in the film THE STUDENT PRINCE a reference is made to the _-gorian lock---

what is the gorian lock?

g. veritas

Gordian Knot. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 00:01, 21 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

1969 TV Special Info

In late November Thanksgiving weekend 1969 RKO produced a television special hosted by F. Lee Bailey entitled: Paul McCartney The Complete Story Told For The First And Last Time. Any information you have on this or how to aquire such information (transcript, audio, video etc...) would be appreciated.

Thank you Anthony Susso (e-mail removed)

Political parties in Ireland

Tell me how do the major parties of Ireland fall within the left right spectume?

See Political parties in the Republic of Ireland. David Sneek 07:54, 21 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Future world leaders

Who is likely to be the next: President of the U.S. Prime minister of UK preimer of Isreal supreme leader of Iran President of Cuba President of France

The next election for the President of the U.S. won't be until 2008. Therefore, it's really hard to tell who even the major candidates will be. You might look at U.S. presidential election, 2008 for an idea of who may run though. Dismas|(talk) 04:08, 21 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
The next election for President of France is scheduled for 2007, see French presidential election, 2007. Note that an election can be held sooner, if the sitting president (Jacques Chirac) dies or resigns. David.Monniaux 07:43, 21 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
The next Prime Minister of the UK is likely to be Gordon Brown, when Tony Blair steps down. Despite widespread displeasure with the Labour Party, the main opposition seem to be unable to mount a serious challenge. This may all change, of course, as even a week is a long time in politics. KeithD (talk) 09:34, 21 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Religon and Ethnicity of prime minister of UK

Has their ever been a non Anglican Prime minister of Great Britan, and if so who? Which prime ministers have been non Englishmen? ie welsh Scotish, Irish, or other?

Gone with the Wind rumor

Okay, A bit of trivia I learned a few years ago pointed out that there is a theater in the south (I think Atlanta but I'm not sure) that shows Gone with the Wind Twice a day every day. I haven't been able to verify this. Can anybody help? KeeganB

  • According to Film Facts by Patrick Robertson, Gone with the Wind was shown twice a day, every day of the year, at Screen 6 of the CNN Centre 6 in Atlanta. However, I can't confirm that this theater still exists. --Metropolitan90 04:56, 21 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

I work in the CNN center and can confirm that there is no longer a movie theater located there. There possibly was when it was a theme mall. -Drdisque 23:10, 21 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

The numer of seats in the national Assembly

How many seasts are in the national assembly in France? and how many seats does each political parties hold?

A search could have answered this for you. French National Assembly Dismas|(talk) 05:25, 21 October 2005 (UTC)Reply


what is an appurtenant structure

From Title 258: Minimum Standards for Floodplain Management Programs:

002.01 Appurtenant structure.
"Appurtenant structure" shall mean a structure on the same parcel of property as the principal structure, the use of which is incidental to the use of the principal structure.

A Google search yields more. Maybe we should have an article on this. Common Man 15:49, 21 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Buddhist funeral etiquette

Is it in poor tatse to send a living plant to a Bhuddist family in mourning?? Would it be better to send cut flowers?

As a Buddhist, I certainly don't consider it bad taste, but then again that could just be me. Akamad 08:22, 21 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
I thought Buddhism rejected all judgmental attitudes, so considering something to be "in poor taste" would not be a Buddhist view but one held by non-Buddhists. Am I on the wrong track? JackofOz 03:09, 22 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
Probably best to send cut flowers if that is more usual in their country and culture, irrespective of their religious views. They might not know quite what to do with a living plant unless you intend it to be planted on the grave. Among western Buddhists, there is no established format for Buddhist funerals, but we Buddhists do use flowers as symbols of impermanence, so they are certainly appropriate in this circumstance. Shantavira 15:49, 22 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

social work

Is social work a profession ?

If your job is a social worker, then yes. But if you mean doing the work as a volunteer, then no. smurrayinchester(User), (Talk) 09:27, 21 October 2005 (UTC) Reply

The first five words of our social work article say "Social Work is a profession..." KeithD (talk) 09:30, 21 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
You can get a bachelors degree is Social Work these days, which indicates it's a profession.--Commander Keane 00:20, 22 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

UK hoax calls legislation

I think I am right in saying that during the firefighters' stikes a couple of years ago, the British government enacted much stronger legislation against hoax callers. I haven't been able to find what the name of this legislation was, and therefore a copy of it. Did it exist or am I misremembering something? What was it called? Thryduulf 09:37, 21 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

I don't think there was a name, unless you mean 'Operation Fresco' (why must operations have such strange codenames?). You may find UK Firefighter strike 2002 a good place to try. smurrayinchester(User), (Talk) 14:26, 21 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Can't speak to the specific point, but all British laws will have an official title which fully describes it, something like "An act for the better supression of outlawries", and also a short title of a few words and the year of its passage, e.g. Calendar (New Style) Act 1752. PedanticallySpeaking 14:50, 21 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

I would try [HMSO]They have copies on-line of all legislation passed since the 1980, it can be a bit tricky to find specific pieces though. AllanHainey 08:37, 24 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Why did the Battle of the Somme in 1916 fail?

Because the allies didn't do their own homework.
Wikipedia's Battle of the Somme (1916) article did not exist in 1916 (it was started at 15:56 on 7 July 2002), but luckily for you it is now one of our featured articles. Thryduulf 10:28, 21 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Chopin's nocturnes

Where's the article about Chopin's nocturnes? I need specifically information on this (I dont know by name):

Sib Sol dot Fa Sol Fa dot Mib Sib Sol Do...

Sorry, don't know how to typewrite in Lylypond. --User:Mdob | Talk 10:06, 21 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Based on the pattern on Sol ... Fa Sol Fa ... Sol, it might be Nocturne No.2 in E flat, Op.9/2. But that's just a hunch. JackofOz 03:13, 22 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
Thanks, Jack! --User:Mdob | Talk 22:36, 28 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

skellig

why did David Almond call his book "Skellig"? jonny

See Skellig. Gdr 17:54, 21 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Question about event on birthdate

I was born on 6 December 1987. Several websites, including [5], claimed that "three satanist Missouri teenagers bludgeoned a conrad to death for fun" on that date. However, doing a search for "three satanist Missouri teenagers" or similar phrases does not give much information. There seems to be a little more information about the case at [6], but I'm not sure how correct that is. My questions are: (a) is the information correct, and (b) where can I find more information relating to the case? Graham/pianoman87 talk 13:18, 21 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

I queried a database of the entire run of the NY Times for a combination of words such as murder, Missouri, Satan, etc. and find nothing relative to this. Perhaps the sites you cite are pranking you. The page on how to work on our day-in-history pages cautions that several site on the web that have this information are full of errors. PedanticallySpeaking 14:57, 21 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

who is the artist or artists

I heard the remix to the song "Just my imagination" and I just wanted to know who the artists were that sang the remix version. It was a female and a male. the words were even changed from girl to boy.--147.31.4.44 15:33, 21 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Age of Mary, Mother of Jesus, and Joseph, step-father of Jesus?

In my world religions class my professor stated that some Christian scholars believe that Mary, mother of Jesus, was a very young girl likely around age 13 and Joseph was a very old man likely around the age of 90 when they were married. Where does this come from and how accurate is it?

This story appears in the Gospel of James and the History of Joseph the Carpenter, two infancy gospels thought to have been written in the 2nd century, so the story is at least that old. As to their accuracy, these two books failed to enter the Biblical canon, so the early churches did not consider them wholly reliable. Among the problems with the "Joseph was an old man" version of events is that it posits that Joseph and Mary never had sex; to this end it needs to suppose that James was the son of Joseph by a previous marriage and not the brother of Jesus. This looks rather like an invention intended to support the theory of the Perpetual Virginity of Mary, which was a belief at the time of the composition of these apocrypha. Gdr 18:10, 21 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
Actually, the Perpetual Virginity of Mary is still a belief in 2005 for millions of people. - Nunh-huh 04:37, 22 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
Jesus had many siblings, including one named James. If Joseph was 90, he could hardly father children. JackofOz 03:16, 22 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
Further, Joseph is usually depicted as a youngish adult, certainly older than Mary, but nowhere near 90. Also, in those days, 90 would have been considered an extremely advanced age, certainly something worthy of note, but it rates no mention. I think this is someone's fertile imagination at work. JackofOz 03:18, 22 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
    • You're right about it being worthy of note. Your other arguments are a bit wrong; there's no age limit to male fertility (though, as Sportin' Life sang, "What good is livin'/when no gal will give in/to no man what's 900 years"). The depiction of Joseph is simply immaterial; there are no contemporary portraits of anyone involved in the story, as far as I know. Me, I think the whole idea of a virgin giving birth is someone's fertile imagination at work, but there you have it. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 03:55, 22 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
      • There is absolutely no reliable evidence of either Mary or Joseph's age. We do know that in the culture of the time women were married off as soon as they hit puberty. It would thus have been unusual for Mary not to have been quite young, by modern standards, when she wed. In that era a woman who was not married by age fifteen was considered to have something wrong with her. Women also had considerably shorter life expectancies than men, with most dying before the age of twenty. It was thus common for older widowers to marry much younger women. Thus the dates your professor mentioned are plausible, even if they are not backed by reliable evidence. - SimonP 21:17, 23 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

October 22

Love Boat: The Next Generation

Anybody remember this Saturday Night Live skit? It aired in 1993. Patrick Stewart was the guest host and reprised his Captain Picard character as Captain Steubing. I'd love to at least see the script for the skit if not a video or DVD.

Here you go:
http://snltranscripts.jt.org/93/93llove.phtml
StuRat 22:44, 22 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Summer Vacations

I am trying to find out more about the effects of summer vacations on students in developed countries with differences in the lengths of the vacations. (Such as between the United States and European countries. (The Summer vacation page seems not to be neutral in that is seems to focus on the American Public Education system as opposed to others, and incomplete in that is lacking critisisms about how much the kids "lose" over these extended breaks.) An ideal answer for my question would be a list of countries with different lengths of summer vacations all subject to the same, standardized, test, with the average scores listed for each. (Or similar.) However, I do not think that I'd be able to find such a convenient answer. Does anyone know how much kids do or do not 'lose' during summer vacations? --Demonesque 23:10, 21 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Your testing data will be difficult if not impossible to find as I've never heard of students taking the same (or a test rated as of the same difficulty) before and after break. Also test scores across cultures would not be comparable. -Drdisque 16:15, 22 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Hence why I said that I'd be unlikely to find such a convenient set of data. I'm interested in finding out general data on how much children lose during summer vacations/breaks. There are plenty sets of data that exist, because some arguments are that children of different races and socioeconomic standing lose more or less than others. --Demonesque 21:14, 22 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Referring to the use of the word "lose", do you mean how much do they forget or how much learning opportunity is lost ? As for what is forgotten, I would say anything that is forgotten over the summer would be forgotten 3 months after it was learned, in any event. The lost learning opportunity would be expected to be proportional to the time spent on vacation (instead of learning). That is, a student who spends 75% as much time in the classroom could reasonably be expected to learn 75% as much. This should hold true until you reach a level of fatigue in the students that makes additional learning difficult. The Japanese may actually hit this level. StuRat 22:27, 22 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

longest serving member of the UK parliment

What current members of the British parlament where elected before 1974?

Adolf Hitler's military rank

Many dictators such as Saddam Hussien and Kim Jong ILL gave themselves military ranks. During his dictatorship was Hitler considered a civilan or military man?

  • Adolf Hitler gave the orders for the armed forces to carry out under the socalled Fuhrerprinzip. Our article notes: "A nickname for Hitler used by German soldiers was Gröfaz, a derogatory acronym for Größter Feldherr aller Zeiten ("Greatest War Lord of all Time"), a title initially publicized by Nazi propaganda to refer to Hitler during the early war years." This BBC article gives further information [9].

Capitalistroadster 09:10, 22 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

I also heard that he earned the rank of corporal in WW1, and that some referred to him by the derogatory term "the little corporal". StuRat 22:15, 22 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
Actually, Napoleon was the one first called "the little corporal".--Pharos 03:18, 23 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
Yes, Napolean was also called that. StuRat 00:57, 29 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
I think the answer is "both". By virtue of his role as head of government, he was the effective chief of the armed forces, and his generals took their orders directly from him. Exactly the same role that Bush, Blair, Howard etc play. But to the general populace he was a civilian by virtue of the fact that was not a serving member of the armed forces (his role as chief of the armed forces notwithstanding), but technically a "government administrator" I suppose. JackofOz 12:25, 23 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
Hitler also regularly overruled his brilliant Generals and Admirals, which frequently led to disaster and may have been a primary cause of Germany's defeat. StuRat 00:45, 29 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Umer Sheikh Mirza

Can anyone let me know more about Umer Sheikh Mirza, the father of Babar -- the first Moghul emperor.

Our article on Babur has some information. Gdr 10:46, 22 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Book

How or where can i find a free book on the internet about the history of Argentinean football legend Diego Armando Maradona?

Isn't Diego Maradona enough? KeithD (talk) 10:28, 22 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Open XML and GPL

Why is Microsoft Office Open XML format is incompatible with GNU GPL? (which statements, in Open XML and GPL licenses, are in conflict with each other?) Thanks in advance. --anon

No real reason. Microsoft just doesn't like to use open standards, perferring to create its own. Thanks to its wide user base, it can do this without losing sleep. -- Ec5618 19:25, 22 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
I think the question was more technical-legal than that. The GPL does not allow additional restrictions to be placed on a GPL-licensed work, and the Office OpenXML license apparently[10] requires the work to be distributed for no charge. That's just from a quick search; I should add that while the Free Software Foundation doesn't list the OpenXML license on their list of GPL-incompatible licenses, their compliance lab is very good at replying in a timely manner to questions about GPL compliance and compatibility. You'll get your best answer directly from them (but be sure to provide them with a link to the text of the MS Open XML license; I couldn't find one in a quick search that wasn't packaged as a Microsoft installer file). — File:Ontario trillium sig.pngmendel 05:23, 23 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Creole Culture including women

I have to do a project on Creole Culture. So far I have gotten a lot of information but none of what I got answers my real question. Most of my project is related to The Awakening by Kate Chopin, I have read this book and now I need to find out how women who were not creole but got married into the creole society were treated. How they did not always fit ect. Can you help me?

Thanks so much Corine

FDR and New Deal Legislation

Help please! I am writing a paper for my political science class regarding FDR and the New Deal legislation. The class is based off of and uses the federalist papers as a text book. I need help understanding how the events that transcribed reflect on the separation of powers, particularly as they are explicated in the federalist papers (fed paper 23 look especially relevant?) and the constitution. I would also like help understanding the political origins of the fight between FDR and the supreme court that culminated in the "Court Packing Scheme." Were the executive and judicial branches on a collision course before the FDR administration? Does the result point to a constitutional defect? I would be greatly appreciative for any input you all have on this topic. I have done a large amount of reading on this topic. Seeing as I have a good twenty pages to write I am certainly not looking for anyone to write my paper for me, but some answers to these questions and a push in the right direction would be invaluable. Thanks in advance for your time and effort! -SQ

Reading a bio of FDR would be helpful to you. Inheriting a depressed economy from capitalist leaders who had fired on their own veterans, FDR was forced to step into finance and public works to kickstart the flow of money. He created two bodies, the PWA and the WPA, which the supreme court thought were probably unconstitutional due to the scope of their activites as they handed out great sums of money and major construction contracts, but sat back and waited around for someone to bring a case to them. After things started to improve and the economic emergency ebbed a bit, events threatened to bring such a case about. FDR responded by trying to expand the number of supreme court judges (the number has actually gone up and down several times) and put his own Democratic nominess on to create a positive outcome for his alphabet agencies. In 1940 the people told him what they thought with their votes, barely reelecting him for an unprecedented third term and forcing him to rely on the young Lyndon Johnson who doled out oil money from Texas to favored candidates. This gives you the flavor but obviously you must do more reading for detail. JK

October 23

Guilhermina Suggia

As I am writing about Guilhermina Suggia, the famous Portuguese cellist who lived for several years in London, I'd be very grateful if you could tell me about her relationships there, in the first world war, with the members of the Bloomsbury Group. I know she has been invited by the Omega Circle, to play in a recital in favour of the refugee artists and musicians. I'd like to know how she came to an acquaintance with the members of the Bloomsbury Group and the artists of the Omega Circle, and if there is any exchange of letters between them, and if so, where can I find them. Thank you very much for your interest.

With my best regards,

Isabel Millet

Well, she had an affair with painter Augustus John... There are some details of where her papers are located at this web page, which also has some details of her London stay, though it doesn't seem to address your questions directly. - Nunh-huh 01:22, 23 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Paganini work

Can anyone help me out? I heard a tune the other day on the radio, and it was one of exquisite beauty and very haunting, but I didn't catch the name, and only heard that it was composed by Paganini. I've been trying in vain to locate it, perhaps someone would know what it is? I can only remember the middle part: (Middle C = C4; H under C4 is H3)

16 16  16  16 8   8   16 16  16 16  8   8  16  16  16  16  4   4    4rit
   Ab5 Gb5 F5 Ab5 Gb5    Gb5 F5 Eb5 Gb5 F5     B5  Gb5 Eb5 Db5 C5tr
   Cb5 -   -  B4  -      A4  -  -   Ab4 -  Gb4 Gb4 -   -   F4  Eb4  Db4
D4 D4  -   -  Eb4 -   C4 C4  -  -   Db4 -                 (Ab3)-

and so forth. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks. - jim

I tried it out on the piano but can't say I recognised it. What was the instrumentation? Have you tried Themefinder, Musipedia or similar websites that cater for these queries? I went to Themefinder myself but it didn't give me a Paganini work that was close enough. Can you contact the station and ask them about the piece? Let us know how you fare, I for one am now very curious. Cheers JackofOz 12:15, 23 October 2005 (UTC)Reply


Was it for violin? Most likely, it's Paganini's Caprice No. 4 in c minor for solo violin, if I read the music right. It's the only piece I know that contains that passage, and Paganini's use of diminished chords (in place of minor) does give a haunting character to the piece. Don Diego 16:48, 23 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Saddam's Parents and grand parents.

What ever happend to Saddam Hussiens step father, one who was abusive to him? Does anyone have information on Saddams Stepfather bio father mother, or grandparents? the article on Saddam has very, little information.

I'm assuming you refer to Ibraham al-Hassan. I have no information on his fate, or his ancestry. - Nunh-huh 00:31, 24 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Recent Mergers

I would like to know a large merger that happened in the last 6 months. I mean a really big merger between two well-known companies. If it made news in the NY Times or a large newsource, that would be good. The reason is simple: there aren't any. I can think of plenty of large car company hybrids, but no large mergers between banks, auto companies, anything these days. Name one and I'd be happy to read it.

Please don't post the same question on more than one page of the Reference desk. The question is probably more on-topic here, but there's a couple of answers already at the Science Reference desk, so I suggest anyone else wanting to answer do so there.-gadfium 04:07, 23 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
How about Boots & Alliance-UniChem (£7bn merger) or NTL & Telewest (£6bn). Admittedly these are UK based companies but you didn't specify. AllanHainey 08:32, 24 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Deuce Bigalow, European Gigolo

In the movie, I remember a really interesting European song that I have heard over again, but I really can't identify the name. It was a part when the gigolos were having a Man-whore competition and there was a certain music that was playing when Assopoulis was dancing. I really forgot the name of the song. If anyone knows the english name, it would be great to know.--Screwball23 03:16, 23 October 2005 (UTC)

Actually, I did research the movie. Apparently, it didn't do great at the box office and I can't find a soundtrack or anything of that sort. I hope that helps.--Screwball23 03:18, 23 October 2005 (UTC)
I don't know, but perhaps you can narrow it down. The tracks listed for the movie include "Catch My Disease" by Ben Lee, "I Said Never Again (But Here We Are)" by Rachel Stevens, "Dirty Little Secret" by the All American Rejects, "Nights in White Satin" by the Moody Blues, "Here Comes Your Man" by The Pixies, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn", and "Numanuma". Is it one of those? - Nunh-huh 03:34, 23 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
The Numa Numa song can be found at Dragostea din Tei. Very addictive. (By the way, screwball, you sig is very annoying when viewed in edit mode.) Nelson Ricardo 01:54, 24 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Address

I want to know where in London Sultan Ali Keshtand is Living. i want to send me the Phone or Email address or any kind of address.

really i appreciated.


Poohar

er, I'm not sure WP is a address directory. __earth 04:17, 23 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
Some people don't want that information to be public, so he's probably not in the London phone directory, but you could try looking him up here. Shantavira 10:59, 23 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Commercial Jingle

Anyone seen the commercial on TV featuring a sort of pop/punk version of 'Pure Imagination" from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory? I've seen it a few times, and as far as I can remember, it's for a certain computer company. My best guess is that it's by Me First and the Gimme Gimme's, but I can't seem to find evidence of that anywhere. Sound familiar to anyone? --66.82.9.57 03:37, 23 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

  • To my surprise, there is actually an article about this song at Pure Imagination. The commercial is for MasterCard, but according to the article MasterCard won't release the artist's name and says the recording is not available commercially. The article does link to the MasterCard site which includes the commercial. --Metropolitan90 05:34, 23 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Life in Iraq between the Gulf War and the 2003 invasion

Can anyone name any good, thorough, preferably objective sources describing day-to-day life in Iraq during this time? Particularly any showing differences between regions, classes, sects, etc. Sources created before the 2003 invasion would be of particular interest.

Also, any good sources focusing on the Shiite and Kurdish uprisings during the Gulf War, and their aftermath. --RevWaldo 05:12, 23 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

The Age Tapes

The Melbourne Age newspaper publishes an article about phone taps after which they were referred to as The Age Tapes,Iwould like to know as much as possible about this as possible

Is that even more than as much as possible?

fortaleza

i´ve been told that Ceara is called something with wind or sunshine in it´s name. Is this so?

Reverse stockholm syndrome

Is there a term for Stockholm Syndrome in reverse - ie, the captor developing a love for his victim ? Tintin 12:12, 23 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Slavery in Kenya

How many slaves were taken from Kenya, during the slave trade?

There was no Kenya at the time of the slave trade. Can you define your geographical terms? User:Zoe|(talk) 20:43, 23 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

The area that is today Kenya, specifically Mombasa, was the centre of the East African slave trade. There are no good numbers, but roughly 5000 people per year were exported from about 900 AD to 1800. Over time this adds to some 5 million people moving, mainly to the Middle East and India. On an annual basis, however, these numbers were still a fraction of total population growth, so there wasn't much of a demographic effect on the region. - SimonP 20:57, 23 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
There weren't too many African slaves in India. See Siddi, the african community in India. User:Nichalp/sg 08:03, 1 November 2005 (UTC)

philip larkin

(no question)

Suzy Creamcheese

Who is Suzy Creamcheese? What is the history of this expression? What type of person would you call a "Suzy Creamcheese?" Thanks Joan Polcari

The article on Suzy Creamcheese may answer your first two questions to your satisfaction. Dismas|(talk) 15:19, 23 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
Frank Zappa, 1974: "Suzy Creamcheese was a girl named Jeanne Vassoir. And she is the voice that's on the Freak Out album. The myth of Suzy Creamcheese, the letter on the album, I wrote myself. There never really was a Suzy Creamcheese. It was just a figment of my imagination until people started identifying with it heavily. It got to weird proportions in Europe, so that in 1967, when we did our first tour of Europe, people were asking if Suzy Creamcheese was along with us. So I procured the services of another girl named Pamela Zarubica, who was hired to be the Suzy Creamcheese of the European tour. And then she maintained the reputation of being Suzy Creamcheese after 1967. The first one went someplace, we don't know where. She's back in town now; I saw her." [12] David Sneek 15:22, 23 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Alternative term for the Balkan States

Apparantly, there was an alternative name for the Balkan States, comprising two words. N--R E--T. I have searched and cannot find it. Can anyone please help? Regards Jan

The Near East? Shantavira 18:12, 23 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

History of graphic design .

Wikipedia has it all, including Graphic Design, in it check the Early_history section. --Aytakin 21:33, 23 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

The Graphic Design article has excellent information on that. --Borbrav 21:34, 23 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Play synopsis

Can anyone tell me what the play Walker, London, by J. M. Barrie, is about or point me to a link that can? Hermione1980 20:22, 23 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

music

  1. which two instruments would most likely have played the basso continuo in the baroque era?
  2. what is the gradual swelling of the volume of music?
  3. the baroque era witnessed the appearance of the?
  4. why was vivaldi known as the red priest?
  5. during bach's lifetime he held the position of?
  6. did vivaldi live in venice?
  7. did vivaldi teach music at a girl's school?
  8. what is the name of handel's most famous oratorio that is frequently performed today?
  9. what composer responded to the reforms of the council of trent in an exemplary fashion?
  10. who was the greatest and most prolific italian composer of concertos?
  11. what are the approximate dates of the baroque period?
  12. what is the approximate dates of the renaissance era?
  13. the harpsichord is different from the piano because?
  14. music in minor tonality is often perceived as sounding?
  15. what is the name of bach's forty-eight preludes and fugues?
  16. how did music progress from the medieval to the renaissance to the baroque to the classical periods?
  17. describe what happens at an opera, both the music and also with what happens on stage?
  18. describe why the arts are a necessity, not a luxury? --4.227.114.24 21:10, 23 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Wow. So many questions, so little of your homework being done by us. Sorry.

Yes. Read the top of the page: Do your own homework. --Borbrav 21:30, 23 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

A little effort will direct you to your answers. Now rush off or you'll be in trouble tomorrow morning. Don Diego(Talk) 22:01, 23 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
I know we are not meant to do homework for poor souls, but it's probably due by now and I'd like a response to Q18.--Commander Keane 00:56, 24 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
It's not so much a question as an indoctrination, but pertinent essays touching on the subject can be found by googling "necessity subsidy art" and suchlike. (E.g. "Throughout the world, arts and culture are central to the human experience. In the United States, arts and culture play an essential role in our democracy. They serve as a manifestation of the liberty that lies at the heart of our civil and pluralistic society. They reinforce the spirit of free inquiry and action that animates and strengthens the practice of America's political life.") If our questioner had attended class, the best possible answer would be to spit back whatever the teacher had opined upon the subject...but any essay emphasizing the holistic human spirit yearning for expression and searching for meaning through the arts will no doubt be judged adequate. - Nunh-huh 01:22, 24 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

October 24

GDP GNP

In the following list, which items should and should not be counted in GDP? note that SHOULD does not mean ARE

consumption, Employment Insurance benefits, Canadian Exports , The sale of a second hand car, Payment of babysitting services by a parent to a child.

For each item explain why they should be included or not.

Please see the instructions at the top of this page regarding your homework and getting others to do it for you. Dismas|(talk) 00:18, 24 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Question re: Origins & Location of Statue of Ephesian Artemis

I am researching Artemis Ephesia, the aspect of Artemis worshipped at the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus. I have seen photos of a statue on Wikipedia (and other places) portraying the Goddess as ringed with nodules (bull testicles?) and flanked by animals. One source seems to say that the statue is in the Vatican Museum, but other sources say that the British Museum holds most of the antiquities from the excavation of the site in the late 1800s. I am confused!

I would like to find out:

Where was that statue discovered, and is there any indication of how old it is or who created it?

Where does that statue currently reside?

Are there any suggested sources for further research on this statue, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus or pre-Olympian Artemis?

Thank you!

-A.H. ---00:05, 24 October 2005 (UTC)~~

how did the name "Dutch" for people from Netherlands start

Dear Sir,

I'm trying to find the answer to the question why are people from The Netherlands / Holland called Dutch and why is the language called Dutch. I hope you are able to get me the answer to this question. Thank you.

Best regards, Tony Made

Netherlands covers this quite well. MeltBanana 01:28, 24 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

the curious incident of the dog in the night time

what is the Theme, the Plot, and the Tone of the book "the curious incident of the dog in the night time"?

Very entertaining book. Your teacher did you a favor by assigning it. We are going to do you a favor by encouraging you to read it. Then come back and we'll be happy to talk to you about it. alteripse 03:24, 24 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Jean Harlowesque

I came across the name Jean Harlowesque in a book I'm translating. I know that he's a couturier, but could you give me some details. Thank you

It's a pun on Jean Harlow - basically, the character is (by name) "like Jean Harlow". You could either use the same pun in your translation, or find a pun on a fitting actor/actress that is better known in your target language. -- Ferkelparade π 08:02, 24 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Ten Lost Tribes

Here's the link of the article and section I was reading from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_Ten_Tribes#LDS_and_Some_Others

I was reading your article on the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel and there is a small section about the LDS Church. It says that the LDS Church believes that a remnant of the ten lost tribes inhabited the Americas. The information there is partly right. The LDS Church (I'm a member) believe that they were from the tribe of Judah (except for Lehi and his family, Lehi later finds out his geneaology and that he is a descendant of Joseph). They were a small group of people who fled from Jerusalem before it's destruction at about 600 BC. They wandered around in the Middle East for several years and then set sail to the Americas. Here's a link of the Book of Mormon online. http://scriptures.lds.org/bm/contents

It describes this in the whole section of First Nephi if you want to use it as a reference.

Thank you, Heather Hansen

Thanks for your suggestion. When you believe an article needs improvement, please feel free to change it. You can edit almost any article on Wikipedia by just following the Edit link at the top of the page. We encourage you to be bold in updating pages, because wikis like ours develop faster when everybody edits. Don't worry too much about making honest mistakes—they're likely to be found and corrected quickly. You can always preview your edits before you publish them or test them out in the sandbox. If you need additional help, check out our getting started page or ask the friendly folks at the Teahouse. Dismas|(talk) 10:12, 24 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Constitution of the C.S.A.

Does anyone know what happenened to the Constitution of the Confederate States of America when they lost the Civil War (I mean the actual physical document), Is this in a museum somewhere or was it destroyed? AllanHainey 08:55, 24 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

The Provisional Confederate States Constitution is in the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, Virginia. The Confederate States Constitution proper is in the Library of the University of Georgia. Gdr 10:34, 24 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

EFX

I know there exists a musical EFX, starring Michael Crawford. Could you possibly tell me if it still runs and whether it is based on any contemporary story or novel? What is the plot?

Government and Elections

How are leaders elected in other countries?

Difficult to say, without knowing where exactly you are. But, as a starting point, you could check out the list of Elections by country and List of politics by country articles, depending on which countries you're interested in. –Hajor 13:03, 24 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Charlesmagne

Was Charlesmagne cannonized ever? He should, don't you thik so?


Have you read the article on Charlemagne?

Practical application of The Common Law

How is The Common Law as a source of law in the British Legal sysytem practically used or applied by judges? If possible give some examples contrasting with application of statutory law

While this sure feels like a homework question, you might want to check out the common law article. Which country are you looking for examples from? --Lord Voldemort (Dark Mark) 15:51, 24 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

internet

who invented the internet

See History of the Internet. TheMadBaron 17:55, 24 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
It was Al Gore I tells ya! --Ballchef 09:41, 25 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
Hah! I was just waiting to see who would say it :D ☢ Ҡieff 23:25, 25 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
No, no, no. You've all got it wrong. It was Philip Emeagwali. That, and the supercomputer, and CFD for petroleum, and a bunch of other things... ;)--Robert Merkel 08:32, 26 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
Or if you're not worried about the minor detail of actually making something that worked maybe it was Vannevar Bush. DJ Clayworth 18:56, 31 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Ed Murrow-McCarthy interview

For several years, on occasion I have searched the internet for a transcript of the famous Edward R. Murrow - McCarthy interview to no avail. Is it available and if so, where can I find it please? I have googled it etc. Thank you for your attention to this. Ernie S

Do you mean the March 9, 1954 special edition of Edward R. Murrow's See It Now show: A Report on Senator Joseph R. McCarthy (which is not an interview, but excerpts from McCarthy's speeches and other of his statements, intertwined with Murrow's commentary), or McCarthy's rebuttal on the same show two weeks later? Lupo 09:26, 25 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Soldiers and "anti-erotic pills"

I'm reading the diaries of Galeazzo Ciano and at one point in them he relates a story of how German soldiers at the time made use of "anti-erotic pills" to combat their normal sexual desires. This just being a more economic or practical or safe alternative to allowing soldiers to find and use brothels every so often. Is this right? Did such a thing exist, then or ever? Or does such a thing still exist? To be clear, I'm curious about the use of such pills by soldiers in general, at any point in history, not necessarily just their use by German soldiers during WWII -- if that's even true. --Clngre 19:52, 24 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

The life of the composer Siegfried Merath

I would like to know about the life of Siegfried Merath. I am playing one of his pieces "Tanz-Typen" for my grade 3. I am interested in knowing more about his life and role in music. Also how successful he was with his music. Thank you for your help --88.107.84.231 20:10, 24 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

  • German composer, conductor and arranger, known for his radio arrangements. Born 1923, possibly on October 7 (the source giving that day gave 1928 as the year, but that may well be a typo, all other sources agree on 1923 [15]). Wrote the music for a German movie [16] entitled Ein Mädchen aus zweiter Hand (filmed 1974, premiered on January 16, 1976 [17]). He is mentioned on p. 295 of Schneider, K.: Lexikon Programmmusik, Bd. 1: Stoffe und Motive, Bärenreiter-Verlag 1999, ISBN 3-761-81431-3. Maybe the people at Schott Music can tell you more. Lupo 09:11, 25 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Two questions: China and Israel

I have heard many times that China has once asked "What is more important to you: Taiwan or your west coast?" Is this true? It seems very unlikely that such an open threat would be made. (Then again, it seems equally unlikely that someone would have taken off their shoe and shouted "WE WILL CRUSH YOU.") If this is true, who said it?

Additionally, I have heard that the largest act of espionage by any country on the United States was by Isreal. This also seems like it might not be factual, or is at least exaggerated. Can anyone confirm this? Thanks. -- Demonesque talk 20:19, 24 October 2005 (UTC) Reply

For the latter, "largest" will always be subjective. However, I'd think it would be difficult to trump Soviet espionage targeting atomic weapon technology. That said, Israel has engaged in espionage against the United States, though specific incidents escape me at the moment. — Lomn | Talk / RfC 21:38, 24 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
Jonathan Pollard and Larry Franklin. There are rumours of others, but those are the two that have pled guilty. --Diderot 21:51, 24 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
Regarding the shoe question, you are thinking of two separate instances from the life of Nikita Khrushchev. See We will bury you. -- Mwalcoff 23:24, 24 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
As for the original question... Well, who is 'China'? It's a big country, and there are radicals and moderates within the political system. A variety of more extreme militarists have in the past threatened nuclear war, but of course, that isn't the official line. --Fangz 02:51, 25 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Shakespeare, Coriolanus, Corioles

(no question)
From the top of this page:

  • Be specific - explain your question in detail if necessary, addressing exactly what you'd like answered. For information that changes from country to country (or from state to state), such as legal, fiscal or institutional matters, please specify the jurisdiction you're interested in.
  • Include both a title and a question - the title (top box) should specify the topic of your question. The complete details should be in the bottom box. Questions not following this format may be deleted. - Mgm|(talk) 20:50, 24 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

You may be wondering about Shakespeare's play Coriolanus, and its relation to the legendary Roman leader, Coriolanus. Feel free to ask any more specific questions you may have about it. - Nunh-huh 04:02, 25 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

English Civil War

How did the English Civil War impact and influence the development of democracy? — Preceding unsigned comment added by [[User:from the Los Angeles Unified School District|from the Los Angeles Unified School District]] ([[User talk:from the Los Angeles Unified School District#top|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/from the Los Angeles Unified School District|contribs]])

See English Civil War. Apparently, it "effectively set England and Scotland on course to become a parliamentary democracy". –Hajor 21:35, 24 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

October 25

Assassin online game?

Does such a web site exist? Assassin is a multi-player game popular on college campuses in which each player attempts to "assassinate" another player while trying to avoid being assassinated by another player. No player knows whose target they are, and each player knows only the identity of their current target. When a player is "killed" (by water gun or other non-lethal weapon) their target becomes the new target of the person that assassinated them. I've never played it, always wanted to. The Internet seems like the perfect forum to hold such a game in a safe, friendly confine (I have Runescape-like environment in mind).

It sounds like a deadly version of Kelly Pool. (And, yes, I am shocked to find that kelly pool is one of those shameful red links, I must get onto that.) --Ballchef 11:05, 30 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

The Huns and How they dressed

What was the Huns apparel like around the time they attacked the East Goths?

Thank You, anon

  • Sign your question - type --~~~~ at its end.

I actually tried to check a couple of books to find pictures but came up dry. It depends on your purpose: illustration of book or magazine article, movie costumes, military miniatures, etc. For most purposes you could probably go with the generic trousers, boots, tunics of central asian horsemen all the way back to the scythians and you probably would not be criticized. The Huns were nomadic pastoralists from regions with harsh winters so more likely to make use of sheepskins and wool than other textiles and cloths. They had had extensive trading and diplomatic contact with the Empire by the time of their major conflict with the East Goths. The core of their army was cavalry archers. You might be able to find out if they had stirrups, which was a major military innovation that increased cavalry power and off the top of my head I can't remember if they did. Is that what you had in mind? alteripse 16:54, 25 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Ammianus Marcellinus gives some description of their clothing in the late 4th century: he says it included a dark linen tunic, a coat of ratskins, a helmet or cap, goatskin trousers (or possibly chaps), and ill-fitting shoes. René Grousset's The Empire of the Steppes (ISBN 0813506271) and E.A. Thompson's The Huns (ISBN 0631214437) may be helpful; I don't have my copy of the latter handy but I remember that it included significant material on Hun burial sites, which would be the best source of information about their clothing. —Charles P. (Mirv) 02:26, 30 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

How many states have the death penalty?

How many states of the world? How many states of a particular nation?

Death penalty, use_of_death_penalty_worldwide and capital punishment in the United States should help. - Nunh-huh 01:47, 25 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Political freedom in Egypt

Is Egypt a democracy or dictatorship.

جمهوريّة مصرالعربيّة From Egypt
Ǧumhuriyat Misr al-ˁArabiyah
Arab Republic of Egypt
Egypt has been a republic since 1953, with regular democratic Presidential elections. There are accusations of vote fraud and fake ballots etc., but hey, that happens in the US as well.
They hold Presidential elections but so far only the last one (2005) has been allowed to be contested by people other than the President. AllanHainey 07:43, 25 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
A Western-style representative democracy is more than just elections. You need an active press free to criticise those in power, the ability of political parties to organise reasonably free of government interference (I throw in that caveat because political parties like the National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD) have faced attempts to ban them, and most people consider modern Germany a democracy), fairly conducted elections. I'd also argue that democracies where one party holds a supermajority or a very stable majority (such as South Africa, where the African National Congress has a supermajority, or Japan, where the LDP has been in the majority since WWII) are at best not particularly healthy democracies. These things form a continuum, but from what I've read in the Western press about Egypt on the criteria I've outlined it's a lot less democratic than Indonesia or Turkey (to pick two majority Islamic countries regarded as amongst the most democratic such states). --Robert Merkel 11:57, 25 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
I won't argue there's no doubt that the LDP is in charge in Japan and that that's probably not going to change any time soon, but I don't think it's fair to call it an unhealthy democracy just because of that. If the people wanted to kick them out of power, nothing stopped them from doing so earlier this year. One thing the LDP isn't is a stodgy, immobile force unwilling to stir the waters with new ideas; Koizumi's plan to privatize Japan Post stirred things up both outside his own party and within, whereas all other parties (besides the LDP-allied New Komeito Party) stood firmly against privatization. In the end, the LDP, through being more willing to change than their opponents, secured more seats in the lower house and gained an even firmer grip on the government as a whole. Nothing unhealthy about that. That being said, the manner in which the LDP chided and ostracized dissidents within the party was rather one-party-ish. Garrett Albright 17:07, 25 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
Freedom House gives Egypt a "6" in Political Rights, the second-lowest Freedom House score. Freedom House says, "Egyptians cannot change their government democratically" due to the control the NDP exerts over Egyptian society. In its 2003 country reports, Polity IV also gave Egypt poor ratings, saying, "For all practical purposes Egypt remains a one-party state in which executive recruitment is conducted internally within the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP)." -- Mwalcoff 22:47, 25 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

The Beatles song "Let it Be"

Every time I hear this song it drives me crazy, because I'm positive I heard it in the ending credits, or at least towards the end, of some famous movie. Is there anyway I can find a listing of what movie/TV show soundtracks it's been in?

Pokémon creator ?

I have found a conflict of information about who created Pokémon, but I have found no reference to the president of Creatures, Inc. (now Pokémon, Inc.), Tsunekazu Ishihara. I could not find any place to request an article. All paths lead only to requested articles which is not the same thing. There also was no catagory or sub-category for Pokémon under video games. Also, in the Pokémon group of articles there is no mention of Creatures/Pokémon, Inc even though Media Factory is mentioned.

Rod Lockwood


  • Do not list your e-mail address - questions aren't normally answered by e-mail. Be aware that the content on Wikipedia is extensively copied to many websites; making your e-mail address public here may make it very public throughout the Internet.
  • Edit your question for more discussion - click the [edit] link on right side of its header line. Please do not start multiple sections about the same topic.
  • Sign your question - type --~~~~ at its end. -- Ec5618 07:32, 25 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Earliest rhymes in world literature

When and where was the first rhyming poetry written? KeeganB

The word Job

What's the etymology of the word 'job'? (As in labour, employment...) Is it anything to do with the Biblical Job, or is it just a co-incidence?--Fangz 02:47, 25 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

I would think not considering they're pronounced differently. The first being similar to "jaab" and the second more like "jOb". Dismas|(talk) 04:11, 25 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
I'd say the Biblical Job sounds more like "jobe". Not sure if this is the same as "jOb".--Commander Keane 04:28, 25 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
Six of one, half dozen of the other it seems. When I wrote out "jOb" I capitalized the "O" to indicate the long vowel that both of us seem to be thinking of but just representing it differently. Dismas|(talk) 07:31, 25 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, no one knows where job comes from. It might be related to an earlier use of the word job, meaning a cart-load. That definition in turn comes from a use of the word to mean "a lump." No one knows where that word job came from, though. -- Mwalcoff 00:01, 27 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Is the name "Job" Hebrew? What's the form of the name in Hebrew texts? User:Zoe|(talk) 02:34, 27 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

The name Job comes from the Hebrew original Ivov. According to Rabbi Robert Layman, the meaning of the name Iyov is not known, but some say it means "enemy." -- Mwalcoff 21:23, 27 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Sandahurst

Does Sandahurst offer a Bachelors degree the way the West Point offers such.

no. It's only one years worth of military training. See Sandhurst Military Academy, Military Academy - Nunh-huh 03:31, 25 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
It may be worth noting the Joint Services Command and Staff College, which if memory serves offers "real" postgraduate qualifications in collaboration with UCL or KCL. No BA, though. Shimgray | talk | 13:51, 25 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
You might also look at Defence Academy which if memory serves will accept civilian students as well as military and trains for graduate and undergraduate degrees. DJ Clayworth 18:50, 31 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Politics

The Priorities Of Politics & the philosophy of Collindism. Robert Corfe. ISBN 0 948571 07 1 What is Collindism? --81.76.32.148 04:02, 25 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Philosphy

Explain the views of William Clifford and William James on whether it is permissable to decide an option on nonrational grounds.

  • Do your own homework - if you need help with a specific part or concept of your homework, feel free to ask, but please do not post entire homework questions and expect us to give you the answers. -- Ec5618 07:32, 25 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Capitalistroadster 05:52, 25 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Foreign Minister

What is the diffrence between external affairs minister and a foreign minister? Is it one and the same post?

What country has these positions? as I would say that if different countries only have 1 then they're probably just different terminology for the same thing. However if the country you're thinking of has both then 'external affairs minister' might have something to do with autonomous or semi-autonomous regions. AllanHainey 07:49, 25 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
Until about a decade ago Canada had a minister of external affairs rather than a foreign minister because much of their dealings were with Britain and other members of the Commonwealth. These countries were considered not to be "foreign" since we were all part of the same empire. Today this view no longer means much and about a decade ago the Department of External Affairs was renamed the Department of Foreign Affairs. - SimonP 00:29, 26 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
Australia had a Minister for External Affairs until the late '60s, when the name was changed to Minister for Foreign Affairs. These days it varies between that name and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. That's the official title, but the incumbent is more often referred to unofficially as the Foreign Minister. For all practical purposes, the Foreign Minister we know today performs the same role as the Minister for External Affairs used to. Cheers JackofOz 07:30, 26 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Designated Survivor Determination

I am interested in how the designated survivor is determined. Is this determined by one person, a body of people, and what qualifications does this person have to have to be the designated survivor? I thank you in advance for taking the time to research this question for me.

Sincerely,

--69.140.253.205 11:52, 25 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

See Designated survivor. Always use the Search button before asking questions here - it saves time. Don Diego(Talk) 19:48, 25 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
Don, the article says nothing about the original question of how a selection is made. Please check your own answers before you dismiss someone else's question as a waste of time. — Lomn | Talk / RfC
As noted, our article doesn't say. I would expect, however, that the President asks someone, or draws a name from a hat, or nominates the loser of the college football bowl game pool, or some other suitably informal method of selection. As for qualifications, that much is in the article: the Presidential survivor is a Cabinet member in the United States presidential line of succession (for example, Homeland Security is a Cabinet post not in the line); the House and Senate survivors are members of their respective bodies. — Lomn | Talk / RfC 14:16, 26 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Uncle of the house

Who is the current "uncle of the house" for the british parliment? That is who is the member with second longest record of continuous service?

I've never heard that term before & I don't believe it is a properly recognised 'official' designation. The term was used by Tony Benn in 1992 "We were elected in the same year ; you are the Father of the House and I was then the baby of the House. I must now be the uncle of the House, and it is in that capacity that I want to speak" [19] but I suspect it was just a witty comment by him rather than a reference to an actual position. I can't find any other reference to 'uncle of the house' than that. As to who is the next in line to be father of the house I'm not sure but on Talk:Father of the House there is a list from 2004 & it looks like it is Peter Tapsell if he is still an MP otherwise Kevin McNamara.
I'm also sure that Tony Benn was referring to an unofficial position. Specifically he and Edward Heath were first elected at the same time. However the Father of the House is the longest continuous serving MP, and Tony's service was briefly interrupted twice - once when he inherited his title and once when his constituency was abolished in a boundary change and he refused an offer of a safe seat to contest one of the marginals that were created from his old one. Effectively he would probably have been the father of the house but for some unusual circumstances. DJ Clayworth 18:29, 26 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Significance of the fall of Constantinople

Hiya, I'm having trouble with an assignment I was set at college recently. I am not expecting the answer I would just like some help on how to go about answering the question and where I could find resources as I have noticed a really big lack of these on this topic. The question I have been set is:How significant is the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire and Western Europe to the years of 1520? Any help at all that you could give me will be gratefully recieved. Thank you for your time. Hannah.

Hi, Hannah! I think I remember reading something useful about the sociological impact of the fall of Constantinople in the orientalism article. Have a look at Byzantine Empire and Ottoman Empire too. I see what else I can find for you. Enjoy your assignment! --Gareth Hughes 15:17, 25 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
You would probably also be interested in our rather comprehensive article on the Fall of Constantinople itself.--Pharos 11:51, 26 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Spoken word number song Classical vocals?

I´m trying for some time now to find a spoken word kind of music, I only know that the music is a woman vocal song who spells the numbers counting up. I don´t know if that woman is a classical or a pop singer or even if she is a singer at all. I´ve been trying to find this music in many music web pages but i´ve been unsuccessfully. If someone could help me I would be gratefull.Thanks. Contact if need: [removed]

I think you're thinking of Einstein on the Beach by the avant garde composer Philip Glass. --Clngre 12:18, 26 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Draft in the US

I have my own opinion, but I'd like to have your input. What do you think about the possibility of a draft in the next few years? And how would the government go about instituting one in today's society? In other words, what would the procedure be, as well as the probable repercussions of the implementation of a draft in the post-WWII, post-Vietnam era. -EDIT- Sorry, forgot to include the "in the US" part.--66.82.9.37 18:12, 25 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Your guess is as good as anyone's regarding whether. It's probably politically wise to institute a draft at the start of a war, when its still popular - I think a draft for Iraqistan would be very unpopular, the public having gotten Iraq fatigue by now. As to how, the Selective Service System exists, so it's mostly a turnkey operation to active it. But modern western armies hate conscripts - they prefer modest numbers of highly trained people working efficiently together, with a proper knowledge of weapons and tactics. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 18:25, 25 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
Note that in the current political climate there is no support for reinstating the draft. Americans would need to feel there is an immediate threat against them AT HOME, which can only be countered by a draft, to change there minds. Threats abroad and theoretical long term threats in the US are not sufficient to convince voters of the need for a draft. The Bush Administration has never even suggested a draft, since the obvious response from the voters would be would be "If we need a draft to stay in Iraq, then get out of Iraq". StuRat 18:28, 27 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Unfortunately, those of us of a certain age know exactly how a draft would be imposed in the next few years, because that is exactly what happened the last time an administration launched an unpopular war by lying to the American public about the need for it. Here are the steps:

  1. Convince the public that a war is necessary. Lie about weapons of mass destruction or an attack on a navy boat or how if we don't fight the communists/terrorists in Asia we will have to do it here. Too many people simply do not believe that a president will lie to us or that all the administration advisors couldn't be so wrong.
  2. The president should prepare the way by selecting advisors who are "with the program" and will only tell him optimistic things. He should ignore those with pessimistic news and encourage them to go elsewhere. Undermine their credibility. This worked as well in the late 60s as it does now.
  3. Accuse anyone who disagrees with your policy of either supporting or sympathizing with the communists/terrorists. Attack their patriotism and accuse them of "not supporting our troops." No politician can afford to be accused of not supporting our troops.
  4. Keep telling people victory is "almost there" and we need to "stay the course".
  5. Make sure your economic policies favor your rich supporters and make the military look like a good job prospect for lower class young men.
  6. As more of them get killed, and it looks more and more like a pointless "poor man's war" with the profit going to Dow Chemical or Halliburton, opposition in the population will begin to rise and fewer men will voluntarily join the army.
  7. Manpower needs will continue to climb while the supply of available volunteers begin to shrink. More and more people will point out how unfair it is that only sons of poor folks are over there.
  8. Now you have prepared the ground for a draft. Let the liberals in congress propose it as only the only fair way to meet military manpower needs, and convince people that there is no alternative to more soldiers, but that the war is "almost over" and we need to "stay the course" and finish it.
  9. To win over any reluctant congressmen who might actually have draft-age sons that they don't want to see drafted, make sure that they understand that political connections can be used to keep rich men's sons safely in the Texas National Guard or something equivalent, so they don't have to fear for their own children.
  10. Now you have all the ingredients for a draft: support for the war by Republican faithful and corporations that are making money, advocacy of a draft as the only fair solution by liberal congressmen who are afraid not to support the war, and neutralization of possible opposition for personal reasons by making a safety escape for their own families.
  11. When congress passes a new Selective Service Act it will involve some sort of lottery to make it fair. The one in 1969 followed exactly this path. In a long evening all of us in the college dorm listened on the radio as someone from the selective service bureau pulled one birthdate after another out of a big lottery ball, 365 times. The lower the number assigned to your birthdate, the more certain you would be drafted.

So which step do you think we are up to? Tell us again why you don't think a draft is possible. alteripse 23:15, 25 October 2005 (UTC) I'd like to know which navy boat attack you're talking about. If you're talking about the USS Cole, that seems like a pretty expansive and all-encompassing lie by the bush administration, considering all the media coverage and physical evidence. But I could be mistaken.Reply

The navy boat was I believe called the Maddox, supposedly attacked in the Gulf of Tonkin, although there is now plenty of evidence that our government sent the boat into the gulf in order to provoke an attack and the evidence for an attack was much flimsier than presented to congress. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution gave the last idiot warmonger from Texas the authority to commit ground troops to a pointless asian war. Those who are ignorant of history are condemned to repeat it. alteripse 23:52, 25 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

WP:ISNOT a Soapbox or a Crystal Ball -Drdisque 01:53, 26 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
This is also not an article, it's a series of signed comments. All opinions are clearly attributed, just like on talk pages. We don't censor on talk pages. — Laura Scudder | Talk 14:54, 27 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

October 26

Politics and Religious Non/profit organizations

Are there laws, rules and regulations that prevent religious non profit orgnaizations from influencing state elections?

  • Sign your question - type --~~~~ at its end.
Dear anonymous smart-alec: please sign your comments. — Lomn | Talk / RfC
Precise laws will vary by ___location (what state/country?), but generally, non-profits, religious or not, are under similar restrictions at a local and national level. — Lomn | Talk / RfC 13:51, 26 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Line from a play

I am trying to find the name of a play and it's author. The play contains the line of dialogue, "deception, deception, deception". Can anyone tell me the answer or tell me where I might find the answer? Thank you! 69.136.8.244

A Google search ("deception, deception, deception" quotation) yielded this: "Deception, deception, deception, quoth Tennesse Williams' Amanda." Wikipedia's Tennesse Williams article mentions an Amanda Wingfield in The Glass Menagerie. TheMadBaron 13:57, 26 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Zerubbabel's Temple Wall

After Cyrus II allowed the Israelites to return to Jerusalem they rebuilt the wall in approximately 52 days. I would like to know what the dimensions of this wall were, ie height, width, length. I know it was probably built on top of the Solomon wall, if so, what were those dimensions.

Mic Houghton

Quote

Question: Did Maimonides say "It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven," or is it a quote from the Bible?68.2.242.191 06:13, 26 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

The quote is from the Gospel of Luke 18:25. It just took a sinple google search to find the exact reference. I don't think Maimonides would ever have said something like this; he was a successful and wealthy man himself as a great doctor and the leader of the Egyptian Jewish community.--Pharos 11:47, 26 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
There are varying interpretations of that verse, too. One theory has to do with one of the entrances to Jerusalem, a very narrow one, being called "the eye of the needle"; it was indeed hard to get a camel through this gate, so it was proverbial. Another theory is that the camel in question is a camel hair, a thread. These make a bit of sense, since there's no particular teaching that I can think of (in Judaism or Christianity) barring wealthy people outright from heaven (except perhaps among the more radical sects; see The Name of the Rose for a fictional example); rather, it's particularly hard for a rich man, because wealth makes corruption easy. Or something like that. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 18:27, 26 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
I subscribe to the narrow entrance theory. Such a narrow entrance was used in walled cities/fortresses for military reasons. That is, it would be difficult to mount a military assault through such a small opening. In addition to a small but permanent opening, a larger opening )which could be opened or closed as needed) was also often present. City gates or drawbridges over moats served such a purpose. They would only be opened when a large group known to be friendly to the city needed to enter or leave. According the Iliad, recorded by Homer, the Trojan Horse was used to conceal soldiers who stormed out and threw open the city gates. StuRat 18:47, 27 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
I also have some thoughts on a rich man finding it difficult to get into heaven:
  • In Biblical times, the rich used many slaves to run their house and cultivate their lands. To me, this would exclude them from heaven (althought the Bible has no Commandment against slavery, as the authors were mostly slaveholders). In modern times, however, employing workers and automation doesn't necessarily exclude one from heaven, IMO. However, going from poor to rich does typically require a few questionable activities of suspect morality, however. It would seem to be a paradox that a parent who makes billions by ruthlessly crushing the competition, buyng out authorites to look the other way, hiring thugs to break up unions, etc., can have children who then give away much of that money to charity. It seems the parents are doomed to hell, but the children guaranteed heaven, all owing to the same money, the only difference being where in the cycle each person lived. StuRat 18:56, 27 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

tax system

What is a worldwide tax system? I would like to have a general view of that tax system. - anon

A worldwide tax system would require a recognized sovereign international authority, of which there are none. However, many forms of taxation are in common use. — Lomn | Talk / RfC 13:49, 26 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Estate question

What does it mean for a trust fund to have to go to probate?

I'm not an attorney, but I'll offer some general information anyway, so take that for what it is worth. If you want a real answer, consult an actual attorney. A trust would generally not have to go to probate, because property in a trust typically passes to the beneficiaries outside of the probate process. If property in a trust is actually probated, it likely means the trust is defective in some way or another. Also reasonably likely is that the terms the issue was described to you in are incorrect, and the trust is not being actually probated, but simply administered as trusts should while the rest of the (probate) assets are handled by the probate process. So to get a real answer you'd have to provide more details and talk to an attorney. In the meantime, read the probate article if you haven't already and the trust (property) article. - Taxman Talk 15:27, 26 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

melanie hampshire

What became of Melanie Hampshire, 1960s UK fashion model?

Contemporary of Jean Shrimpton, Sandra Paul, Jill Kennington et al

Portraits by Parkinson etc kept in NPG Photographic Archive in London.

Appeared, with Jill Kennington and others, in Antonioni's 'Blow Up'

Birth name Sandra Waters.

Savage Garden Song

Is the name of the Savage Garden song 'Truly Madly Deeply' or 'Truly, Madly, Deeply' (with or without the commas. I've been having a petty debate with my friend and I would preferably like the Australian official name. --AMorris (talk)(contribs) 11:01, 26 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

The official Sony website writes it as "Truly Madly Deeply" [20]. Akamad 11:32, 26 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

history

Hi,

I have an unopend can of beer called convention 1974 brewed by courage and its for Ettamogah Pub its a silver can and has a picture of pub with a car on top and can is actually signed by Ken Maynard Cartoonist.

Is it collectable and what is the history please,

Many Thanks Bernie United Kingdom.

Catcher in the Rye

Where did J.D.Salinger get the title of 'The Catcher in the Rye' from?

What was its significance to the book?

Thanks

The source of the title would be evident if you have read the freakin' book, which you apparently have not. SparkNotes may help save your butt if you've got an essay due on it tomorrow or something, but you really should read it -- it's an interesting (I'll stop just short of "good") story. Garrett Albright 14:53, 26 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Does a Taniwha have a baby?

Does anyone know if a Taniwha (Mythical monster from the Mauri) has a baby? And if so, what is the word for it? Can't find any information on the web. Thanks. 14:58, 26 October 2005 (UTC)

Based on our article on taniwha, there are probably thousands of local taniwha (they sound much like water nymphs aside from the relationship to heroes). It seems reasonable that you could find one that has a baby. — Laura Scudder | Talk 21:22, 27 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

degree proposal

Hi i have to conduct a research proposal on attractiveness, but i am having trouble finding quotes on what men percieve as attractive in women, can you help with this please

heather

Men don't usually talk about that. Maybe the Sexual attraction and Physical attraction articles are helpful. David Sneek 17:05, 26 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
You could just list body parts (eyes, breasts, legs) and other criteria (intelligence, senese of humour), and have the respondents assign a numerical value to the items they value. Then you've got non-parametric data to run stats on.--inksT 20:12, 26 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

I just googled for [psychology of physical attractiveness http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=psychology+of+physical+attractiveness&btnG=Search] and got lots of relevant hits. Lots of research out there in this area. These should give you a start. alteripse 00:52, 27 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Composer Francis Poulenc

Dear Wikipedia:

I'm surprised by the name of French composer Francis Poulenc. As a true Frenchman, why was he not named "Francois"? Does anybody know why the anglicized version of his name was used?

Many thanks,

Laura in California

Francis is also a French name, though perhaps not as popular as François. See for example Francis Ponge, Francis Picabia, Francis Perrin, Francis Garnier. David Sneek 16:56, 26 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Members of 1952 and 1956 U.S. Olympic Pole Vault Teams

Appologies but I'm having some difficulty using your system. This is my second try.

Can you tell me (1) who were the male members of the 1952 and 1956 U.S. Olympic Teams who were pole vaulters and (2) how they placed in their Olympic pole vault events? Bob L --207.200.116.11 17:11, 26 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

In 1952 Robert Richards won the gold medal and Donald Robert Laz won silver (I don't know if a third US athlete participated that year). We do not seem to have an article on athletics at the 1956 Olympics, but Vaulting Vicar Richards won again. David Sneek 17:23, 26 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Crab Cakes

What are the origins and history of crab cakes?

They first appeared in the early 19th century. See here. - Nunh-huh 18:18, 26 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Author: Richard Barnum

I bought a book, Tum Tum the Elephant by Richard Barnum. Is Richard a relative to P.T. Barnum. I can't find the answer?

aviation

what was the first airline ?

Did you read our article on airlines? It traces the early development of the industry. Since commercial air service did not originate as passenger air service, precise answers are hard to come by. Additionally, definitions may become flexible. An individual operating a charter service of one airplane might easily be comparable to an early incarnation of a modern airline with only two regular routes, so dates on charters and early passenger flights may be of interest to you. — Lomn | Talk / RfC 21:08, 26 October 2005 (UTC)Reply


Artist Who Painted Jesus Christ as The Sacred Heart

Does anyone know the artist who painted the image of Jesus Christ as The Sacred Heart which appears at Image:Heart2.jpg? Your help would be appreciated.

Us Military Draft if it becomes a issue do you deport US citizens who relocate to your country and seek your citizenship

I'm a cancer pt with 2 sons who are of military age. Would you deport them to go to war if that becomes affective again? Also will I be able to recieve my Social Security Disability when I do move to your country?

The answer to your first question should be about the same as happened 35 years ago when we did this before: few if any draft dodgers were forcibly repatriated to the US if they arrived with a valid passport. The major destination was Canada, but Sweden was notably hospitable, as were many other countries. As to your second question, I do not think there is any reason that your SS disability would be cut off if you moved out of the US, especially if you continued to have it sent to a bank account or mailing address here. Both of those opinions are of course opinions and IANAL. alteripse 00:59, 27 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

I would look more closely at the question of whether Disability Allowance would still be paid if you stayed abroad for long. I would expect that after some time you would be considered a resident of the foreign country and no longer eligible for US assistance. DJ Clayworth 17:38, 27 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
Note that in the current political climate there is no support for reinstating the draft. Americans would need to feel there is an immediate threat against them AT HOME, which can only be countered by a draft, to change there minds. Threats abroad and theoretical long term threats in the US are not sufficient to convince voters of the need for a draft. The Bush Administration has never even suggested a draft, since the obvious response from the voters would be would be "If we need a draft to stay in Iraq, then get out of Iraq". StuRat 18:28, 27 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

I respect your opinion but politely disagree, pointing out that people pointed out exactly the same lack of perceived home threat in 1969. I explained exactly what the process and parallels were and one of our editors removed my explanation on grounds that it expressed an opinion. So watch out Sturat, or user:lomn will censor your opinion also, or maybe he just censors opinions that don't match his political views. alteripse 01:50, 28 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

chinas population

how long has china had the biggest population in the world, and who had the biggest before them?


China became the world's most populous country in the 13th Century, From Lands and Peoples of the Non-Western World When China had a population of around 60 million.I am guessing the most populous country before China could of being either the Byzantine Empire or the Holy Roman Empire. The Ottoman Empire came a little after. There is nothing known for certain, that is why only estimates can be made. --Mexaguil 10:27, 27 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

What is a mutual fund?

See the article titled mutual fund. --Metropolitan90 02:57, 27 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Do you know the song

I remember an excellent song from school, our drama teacher made us do some choreography to. The lyrics were " as nights faded, faded by the sun. Ten thousand men stand high on the hill" Does anyone know what this song could be. --jt

Apparently The Warrior by one Ipi 'Ntombi. Lupo 12:01, 28 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Agatha Christie's "The Rats"

Hi,

I am staging "The Rats" by Agatha Christie and have been attempting to research the play for some time now, but can only find very limited information about the play.

I was wondering if there is anyone who could give me some websites/books where I can go to find information about the play. I am especially interested in finding out if Agatha Christie had any personal notes concerning the play.

Thank you all!

Cornelius.

It was one of three one-act plays produced in 1962 and published in 1963 as Rule of Three. [21]. You probably know that. I don't see any obvious website with helpful notes on its dramaturgy. - Nunh-huh 01:45, 27 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Resources on Freedom of Speech

Hello, my name is Lauryn Ernster and I am a high shool student in Bothell, Washington. I was just wondering if anyone had any information regarding Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Expression? This would very useful for my project.

Thank You

Answer to a riddle

If all the world were paper, And all the sea were ink, If all the trees Were bread and cheese, What should we have to drink?

Sincerly Chris Adamson

This is not a riddle, but a song in the form of a rhetorical question, q.v. Shantavira 13:51, 27 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
Exactly. Apparently this is the complete thing:
If all the world were paper,
And all the sea were inke;
And all the trees were bread and cheese,
What should we do for drinke?

If all the world were sand 'o,
Oh, then what should we lack 'o;
If as they say there were no clay,
How should we make tobacco?

If all our vessels ran 'a,
If none but had a crack 'a;
If Spanish apes eat all the grapes,
What should we do for sack 'a?

If fryers had no bald pates,
Nor nuns had no dark cloysters,
If all the seas were beans and peas,
What would we do for oysters?

If there had been no projects,
Nor none that did great wrongs;
If fidlers shall turn players all,
What should we do for songs?

If all things were eternal,
And nothing their end bringing;
If this should be, then, how should we
Here make an end of singing?

Ҡieff 13:55, 27 October 2005 (UTC) Reply

Okay, it's not a riddle, but a song in the form of a rhetorical question, but I'm gonna answer it anyway. All the sea is ink. So distill the ink. Keep the water thus produced. Drink it. Or just drink rivers. There. TheMadBaron 19:16, 30 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Does anyone recognise this verse/poem

Does anyone know the author or any information of a verse that begins with the line "tonight I leaned across ten thousand miles and kissed you" "While darkness clothed me in protective field" --jt

Don't know about the poem, but the opening line was used in 1943 in an advertisement campaign by The Gruen Watch Co.: [22]. Lupo 09:16, 28 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Sadako and the thousand paper cranes

What is the phonetic pronunciation for Sadako Sasaki?

If you want to, you can check out Japanese phonology and Japanese pitch accent; however, Sadako Sasaki is relatively easy to pronounce. Each word is three syllables of equal length: /sa/ /da/ /ko/ /sa/ /sa/ /ki/. If you have any experience with Spanish, the vowels are very similar. If not, /a/ is described as being between cap and cop (closer to the latter, in my opinion... like if you were to go to the doctor and say "ahhh" but hold it for only one beat), the vowel /o/ is similar to old, and /i/ is like feet. The consonants in this example are no different from those in English. Also, due to Japanese naming conventions, it would be more correct to refer to her as Sasaki Sadako. I'm not sure about the pitch accent of the names, if there is any. No one in the village where I live has either name (neither one of these is a word in their own right). However, 80% of Japanese words don't have a pitch accent, so I wouldn't worry about it. Something else that may be of interest (although it is sad): the first character in Sadako (sada - 禎) is associated with happiness or good omens, and the second character (ko - 子) means child. -Parallel or Together? 07:15, 28 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Functional Areas Of Microsoft

I am In desperate need to know the functional areas and activities of each area of Microsoft as a business. than you

Canada Labour Code

Is this code about the 1966 Canada Labour Code or the 2000 Canada Labour Code?

Peaceful Regional Independence

A student posed this question for me:

Have there been instances when a country has allowed full secession to a region without there being a military conflict?

I'm not sure whether the formation of the CIS would qualify.

Emden 22:19, 27 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Independence of Norway is the first one I can think of off the top of my head, though for slightly more fluid definitions of "region" consider that most post-WWII decolonisations were not directly due to the War and tended not to involve any significant levels of conflict. Shimgray | talk | 22:24, 27 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
Velvet Revolution. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 22:35, 27 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
Gran Colombia, Central American Republic, United Arab Republic, Panama. User:Zoe|(talk) 00:16, 28 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
Had the 1995 Quebec referendum succeeded it probably would have been another such instance—I don't think the government of Canada had any plans for military action. —Charles P. (Mirv) 00:53, 28 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

What about the Baltic countries in 1989? alteripse 01:52, 28 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

If you allow overseas colonies then many British colonies gained independence with very little violence, before and after. DJ Clayworth 20:41, 31 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

October 28

West Wing

Which is the West Wing episode where Toby addresses a room full of globalization protestors? He gets them to agree to no TV, and then sits reading a newspaper for a long time. It's driving me crazy... Trollderella 02:52, 28 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Got it - it's 'Somebody's going to emergency' in Season two. Trollderella 03:15, 28 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Dalcrose of Hove (ENGLAND)

I am trying to find out the history of a company called Dalcrose. I have an old Christmas item that on the box, says "Dalcrose of Hove (ENGLAND)" on it.

So, I would like to find out the history of the company and if it is still in existence.

The Christmas item that I have, is a box of 10 scented finger tip towels, and 3 cakes of guest soap. On the front of the box, it says "The holly boy", and has a picture of a boy made of holly. Inside the box are the fingertip towels, the soap, a piece of cardboard type material with the words "holly boy" and "Dalcrose", and "made in England" on it. There is another sheet that tells the story of the "Holly Boy".

There is a number on the front of the box: A602, right above where it lists the "10 scented finger tip towels made in Great Britain" and "3 cakes of guest soap".

I'm sure this must be quite old and possibly a collectible item.

Each bar of soap is green and says merry christmas and holly boy on it.

the towels all have a picture of the holly boy, "fingertip towel", "merry christmas", "seasons greetings", and "made in England" on it.

And every place it says the holly boy, it has a name underneath it in very small print....I think it says "Tracy Marr" - maybe the name of the artist who created the design for the holly boy.

I'd appreciate any information you can find out for me about this company, their history, existence or not, the products they produced, and specifically if they produced anything like I described.

Thank you very much!

Patty

The only reference I can find on Google in the UK to Dalcrose dealing with any kind of toiletries is 1 mention in an encyclopedia of perfume[23]. You might be able to track it down from this. I doubt if the company is currently trading, though you might be able to find out from a business diectory of Sussex or Brighton and Hove City Council. As to whether it is worth anything personally I doubt it, but I'm not an expert, it just sounds like a type of Christmas soap set, the type numerous companies sell every christmas. I don't think there is a big collectible market for them. AllanHainey 08:06, 28 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

religion

i recently watched a drama television program which (in part) was about a women in the hospital that needed an operation. her father refused until they could get a shaman. their religion believed that if you got sick, that one of your souls was lost and therefore the soul must be found (by the shaman), or you would die during surgery. they called themselves the mung people or mong people. i'm not really sure of the spelling. it was said to be a very old religion where the young never offend the forefathers and always obey.

i am curious about this religion and looked on the web and found something on a religious person named mung but nothing about his religion seemed to fit. could you tell me what religion this is??

thank you for your time

cheryl

Animal House

What type of motorcycle is D-Day riding when he goes to the Delta rush party? Thanks! Trollderella 05:30, 28 October 2005 (UTC)Reply



Per Capita military casualties before and after March 20, 2003

I understand that the "benchmark" number of 2,002 casualties has been reached in Iraq. I would like some perspective on this number. For example, my friend tells me that in the first Gulf War military casualties was actually less than if there were no war on (as members of the military would be drinking and driving, etc.).

I would like to know the per Capita casualties of members of the US military in Iraq and on peacetime duty in the US. The Iraq numbers would obviously have to come from Iraq; 2,002 casualties divided by the number of troops in Iraq since March 20, 2003 (per year, preferably). I mainly don't know where to obtain the peacetime numbers. If anyone has a source I'll be happy to do the math; I just want to know 1) the number of US military deaths among those on peacetime duty, 2) the number of US personnel on peacetime military duty, and 3) the time period used (prederably longer than a year, but may be any time from 1990 on and still be relatively valid).

Thanks for any help.

As the number of troops employed in Iraq, or any given theatre is regularly changing, as troops are transferred out & new groups of troops arrive (frequently different numbers) I think it would be hard to come up with a figure just by dividing casualties by troops employed. As to where to get the figures I think your best bet would be a freedom of information request to the USA military.
By the way you refer to 2,002 'casualties', actually there have been 2,002 deaths. I think there have been over 14,000 woundings (a large number seriously) among US military personnel (obviously there have also been casualites among UK troops & other nationalities employed there).
I've just thought too that your figures on US casualties will be understated as you are only seeking info on official military casulaties, which doesn't include the large number of PMC's working under contract to the USA (EG they were guarding Paul Bremer & other USA dignitaries) which still have a large presence in the country, some doing just the same job as US military personnel, but are not counted in the official figures - or casualty lists. AllanHainey 08:21, 28 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
Also by peacetime duty do you mean within the USA, or in the numerous US bases abroad - as some of the countries you have bases in wouldn't necessarily agree with you about whether they are at peace. AllanHainey 08:24, 28 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
I can't help you with the peacetime deaths thing, but here's some perspective with regards to the death total. If we say that the US was in the Vietnam War for about eleven years from 1964 to 1975, and that the total number of US deaths, as the article points out, was 58,226, then that's about 5300 dead a year. We have been in Iraq for two and a half years now, and aren't even near half that. POV: I think this makes those who likes to compare the "quagmire" in Iraq with the Vietnam War look quite out of touch with history. (Oops, forgot to sign back when I originally posted this: Garrett Albright 19:01, 29 October 2005 (UTC) )Reply
That's not really accurate. Casualty rates in Vietnam steadily increased as the war went on. It was 1966, two years into the conflict, before that war passed the 2000 American deaths mark. - SimonP 00:51, 29 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
Yes, but in the case of the Vietnam War, they really were just "military advisors" at the beginning, and very few of them. If it had started with 100,000 plus soldiers leading a major invasion, there would have been far more casualties early on in Vietnam. StuRat 22:23, 30 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

tax

what are the effects of taxation

This is an incredibly broad question. Check out tax, specifically tax#Purposes_and_effects_of_excises on wikipedia for a start, and there is bound to be tons of information about the economics of taxation (I assume this is what you primarily mean) on other sites[24]. If this is for some kind of paper, the RD isn't meant to be a place that will write it for you. And, assuming this is for a paper, narrow your topic. Economic effects? Social effects? Effects on what groups? It would be hard to write a detailed paper on the general "effects of taxation." -Parallel or Together? 08:55, 28 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

MOney

who invented the 1st curancy

Extant text

What is an extant text? I see this in Jesus, but no explanation for what this might be... - Ta bu shi da yu 15:44, 28 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

"extant" is still in existence; not extinct or destroyed or lost - so an extant text is a text which we still have, in this context documents still in existence (or, at least, of which we have reliable copies). Shimgray | talk | 16:38, 28 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
As opposed to a hypothetical or reconstructed text like the Q source. alteripse 00:32, 29 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
Cheers folks :-) Ta bu shi da yu 06:48, 31 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Lieutenant Gouverneur in Quebec

When will you update the lieutenant gouverneur in Quebec who is now Michelle Jean. Thank you Louise

Louise, I started to do so just now, (using the spelling Michaëlle Jean), but I believe she is the Governor General, not Lieutenant Governor of Quebec. You are always welcome to make any changes you need to when you spot an error like that: just edit the page yourself - you don't need to wait for permission, or for someone else to do it<g>! - Nunh-huh 20:05, 28 October 2005 (UTC) Yes, she is the Governor-General of Canada, which includes Quebec. The Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec is a different person: Lise Thibault. Ground Zero | t 15:24, 31 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Humanities

where the first urban civilizations appeared?

This is difficult to answer because urban is vague. I can mean "a city" or it can mean "a heavily populated area" or it can mean "a city-based society". Regardless, Mesopotamia is often referred to as the "cradle of civilization" (the origin of the city-structure we recognize today). Kainaw 20:09, 28 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
The Nile River in Africa and parts of ancient China are also in the running for the first "urban area". StuRat 23:01, 28 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Assorted international politics question

As those few of you who've seen my user subpages know, I take a healthy interest in a number of topics of international politics. I haven't been able to find much information on a few of these lately, however, so I thought I might as well post them here and see what you can tell me about them – I suppose some information might be more readily available if one lived in the country or region in question. Either way:

Answered
3. There were plans to hold a referendum on the € in   Denmark in 2004, then again in 2005, now... what happened? Still planned for sometime in the close future?
5. Is   Ireland likely to introduce identity cards now that the UK has decided to do so, since they've got the Common Travel Area and all?
6. Does this make it more likely that the two countries will join the Schengen treaty?
7. Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélemy voted to become separate collectivités d'outre-mer in 2003 – when will this be implemented?
8. When will the Îles Éparses be transferred to the   French Southern and Antarctic Lands's administration?
10. What's the status of independence movements in the   Faroe Islands and   Greenland?
12. As far as I know, Nevis still wants to become independent from   Saint Kitts and Nevis; however, there hasn't been a second referendum yet, and they've been talking about it since about three or four years ago. Any clue what the latest news are?
15. Is there any actual development on the idea that the   Turks and Caicos Islands could join   Canada, or is this proposal dead?

Open
1. What happened to   Cape Verde's,   French Polynesia's and   New Caledonia's plans to introduce the €?
2. What happened to   Cape Verde's bid to join the Template:EUn?
4. What's the latest news on   Andorra's monetary agreement with the Template:EUn regarding the official introduction of the € and the minting of Andorran euro coins?
9. What's the latest news on the status reform of   Aruba and the   Netherlands Antilles? I thought there was supposed to be a decision by mid-2005? seems to indicate they're currently in bilateral talks, but I'd appreciate it if anyone who actually knows Nederlands could translate it for me; I only understand it partially...
11. After the successful referendum on unification in Kamchatka Oblast and Permyakia, what's the date on which Kamchatka Krai will come into existence? This seems to suggest 1 January 2007, just like the Krasnoyarsk Krai merger, but it's not definite, is it?
13. How strong is the Great Timor movement in West Timor to unite with   Timor-Leste?
14. When will   Timor-Leste introduce its own currency? I doubt they're planning to use the USD for too long, or are they?

Thanks for any information you might be able to contribute. File:Austria flag large.png ナイトスタリオン 18:52, 28 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

5. No, because Britons won't be required to carry their ID cards (at least, that's the plan now), so travel through Britain by Irish citizens won't be any more difficult than it is now. And "we should do it because Britain did it" generally isn't a winning argument in Ireland.
6. No, because Britain still won't trust Schengen countries to manage their borders to its satisfaction.
-- Finlay McWalter | Talk 23:16, 28 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
Thanks. Two down. ;) File:Austria flag large.png ナイトスタリオン 23:27, 28 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
Hm, on a second thought, I'm fairly sure there's no requirement to carry identity in Austria currently, and we're part of the Schengen region, so... mh. And there was a mention of such a requirement being part of the British plan as recently as this spring in some Austrian newspaper... File:Austria flag large.png ナイトスタリオン 07:45, 31 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
8. According to their Web site, they have been since January 3, 2005. [25]
--Chl 23:49, 28 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
Close, but not quite what I was looking for: They are currently being administered from the TAAF, and had been administered by Réunion before that. What I'm looking for is whether they'll effectively be incorporated; as you can see at our pages on French overseas departments and territories, they're currently still a separate entity. File:Austria flag large.png ナイトスタリオン 08:51, 29 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
As recently as March 1, 2005, the Éparses are cited as separated from the TAAF (see decree). As far as I know, the government plans to merge them into the TAAF, and the first step is to have them administered by the TAAF prefect. David.Monniaux 19:06, 30 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
7. Answered this one myself; says end of 05, start of 06. File:Austria flag large.png ナイトスタリオン 10:25, 29 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
3. The Danish people have already voted no to the euro once (three times if you count the referendums where the euro wasn't the only issue). Most of the politicians are in favour of the euro, so they might mention once in a while to have another referendum. It was considered to be a part of the referendum on the constitution, but that idea was also dropped. The referendum on the constitution was dropped entirely when France and the Netherlands voted no. The polls also indicated a no from Denmark on the constitution. Right now there is no talk about any new referendums.
10. I don't think it is going anywhere. Both Faroe Islands and Greenland are tiny countries going by their population (about 50,000 people each) and are financially dependent on Denmark. Both wants more independence, but can't actually achieve it without financial stability. They are both self-governing. --Maitch 21:25, 29 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
15. I read something about this recently; it formed the basis for some distracting media stories every now and then in the '80s but to my knowledge hasn't come up in years. It seems to have been an idea popularized by a small number (one?) of Canadian entrenpreneur(s) who were trying to do some business in T&C. I'm unclear how high the idea got in the (presumably very small) T&C government; Canadian politicans have certainly produced sound bites about it but I don't think it was ever proposed, or considered, at any formal level. Sharkford 09:14, 30 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
1. It is the first time that I heard of suppressing the CFP francs, but, apparently, some people suggest it could come as early as 2007. [26] Many local people apparently support the move. [27] I don't know any more about this. David.Monniaux 19:12, 30 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
Thanks! Knew about half of those facts already, but about half of it was new, too. Question 12 was answerred at the Caribbean notice board. Thanks again! (Seven questions still up, or at least half-way.) File:Austria flag large.png ナイトスタリオン 07:41, 31 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

"I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you."

That phrase is often used humourously when talking about spies, top secret stuff, etc. I assume that it's originally from some film or book. Anyone know which one, and/or whether it was used seriously? --Bob Mellish 19:06, 28 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

We could tell you where this phrase comes from, but then we'd have to... StuRat 00:35, 29 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
It was used in Dr. No as "We could tell you, but then we'd have to kill you." It was a joke, not about killing him, but about the Bond cliche in which the bad guys always tell Bond everything before they leave him to die in some dumb scenario that is easy to escape from. Kainaw 20:04, 28 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

According to Google Print Search, "We could tell you, but then we'd have to kill you" also appears in Mary Kate & Ashley Graduation Summer #1: We Can't Wait" on page 47, but gives no mention of Dr. No. I assume this is simply because Dr. No isn't in their database. --Think Fast 01:43, 30 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Name of Rap Artist/Song

In the article Dissing, I added a comment to help page about an early use of "diss" in a rap song. While I remember the lyrics, I do not want to add it to the article without a reference to either the artist or the song - both of which I've forgotten.

The song came out in the late 80's and was on MTV by 1992. It was about a guy who goes to Del Mar, CA to visit a "club called E" (the E-Club in Del Mar). He meets a woman, but he is "dissed a miss". If this sounds familiar in any way to anyone, I'd like to find the name of the artist/song so I can use it as a reference in the article. Kainaw 20:00, 28 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Human infrared sense?

I am studying the 19 human senses, one of which is infrared. I am having trouble finding how humans have a sense to detect infrared. Any help on links would be appreciated. All the info I have found has to do with certain types of vipers.

Give some consideration to this: the reason you're not finding that info may be because it doesn't exist. Those who talk about 19 senses (sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell, balance, vestibular, pain, eidetic imagery, temperature, magnetic, ultraviolet, infrared, ionic, vomeronasal, proximal, electrical, geogravimetric, barometric) don't seem to be very rigorous in the evidence they require to label something a sense (in fact, they mostly seem to be interested in "holistic education"). One could easily list more than 5 senses if one wanted, but they ought to be senses that humans actually have. Many of those that are in the list of 19 are questionable at best. - Nunh-huh 22:37, 28 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

In that infrared is the same as "heat", we can certainly sense it, although we require much higher levels and sense it in much less detail than a creature with infrared vision. For example, we could feel which side of our bodies was nearest to a campfire if within a few feet of it. StuRat 22:56, 28 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
Infrared is not synonymous with heat, and if we're sensing the heat, the name of the sense involved would be "heat", not "infrared". And if we're already counting "temperature" as one of the "19" senses, that would be counting it twice. (And if you're multiplying senses, why is "temperature" one rather than two, since we have two different types of receptors for it, which we characterize as "heat receptors" and "cold receptors"?) If your teacher is [1] basing her teaching method on the premise that appealing to your "19 senses" is better than getting the facts straight, or [2] teaching you that there are exactly nineteen senses, what you need most is another teacher. - Nunh-huh 00:28, 29 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
Well, part of the infrared range is felt as heat. I do agree that many of those 19 senses are redundant or silly, though. StuRat 00:33, 29 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
According to the sense article, humans have nine senses -- the five classical ones plus heat, pain, balance, and body awareness, while at least two more are found in animals. Actually, I don't even understand what most of the others that make up the "19 senses" are supposed to be; links would be appreciated. --Metropolitan90 05:52, 29 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
Well, Googling for "19 senses" or "nineteen senses" turns up a lot of sites, none of which is useful as anything but study of how such an absurd list propagates. One example is here. Most of them are geared toward "education" rather than sense physiology. Our sense article quite properly points out that the enumeration of senses is somewhat arbitrary. If you've come away from it with the idea that "humans have nine senses" is correct, maybe it needs some attention (it does throw in a few unexplained Montessori mentions, without explaining that she was an educator and not in any sense a student of the senses....actually the article probably could profit from a thorough going over). That you don't understand the list of 19 is a good sign, as it's nonsense! - Nunh-huh 08:20, 29 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

October 29

strange painting of a woman in snow

When I was very young I saw a framed picture that at the time was slightly disturbing to me. I saw it at a pizza chain called Mazzio's. It was an image of a sleeping woman buried in snow. The snow was covered with flowers and this was all below a small tree. Any ideas about the title/artist? KeeganB

Tchaikovsky's favourite painting "Melancholy" / German chess movie

On page 188 of John Warrack's 1973 book "Tchaikovsky" (ISBN 024102403) is a picture of a painting depicting the full moon half hidden by clouds, shining over a body of water, with some trees in the foreground. The caption reads "Tchaikovsky's favourite painting, Melancholy, still hangs in his bedroom at Klin", but gives no further information.

Some time between the late 1970s and mid 1980s I saw a German film in which the painting appears in one scene. The script made a reference to Tchaikovsky, but there was no other information about the painting. I've forgotten the name of the film and I've had no luck tracking it down. It was a sort of psychological thriller about chess players, as I recall.

Does anybody know the painter of Melancholy and/or the name of the movie? JackofOz 04:39, 29 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Angkor Wat temple. Who was the former chief of buddism monks ?

hello,

I am wondering if somedy can tell me how works the structure of the buddism monks living in the Angkor wat temple. Who can tell me who is the actual chief. and also who was the former chief and when he died ?

Thanks a lot --15:50, 29 October 2005 (UTC)

All I was able to find is that the abbot of the monastery next to Angkor Wat was called Leung Choun and aged 65 in 2001 [28].

Confucius quote

"brainyquote.com" claims that

Never give a sword to a man who can't dance.

is a saying by Confucius. Assume that I doubt the quote's authenticity. They give no reference whatsoever. Can you help me find out whether the quote is genuine? Baad 16:34, 29 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

It sounds like something from a Kung Fu movie. Google finds a lot of sites that attribute it to Confucius, but also several that claim it's an ancient Celtic proverb. One of those gives A Crowded Heart by Nicholas Papandreou as its source. David Sneek 16:57, 29 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Confucius say: "The truly wise man nevers plays leapfrog with the unicorn." StuRat 17:10, 29 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Keep in mind that most comments that begin with "Confucius says..." were in no way said or condoned by Confucius. His likeness was used by the Chinese government to justify their social engineering long after the death of Confucius. In fact, a person had to pass a "Confucius Test" to get into politics, proving you memorized much of the "Confucius says..." propoganda. For us westerners, it is similar to any argument that begins with "The founding fathers meant..." Kainaw 20:14, 29 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
yes, but in this case it is doubtful whether the quote has anything to do with China at all. I would like to check the Papandreou book, but I don't think I'll buy it just to look for that phrase. I think it is likely at this point that the quote was not even intended to be Chinese, and was somehow misattributed on the Internet 81.63.58.220 08:44, 30 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
Although my country is located west of China, it does not have "founding fathers". JIP | Talk 13:57, 30 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Logan Reed

I'm an English journalist writing an article on the porn industry. I found an article on the gay porn star Logan Reed on Wikipedia but it had been deleted. I've asked at the Help Desk if I'll be able to access the article or at least find out who wrote it. Can anybody give me any current information about Mr. Reed (or Mr. Hicks as a piece of the deleted article tantalisingly indicates), other than the off-colour info that's all-too-easy to find on the internet?

Anon.

The full text of the deleted article was: "Logan Reed, was born as Larry Hicks. He now lives in West Hollywood, California and quietly enjoys his friends and boyfriend of many years. Larry is well liked and healthy after giving up his career in adult film sometime before 2004." Dunno if this helps but I'm happy to watch all of his films "to look for clues". David | Talk 19:08, 29 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Location of Wertzlur, Prussia

I am researching the landing of a French Balloon which landed at Wertzlur in Prussia on December 15 1870. I have been unable to find this name on a map or any reference on the internet. I believe it is or was near Nassau which was originally in Prussia (now Germany). Please can you help with ___location.

It was the Ville de Paris. I don't believe that it landed. I believe it crashed (one of two terrible crashes). There are many references to the prisoners of the Wurtzlur crash. ie: A French description of the balloon invasion A painting of the Ville de Paris for sale (use babelfish if you don't read French for the first one)
Did you type "Wertzlur" into Google? You will get many hits. Try Ville de Paris and you will get more. Kainaw 20:57, 29 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Lawyers Hiring Other Lawyers

Why is it that when almost every time a lawyer get accused of something, he hires another lawyer to defend him? Many corporate executives, politicians, and others follow this method.

Recently, for instance, Scooter Libby who has been accused of perjury and other things is not defending himself? There are numerous other examples of such lawyers? Can someone explain the specific advantage conferred on a person by such an action?

--John

I'm venturing a guess that it allows a certain level of professional detachment from the case. Plus, lawyers are not equally competent in all areas of the law. I don't think a tax attorney would take on his own criminal defense, for example. However, I'm not an attorney, so you might want to wait for one to speak up on the matter. Impaciente 19:57, 29 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
When a surgeon gets sick, he (usually) goes to another doctor; when an eye surgeon breaks his leg, he is certainly less likely to try and sort it himself. There are lawyers and lawyers; generally speaking, you'll want to hire someone who specialises in what you've been charged with - it's unlikely that any given lawyer will be a specialist in the specific field of the case.
Also, note that you mention "corporate executives, politicians" - these people may have trained as lawyers, worked as lawyers, but there's a good chance they haven't done anything requiring those skills other than updating their wills in the last ten years, or longer. By hiring someone else they can be confident that the person defending them is both in good practice and aware of recent developments in the field... and you get two brains working on it, not one very distracted one! Shimgray | talk | 12:14, 30 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
Well, a surgeon can't very well, for example, remove his own appendix, can he? JIP | Talk 12:22, 30 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
Okay, bad example :-) (Mind you, there's always all those 101 Tales of Medical Heroism for Boys books which tell a different story... "Stranded in the howling wastes of the Yukon, I amputated my leg using only a nearby wolverine and crawled two hundred miles to the nearest trading post"). Think of "engineers", say, which is just as broad a term as "lawyers" - your average structural engineer would be a bit lost trying to do aerospace work, or vice versa. Shimgray | talk | 13:11, 30 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
Shimgray, can you give us the ISBN for what sounds like a great book? alteripse 18:45, 30 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
Ever hear the quote "A lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client"? Nelson Ricardo 08:36, 31 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Teleenciclopedia

Does anyone know what is the musical theme from the "Teleenciclopedia" TV documentary? All I know is that is a classical piece. Tavilis 22:56, 29 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

October 30

Definition of "redesignate"?

Section 201 of the USA PATRIOT Act says the following:

SEC. 201. AUTHORITY TO INTERCEPT WIRE, ORAL, AND ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS RELATING TO TERRORISM.
Section 2516(1) of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraph (p), as so redesignated by section 434(2) of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-132; 110 Stat. 1274), as paragraph (r); and
(2) by inserting after paragraph (p), as so redesignated by section 201(3) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (division C of Public Law 104-208; 110 Stat. 3009-565), the following new paragraph:
`(q) any criminal violation of section 229 (relating to chemical weapons); or sections 2332, 2332a, 2332b, 2332d, 2339A, or 2339B of this title (relating to terrorism); or'.

What does "resignate" mean? - Ta bu shi da yu 07:23, 30 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Redesignate means renamed, so paragraph (p) was renamed paragraph (r), by inserting a new paragraph before it. It looks complicated because a paragraph (p) has already been renamed earlier by amendments to this Act.-gadfium 08:42, 30 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Musical greetings card

How to make a musical greeting card in papaer and not through e- greetings or so.

If you want a card that actually plays music, you'll have to buy one in a store that sells novelty greetings cards, as the electronics involved would be beyond the large majority of people. If you want to print a musical score on a greetings card (either hand or computer generated), please post again saying so.-gadfium 08:42, 30 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
The electronics need not be especially hard, if you know which end of a soldering iron is which. Try an M66T-214, a battery and 8 ohm loudspeaker. Notinasnaid 09:58, 30 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

One option is to buy such a card, and cut out the part that plays music, and install it in your handmade card. That way it will be more personal, but will still be musical. StuRat 22:10, 30 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

book

I want to buy a book entitled " I am Diego" an autobiography of Diego Maradona. Where can i find this book?

This Web site has excerpts from the book (perhaps the whole book?). The site also has a link to Diego Maradona's official Web site, where you could probably buy the book. —Wayward Talk 08:54, 30 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
Also check out this Amazon page. It has many titles by, and about, him, but some are in Spanish and I don't see that particular title, in English:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-form/102-9890646-1209744
StuRat 16:42, 30 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
If that doesn't work, go to www.amazon.com and search for Diego Maradona. StuRat 16:53, 30 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Media

Do the media act as agents that reproduce social inequalities or are they the "glue" that binds society together?

Note that those two things are not mutually exclusive. That is, the media could do both, or neither. StuRat 16:33, 30 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Hajj

I was just wondering, being a non-muslim how do participating in Hajj affect the life of a believer? Also, is a true pilgrimage a journey within? Thanks for any feedback.

The Hajj of Malcolm X had a huge influence on his life. After seeing Muslims of all races and shades praying at Mecca, he moderated his views toward those of racial unity and was influenced to take up a more traditional form of faith, moving further away from the Nation of Islam, which he increasingly viewed as illegitimate. I'm not sure of your nationality, but if you are American, you and every other American should read The Autobiography of Malcolm X. For other Muslisms, the experience is probably a bit less revolutionary, but it's still definitely an event that they plan for all of their lives. Have you given our Hajj article a perusal yet? Garrett Albright 16:24, 30 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Church of England

Who is the current Supreme governor of the Church of England?

According to the following article Prince Charles has been the holder of that title since 1994.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/10/30/nchas30.xml&sSheet=/portal/2005/10/30/ixportaltop.html

Your article suggests that his mother currently holds that title. I was under the same impression and was surprised by the article. Could someone there ascertain which is correct?

Steven L. Chapman

The Queen holds the post. Read the article again: He said in 1994 that when he became Supreme Governor of the Church of England, he would rather be "defender of faiths" than "defender of the faith". The "that" is the key word saying that this preference would be held on becoming Supreme Governor. I don't think I have explained this very well, but you probably get the idea... [[Sam Korn]] 16:18, 30 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
I think the writer of the Telegraph piece could have worded it better, for example saying He said in 1994 that when he becomes Supreme Governor... i.e. using the future tense. If only it were wiki and we could fix it... :-) -- AJR | Talk 20:14, 30 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
Yes, the reigning monarch is the SG, who is bound by law to be a member of the Anglican faith and uphold its teachings. She is also specifically prohibited from being a Roman Catholic or marrying one. Curiously, and increasingly unacceptably, she is advised about the appoinment of Anglican Bishops by the Prime Minister, and always accepts his advice. But the PM is not bound to either be an Anglican, or not be a Catholic. The PM can be a Jew, a Muslim, a Buddhist, a Hindu, a Catholic, an atheist, a Satanist, or anything else, and still gets to to tell the Queen, the Supreme Governor of the C of E, who will be the bishops of her church. Who says the English aren't a fun people?
Incidentally, the monarch is not bound to be a member of the Anglican faith specifically - he or she is bound to be a Protestant, generally speaking, but one that is at least willing to be in communion with the CoE. One major reason behind this is that the Established Church in Scotland is the Church of Scotland, which is Presbyterian and not Episcopalian - should the monarch originate from Scotland, chances are high they would not (originally) be an Anglican. Shimgray | talk | 11:54, 31 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
Yes, you're right. And that makes the anomaly even more crazy. The Supreme Governor of the Anglican Church does not necessarily have to be an Anglican, but cannot be a Catholic. It's almost the "Non-Catholic" Church rather than the Anglican Church. JackofOz 00:49, 1 November 2005 (UTC)Reply
Well, I do think the Anglicans themselves are supposed to be Anglican. :-) Dmcdevit·t 00:58, 1 November 2005 (UTC)Reply
Being concerned over that sort of detail is very High Church, really... ;-) Shimgray | talk | 01:07, 1 November 2005 (UTC)Reply

The Articles of Confederation

Why was the Continental Congress so cautious in drafting the Articles of Confederation?

Having just fought a war of independence from one oppressive authority (England), they were worried about setting up another one (a strong central government), so opted for a very weak government, instead. After that system failed, they scrapped the Articles of Confederation and drafted the Constitution. StuRat 18:39, 30 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
Keep in mind that the ex-colonies were separate entities with their own perrogatives. It would have been hard to get them to voluntarily relinquish a lot of powers. It was only with the difficulties of governing under the AoC that enough states were convinced to support a stronger central government. -- Mwalcoff 02:24, 31 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Who makes graffiti?

All these people, for one. 68.230.25.52 21:30, 30 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

October 31

World series Champions

when was the last time the Chicago white sox won the world series?

Malaysia and women and children

I'm doing a project with SMUNA on Malaysia, but I can't find anything on their views of women and children anywhere or what their basic rights are. Could you please help me? -- Holly

Hi Holly, you could try a Google search for "women's rights malaysia", I got lots of links. Do the same for "children's rights". Also, for information on the rights of children, you should check out the UNICEF website. --Canley 05:32, 31 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

androcentrism

Hi,

i'm writing an essay and was a bit confused with wikipedia's definition of androcentrism as being specifically male centred. I was wondering if androcentrism could also be applied on women? Meaning can a women be androcentric about a society seeing it as female/male centred???

Debbie

A view in which the women and women's perspective is predominant would be called gynecentric. Transliterated greek root for man is andro- and for woman is gyne-. alteripse 00:40, 31 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Or gynecocentric. —Wayward Talk 01:42, 31 October 2005 (UTC) Reply
Gynocentric is probably better. David Sneek 09:37, 31 October 2005 (UTC) Reply
Hmm, Chambers lists it as either as gynaeco- or gyneco- (US). Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged lists gynecocentric. And, finally, dictionary.com lists gynocentric. —Wayward Talk 10:10, 31 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
The stem in Ancient Greek is γυναικ-, so gyn(a)ecocentric is better. File:Austria flag large.png ナイトスタリオン 12:21, 31 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
yes, gynaecocentrism is correct (from virtual *gunaikokentrikos) -- attested are compounds like gunaikotrphos ("fed by a woman"), gunaikonomos "ruled by women", gunaikopathes "suffering of women (tr.?)", gunaikokratia "rule of women" etc.; only gunaikomanes "crazy for women" is also attested as gunomanes [29]. Of course there is nothing to stop women from being androcentric, or men from being gynaecocentric. 83.77.216.101 18:38, 31 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

The U.S. Supreme Court

Who argues cases on behalf of The U.S. Supreme Court in front of the U.S. Supreme Court?

I don't think the court itself is considered a legal entity that can sue and be sued. I assume that if, say, a clerk sued for discrimation, the Administrative Office of the US Courts or the Justice Department would represent the defendant. -- Mwalcoff 02:21, 31 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
If the question is "who argues on behalf of the U.S. government", the answer is the United States Solicitor General, currently Paul Clement. Meelar (talk) 05:56, 31 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

salt deposits in west virginia

You must ASK A QUESTION. What is it about the salt deposits in WV that you want to know? We are not mind readers. JackofOz 05:59, 31 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Some of us are mind readers. For example I see you are thinking about...YUK ! NEVER MIND ! StuRat 23:10, 31 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Copyrights about Manga and Anime....

Hi, I want to create a website about MANGA and ANIME, and after reading the pages on this website, I have the following questions came to my mind. Please answer as detailed as possible.

1) If I provide online download for scanlated MANGAs or MANGA scans not published in the US, even if I encourage them to buy the hard copy, would I violate the US copyright laws?

2) If I post anime pictures, manga pictures (such as covers and some scans, but not scans of the whole volumes), anime wallpapers/avatars/screensavers/winampskins, and provide anime music, soundtracks and lyrics on my website, would I also violate the US copyright laws? (I saw a lot of them on other websites, please tell me as precisely as possible!)

3) Even if I'm doing these things in order to promote the manga and anime I like, still this be illegal?

4) If I don't provide the downloads of the above stuff, instead, I inform them of other methods that they can download the above stuff, would that still be illegal?

5) If you answer yes to all the questions above, in cases that I do the above things, how is it likely that I would get charged? What are the procedures/steps that they'll do the charge?

6) One last question. Since I personally also download scanlated manga and fansubbed anime online, am I also violating the copyright laws, or only the people who are doing the scanlations and fansubs violating the laws? In other words, copyright laws restrict the provider's actions (the scanlators, translators, fansub providers) or the receiver's actions (me and other people who DOWNLOAD and SHARE them)

In Need of Your Answers DESPERATELY!

Erwen

1: No, you are not violating US laws. This is quite a common practice, actually.
2: It varies. For most of the artwork stuff, it would fall under the umbrella of "fair use." However, for providing entire songs (as opposed to perhaps song clips), and possibly for providing lyrics, you're providing an "entire" product, and that would be piracy.
3: Yes, the "reason" does not change legality or lack thereof.
4: No, not strictly illegal, but that would still be immoral.
6: If the material you are downloading is licensed in the US, then you are violating copyright laws (as are the suppliers of the material). However, if you're an ethical fansub fan who only sticks to unlicensed materials, you should be okay.
Of course, all of the above are general "rules" applying to copyrights and not only regulated to anime and manga. Garrett Albright 16:47, 31 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Dinali

Explain the Hindu festival of Dinali.

Perhaps you might prefer Divali? --Gareth Hughes 13:21, 31 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
Either that or the festival involves oversized SUVs. StuRat 23:06, 31 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

auftragstactiks

what exactly auftragtactiks mean?

See Auftragstaktik, or, if you can't read German, look at Mission-type tactics. --Gareth Hughes 13:44, 31 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

The Consumption of Human Breast Milk

Why don't we [non-infant humans] drink human milk? We have the means to screen for transmittable diseases, and leaving aside the ethical and physical constraints of obtaining large quantites of human breast milk as well, is there really anything stopping us, scientifically speaking? I'm actually surprised this isn't commonplace. Really, it seems more natural to me than consuming other animal's milk (which was not intended for humans). Or am I just missing something?

Also, are there any cultures, past or present, that have used human milk, either for consumption [by adults] or for some other means (such as a ritual)? Thank you in advance, --67.184.203.227 13:20, 31 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Well, "leaving aside the ethical and physical constraints" there is absolutely no reason why not: the reasons are ethical and physical. Widespread consumption of human breastmilk would make women's bodies an economic commodity in yet another exploitative way. Anyway, the babies would be jealous. --Gareth Hughes 13:31, 31 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
As far as the "cultures" go, there are the lactophiliacs, those who are sexually attracted to a lactating woman. They desire to either drink from a woman's breast, watch a woman drink from her own breast, or simply just watch a woman lactate into a glass or let it spill out onto her own breast. Dismas|(talk) 14:00, 31 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

I guess because it would be inefficient - you would basically turn the mother into an animal...not to mention that it takes nutrients from the body which has to be consumed anyway - you might as well consume the food directly...if you like the taste however, I guess it could be turned into an industry.... -- Natalinasmpf 15:23, 31 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Efficiency is the key. Cow/Goat milk commonly consumed is produced by an animal that uses cheap weeds for nutrition. A human's diet is much more expensive and the human produces far less milk. Worse, milk/cheese is a common component of the human's diet. The humans providing milk will likely consume most of what they produce.
The true argument here is very common from vegetarians: It is unnatural for a human to consume milk of another animal. This is a classic example of a faulty argument. It assumes that there is something unnatural for a human to consume and then places milk of non-human animals in that category. In order to place such an argument, you must first completely define what is natural and unnatural for a human to consume. Kainaw 16:10, 31 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
So then: do vegetarian women breast feed their children? Garrett Albright 16:39, 31 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
From what I've read: vegeterians don't consume slaughtered living beings. Perhaps you're referring to vegans? User:Nichalp/sg 07:55, 1 November 2005 (UTC)

I believe an elderly J D Rockefellar hired a "wet nurse" to breast feed him. I'm not entirely sure of his motives. StuRat 23:05, 31 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

common law marriages

Are common law marriages recognized in the state of Maryland?

pre civil war government agencies dealing with slaves, negroes, blacks

Were there any organizations prior to the Civil War created by any branch of the US federal government to deal with in any manner issues relating specifically to "blacks" slaves or free? If so what were their names and function? --68.33.167.172 17:48, 31 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

The Fugitive Slave Bill of 1850 made any federal marshal or other official who did not arrest an alleged runaway slave liable to a fine of $1,000. This did not create the federal marshals, but it created a new duty for them. Kainaw 20:23, 31 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Pagan Saints

Pontius Pilate is revered as a saint in the Coptic Orthodox Church. I am wondering if there are any other pagans (gentiles who never received Christian baptism) who are considered saints in some Christian church. 83.77.216.101 17:57, 31 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

In Eastern Christianity a number of non-Christians are celebrated in the calendar. They are known as dikaioi in Greek, meaning righteous. Almost all dikaioi are people from the Old Testament. --Gareth Hughes 12:47, 1 November 2005 (UTC)Reply

Gross national product

I need to know the United States gross national Product

and i need to know the yearly revenue and the umemployment rate for these two companies

1: Apple Corporation
2: Exxon Mobile

THANK YOU

--67.132.147.194 20:20, 31 October 2005 (UTC)Reply
For gross national product, see Gross national product. There is a nice chart on that page showing not only the United States, but many other countries.
For yearly revenue, go to the company pages: Apple Computer and Exxon. They also have nice charts with the information you want.
I am not putting the numbers here because I am bothered that you didn't go to the pages yourself. Kainaw 20:29, 31 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Weimar Germany

After the Second World War Germany was a mess. The Government was polarized. There were right-wing and left-wing politics. I don't understand which category the social democrats fall under? What side were the ex-soldiers on? Left-wing politicians were the communists. Were only the Nazis on the right-wing side?

See Social Democratic Party of Germany to see where they stand (they seem to be left end of politics). I don't think it could be possible to put ex-soldiers in any one category, I imagine some would lean left, others would lean right. It's also a push to say that left-wing politicians were communists, some probably were, others not. Akamad 22:36, 31 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Your opening line says "After the Second World War...", but the Weimar Republic was after the First World War. After the 2nd, Germany was split into East Germany (controlled by the Soviet Union) and a free West Germany. StuRat 22:59, 31 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

After the SDP was a left wing party, but fairly moderate left wing party. Besides the Nazi there were other parties of the right. including the Nationalists, and Catholic Centre. There were also large quaters, essessally in the officer corp who were monarchists. Monarcharists are generally considered conservatives. At first parties of the right though Hitler was a parsite; eventually they tried to cooperate with him; and eventually accepting his rule. During the early part of his reign many traditional conservatives, such as Von Papon and Von Neuruth served in high positions. They were later puished out. Though through out the Nazi period Hitler was careful to give powerfull former conservatives senicure positions.
   Thank you for the helpful answers. I am finally starting to see through the mess...

I apologise for my silly mistake. I am aware of the fact that the Weimar Republic was 1918 - 1933, which is after the First World War. Thanks,

      Emanuelle

how old is the earth?

(no question under the header)

  • Our earth article states: Scientific evidence indicates that the planet formed around 4.57 billion (4.57×109) years ago, and shortly thereafter (4.533 billion years ago) acquired its single natural satellite, the Moon. - Mgm|(talk) 22:14, 31 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Diwali

I'm wondering if anyone can tell me how to pronounce Diwali in English? There seem to be several transliterations in the article, none of which are very helpful to me (or consistent?). Especially since I'm not sure how I'm supposed to pronounce the letters "ā" and "ī" (as Hindi does not use a Latin script, the diacritics confuse me). Thank you. 134.10.44.224 23:27, 31 October 2005 (UTC)Reply

Diwali: "Di-waa-lee" "a" as in father. The "w" is often pronounced and spelled as a "v" (both are correct). User:Nichalp/sg 07:25, 1 November 2005 (UTC)

November 1

The French Encyclopedia

The date is was created and its hisorical impotance.

If you're referring to the famous 18th century work, see our article Encyclopédie. --DannyZ 02:03, 1 November 2005 (UTC)Reply

Druids V.S. Columbus

Many say Christopher Columbus Discoverd'America..... I would rather think that The Druids were here first. Christopher Columbus didn't step on this land, he landed in Cuba I think. So, in either case, who was here first, Columbus, or the Druids?

Nobody with a reasonable grasp of history believes that Columbus discovered America. He never even set foot on what is now called "America". He got as far as the Caribbean. JackofOz 01:51, 1 November 2005 (UTC)Reply
Their religious affiliation is actually quite controversial, and it probably wasn't Druidism, but perhaps one of Kennewick Man's ancestors discovered North America. Maybe the Ainu?--Joel 02:04, 1 November 2005 (UTC)Reply

You might be thinking of the Vikings, who made it to what is now the East Coast of Canada and the Northern US. Apparently they didn't think much of it, since they left after a while and didn't bother telling anyone in Europe about it. They likely thought it was just another big island, like Greenland. Columbus is usually given the credit for first letting Europeans know there was something worth exploring, which led rapidly to European colonization of the Americas. StuRat 05:27, 1 November 2005 (UTC)Reply

Mixing up druids and vikings is like mixing up monks and astronauts. Although druids and vikings were both sort of northern european, they were separated by more than a thousand years, a completely different culture and civilization, completely different social purposes, mobility, etc... alteripse 11:55, 1 November 2005 (UTC)Reply

I agree, but can't think of what other Northern European explorers who landed in the New World, the asker may have meant, if not Vikings. StuRat 17:34, 1 November 2005 (UTC)Reply
I wasn't criticizing your answer, because I also guessed that Vikings must have been who the enquirer had in mind, just expressing amazement that anyone could confuse the two. alteripse 01:47, 2 November 2005 (UTC)Reply
We have an article on the subject: see Pre-Columbian_trans-oceanic_contact and particularly Pre-Columbian_trans-oceanic_contact#Legendary_trips or Brendan for the Irish monk who just possibly may have visited America in the 6th century.-gadfium 18:43, 1 November 2005 (UTC)Reply

smoking twins treated like gods by south east asian village

Can any one tell me the names and country of the 2 brothers, I think they were twins, who were treated like gods in their rural village in South East Asia? They were young brothers who smoked cigars or cigarettes. They had an explosive adult following, who exalted them to god-like status some where in south east Asia. They were in the news well over 5 years ago.

    • You rock. Thank you! :)

Rosa Parks question.

Who was the standing 'white man' on the Montgomery AL bus, that caused driver J.F. Blake to ask Rosa Parks to give up her bus seat in 1955? That is the one missing piece from the extraordinarily detailed info on Rosa Parks. --68.167.206.213 02:46, 1 November 2005 (UTC)Reply

five phillars of Islam

The date is was created and its hisorical impotance.

You might take a look at our articles on Five Pillars of Islam and History of Islam. Also, this article might be helpful. -- DannyZ 03:15, 1 November 2005 (UTC)Reply

is Absolutism one of these??

a political theory developed in England a theory of papal supremacy absence of any constitutional check on royal power

I don't like any of them, too simplistic. I suppose what you're really after is absolute monarchy, which may or may not be the same as political absolutism. The best asnswer is definitely the last. It did not originate from England, though the term may have, around the time of Thomas Hobbes (a proponent). Doesn't have to do with papal authoity, really. But only in the strictest sense would you say it cannot have a constitution. Historically, most non-absolute monarchies have had no constitution either. Dmcdevit·t 07:27, 1 November 2005 (UTC)Reply

Events

I am looking for current events that occurred in my fathers lifetime starting with 1935 through the present in increments of every 10 years (example - price of gas, cost of a stamp, current President, etc.)

Thank you

Have a look at 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s. It won't have prices, but you will find some events. Someone else may have an idea where to look for prices.. Like here? [30] - 04:57, 1 November 2005 (UTC)

also, learn to use google; this is where you should come after you used google, asking about specifics of what you could find. 19:31, 1 November 2005 (UTC)

What is the Forbidden city

Dates and historical importance??? Please help?

See Forbidden city (don't worry, the article isn't forbidden). StuRat 09:06, 1 November 2005 (UTC)Reply

Canada: History

I read your page about Canada, but still have some questions.

1. Since when Canada is called Canada?

1791 the words Upper Canada and Lower Canada were mentioned. 1840 the word Province of Canada was mentioned.

2. What is the meaning of the word Canada?

3. How old is Canada? Since which year we count?

I believe the country gained independence from England in 1867. StuRat 09:03, 1 November 2005 (UTC)Reply

Thank you.

  1. It's hard to say exactly as there are contradictory accounts of the origin of the name. It was first officially used in 1791 when Upper and Lower Canada were created, but it's clear that the name had some currency before that.
  2. There are contradictory accounts, but the most widely cited one is that it was a Huron or Haudenosaunee word picked up by Jacques Cartier in the mid 16th century. Apparently, Cartier got to some native village, grabbed the first native he found and asked, in clear, slow, loud French "Comment est-ce que vous appellez ce pays?" while pointing at the village. To which the native, not knowing French and assuming this hairy honky weirdo was a bit on the thick side, answers in clear, slow, loud Huron or Haudenosaunee "Village, you idiot, it's a VIL-LA-GE". Cartier presumed this was the name of the country and that's what he told his bosses in France. Alternately, the story occasionally circulates that it's Abenaki for "Go away, you hoser!", and that Cartier came upon the name in more or less the same manner as described above.
  3. Most Canadians count from 1867, because the modern institutions of the Canadian federal government have some continuity with those established in the British North America Act. When Canada became independent is a harder question to answer. It has enjoyed a codified legal existence as a semi-autonomous entity since 1791; the Union of Canada - the first unitary government to use that name - dates to 1840. The current institutions date to 1867. Canada did not have an independent foreign policy - usually one of the requirements for sovereignty - until 1909. Its status as an independent realm was not really fixed until the Statute of Westminster in 1931. There was no such thing as a Canadian citizen - one of the other requirements for sovereignty - until 1947. And, provinces could still challenge the constitutionality of Canadian laws before the Privy Council in London until the Constitution Act of 1982.
--Diderot 10:42, 1 November 2005 (UTC)Reply

See also Canada's name. Ground Zero | t 14:47, 1 November 2005 (UTC)Reply

I wonder how many North American placenames come from similar misunderstandings. Supposedly Tejas is from the Caddo word for friend. I suppose that westerners had frightened them enough that when some stopped to ask the Caddo what they called themselves they responded with friend. — Laura Scudder | Talk 16:19, 1 November 2005 (UTC)Reply

It's really very hard to say. So few of those first contact stories survive, and so many Native Americans used very prosaic names for places anyway. The two groups I know fairly well gave almost everything a descriptive or, at any rate, boring name. But in other cases, its hard to say if they really used that name or if it was a misunderstanding because even their modern descendants don't know. The languages are lost, or undocumented, or full of names they adopted back from Europeans.
Generally, no matter how dumb they sound, Algonquian names documented after 1750 are probably reliable because by then hundreds of French traders spoke Algonquian languages fluently and didn't make dumb mistakes. But I wonder occasionally about Dene names. "Yukon" for example - "big river" - I can just see some Gwitchin telling an early beaver trader, "Dude, that's a big river!" --Diderot 17:57, 1 November 2005 (UTC)Reply

Does Michael Moore run the political activist web site moveon.com?

You mean MoveOn.org? No, he does not, though he and the site certainly have complimentary viewpoints. Garrett Albright 15:11, 1 November 2005 (UTC)Reply

Meyer Lansky

As Meyer Lansky was not Italian, what role did he play in organized crime? Did he head a crime family or comparable organization?

Try reading the Meyer Lansky article. His crime business is detailed rather well. Kainaw 18:55, 1 November 2005 (UTC)Reply

Alejandro De Beno

I heard rummors the De Beno, head of the KFA is a homosexual and transvestite; are they true?

Kibbutz Hama'apil

I worked on a kibbutz in Israel from mid-December 1971 to early May 1972. I think the spelling I've given is the correct one. The kibbutz was inland from Hadera, but is not listed in Wikipedia's "List of Kibbutzim", nor is it found in Google or Google Earth. Does anyone know if it still exists? Has it undergone a name change? It was small, only 500 residents, but at the time, was fairly wealthy. Thanks.

There was a Kibbutz named Hama'apil - famous for volleyball in the 70s. Kainaw 20:03, 1 November 2005 (UTC)Reply
It still exists, albeit not as a communistic enterprise. See [31]. -- Mwalcoff 23:47, 1 November 2005 (UTC)Reply

The Protestant and Catholic reformations

the Protestant and Catholic reformations. Who were the leaders of the Protestant Reformation? How did their doctrines differ from those of the Catholic Church? Why were they successful? Discuss the responses of the Catholic church. What impact did these events have on non-European societies?

See the articles on the Protestant Reformation and the Counter-Reformation, and do your own homework. —Charles P. (Mirv) 20:12, 1 November 2005 (UTC)Reply

November 2

name Mexico

Who, when, where first name New Spain by the name Mexico ?

As it turns out we have an article on Mexico that answers exactly that, although it was Mexico long before it was anything Spain. — mendel  00:32, 2 November 2005 (UTC)Reply
You might also be interested in our List of country name etymologies. Thryduulf 00:39, 2 November 2005 (UTC)Reply

Help With the Federalist Papers

I am writing a paper, here is an exerpt:

FDR’s frustration that the judiciary was proving a major hindrance to the executive office’s attempts to solve pressing public problems by striking down crucial pieces of New Deal legislation is understandable, but his court packing scheme was preposterous. FDR was making massive changes to national economics in an attempt to remedy The Great Depression. If these changes were in the best interest of the nation is completely irrelevant, because the executive office does not have the authority to make them. A critical component of New Deal legislation involved transferring significant economic power from the legislative to the executive office. Perhaps the most notable example is the National Industrial Recovery Act, which gave the executive office the power to set working hours, wages and codes to ensure “fair competition.” This is clearly a violation of the separation of powers.

Can anyone point me to specific federalist papers that would pertain/defend my argument?

Federalist Paper #51 talks about separation of powers and checks and balances. Hermione1980 01:05, 2 November 2005 (UTC)Reply

World War Two

Did Communism threaten America's internal security after World War Two?

                       68.232.242.40 01:20, 2 November 2005 (UTC)Reply
Yes. Especially after Ethel and Julius Rosenberg gave the Soviet Union the secret of the nuclear bomb. StuRat 01:52, 2 November 2005 (UTC)Reply
They were hardcore communists, but I doubt they had access to nuclear bomb secrets. The circumstances and accuracy of the trial is rather fuzzy. They were executed hastily too, as the result of the growth of HUAC and McCarthyism. Much of the internal security fears (bomb drills under tables and so on) were a great way to frighten people, but didn't really have large reason to be scared. The anti-communist movies, many in the form of sci-fi done at the time also contributed to mass hysteria about the USSR. The focus on science education coupled with the space race was very convincing to many people; Americans feared that the Soviets would create a Moon base and use it as a "death star." No joke. This all contributed to internal security "issues", but many of them unfounded. The growth of American communism could have been put down even if the government condoned it, simply by nationalist individuals with nothing better to do.--Screwball23 talk 04:55, 2 November 2005 (UTC)Reply
Anti-communism also threatened America's internal security during those years. alteripse 02:02, 2 November 2005 (UTC)Reply

Closed session

What exactly is a closed session? - Ta bu shi da yu 02:44, 2 November 2005 (UTC)Reply

If this is in reference to the U.S. Senate, it's a secret session...non-public deliberations. See [32]. - Nunh-huh 03:14, 2 November 2005 (UTC)Reply
Do they/can they/have they had them in Australia? --Ballchef 13:30, 2 November 2005 (UTC)Reply
Not that I'm aware of. Some Senate committees meet or are briefed in camera (in a closed session), but I've never heard of the entire Australian Senate doing so. -- Canley 02:45, 3 November 2005 (UTC)Reply

aleister crowley

i was just wondering if anyone knew what the sigillum sanctum fraternitatis a.a. is. im sure it pertains to aleister crowley because i found it on a symbol in a book about his magick but was unable to find anything about it in the book. i was also wondering if anyone knew what the symbol meant. it can be found at: http://www.tothal.com/galerija/image.asp?id_albuma=2&id_slike=146 thank you. -madir

You're probably looking for an explanation of the symbols? If not, "Sigillum sanctum fraternitatis" is just Latin for "Sign of the Holy Brotherhood" and the "A∴A∴" stand for "ASTRVM ARGETNEVM" or "Silver Star". There are books about it [33] - Nunh-huh 05:57, 2 November 2005 (UTC) As for the symbology, without knowing anything other than looking at it, you have a seven-pointed star, each point corresponding to a ltter in the word "BABYLON", probably as the Mother of Mysteries, and a mandorla (vesica piscis), some crosses and a lot of "7"'s in the center. The specifics of why they are there are probably not discernable without reading Crowley (and possibly not even then<g>). - Nunh-huh 06:11, 2 November 2005 (UTC)Reply

The Tree of Life at Disney's Animal Kingdom

Is the Tree of Life at Disney's Animal Kingdom an African baobob tree (Adansonia digitata)?

--Tessa

It's a fourteen story sculpture made of concrete and fiberglass. I think they do say it's modeled in part on a baobab. “It is not a particular species of tree,” said the park’s chief designer, Joe Rohde. “It’s something like a baobab … It’s something like a ficus or a banyan tree with all those twisted roots coming down the side.” - Nunh-huh 05:58, 2 November 2005 (UTC)Reply

gov. arnold schwarzenegger

see Arnold Schwarzenegger, and read the instructions at the top of this page. This is not a search engine, you need to ask specific questions to get a specific answer. Thryduulf 10:42, 2 November 2005 (UTC)Reply

buffalo soldiers

The article doesn't specify, were the original/early "buffalo soldiers" slaves? Were they forced to partake in wars? --Ballchef 13:52, 2 November 2005 (UTC)Reply

Look at the dates. The unit was formed in 1865 at the end of the Civil War. The good guys won. No more slaves. Besides, no modern army has had fighting units made up of slaves who were "forced to partake" so to speak. There are several examples of armies recruiting volunteer units made up of slaves, generally by promising them freedom if they won. An example was the British army during the American Revolution. I think the Confederates actually had a few small units made up of slave volunteers but I don't know what inducements they used. The Union army had several large units made up of ex-slaves and colored volunteers who distinguished themselves at Fort Wagner and other battles. alteripse 16:08, 2 November 2005 (UTC)Reply

History Help

Where are some good resources for finding quotes and articles on European's involvement with Africa and/or Asia from 1450 to 1750 CE??

winning a court case involving a SPEEDING TICKET

How can I win a speeding ticket case. I was given a speeding ticket by the CHP in California and am going to court to fight it. How can I improve my chances of winning?

Find a lawyer experienced in traffic violations. I would start by calling one of those guys who enhances the reputation of his profession by advertising on billboards that he can get you off a DUI charge. He will know the technicalities or the tactics that work in your area. I think if a traffic violation goes to court in most states, you win mainly if the issuing officer doesn't show up. Of course you can always fall back on proving that you weren't going that fast or that his method of timing you was grossly inaccurate, but I am guessing you won't be able to do that. I am also assuming the stakes are higher for you than the cost of a speeding ticket, or it would be far cheaper to pay it than to engage a lawyer. alteripse 16:22, 2 November 2005 (UTC)Reply

It depends. If you were given it by an officer with a radar gun, you may be able to prove he was mistaken. If it was taken by an automatic camera, you have no chance, unless the image shows you going at less than the speed limit. Of course, you could try to find some lawyer who could argue that you have the God -given right, engraved in the constitution by your fore-fathers to speed, but this probably goes against the skills of even the best (or worst, depending on your viewpoint) lawyer. smurrayinchester(User), (Talk) 17:18, 2 November 2005 (UTC)Reply
A few weeks a go there was a case in Australia where a lawyer argued that a speed camera could never guarantee that the car it had captured was speeding (something to do with the technology) and the client got off. If it was a speed camera, then I'll dig up the news story for you.--Commander Keane 18:18, 2 November 2005 (UTC)Reply
You are extremely unlikely to get off if the officer turns up. The court will likely accept the officer's testamony over yours. Spin the wheel if you like, but also be aware that you can sometimes call the court and bargain with them. They will sometimes give you a discount on the fine in return for not turning up (it costs them a lot if you do turn up). Trollderella 20:39, 2 November 2005 (UTC)Reply
In the UK, roads near speed cameras are marked with rows of lines 1 foot apart. These show the distance the car travelled in the time between the camera photos (generally 0.5 to 0.25 of a second). Therefore, from this the speed can be calculated. I don't know if California use the same system, but if they do, your case has no chance. smurrayinchester(User), (Talk) 20:44, 2 November 2005 (UTC)Reply
This case turned on the verification procedures that ensured that the picture taken was actually taken at the time mentioned and that the vehicle was actually travelling at the speed claimed; for one thing, the hash algorithm they used was one that is theoretically vulnerable to attack. However, the main reason that the guy won his case was that the police couldn't organise an expert in the speed camera to explain why the ticket was indeed valid to turn up to the court. My honest opinion based on the limited evidence in the public ___domain were that the vulnerabilities discussed were highly unlikely to have made any difference, and if the police had have got an expert to turn up the charges would have suceeded. --Robert Merkel 02:43, 3 November 2005 (UTC)Reply
Isn't there a case in the UK that is going to the EU Court of Human rights about about speed cameras? IIRC it hinges on all that they show is that the car is travelling that fast, and not who was driving. UK law gives the right not to be forced to give testamony against yourself, so the state cannot prove who was driving the car. Trollderella 21:05, 2 November 2005 (UTC)Reply
Whilst I am not a lawyer, I believe the terminology for this defence argument is "playing silly buggers"... ;-) Shimgray | talk | 00:54, 3 November 2005 (UTC)Reply

Poem

In Marco Bellocchio's movie L'ora di religione (Il sorriso di mia madre) a young woman, played by Chiara Conti, recites a poem. I would like to find it. She says it is translated from the Russian, and every stanza ends with words like "non è basta" ("it is not enough") or "ma tutto questo non basta" ("but all that is not enough"). Any ideas what poem this could be? David Sneek 17:29, 2 November 2005 (UTC)Reply

Found it! But now I'd like to find an English translation... David Sneek 17:49, 2 November 2005 (UTC)Reply
Sorry about all this. I had been googling for half an hour before I asked here, but somehow my searches only became effective afterwards... If anyone wants to read it: [34] David


Gang of 500

What is the Gang of 500? (Read about it in The Note.)

Hopefully, this page should be of help. It says that the Gang of 500 is "the 500 people whose decisions matter to the political news and campaign narrative we get from the major media." - Akamad 19:35, 2 November 2005 (UTC)Reply

What's the title of this movie?

A made-for-TV movie from the 1970s about a morning radio talk show host who takes a call from a despondent teenage girl who threatens suicide (she has pills). He spends most of the movie trying to talk her out of it, but she is on the edge of going through with it. At the end of the show another caller reports that the girl has been found by authorities - can't tell if she's alive or dead - then the station cuts away to a news break over the objections of the host. He leaves the studio thoroughly pissed; I'm not sure if she lives, or if he quits his job. - anon

The best place to get an answer to a question like this is on IMDB's "I need to know" board at http://www.imdb.com/board/bd0000001/threads/ Jooler 02:03, 3 November 2005 (UTC)Reply

History

Who was the Athenian General who set a trap for Xerxes army and his navy

Check out the Greco-Persian Wars. You might be thinking of the Battle of Salamis. — Laura Scudder | Talk 01:11, 3 November 2005 (UTC)Reply

comment

I couldn't find a place to make a comment so I am writing here: This site is unbelievable. What an incredible job you've all done. Amazing. Just amazing. Greg Sandell Marquette, MI

You too can join in making this site even better, see Wikipedia and Introduction. Akamad 02:37, 3 November 2005 (UTC)Reply

who is the female singer who sings a song about jesus coming to bring Lazarus back to life?

Does anyone know this Christian song? It is a very pretty song by a female singer. It is about Jesus coming to see Lazarus who was sick and dies before Jesus gets there. Part of the lyrics read: "although he was 2 days late he was not late at all..." I would love to find out who the singer is and the title of the song. -- unsigned

Please read the rules at the top. We never email, and advise against posting email adresses here. -- Ec5618 02:27, 3 November 2005 (UTC)Reply
The lyrics aren't quite the same, but this sounds a lot like "Four Days Late" by Karen Peck and New River. The last line of the chorus is "And isn't it great, when He's four days late, He's still on time". Full lyrics here... -- Canley 02:40, 3 November 2005 (UTC)Reply

magic trick-crazy man's handcuffs

There is a magic trick I saw with two rubberbands that seem to pass through each other-it is close up magic and someone told me that it is called "crazy Man's handcuffs" can you tellme how it works? I cant find it anywhere

magic trick-crazy man's handcuffs

There is a magic trick I saw with two rubberbands that seem to pass through each other-it is close up magic and someone told me that it is called "crazy Man's handcuffs" can you tellme how it works? I cant find it anywhere