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October 29

List of Muslim-majority countries excerpt Bosnia

How come you didn't mention Bosnia in the list of Muslim Majority countries article? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.92.153.77 (talk) 01:18, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

Talk:List of Muslim-majority countries is where you need to raise this question.

Btw, it's already been raised there and the answer seems to be that Bosnia is not a country with a Muslim majority. But any further discussion should be conducted on that page, not here. -- Jack of Oz 01:39, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

Religion_in_Bosnia_and_Herzegovina has the answer. Only 43%-45% of the population is Muslim. Quest09 (talk) 01:51, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

Who celebrates Thanksgiving in the US?

Do all Americans do it? Since it originally comes from the first settlers, Spanish or English, is it possible that some minorities do not identify with it? Quest09 (talk) 01:33, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

Just about everybody does it. Here in the U.S., we like any excuse for a party. Loads of people who have not a drop of Irish blood in them merrily drink green beer and wear leprechaun hats on St. Patrick's Day. In recent years, Cinco de Mayo has gotten to be a popular excuse for a celebration of some kind all over the country, even among people with no Hispanic background at all. Likewise with Mardi Gras, originally connected with the observance of Ash Wednesday, now very popular among all kinds of non-religious people who have no idea what or when Ash Wednesday is. As to Thanksgiving, there might be some few people somewhere who have no interest in "celebrating" it for some political or religious reason - and the celebration consists of a big family dinner with a turkey at the center, so what's not to like? - but it's not something I'm aware of as being controversial. Most people get a 4-day weekend out of the Thanksgiving holiday every year, and a trip home to see the family or vice versa, so nobody's complaining. Textorus (talk) 02:20, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

Mardi Gras (literally "Fat Tuesday") is Shrove Tuesday in English, but Ash Wednesday IS the following day, so I'm just being pedantic. Alansplodge (talk) 14:41, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

Yeah but for Anglicans all Shrove Tuesday gets you is a plate of prim and proper pancakes in the back of the parish hall, whoop-te-do. Those Catholics, though, know how to party.  :) Textorus (talk) 15:07, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

Thanksgiving and Christmas are about the only holidays during the year in America in which virtually EVERYTHING is closed except for a very few stores, and emergency or essential services. I don't know if "celebrating" is quite the right term. It's more of just "getting together". Someone once said that Thanksgiving is the one holiday that doesn't get screwed up by the things that can screw up the other holidays. ←Baseball Bugs carrots→ 04:01, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

When I lived in Los Angeles, there were quite a few shops open on Christmas Day. My friend would get triple pay for working! In Ireland, however, eveything would be closed as well as the day after (St. Stephen's Day).--Jeanne Boleyn (talk) 05:35, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

(edit conflict) The bigger the urban area, the more stores might be open on Xmas, but as a general rule (in smaller cities and towns of Texas, at least) only convenience stores and major drugstore chains like CVS are open 24/7 every day of the year, along with gasoline stations on major highways/interstates, and some, but not all, fast food places. Oh, and some urban movie theaters do a big business on Christmas Day too. All of the above generally applies to Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July as well, but big box stores are more likely to be open then than on Xmas, in my experience. Textorus (talk) 06:28, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

Some Native Americans regard versions of stories about the "First Thanksgiving" as being somewhat whitewashed and sanitized, and may overall have mixed feelings about the holiday. Otherwise, Thanksgiving in the U.S. is vaguely associated with ceremonial deism, but is non-sectarian and non-denominational, and you should only have a problem with it if your beliefs forbid you to celebrate the gathering-in of the crops (harvest festival). AnonMoos (talk) 06:19, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

As BB said above, almost everyone gets the day off, most places are closed (or close early), lots of people get a 4 day weekend and travel to be with family, and it's late November thus, in much of the US, chilly or quite cold, and gets dark early. In short, even if you don't "celebrate" it or "identify" with it, you'll be effected by it. I've sometimes passed Thanksgiving without doing much of note, but it was still impossible to not know it was Thanksgiving. And as AnonMoos said, it is basically a harvest festival. It doesn't demand much. If fact it doesn't really demand anything. Sure there are some traditions, like having turkey and watching football, but these are far from required. For several years when I was a teenager in Buffalo my immediate family took to "celebrating" in a funny way. We would drive over the Peace Bridge, into Canada, where it wasn't Thanksgiving, and go to a Chinese restaurant. Turkey and football get can get really boring. And I've always hated cranberry sauce! Pfly (talk) 09:33, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

Pfly refers to Buffalo, New York. Nyttend (talk) 14:03, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

Of course there are are some (probably few) Americans who don't observe Thanksgiving, but probably the only ethnic group likely to abstain would be Native Americans, because the holiday commemorates the survival of winter and a successful first harvest by one of the first groups of English colonists in what became the United States. Those colonists had in effect stolen the land of Native Americans, and their descendants dispossessed Native Americans across the country. However, immigrant families tend to see celebrating Thanksgiving as a way for themselves and their children to connect with or assimilate to the dominant U.S. culture. Because religion is not an obligatory part of the holiday, and because the holiday offers an opportunity to teach history, Thanksgiving gets a lot of attention in the public schools, and immigrant kids, hearing other kids' enthusiasm for turkey and pumpkin pie, no doubt urge their parents to put on a Thanksgiving meal, too. Marco polo (talk) 00:20, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

In the early US, it was regional. New England celebrated Thanksgiving more than Christmas, while other areas celebrated Christmas without much notice of Thanksgiving. Edison (talk) 01:19, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

Most Cherokees have celebrated Thanksgiving since 1885. And here is a traditional Cherokee Thanksgiving menu. Baked rabbit and squirrel gravy, yum. Textorus (talk) 06:35, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

Members of Jehovah's Witnesses generally eschew all holiday celebrations, including Thanksgiving. Other than that, it is almost universally celebrated in the U.S. — Michael J 10:09, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

Worst Candidate Result in the US Electoral College?

Which candidate received the largest percent of the popular vote and the least number of votes in the electoral college in American history? --CGPGrey (talk) 11:41, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

If you mean who required the most popular votes (by %) to win each Electoral College vote, then I wonder if it is Alf Landon, who won 36.5% of the vote but won only 8 of 531 Electoral College votes; or 24.2% of the popular vote for each 1% of the electoral college vote. Grandiose (me, talk, contribs) 12:04, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

That looks like a good contender. 36.5% of the popular vote with only 1.5% of the electoral vote is a pretty skewed result. Can anyone find worse? --CGPGrey (talk) 12:58, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

The United States presidential election, 1992 resulted in Ross Perot receiving 19% of the popular vote without receiving a single elector. However, since you cannot divide by zero, it is impossible to say how many people voted "per elector" in his case. Gabbe (talk) 13:04, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

(edit conflict) x2 Walter Mondale in 1984 would be a close second. He won 40.6% of the electoral vote for a 13/538 electoral votes. That's 16.4% of the popular vote for each 1% of the electoral vote. Mondale took only 2 electoral college contingents: His home state of Minnesota and Washington DC. Landon also only won 2 states, Maine and Vermont. --Jayron32 13:05, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

Awesome catch on the division by zero influence of the ranking of answers by correctness. Thank you! Dualus (talk) 18:36, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

In the 19th century, Stephen A. Douglas in the election of 1860... AnonMoos (talk) 13:48, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

What was Douglas's spoil ratio compared to Al Gore's? Dualus (talk) 18:37, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

I don't really know or care, but he came in a strong second in the popular vote total, but a miserable fourth and last in the electoral vote total. as you can see at United States presidential election, 1860. (Of course, as with all pre-1868 elections, the political elites of South Caroline refused to let the unwashed masses have any say in the presidential election, so there was no popular vote total there...) -- AnonMoos (talk) 23:03, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

United States presidential election, 1888 might be worth a look. ←Baseball Bugs carrots→ 03:04, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

As should List of United States presidential elections by popular vote margin. Dualus (talk) 02:03, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

Where to publish ideas regarding unsolved problems in Humanities and Science?

Imagine that I'm a well-read amateur in a particular topic and, after extensive study, come up with a plausible explanation for an unsolved problem in Humanities or Science —or an alternative, more plausible, explanation for something considered to be solved—. Misplaced Pages, of course, doesn't allow original research in its articles. Where could I publish such things? --Belchman (talk) 12:56, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

Follow these steps:

1. Apply to and get accepted to a graduate program in the area of the topic you wish to publish in.
2. Earn your PhD
3. Get a job as a professor at a university, or a fellow at a well-known "think tank" or other similar body
4. Submit your paper to a well respected peer-reviewed journal.

This is necessary if you want your paper to be taken seriously. The reason for going through all of these steps is that the world is filled with people who have ideas. Lots of ideas, many of them are batshit insane. Which is not to say that yours is. But a gatekeeper which seperates the batshit insane from the reasonably likely not-to-be-batshit-insane is academic qualifications; people who have earned a doctoral degree from a well-respected institution, and have an academic job at a similar institution are generally adjudged to be less likely to be batshit insane (which is not to say that cohort is completely batshit-free... just that it's an indicator there is a better chance you can trust what experts say than amateurs, owing to the value of training and experience). On the other hand, if you don't particularly care if anyone respects what you have to say (or even reads it), you could publish it in a blog. --Jayron32 13:16, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

One option for technical discoveries is to fill for a patent. Another option is arXiv.org: it is still better than a blog, but the chances of being taken seriously are also quite low. On a side note, I have to say that even if you follow Jayron's steps, you probably won't get much attention, specially outside of your field. Quest09 (talk) 13:32, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

Jayron's steps are a little extreme, unless Belchman wants to be a lifelong academic. Maybe it depends on the field, but you don't need a PhD to submit a paper to a journal, or to read a paper at a conference (at least, at conferences I have been to, there are always "independent scholars" who may be essentially hobbyists). Your submission should be read blind anyway, so if you know what you're talking about and have actually proven something, it won't matter if you have a PhD or not. But even without knowing your name or your credentials, if you don't know what you're talking about, it will be pretty obvious. So go ahead and submit to a journal, there's no harm in trying, even academics get rejected sometimes. Adam Bishop (talk) 14:00, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

My experience with journals is that in the humanities, anyway, the editor wields so much influence that they would be unlikely to send an article out for peer review if it was from a total outsider. Peer review is ideally (but not always) blind, but the process of deciding who gets peer reviewed is generally not. --Mr.98 (talk) 14:04, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

The way in which outsiders traditionally gain attention from insiders without becoming an insider themselves is to find a sympathetic insider who will vouch for their work as worth paying attention to. The most famous case of this was Einstein (who would have been ignored without Max Planck's interventions), but there are other more mundane cases as well in the history of science (e.g. Nicholas Christofilos). In the humanities the bar is not necessarily so high — there are plenty of untrained (non-Ph.D.) authors who are recognized as competent or outstanding historians (for example, Richard Rhodes or David McCullough). Depending on what field you are talking about, though, you may or may not need to do things in the "science" fashion to be taken seriously. As with all things, the higher the bar of the claim, the more difficult the case is likely to be — if you're trying to prove that, say, Einstein was wrong, or Shakespeare did not exist, or aliens built the pyramids, or some such, you're going to have a real struggle of it. If you're just trying to show that the African warbler has been sighted in Central Park, it's probably not as hard, if you have evidence to back it up. --Mr.98 (talk) 14:03, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

There is no easy answer. It's a bit like saying that you have the ability to coach a professional football team to a championship and asking who will give you a chance to prove it: the answer is, nobody, unless you have some evidence that makes the claim plausible. To get people to pay attention to your ideas, you need some hook that will make them believe your ideas are better than other people's. Usually that means starting small and working upward. Looie496 (talk) 15:18, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

The idea of an "unsolved problem" indicates that the scholarly field actually specifies public and obvious research programmes. If this is the case, then submitting a paper to a conference in that discipline ought to attract attention to your solution. Unless you've read the scholarly literature in your discipline, you may discover that your "problem" was already solved, or that your "solution" has been demonstrated to be a dead end. Fifelfoo (talk) 22:38, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

In my broad field, Michael Ventris had a large impact without any academic qualifications -- but on the other hand, the vast majority of proposals for revised etymologies of Biblical Hebrew words and names made by outsiders are merely horrendous blatant and pathetic nonsense, not worthy of the slightest extended consideration (it's surprising how many people think that they're somehow qualified to venture into the realm of advanced and difficult Semitic etymologies without having the slightest knowledge or understanding of the basic principle of Semitic word-structure, the triconsonantal root...). AnonMoos (talk) 00:49, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

The quick and easy route would be to just make a Youtube video explaining your theory, discovery, or insight, perhaps illustrating it with a working model of the device, or a demonstration of the process, or a test of the theory, or a practical illustration of why X happens under circumstances Y. Or you could write a self-published book or Ebook. Getting actually published in a peer-reviewed journal would be harder but would provide more credibility. It should not be that hard to find someone in the world who is an assistant professor at some college in the field in question,. There is your credential. Get a notarized and witnessed copy of your manuscript, so the prof can't just steal your work and claim it is his own. Theft of ideas and other academic piracy are all too common. Now explain to him your great breakthrough theory, and prove it to him to his satisfaction. Then he can help you get it up to a publishable standard, and could use a lab at his school to do some experiment showing its predictive power. Then it can be shipped off to a journal, with the two of you as co-authors, with which ever one contributed the most as first author. Many papers have an undergraduate as second author, so you could also consider registering for "independent study" at the college in an upper level undergrad course related to the subject area. I have been an editorial consultant for a journal, and when a manuscript came in from someone with no advanced degree and no institutional affiliation, it was usually something absurd, besides being poorly written, and lacking a literature review to show familiarity with any related research in the field. Yet some of the outsiders might well come up with an insight, observation or discovery as useful as penicillin was in its day. In the lab I was associated with, if an undergrad came in with a good knowledge of the current theory and research and had an idea for an experiment, he would have been given access to a lab. He might have been tested by being assigned to do an initial experiment as an apprenticeship, which included a replication of some recent unpublished result, to see that he was competent. More than an "idea" is usually needed. If Jane Goodall had just sought to publish a paper claiming that chimps are a lot like people, or whatever, without the years of field work, she would have gotten nowhere. She also got Louis Leakey's mentorship. AEdison (talk) 01:07, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

Why would you go for an assistant professor? That strikes me as very wrong. Assistant professors are non-tenured but tenure-track. Their primary motivation is boosting their own fortunes (to make the career jump to associate or full professor), not anyone else's. They're liable to be more conservative with regards to other's ideas as well, in my experience. I would be aiming for someone who is secure, tenured, but not emeritus (emeriti have a reputation for being seduced by bad outsider ideas in their dotage). That's the Max Planck or Louis Leakey sort of person — both of them were quite senior (but not senile) when they started helping ambitious outsiders. --Mr.98 (talk) 18:40, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

See also the cautionary tale of Philo Farnsworth, a brilliant amateur with a fabulous idea - who, sadly, died penniless. Textorus (talk) 10:47, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

But that wasn't because he was an outsider. --Mr.98 (talk) 18:40, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

Maybe he wanted to be "thoroughly used up" when he died, a la GBS. -- Jack of Oz 18:52, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

A nice idealistic quote, but like so many others floating around the 'net, it doesn't quite have the tart freshness of the alleged author's voice, IMO. Textorus (talk) 02:49, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

You dare to deny it? For your sins, you must now go further, and provide the name of the true author. -- Jack of Oz 09:22, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

Um, damn - I can see her face, but I can't call her name right now. Textorus (talk) 11:47, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

I have the opposite problem. I run into people I know and I can remember their name but can't quite recall what they look like. It's very embarrassing, but I take the bit manfully between my teeth and come right out with it. "Oh, hello Fred", I'll say. "You know, I can remember your name but I can't quite remember what you look like. Awfully sorry", I go on. They often look very perplexed, not knowing what to say, and walk off mumbling softly to themselves. Funny, but I hardly ever run into the same person twice. I've seen people I know the names but not the faces of cross the street just as they were about to run into me. They must suddenly remember something they had to buy, yes, that must be it .... -- Jack of Oz 19:04, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

Well now that is very odd, and counter to most people's experience. I reckon it's because you've been living upside-down all your life: the Down (Under) Syndrome. Textorus (talk) 19:24, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

Laws of Aikido

What are the laws of Aikido, and how would this martial art possibly be relevant in a dispute on Misplaced Pages? Someone recently made a statement, "One of your friends, by whom I was attacked User:Nyttend, is engaged in Aikido and he knows all these laws." I'd never even heard of Aikido until I read this comment, and I can't figure out the answer from reading the article. Nyttend (talk) 14:05, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

It probably refers to the philosophy of Morihei Ueshiba? I don't know. I did Aikido for years a long time ago and don't remember any codified laws, just lots of very vague things relating to its general approach to things (e.g. protecting yourself and protecting your attacker simultaneously). In context it looks like a fairly rambling and not very coherent statement, but it doesn't seem negative. --Mr.98 (talk) 15:13, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

I'd say that in general Aikido is the most defensive of the traditional martial arts, and in particular the one that most turns the attackers momentum against him or her. In the Misplaced Pages context, that would suggest one to proceed carefully and with due consideration, so as to not give the opponent the chance to turn your own words and actions against you. --Stephan Schulz (talk) 19:49, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

Agreed. Dualus (talk) 21:39, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

Northern Irish accent

Is there a typical Northern Irish accent? The guy who sings this song has something that sounds to me like a thick Scottish accent. I've heard other Protestants speak like him, but people like Gerry Adams sound very different to me. --Belchman (talk) 14:18, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

I know that there's a bit of variation from place to place to place; when my family were in Dervock for a summer in the 1990s, we were told that the area was well-known for having what outsiders considered an extraordinarily strong and difficult accent. Nyttend (talk) 14:29, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

For people outside of Northern Ireland, there is a general distinctive accent (not quite Irish and not quite Scottish), which I suppose is probably usually the Belfast accent. But certainly people from NI can distinguish many variations, from different cities, different parts of Belfast, different rural accents, and apparently also different Catholic and Protestant accents. Maybe Jeanne Boleyn will be along shortly, I think she lived in Belfast for awhile. Adam Bishop (talk) 16:08, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

As for why the Northern Irish accent may have some commonalities with some Scottish accents, Ulster Scots people may have some answers. As far as examples of famous Northern Irish people for whom to compare, Liam Neeson (the actor), Van Morrison (the singer) and Stiff Little Fingers (the band) are all from Northern Ireland. --Jayron32 17:47, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

Not a good comparison as Stiff Little Fingers and Van Morrison both come from Belfast; whereas Neeson is from Ballymena which is close by. OP should go over to YouTube and check out clips on loyalist Billy Wright to hear a strong Portadown accent, Martin McGuinness for a Derry accent, Jackie McDonald for a Belfast accent, and the film Omagh for authentic County Tyrone accents (vastly different from Belfast ones). BTW, the guy singing the song in the clip the OP cited has a very strong Belfast accent. Gerry Adams' Belfast accent (although pronounced) does sound less harsh on the ears.--Jeanne Boleyn (talk) 17:54, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

(edit conflict) Do Catholics and Protestants have different accents in the same city? --Belchman (talk) 18:11, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

I could never tell the difference. I linked the YouTube Billy Wright clip above. Have a listen to a typical Portadown accent.--Jeanne Boleyn (talk) 18:17, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

Thank you! It certainly takes a while to get used to these guys' accents: at first I could barely understand what they were saying :-) --Belchman (talk) 18:48, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

My wife's relatives in Belfast say that Catholics have a different accent. This is apparently because each neighbourhood has a different accent, and the Catholics and Protestants don't really interact with each other. I can't tell the difference, of course. Adam Bishop (talk) 19:14, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

<unindent>If the OP doesn't get a sufficient answer here, I suggest asking again on the Language Refdesk. -- One shibboleth of Northern Irish pronunciation of the letter H, or so I have heard. There's a BBC article on shifting pronunciation in British English over time, and some discussion of that letter, but not its geographic importance: until I got to the comments:

The way you pronounced H was used by kids playing at sectarianism, in 1950s Luton where my Irish Dad spent most of his childhood. Native English speakers would say "aitch" and be assumed to be Protestant, whereas those of Irish decent would say "haitch" and be assumed to be Catholic. This self-consciousness meant my Dad quickly lost his Irish accent and to this day speaks with a broad Bedfordshire lilt.

This may provide some pointers of where else to look. BrainyBabe (talk) 20:48, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

Each of the 6 Counties that are in Northern Ireland have a distinct accent the same with Donegal which is the northernmost part of Ireland their accent is very similar to the people of Derry and can be hard to distinguish between the two counties. Mo ainm~Talk 20:53, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

For what it's worth, back in the 1980s I spent a bit of time in Belfast. At one point, while spending the evening at a pub with a group that I think were all or mostly Catholic, I asked if Catholics and Protestants had different accents. (To my American ears the accents around Belfast all sound much the same.) They said that different towns and neighborhoods had different accents but that people of both religions from the same town had the same accent. Marco polo (talk) 00:06, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

Yes, I've heard the "H" thing. I've also heard that "Catlicks can't pronounce the th sound". I wouldn't give much credence to either. But you know who really can't pronounce the th sound? People from Waterford. Mrs Stoughton (nee O'Brien), is from there - a fisherman's daughter - and she tells how a speech teacher would come into her primary school once a month to drill the kids in pronunciation. "This, that, there, those" the teacher would enunciate, mantra-like, month-in and month-out. And month-in, month-out the response would come from 25 Waterford kids: "Dis, dat, dere, dose". Ivor Stoughton (talk) 03:12, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

It's not just the letter "H" that is pronounced differently in Northern Ireland. Protestants always pronounce the letter "A" as "aye" (as in rain) but Catholics typically pronounce it as "aah" (as in man). This latter derives from the Irish language which many Catholics are taught to speak in school. It's usual for Catholics in Northern Ireland to attend parrochial schools.--Jeanne Boleyn (talk) 07:14, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

?? - "Aye" rhymes with "eye" in English on both sides of the Atlantic, doesn't it? Perhaps you mean "ay"? Textorus (talk) 15:41, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

Aye, indeed I did mean "ay"! Thanks for pointing out my early-morning, half-asleep, sans expresso, in-a-hurry-need-to-get-dressed error! In fact, "aye" is used much more frequently in the North than "yes". "Ach" or "och" are also used. The adjective "wee" is applied to practically anything or anyone. I was called a "wee girl" and I am 5'8! BTW, that was considered quite tall for a female in the Ireland of the 1980s (north and south of the border).--Jeanne Boleyn (talk) 07:31, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

That's very true, so it is. And we reaffirm everything we say with "so", so we do. Like calling everything "wee" ("here's your wee coffee", "here's your wee bill"), it can get quite annoying after a while, so it can. --Nicknack009 (talk) 10:26, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

Aye, Nicknack, you're dead on like, so ye are. Here's a wee bit of waffle: my wee boyfriend from Omey Town had the wee habit of calling everybody "mustard". I have yet to discover the origin of this wee word. Another thing before I go till the shops, the word "now" is pronounced as "nie". This is a very noticeable feature of the Norn Iron accent. There ye are nie.--Jeanne Boleyn (talk) 10:32, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

So does that last sentence rhyme with blarney or with aren't I? I've never been to the Emerald Isle, so it's not quite clear to me. Textorus (talk) 11:09, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

Aren't I would be closer to that "nie" pronounciation of theirs of the word "now", I think. To me, the most noticeable feature of their accent is the way they pronounce the ou cluster in words like "out", "about" and "shout" as /əʉ/. They also say something like "tame" instead of "time". A fun accent indeed. :-) --Belchman (talk) 11:26, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

Aye, Norn Iron vauyels are mustard, so they are (I have no explanation of the origin of this use "mustard", I'm afraid). The other odd one is the umlauted "a" dipthong as in "bake" which is pronounced something like ee-ə, like the first syllable of "Ian" or "vehicle". --Nicknack009 (talk) 12:47, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

And one I forgot - in a strong Belfast accent, short 'a' and 'o' switch places. I remember reading a "how til speak Norn Iron" guide that included the following two dictionary entries:

Pat - saucepan

Pot - short for Patrick

and the old joke about two guys walking down the Newtownards Road, and they hear music. "Unforgettable..." One says to the other "That's Nat King Cole", and the other says "Well who is it then?" --Nicknack009 (talk) 12:54, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

Don't get me started on Norn Iron jokes. I've a slew of them so I have. I used to find it so amusing when my nickname "Jenny" was rendered "John-neh" by my Norn free-ends. Wait til ye hear this. I was once on a bus to Omagh. A wee Omey girl sittin' behind me was wafflin' on her wee phone like and when she was asked about her estimated time of arrival in Omagh, she replied "Eye don know, arind Twayelve".--Jeanne Boleyn (talk) 13:57, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

Free White Male Adult Property Owners by State in 1790?

My understanding is that only free white male adult property owners could vote in 1790. How many of them were there in each state? --CGPGrey (talk) 17:16, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

Probably not answerable with any exactitude. See the article 1790 United States Census for a breakdown of population by state, or check the original report submitted by Thomas Jefferson. Problem is, it counted all males over 16 as one category (adult = 21+ in those times), and it didn't indicate how many of them were property owners. Textorus (talk) 18:03, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

Actually, there were some brief experiments with women voting around 1800. In any case, the necessary voting qualifications were decided locally within each state, so there was no common criterion applied to all states uniformly. AnonMoos (talk) 22:55, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

unicorn

Question: Am I correct in assuming a unicorn may be either male or female?Kukanuk (talk) 17:28, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

Yes, unless you are mistaken a mythical creature for a Eunuch :o) The Last Angry Man (talk) 17:35, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

ouch - that was a Corny joke! --Ludwigs2 18:32, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

This is simple to explain. Unlike the Mustang they don’t roam around in herds. Being rather rare, people are so surprised when they see one that they that they don't think to determine its sex. Even Gaff (that little clinkey eyed jobs-worth that keeps dropping origami figures of unicorns in my path) hasn't included the anatomical differences – but I remember seeing them as a child running around on the prairie and they came in both sexes.--Aspro (talk) 19:31, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

My wife Rachael also say's she's not only seen both stallions and mares but a gelding that didn't quite leap high enough, over a barb-wire fence. It always amazes me how we have both seem to have such similar childhood memories. --Aspro (talk) 19:53, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

Was the fence enclosing a flock of electric sheep? {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 90.197.66.253 (talk) 22:00, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

As it happens, I do seem to remember an android shepherd but Rachael thinks he was probable not one of us, since the poor clone obviously had a screw loose due to his constant mutterings of Danger, Will Robinson. What he thought Robinson might do however , we never found out. Not even after the Directors Cut. Maybe we ought to ask about this on Misplaced Pages Reference Desk.--Aspro (talk) 20:16, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

I guess you are asking whether any of the legends about unicorns say anything about their sex. There is no mention of this in our article unicorn. I would agree with you in supposing that the unicorn referred to by ancient writers, supposed to be an exotic but otherwise normal beast, would have had the usual two sexes. I'm not so sure the assumption does apply to the mediaeval legendary unicorn, because of its differential susceptibility to virgin females; but in the absence of any information about their sex perhaps we have no grounds for any other assumption. --ColinFine (talk) 00:46, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

Isn't there a mythological connection between unicorns and virgins? If so, you don't need to be Sigmund Freud to see the symbolism... and to guess they'd be male. --Dweller (talk) 14:16, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

In at least one fantasy-themed computer game, they can be male or female. – b_jonas 19:44, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

Since it exists entirely in the mind, it can have whatever properties you want to assign it. This includes if you made up several different genders that no one ever heard of. You can even have an invisible pink unicorn. You can make them jump through round squares too.Greg Bard (talk) 19:35, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

Why is Human history called History of the world?

And, is this video spectacular? Dualus (talk) 18:54, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

I don't know. But maybe because of anthropocentrism. In Latin mundus meant both the universe and mankind according to this. This usage is more or less still in use in some Romance languages such as French or Spanish, in which "tout le monde"/"todo el mundo" (lit.: "all the world") means "everyone". --Belchman (talk) 19:12, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

• Because the world is defined as human civilization and so its just another name for human history] --Thanks, Hadseys 19:18, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

I thought the world was just Earth, even back when when humans were just a gleam in some cell's membrane; even back when the metals of the crust were just carbon and oxygen in some dying star; even back when the local spacetime manifold was collapsed inside a pair of colliding black holes. I have no idea what came before that. Dualus (talk) 20:29, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

The planet is Earth. The world is the civilization, usually, though sometimes it is used to only mean the planet. Neither world nor planet refer to the composition of metals that would eventually become the Earth before they did become a planetoid of some sort. Anyway, this is just semantics. You could call it whatever you wanted to; this is what we happen to call it. --Mr.98 (talk) 21:12, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

You can think of in terms of creating fictional works. Worldbuilding refers to creating the setting of the work, and nearly always includes creating not just the physical properties of the land, but the people/creatures/civilizations in it. Otherwise it's just landscaping. Mingmingla (talk) 22:24, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

Oh, and New World vs. Old World. Neither refer to planets. Mingmingla (talk) 22:24, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

Neither does the well-known adjective "novomundane". -- Jack of Oz 00:48, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

I think the video jumps around out of chronological order at the end, should start with the big bang, and does not adequately represent modern life. Dualus (talk) 18:45, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

As Mr.98 said, there are two distinct concepts here: the physical object that we are all riding around the sun on, and the realm of personal experience. 'World' is usually reserved for the largest extension of the realm of human experience (in the sense of 'worldview'). Thus 'history of the world' translates to 'history of worldviews' which translates to 'human history'. 'History of the earth', by contrast, usually starts some 4 billion years ago and charts out the development of physical features of the planet. --Ludwigs2 18:12, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

Suppose intelligent extraterrestrials existed and were able to communicate with humans. Would they be part of a shared experience? Dualus (talk) 18:29, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

Can we get their primary sources? History is the study of records of human culture through an analysis of content and form—typically it is the study of textual records. If some other culture produces records, historians will historicise it. Fifelfoo (talk) 20:57, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

http://ufohastings.com/ is good, but there are many other corroborating sources. Dualus (talk) 23:33, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

Those purport to be primary sources (predominantly third hand oral reports) regarding aliens. They're not primary sources by aliens. Alien historiography will have to wait until someone finds an archival cache. Fifelfoo (talk) 23:57, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

Technically, history only begins with a recording either by oral tradition or written tradition. Before that, human existence is described as prehistory. Dinosaurs are prehistoric as well because we have failed to find any of their written texts. Assuming that they have some may make me guilty of dinosaurcentrism. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.38.31.81 (talk) 13:31, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

name of philosophy

Most philosophies and religions assume that humans are the most important thing, or God is. (Please let's not get into a discussion of the existence of the latter.) We even have a way-of-life called humanism. I assume there is a philosophy based on the assumption that humans are nothing special, given the rest of the cosmos, and which leaves God out of the equation. What is it called? BrainyBabe (talk) 20:59, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

Nihilism? --Mr.98 (talk) 21:13, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

Antihumanism would be a step in that direction. Materialism generally views humans (including consciousness) as simply a part of the rest of the universe. --Daniel 21:15, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

The Voluntary Human Extinction Movement doesn't believe that humans are the most important thing on the planet. Mitch Ames (talk) 22:18, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

evolution?190.56.105.233 (talk) 22:46, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

Hedonism?190.56.105.233 (talk) 23:05, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

The idea that humans are the most important thing is anthropocentrism. Our article suggests that its antithesis is "biocentrism", but other web resources suggest "pantheism" or "non-anthropocentrism". None of those seem really adequate. Looie496 (talk) 23:15, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

The opposite of "assuming humans are the most important thing" would be "assuming humans are the least important thing", no? The question isn't asking about the opposite though, rather the idea that "humans are nothing special" (and leaving out God). The first thing I thought of was Zen--although there are many types of Zen and some seem to consider humans as somehow special. At the least, most Zen philosophy I've encountered tends to take the position that you are "nothing special". There's a Joko Beck book with that exact title, Nothing Special. As for "leaving God out", Zen as I know it does that. Whether there is or isn't a God, or gods, and what he/she/they are like is a non-issue (). But that was just my first thought. I imagine there is a better answer. Pfly (talk) 04:02, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

The cosmological principle is what came to my mind, but that isn't really a philosophy - it's more like the mere assertion that "humans are nothing special". 128.232.241.211 (talk) 08:08, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

Is humanism really contradictory to your beliefs? According to the article, "Secular Humanism is a secular ideology which espouses reason, ethics, and justice, whilst specifically rejecting supernatural and religious dogma as a basis of morality and decision-making." I don't see where it says humans are the most important thing, or that non-humans (animals, plants?) are unimportant. In fact, I would consider myself a humanist, but by no means do I think humans are the only important beings in the universe (or even on Earth). --140.180.14.123 (talk) 10:47, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

That's right. Humanists in my experience don't think that humans are any better, higher or more important than other lifeforms or objects, just that, as humans, nothing should be more important to us than being good towards other humans. Ghmyrtle (talk) 15:11, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

In my opinion, it still becomes utilitarianism because their actionable beliefs are similar to humanists'. Dualus (talk) 18:18, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

Gaia philosophy holds that people are no more important than all the other life forms, and the Earth itself, although they may pose an extreme threat to it. For this reason some think that people must be eliminated, hence the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement listed previously. StuRat (talk) 21:31, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

Makeup question for the ladies and or people with SFX makeup knowledge (Halloween related)

I like to paint my face up like a skull when I go begging with my niece and nephew on Halloween. I usually bring the black makeup up to my "waterline." The end result is neat (old pic), but I always have problems getting that black off of my waterline at the end of the night. More precisely, I get the bulk of the makeup off, but it sort of dyes my water line and part of my lashes. I always look like I'm wearing mascara the next day (something I would like to avoid since I have class the following day). What product could I use (before or after) to avoid this? I've heard that putting Vaseline on your face before makeup will make it easier to wash off. Is there some type of makeup remover that ladies use that might help with the waterline thing? --Ghostexorcist (talk) 23:38, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

Hope this helps. Remove make up with oil or cold cream before washing off. Cotton swabs with oil are helpful too. Oda Mari (talk) 10:03, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

You can get special eye-makeup remover, including on pre-soaked pads, which aims to remove the makeup without risking injury to your eyes. This means you can clean around the actual eyes much closer to the edge of the lids, although I still don't recommend getting it actually in or on your eyeballs (it stings like anything). Otherwise, have you considered using cheap actual makeup for women in the area closest to your eyeballs, since in my experience that comes off more easily than greasepaint or expensive waterproof makeup? 86.163.1.168 (talk) 16:45, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

Cheap eye makeup should never be recommended. The entire eye area is very delicate and cheap makeup can cause a severe infection.--Jeanne Boleyn (talk) 16:35, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

I don't see why. As long as it's hygienically produced, and you use basic hygiene rules, and change it fairly often, I don't see why a teen-targeted brand would be more likely to lead to eye-infection than expensive stuff. It all has to follow the same safety rules. Maybe irritation, but no more than generic greasepaint would. A '17' or similar brand black eyeliner, bought sealed from a reputable shop and replaced next year, isn't going to give him an eye infection. I doubt he's going to use such 'advanced' techniques as drawing inside the lash, which always makes me cringe. And cheap black eyeshadow around the eye has to be better than the greasepaint used on the rest of his face. 86.163.1.168 (talk) 23:10, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

Depending on the effect you want to create, perhaps very light sunglasses may remove the need for eye makeup. (I say very light, because you don't want to be blinded when out at night.) StuRat (talk) 21:21, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

October 30

royals meeting other royals

Is there a formal protocol that royals have to follow when meeting another country's royalty? For example, would the Crown Princess of Sweden have to curtsey to the King of Thailand? Are the guidelines for royal etiquette actually written down somewhere, or do royals just tend to do whatever they feel like doing? 128.135.100.102 (talk) 00:35, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

Yes, this is called diplomatic protocol. Please see. Dualus (talk) 02:33, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

Dualus, the OP wants to know what the precise protocol is on the occasions they're asking about. That link just talks about protocol in general terms. -- Jack of Oz 03:05, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

There are rules of etiquette for meetings between visiting members of royal families on formal occasions - historians and biographers often mention some details of such things in passing when describing those encounters - but it's hard to find a comprehensive source for the rules, presumably because etiquette books are written for us peons, not for royalty, who probably learn those things at their royal grandmother's knee. I can't find a source, but I have a strong suspicion that a mere princess would curtsy, and her husband would bow, to the reigning sovereign of another country and to his consort. But who would bow/curtsy to whom if a princess of one country meets a prince/princess of another, who knows? I think when two sovereigns meet, being equals, neither curtsies to the other, they just shake hands. There are certain standard forms of formal address, too: the Queen writes to fellow monarchs beginning, "Sir my Brother," but to presidents of republics as "Great and Good Friend." (Charles Roetter, The Art of Diplomacy, 1963, p. 157.) If you really are desperate to know the details, you might write to Debrett's, the prime British etiquette experts, and ask them to refer you to some source books. Textorus (talk) 06:18, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

#occupyprotocol? Dualus (talk) 23:35, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

"...there are no obligatory codes of behaviour - just courtesy.". Alansplodge (talk) 23:28, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

"We don't have protocol here, just bloody good manners." (p.4) And yet, there are certain niceties to be observed that demonstrate good manners, the most public recent example being when the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge bowed/curtsied to the Queen after their wedding. Textorus (talk) 01:01, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

Is this a real quote from John Lennon?

Yesterday, I saw this quote in my Facebook newsfeed attributed to John Lennon of the Beatles:

It's a great quote and Lennon was famous for his wit. But I've been a fan for years and have never run across this quote before. I Binged it and found over 2 million hits on the quote but none of the sites looked like they would be authorities on the matter. Does anyone know if this quote is real or is apocryphal like so many other quotes? A Quest For Knowledge (talk) 16:26, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

My immediate thought is that British children sixty years ago did not have "assignments". But Lennon lived in the US in later life, so if he did tell that story, he might have used the word.--ColinFine (talk) 01:01, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

I have no memory of seeing anything like that in any of his published interviews. Of note, he states that it was when he was five. He was terrible at writing when he was a teenager (as shown in his many letters and postcards that have been published). It is very hard to believe that he was writing at age five. Further, his statements about his first school years were not about how he stood up to the system. He was shy and quiet. His "teddy" rebellious side came out as a teenager. -- kainaw™ 02:00, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

Although many sites do give Lennon as an author, at least as many say "Unknown" - which seems more likely. Ghmyrtle (talk) 07:46, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

The quote does not states that he said that as he was 5. He just heard it from his mother at this age. Quest09 (talk) 15:47, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

It's widely considered false, aka apocryphal. Lennon never said it. Viriditas (talk) 10:26, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

Isn't there an easy way to do a Google search but organized chronologically? I don't mean the News Archive search (which only searches the News Archives, not the whole web) or the Wayback Machine (aka archive.org). I seem to recall when that fake MLK quote was everywhere on Twitter and Facebook, there was an easy way to search to find out when the quote first appeared on the Internet.

Anyway, I did figure out how to do a Google search chronologically but in descending order. I clicked through the search results until I got to the end. The final hit was this which according to Google is dated Jan 31, 2001. It's a web page run by Christopher R. Johnson, a professor of Computer Science for the University of Utah. I wonder where he got the quote from. A Quest For Knowledge (talk) 13:06, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

I find it extremely unlikely it's from Lennon and even if he said it, it's extremely unlikely it's true. Lennon wouldn't have called "homework" an "assignment" in his Liverpool upbringing. And a 5 year old in the UK wouldn't have had written homework in those days. --Dweller (talk) 14:13, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

The quote does not states that he said that as he was 5. He just heard it from his mother at this age. Quest09 (talk) 15:49, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

As Albert Einstein said:

Quest09 (talk) 15:56, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

Wasn't John Lennon brought up by his Aunt Mimi instead of his mother? This so-called Lennon quote just doesn't have the ring of truth about it, I'm afraid.--Jeanne Boleyn (talk) 16:32, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

Dick Starkey was the one with the rings, Jeanne. Maybe he stole the Ring of Truth from John.  :) -- Jack of Oz 18:38, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

He still lived with his mother when he was 5 though. Adam Bishop (talk) 07:41, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

Yes, but the quote just does not contain the right amount of acid for it to have come from John Lennon's mouth.--Jeanne Boleyn (talk) 08:44, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

Why is pork the most consumed meat in the world?

I would expect it to be chicken because: (i) chicken is cheaper; and (ii) Muslims don't eat pork, and they're around a sixth of the world's population (I am aware that Jews don't either, but they're a tiny share of the global total). I do know that pork is the most eaten meat in China, but for both China and much of the rest of the world, why?

The only explanation I can think of is that it is possible to cure pork products, allowing to keep in areas with weak refrigeration, but I'm not sure if that's really it.--Leon (talk) 18:40, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

If you are correct (and I would have thought chicken or fish too, but maybe it's just the two together) then it would be because it tastes the most like human flesh. Happy Halloween. Dualus (talk) 18:47, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

Ghoulishness aside - - pigs are easier to maintain that cattle or sheep (they require no grazing land and thrive on all sorts of scraps that humans have no other use for), are meatier and less subject to predation than chickens (foxes, cats, and other small predators can rain hell on a hen house, but it takes an apex predator to pull down a swine), aren't subject to the special tools, locations or seasonal variations that are involved in fishing, have no conflicting value (they can't pull a plow or provide wool), and are generally hardy, maintenance-free and good breeders as domesticated animals go. --Ludwigs2 19:08, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

My Google search for pigs plow reported 2,010,000 results, the second one being Plow With Pigs by Mother Earth News.

—Wavelength (talk) 20:47, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

Just because there are a lot of pages with those two words on them doesn't mean it's possible. The page you've linked to is using the term plow metaphorically. Pigs are not harness animals — they cannot be hooked up to a plow. --Mr.98 (talk) 12:10, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

I realized, when I posted that comment, that the article discusses pigs being used as plows, and not pigs pulling plows. My reason for linking to that article is that it counters the comment above by Ludwigs2, that pigs "have no conflicting value".

—Wavelength (talk) 19:36, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

This is not a criticism (or at least, it is not meant to be a non-constructive one), but you post a lot of links without giving any information as to what you think is of value in the link, or what you intend people to take away from it. It makes a lot of your links look completely irrelevant to the discussion, if not outright confused. If you had posted the sentence you just did along with your link, it would have increased the value of your contribution mightily, and wouldn't have required two more edits (mine and then yours) to clarify what you had originally meant to clarify in the first place. Just a suggestion. --Mr.98 (talk) 19:13, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

Do we have a table of how much farmland area it takes a person to live on? I know it varies by country, but there must be global averages. I've heard it's 0.33 acres for a vegan, 0.5 acres for a vegitarian, and 3 acres for an omnivore, but I know that beef produces about eight times as much CO2 as poultry per pound (Scientific American a few years ago), so I'm sure that must correspond to the amount of farmland area to feed the livestock. Dualus (talk) 19:49, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

Dualus's comment does not seem daft to me. Pig protein is so similar to human flesh that the body has less trouble digesting it, without forming immune draining antibodies and getting congested with immune-complexes. It is also very tasty -especially Miss Piggy. Moreover, pigs are very high in fat – a high value energy source. Pound for pound, I don't see any reason why any other domesticated animal should have greater appeal.--Aspro (talk) 19:55, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

You realize that "tastes the most like" is strongly correlated to "has the most genes in common with" don't you? Dualus (talk) 23:37, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

Yes, and pigs compete for the same resources that early man depended on. So just like the Neanderthal's they constitute a potential threat to survival. Genetic survival in humans is a dominant factor, mostly confined to close blood relatives – as the European history of royal conflicts demonstrates, time and time again. --Aspro (talk) 20:32, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

I tracked down the original claim here . Our article on offal says it's also the most consumed meat in China. I think that on some of the South Pacific islands pigs were brought in earlier than many other livestock. In the U.S. ... I have no idea why, but the supermarkets do not carry mutton. If they did, I know I'd want to lower that pork statistic. Wnt (talk) 03:41, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

Most do carry lamb however. Maybe if you let it sit around for a while... --Jayron32 03:51, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

True, and much appreciated ... but not a very wide selection, and sporadically. I always wondered where sheep in the U.S. go when they grow up. Wnt (talk) 04:09, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

OMG. I never thought about that before, but now I'm gonna be up all night wondering where the little sheeps go to. The U.S. doesn't produce much "sheep meat": it's 18th in the world, behind Morocco and Nigeria. The American Sheep Industry Association doesn't say exactly what they do with them, but I suspect most are raised for their wool. Not to mention being frightfully decorative, dotted about your fields. As the other poster above noted, mutton is practically nonexistent in this country; this delightfully witty article explains why. Lamb, nearly all of which we get frozen from the lands Down Under, is mighty good though, marinated in wine and served with mint jelly. I highly recommend it. Textorus (talk) 05:17, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

My guess is that, except for the few which end up at ethnic butcher shops (if you go to most major cities, somewhere deep in the neighborhood known as "Little Ethiopia"/"Kazaktown"/"The South Asian District"/etc. will be little hole-in-the-wall shops where you can procure all manner of exotic meats), the rest end up as pet food. That's historically where meat/animals that aren't sold to humans end up. Case in point, I recall seeing a package of mutton jerky for dogs in the pet food aisle. -- 174.24.217.108 (talk) 15:40, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

As Ludwigs2 says, pigs will eat almost ANYTHING. A friend who had travelled in Asia once told me of a village (in India perhaps) where the communal latrine emptied into the pig sty. Still looking for a reference to confirm this practice, but it makes the religious ban on on pork seem very sensible. Alansplodge (talk) 11:13, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

Me again: a model of a Han Dynasty Pig Sty-Latrine in the Minneapolis Institute of Art. "Combination pig sty-latrines similar to this replica can be seen in many parts of rural China today." Also, Misplaced Pages has an article about everything: see Pig toilet. I should add that British pigs have their diet very closely controlled by a whole regiment of bureaucrats emplyed by DEFRA and the EU. I hope I haven't put anyone off their bacon sandwich. Alansplodge (talk) 11:31, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

More research: apparently a single Chinese ideogram signifies both "pigsty" and "privy". Alansplodge (talk) 16:34, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

Goats are low-maintenance as well, but goat meat is hard to find in Europe (and I guess North America too)... ElMa-sa (talk) 12:20, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

It depends on what part of North America or Europe. I have had goat with a Greek family in New Hampshire, so its availible, if not common. It is common enough in Greece, where whole roasted goat is a standard Easter dish (akin to Turkey on Thanksgiving in the U.S.) and that was the context when I enjoyed it. I have seen roasted goat availible in greek restaurants in Chicago as well. It is also quite common in Mexico, which is North America, of course, and among Mexican communities in the U.S. as well; you can get it as street food from some taco trucks in many places. --Jayron32 19:24, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

U.S. Government Licence Tags

Are vehicles with U.S. government license tags exempt from being pulled over for traffic infractions or receiving fines for tripping those red light cameras? 166.137.8.73 (talk) 19:01, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

Nobody is exempt from being cited for safety infractions. Can you imagine what the feds would do if they didn't get pulled over for leaking gas, for example? Dualus (talk) 19:45, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

Actually, I know someone with the NYPD, and I've heard that the foreign diplomats with the UN up there drive like crazy and don't feed the parking meters and there's nothing they can do about it. Don't know about the Feds though. 166.137.8.73 (talk) 23:14, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

That's because of diplomatic immunity, not because they are federal. (See Diplomatic_immunity#Vehicular.) --Mr.98 (talk) 23:38, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

They can definitely get tickets. Apparently they often are poor about paying them because the consequences are low for some reason (the report doesn't specify why this is different than for individuals, but it must go through the agency in some way that is different). In Washington, DC, they do not tow or boot federal vehicles, though, as a matter of policy. Separately, a bus driver (in DC) told me not very long ago that if they get a ticket, they get some kind of automatic suspension, and if they get two, they get fired. But obviously that's a little bit different, given that their job is in shuttling around other people... --Mr.98 (talk) 01:54, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

"The Feds" in London never pay their Congestion Charge; they owe us more than USD 10 million. Alansplodge (talk) 16:15, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

I would write a check but you're just going to have to start detaining officials and citizens for shakedowns at Customs just like any other creditor nation. Dualus (talk) 09:50, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

Mutual funds

Are there any companies allowing people to invest in wind power in developing countries, or credit unions and other investments compatible with the Occupy Wall Street "99 Percent Declaration"? (This question was copied from Talk:Mutual fund and I will summarize there.) Dualus (talk) 19:43, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

See Socially responsible investing. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 02:26, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

Why did the Democratic Unionist Party oppose the Belfast Agreement?

Why? --Belchman (talk) 21:55, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

Well, there's a section in DUP's article about their opposition to the Belfast Agreement, but it's quite short. --Belchman (talk) 22:01, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

Primarily, because it was because they objected to power sharing. Historically, unionists' peculiar view of democracy has been that, because the protestant community are the majority, decisions should be made by protestants. In the referendum on the agreement, the overwhelming majority of the nationalist/catholic community and about half of the unionist/protestant community voted yes, and the DUP tried to claim that wasn't valid because there wasn't a clear majority of protestants in favour, never mind that there was a 75% majority overall and a broad consensus of both communities. --Nicknack009 (talk) 22:15, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

That's a bit simplistic. The DUP refer to "Sein Fein/IRA"; to them, allowing Sein Fein into the government was only permissible if SF distanced itself from the IRA. Take this article, for example. Grandiose (me, talk, contribs) 22:29, 30 October 2011 (UTC)

It is pretty amazing either side agreed. The IRA was taunted with 'I ran away' at the start of the troubles because they had given up arms and were trying for a solution by peaceful means. Dmcq (talk) 07:25, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

I thought they were allegedly called that by other Catholics because their "army" failed to defend Catholics areas during the 1969 Northern Ireland riots. --Belchman (talk) 11:29, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

Yes that's right, they had given up their arms and the community was attacked and thousands were driven out of their homes. They had little reason to think that giving up arms again was a good first step to peace. Dmcq (talk) 14:32, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

The failed Sunningdale Agreement in the 1970s offers a historical parallel. Many unionists objected to any form of power sharing or any formal arrangements with the Republic of Ireland, which they saw as steps on the road to a united Ireland (or an attempt by the Antichrist to capture good Christian hearts, if you believed some of Ian Paisley's rhetoric). --Colapeninsula (talk) 16:03, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

The Ulster Workers' Council Strike which was carried out in protest against Sunningdale and the power-sharing executive united all unionist parties and the rival UDA and UVF; it was so successful that it brought Northern Ireland to its knees. On the third day into the strike, the UVF executed a devastating bombing attack in both Dublin and Monaghan resulting in the deaths of 33 people, plus an unborn baby.--Jeanne Boleyn (talk) 16:11, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

October 31

African immigrants in U.K. from british colonies of Africa

Which cities of United Kingdom have significant population of African immigrants from former British colonies in Africa? e.g. Nigeria, sierra leone, etc? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.92.149.7 (talk) 04:01, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

Foreign-born population of the United Kingdom looks like a good starting point for you to do your research. --Jayron32 04:03, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

Although it only provides 2001 information (as the 2011 census results are not yet available), you may find Table KS6 here provides relevant information - though it deals with people of African "ethnic groups" generally, not specific former colonies. The simple answer is London. Ghmyrtle (talk) 11:35, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

I don't mean to be flippant here, but I would say the answer the OP's question is: "All of them" (ie every city in the UK has a significant population of African immigrants Nigeria, Kenya, Sierra Leone, etc).

It might help if the OP were to define what a "significant" population is (is "significance" based on raw numbers, having more than a given number of immigrants living in the city? is it based on the percentage of immigrants compared to the total number of citizens? is it based on the cultural impact that the immigrant population has on the city?)... the OP also needs to define "immigrant" - (are we limited to first generation immigrants who personally moved to the UK from Africa, or do we include their children/grand children... people of recent African descent who were born and grew up in the UK?). Blueboar (talk) 13:48, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

I'd say Scottish cities don't have a significant population of African origin. Quest09 (talk) 15:42, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

Neither does Belfast.--Jeanne Boleyn (talk) 15:54, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

Or Plymouth (so probably "all of them" wasn't helpful). Alansplodge (talk) 16:04, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

Also not Wells, Lichfield, or Ely, Cambridgeshire, I suspect. --Colapeninsula (talk) 16:06, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

According to Black people in Ireland#Northern Ireland "At the time of the 2001 UK Census, of the total population (1,685,267); 255 people described their ethnicity as Black Caribbean, 494 as Black African and 387 as Other Black, meaning that the total Black population was 1,136. These figures do not include individuals who described themselves as being of mixed-race" so it does seem questionable if any cities in Northern Ireland had a significant population of African origin in 2001 although I'm confused by the mixed-race bit (is mixed-race a specific category or is it excluding anyone who said they were say 'Black African' and 'Chinese' or 'White Irish' (I don't know if the later was an actual category)). Black Scottish people notes in the infobox that in the 2001 census Scotland had 5118 people identifying as Black African (Black Caribbean - 1,778 & Black Scottish/Other Black - 1,129) although suggests Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen have a significant of Black Scottish people (but significant is undefined). It also suggests the percentage is likely to be much higher now. As has been noted, the OP's question is unclear. I presume they are excluding Black Caribbean immigrants, even if they can trace their ancestry to what's now Nigeria or whatever but this wasn't clearly specified. Are they including white/European people from said colonies? (Black African obviously includes people the OP is not interested in like French colonies in Africa.) Nil Einne (talk) 16:33, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

Returning to the 2001 census source that I helpfully identified before people threw out random less helpful factoids, we see that the percentage who self-described as both black and African was 0.97% over England as a whole. The only urban areas with percentages higher than that were London (5.28%), Slough (1.91%), Luton (1.74%), Manchester (1.69%), Reading (1.55%), Milton Keynes (1.25%), Leicester (1.23%) and Oxford (1.05%). Not all of those are defined administratively as "cities", but generally "city" is taken to mean any substantial urban area. I haven't checked for Scotland or NI, but the figures are likely to be lower. So in summary, my initial suggestion that "the simple answer is London" was quite accurate. Thank you. Ghmyrtle (talk) 17:30, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

As a side-question: I wonder why are there so little people of African origin in Scotland and N. Ireland. Those who can live in England can also live in the former regions. And Glasgow and Belfast were definitely economic heavy weights in the past, and therefore, able to attract lots of immigrants. 88.9.210.218 (talk) 22:58, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

There's a difference between "people of African origin" - by which I assume you mean descendants of slaves moved from Africa to the West Indies, who then migrated from the Caribbean to the UK over the past 60 or so years - and "African immigrants" - which I assumed meant people who moved directly from Africa to the UK, over the last 40 or so years. The first group mainly moved to where jobs were available at that time, and where communities of similar origin became established - and they were mainly in England (although there were also earlier communities in some ports like Cardiff). The second group mainly moved either for higher education or as refugees (for instance, from Somalia), and may have a more complex distribution pattern. Glasgow, Belfast and (for example) South Wales were "economic heavyweights" during periods before many of these population movements occurred, but over the last 60 years or so have tended to have high unemployment. The "economic heavyweight" over that period has been, primarily, London and the South East of England. Ghmyrtle (talk) 23:08, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

By "people of African origin" I mean Blacks, but was trying to be PC. I think I expressed myself poorly, which is often the case by PC expressions. 88.9.210.218 (talk) 00:01, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

I believe "black people" would be more polite than "blacks", which is considered rather derogatory in most Englissh speaking countries. It's a question of good manners rather than political correctness. Alansplodge (talk) 09:21, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

There is a lot more information at the article on Black British, including a summary of distribution patterns. Ghmyrtle (talk) 09:24, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

I can't speak for British and Commonwealth usage, but in the United States, "blacks" is an acceptable term , although some writers prefer to use "African-American" (which of course, does not include all black people in the world, though I have seen amusing instances of careless or too-timid writers using it that way). Textorus (talk) 00:23, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

The term "blacks" would certainly tend to be avoided in the UK. There are Afro-Caribbean communities of course, but (per Alansplodge) most thoughtful British people would avoid simplistic categorisations of individuals based on their melanin level. Ghmyrtle (talk) 09:03, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

As a child in the segregated South, my parents strictly cautioned me never to refer to people as black in their hearing, which was very rude; colored was the polite word, and 'Negro' was the formal term. But then by the time I was in high school, Black is beautiful reversed all those ideas, and it became a sin to say anything but black. Your practice may be different in Britain, and that's fine, but the point is that sensitivities, and therefore good manners, vary from time to time and place to place. What's accepted as ordinary, neutral speech in one country may not be in another, depending on many factors. Textorus (talk) 16:57, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

In Northern Ireland, the amount of immigration has traditionally been quite small up until the last decade or so. Less diverse employment opportunities, fewer employment oppportunities generally, relative geographic isolation compared to mainland UK, the large number of small villages and fewer large cities (where immigrants tend to live), and perhaps most significantly, The Troubles, have discouraged immigration. Throughout the Troubles, Northern Ireland experienced a net decrease in population every year, then an brief increase in the early 90s, and another when the EU was expanded around five years ago. It has recently dipped again, probably for economic reasons. (However, according to this, net migration from the UK generally increased during the 70s and 80s.) From personal observation, the black population is still comparatively tiny compared to the Asian and Eastern European populations; this report gives a reasonable historical overview, but it's difficult to get statistics about people who have immigrated from other parts of the UK, as opposed to international migration. --Kateshortforbob _talk 14:34, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

A Nigerian immigrant was one of three people killed in a bomb placed in a train going from Lisburn to Belfast in 1980.--Jeanne Boleyn (talk) 15:08, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

Stratego

What is the name of the game which is stratego or L'Attaque with navy and airforce? Kittybrewster ☎ 16:38, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

English Misplaced Pages doesn't have any entry on it, but French Misplaced Pages suggests that the game is called "Les Grands Amiraux". It sounds like a mainly french version of Stratego with navy and air force. See fr:Les Grands Amiraux. --Jayron32 18:08, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

Good find. I remember there was an English version in c.1960. Kittybrewster ☎ 18:16, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

The English version was called "Admirals" and was supposedly published in 1972, so you may be off by a few years. See . --Jayron32 18:37, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

Well done. Kittybrewster ☎ 18:42, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

Hello there - you might to check out the following links as well :-

• L'Attaque - the original 1909 land warfare game at .
• Dover Patrol - the naval variant from 1919 at .
• Aviation: The Aerial Tactics Game of Attack and Defence the 1925 air variant at .
• Tri-Tactics - the combined warfare variant from 1932 at .

And possible Risk (game). Mitch Ames (talk) 11:49, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

Quintessential British Gentleman (talk) 20:36, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

Very well done. Kittybrewster ☎ 23:28, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

Publication date of Alexis de Tocqueville's "What prevents the French from having good colonies?"

Does anybody know when the above text was published. Most internet sources suggest that it was written in 1833, but I'm unsure as to the initial publication date (potentially around 1837?). — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.24.27.197 (talk) 20:35, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

This PDF document (p. 84) says Tocqueville intended to include the essay in his and Gustave de Beaumont's Du système pénitentiaire aux États-unis, et de son application en France (1833), but in the event it wasn't actually published until after Tocqueville's death in Beaumont's edition of his Oeuvres et correspondance inédites (1861). --Antiquary (talk) 21:38, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

Parents of multiple monarchs of different sexes

Calling all royal experts. A handful of people throughout history have had the distinction of being the parent of more than one monarch. For example, Catherine de' Medici and Henri II of France were parents of three kings of France: Francis II, Charles IX and Henri III (and also 2 queens consort, but they're not relevant to my enquiry); and George V of the UK and Queen Mary were the parents of both Edward VIII and George VI.

I'm interested in the sub-set of people who were parents of both a king and a queen regnant (at least one of each). The only example I can readily bring to mind is Henry VIII of England, who fathered Mary I, Elizabeth I and Edward VI. Are there any other cases? We don't have a Category:Parents of monarchs to help with this search. -- Jack of Oz 21:45, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

John II of Castile was the father of both Henry IV of Castile and Isabella I of Castile (although they had different mothers). Grandiose (me, talk, contribs) 21:52, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

Amalric I and Agnes of Courtenay were parents of Sibylla of Jerusalem and Baldwin IV, both rulers in their own right. Orange Suede Sofa (talk) 21:56, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

David Soslan and Tamar of Georgia were father and mother of George IV of Georgia and Rusudan of Georgia; Charles III of Naples and Margaret of Durazzo had Ladislaus of Naples and Joan II of Naples; and Charles XI of Sweden and Ulrika Eleonora of Denmark had Charles XII of Sweden and Ulrika Eleonora, Queen of Sweden. One good way of finding these people, by the way, is by Googling the phrase "succeeded her brother". There are certainly more to be found if you carry on looking longer than I did. --Antiquary (talk) 22:56, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

Thanks for the excellent answers so far, folks. I thought there may have been a Russian case, but the closest is the parents of Peter III of Russia, who were the parents-in-law of Catherine the Great, who was initially merely her husband's wife but succeeded him as monarch in her own right. The upstart. -- Jack of Oz 23:16, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

Here's a rare one: The father who's children inherit thrones of different countries. During the 13th century, the thrones of Navarre and France became united, but because of differing succession laws in the two lands and because of insane medieval politics, the children of Louis X of France, each of different mothers, became Joan II of Navarre (queen regnant of the Kingdom of Navarre) and John I of France. John I (John the Postumous) "ruled" from his birth till his death at the ripe old age of 5 days, but he is still counted as King of France. --Jayron32 03:08, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

And another similar one, also involving the Kingdom of Navarre (which seems to have had a very convoluted history tied very closely to the neighboring kingdoms of France and Aragon). Depending on how rival claimants are counted, John II of Aragon, besides his son Ferdinand II of Aragon also had two daughters who either ruled or had claim to be rulers of Navarre, being Eleanor of Navarre and Blanche II of Navarre. --Jayron32 03:15, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

Yet another from Navarre: Gaston of Foix, Prince of Viana had a son and daughter who were both monarchs of Navarre, Francis Phoebus of Navarre and Catherine of Navarre. --Jayron32 03:17, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

Roger II of Sicily fathered (by different mothers) William I of Sicily and Constance, Queen of Sicily. --Jayron32 03:27, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

Some of non-European monarchs. Kekūanāoa and Kīnaʻu were the parents of King Kamehameha IV and King Kamehameha IV. And if you can count Victoria Kamāmalu who along with her mother was kuhina nui, sort of like a vice-monarch; plus she was acting monarch for a day in November 30, 1863.--KAVEBEAR (talk) 03:32, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

Maybe this is more suitable Kapaakea and Keohokālole were the parents of King Kalākaua and Queen Liliuokalani.--KAVEBEAR (talk) 03:34, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

King Pōmare II and Queen Teriʻtoʻoterai Teremoemoe were the parents of King Pōmare III and Queen Pōmare IV. And Queen Pōmare IV and Ariifaaite were the parents of Queen Teriimaevarua II of Bora Bora, King Tamatoa V of Raiatea, and King Pōmare V. King Tamatoa III of Raiatea and his wife Queen Tura'iari'i Ehevahine were the parents of King Tamatoa IV of Raiatea, Queen regnant Teri'itari'a II of Huahine (also Queen consort of Tahiti as one of the wives of Pōmare II) and Queen consort Teriʻtoʻoterai Teremoemoe of Tahiti (mentioned above). Ta'aroa Ari'i and Tematafainuu were the parents of Queen Maihara of Huahine and King Ari'imate of Huahine. King Ari'imate and Queen regnant (succeed after her husband's desposition) Tehaapapa II were the parents of Queen Teuhe II of Huahine and King Tamatoa VI of Raiatea.--KAVEBEAR (talk) 03:56, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

Wow, I'd heard of the Hawaiian and Tongan monarchies, but I didn't know there were other Pacific monarchies. The things you find out here. Tks, KAVBEAR. -- Jack of Oz 19:19, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

(undent) Sigismund I the Old, king of Poland, and his second wife Bona Sforza were the parents of Sigismund II Augustus and Anna Jagiellon, both of whom ruled as monarchs of Poland (Anna in a "William & Mary"-like arrangment with her husband Stephen Bathory). --Jayron32 04:04, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

Orange Suede Sofa above mentioned Amalric I of Jerusalem and Agnes of Courtenay and Sibylla and Baldwin IV, but Amalric also had another daughter, Isabella I of Jerusalem with his second wife Maria Comnena. Sibylla might have had this distinction too - her son was Baldwin V of Jerusalem, and she had daughters, but they all died before they could inherit the throne. Adam Bishop (talk) 07:36, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

Another one is John II of Cyprus, sort of - his daughter Charlotte succeeded him, but the throne was contested by his illegitimate son James II, who was also crowned. Adam Bishop (talk) 07:50, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

May I introduce you to Emma of Normandy, who, not content with being Queen consort herself with two different monarchs, and Queen consort of three separate realms, was mother to 2 kings of England; stepmother to 2 other kings of England; and mother to Gunhilda, Queen of the Romans. --TammyMoet (talk) 09:01, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

Pleased to meet you, Emma. -- Jack of Oz 19:19, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

How could I have forgotten Cleopatra and her brothers Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV, all of whom occupied the throne of Egypt? I'm sorry if I'm weirding you out but she was also married to each of them in turn. --Antiquary (talk) 18:57, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

Don't worry, I've been hanging around here too long, and I am now officially unweirdable. -- Jack of Oz 19:19, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

Even more wierd; Ptolemy XIII was only 11 when he married Cleopatra who was 18 - if I've done my sums right. Alansplodge (talk) 16:18, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

I should have mentioned that Cleopatra's sisters (or half-sisters) Arsinoe IV and Berenice IV each reigned as queen of Egypt at different times. There are other examples from the Ptolemaic dynasty, including Ptolemy V Epiphanes, whose daughter Cleopatra II ruled Egypt after the reigns of her brothers Ptolemy VI Philometor and Ptolemy VIII Physcon, each of whom she married. Then there's Ptolemy I Soter and his four children Ptolemy Keraunos, king of Macedon, Meleager, also king of Macedon, Ptolemy II Philadelphus, king of Egypt, and Arsinoe II, queen regnant of Egypt, who married her brother Ptolemy and had children by him. Next up: Hecatomnus, king of Caria, was father of Mausolus, king of Caria, who of course married his sister (I find I'm weirding less and less) Artemisia II, later queen regnant of Caria. The Byzantine Emperor Arcadius and his wife Aelia Eudoxia were parents of Theodosius II and Pulcheria; Theodosius succeeded to the throne while still a child, but Pulcheria eventually became his regent and also proclaimed herself Empress. Finally, for the moment, Alfonso VIII of Castile and his wife Eleanor of England were succeeded by their son Henry I of Castile, but when he died without children his sister Berengaria became for a few weeks queen of Castile. --Antiquary (talk) 22:20, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

THank you one and all for those surprising answers. -- Jack of Oz 18:46, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

November 1

United Kingdom embassy not in commonwealth nations

Why United Kingdom doesn't have their embassy in former colonies like Maldives, Somalia, Dominica, Bahamas, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, Lesotho, Kiribati, Nauru, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.95.107.236 (talk) 03:21, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

"Diplomatic missions between Commonwealth countries are designated as High Commissions rather than embassies." from our article. Fifelfoo (talk) 04:37, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

(edit conflict) Every nation does not necessarily maintain an embassy with every other nation in the world. In many cases, diplomatic missions are maintained by proxy with a nearby embassy. For example, the UK's diplomatic commissioner for the Bahamas resides in Kingston, Jamaica. Negotiations between the UK and the Bahamas can thus be initiated in Kingston, or in London, where the Bahamas does maintain an Embassy. See List of diplomatic missions in The Bahamas and List of diplomatic missions in the United Kingdom. --Jayron32 04:40, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

Given the security situation in Somalia for the past two decades, I doubt any Western country has a resident Embassy there these days. The other countries mentioned are small island states, and in these days of budget restraints, it's not feasible to open an Embassy in every country, given relations are very limited, and the local population is often extremely small. --Xuxl (talk) 10:48, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

Looking for a film

I'm looking for the title of an old film which AFAI can remember has some similarities with In Time (film). The protagonist is a young male, who through hard work and a considerable amount of luck gains a lot of time. His mother runs a shop and is facing bankruptcy and death. To save his mother he decides to travel to a mysterious place (at the end of some road) to speak with some powerful people in order to give his time to his mother. The guy who talks with him says that this request is unusual (most come to ask for more time = money), and that he will grant it. However a mutual girlfriend convinces the protagonist to change his mind. In the end he is present at his mother's funeral and gives a valuable necklace to two somewhat dimwitted friends, while he and the woman go away. That's all I can remember. Much obliged. Flamarande (talk) 04:29, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

Subnational entities sharing names with their countries

How many subnational entities share their names with their countries? I'm only interested in first-level subdivisions (whether administrative subdivisions of unitary states or autonomous components of federal states), such as Île-de-France, the State of Mexico, and Western/South Australia. Nyttend (talk) 06:06, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the two constituent "entities" of Bosnia and Herzegovina (the other being Republika Srpska). Orange Suede Sofa (talk) 07:22, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

Finland Proper has given its name to the whole of Finland. It is one of the historic provinces of Finland, now an administrative region.--Rallette (talk) 08:58, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

And then there's Schwyz.--Rallette (talk) 09:01, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

Luxembourg. Not sure whether Buganda would count. Ghmyrtle (talk) 09:20, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

Four levels, in that case - Luxembourg (city), in Luxembourg (canton), in Luxembourg (district), in Luxembourg... Shimgray | talk | 18:34, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

Why does tiny Luxembourg need four levels of localities? Is there a separate government at each level or are they just administrative divisions? -- Mwalcoff (talk) 00:48, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

Ukraine used to be known semi-formally as Little Russia, back when it was a part of Russia. -- Jack of Oz 09:53, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

Monaco-Ville, sometimes called simply Monaco, is an administrative division of the nation of Monaco.

A little dubious, but the region Holland (now divided into North Holland and South Holland) is smaller than Holland-as-a-name-for-the-Netherlands. --Colapeninsula (talk) 10:01, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

There's also Panamá Province in Panama. --Colapeninsula (talk) 10:07, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

... and Djibouti. Ghmyrtle (talk) 10:10, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

And Guatemala Department. --Colapeninsula (talk) 10:11, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

At a stretch, Svealand and Bohemia (Čechy in Czech). The land of Svea, whence Svea rike, Sverige, and Sweden, is not today an administrative division except as the judicial district of the Svea Court of Appeal. Since 1973, HM the King is no longer Sveriges, Götes och Vendes Konung but simply Sveriges Konung - the Sverige in the old title meant Svealand, or "Sweden Proper". As for the Czech name of Bohemia, Čechy is the toponym, Česka in Česka Republika is an adjective.--Rallette (talk) 11:11, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

Furthermore, the adjective "český" can mean either "Czech" or "Bohemian," a fact that has caused confusion on occasion. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 00:50, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

An asterisk for District of Columbia, as "Columbia" is an alternate name for "USA". ←Baseball Bugs carrots→ 11:43, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

• • A couple of clarifications, which I would have made last night if I'd not been so sleepy — (1) Only interested in current situations, so I'm not looking for Little Russia; (2) Only interested in official names, so not interested in Holland or DC. Thanks for everything so far; do we know of others? Nyttend (talk) 12:11, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

If you extend it to countries taking their name from a city, then you can add Tunisia (Tunis), Algeria (Alger), and Morocco (from Marrakech). Ghmyrtle (talk) 13:18, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

I'm not sure if this counts, but São Tomé and Príncipe is divided into two provinces whose names you can probably guess. --Colapeninsula (talk) 14:00, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

Well, if we're going down that road, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland clearly takes its name from Northern Ireland.... Ghmyrtle (talk) 15:43, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

Poland has the voivodeships Greater Poland and Lesser Poland. --Wrongfilter (talk) 15:38, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

The ancient port known to the Romans as Portus Cale gave its name first to the present-day city of Porto on the same site and to the County of Portugal, which later gave its name to the present-day country. Likewise, per Name of Canada, the native name Canada first applied to the area around present-day Quebec City, then to Canada, New France—the present-day province of Quebec, later to what are now Quebec and Ontario (the erstwhile Province of Canada, and finally to the entire country that carries the name today. Marco polo (talk) 18:40, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

Here are several more. Austria takes its name from the March of Austria, a region that corresponds roughly to the present-day Austrian states of Upper Austria and Lower Austria. Panama takes its name from Panama City (lying within Panamá Province), Belize from Belize City (the capital of Belize District), the Dominican Republic from Santo Domingo (until recently the capital of Santo Domingo Province. Marco polo (talk) 18:54, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

Mexico has State of Mexico. Belize has Belize District. The Mark of the Beast (talk) 20:47, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

Countries where pay-first sit-down restaurants are the norm

In the United States, with the exception of buffet-style places like Golden Corral, Old Country Buffet etc. (except every Chinese buffet I've ever been to where I paid at the end of the meal), at sit-down restaurants (by that colloquial term, I exclude fast food restaurants despite the literal fact that some people do sit down there), it's pretty much universal that you pay at the end of your meal. I've never seen a non-buffet, non-fast food restaurant where you sit down, look at the menu, pick and pay for your food, then eat it and, if the service was good, leave a tip. Is there anywhere in the world where this is the norm? 20.137.18.53 (talk) 12:13, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

In Bolivia, and several other Latin American countries as well, it is quite standard that you approach a counter, pay for what you want (often set menus for lunch) and get a small paper ticket. The ticket is then given to a waiter who brings your food to your table. Tipping in these places is not very standard. Fancier places will have the eat first, pay later policy. --Soman (talk) 12:35, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

It's usual in British pubs that serve food (including full sit-down meals). While pubs are not officially restaurants (some British pubs have attached restaurants with the normal pay-after-eating procedure, and actual restaurants may include a bar theoretically available to non-diners), they may (or may not) fall into the same conceptual category for your purposes.

In a British pub, rather than offer a monetary tip (in connection with a meal or otherwise) the more usual custom - especially if one is a "regular" rather than a one-time visitor - is to invite the barman/maid (who is notionally or actually a friend rather than just a server), while ordering drinks etc, if he/she will "have one yourself," often by adding ". . . and one for yourself?" to one's order. This allows them to add the price of a reasonable drink (not, say, a treble whisky!) to the tariff and then either actually pour and drink it then and there, say they'll have it later (implying when less busy or after closing time) and do so, or simply take the sum in cash after closing (in a busy establishment staff may use beer-bottle caps or similar tokens to keep track of how much they're owed by the till at the end of the session).

If one wanted to tip someone (X) who brought the meal to the table, etc, but was not serving at the bar, one might similarly ask the bar person to "get one in for X". {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 90.197.66.254 (talk) 12:59, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

I certainly don't think that inviting bar staff to have a drink is "usual custom" in the UK. It may be done occasionally (mostly, in my experience, by somewhat pompous older men), but it's no more "usual" than leaving a tip on the table or adding something to the total on the chip & pin machine. Most bar staff work too hard to have time for a drink, and have to stay sober, just as much as people working in any other job. Pubs these days usually offer you the choice of paying either when you order, or after you have eaten. Ghmyrtle (talk) 13:12, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

My "usual" was intended to refer more to the practice of paying on ordering the meal, which is in my own experience (fairly wide, as a member of CAMRA and a sometime resident in or visitor to many different parts of the UK, and a barman myself in a few of them) more frequent than paying after eating, though as I attempted to convey paranthetically, summarising a gamut of different styles of establishment, paying afterwards may also be encountered.

As regards tipping bar staff and others by offering a notional drink (which as I tried to explain may often be taken as cash rather than in actual (alcoholic or soft) liquid form, though I regularly experience the latter) again this is customary behaviour by regulars in the majority of pubs I frequent, though of course it's not something one does at every order, or even on every visit. Perhaps, Ghmyrtle, we tend to frequent different styles of pub. I will cheerfully admit to being a man, old, and pompous, although I would prefer the term "courteous." {the poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 90.197.66.254 (talk) 13:40, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

Man, old, pompous....... yup, that's me too.  ;-) Ghmyrtle (talk) 15:19, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

Just to summarise the foregoing: in pubs in the UK and Ireland, you order and pay for your meal at the bar, then go and sit down - the meal is usually brought to you. Tipping is not obligatory, but you can leave coins on the table or ask the staff if they'd like a drink. Alansplodge (talk) 12:34, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

I suppose in the end this comes down to your definition of fast food. I've been to plenty of places in the US — not "fast food" but not very fancy — where you pay at the register, take a ticket, wait for it to be brought to you (or for them to call out a number). Tipping not expected ("but always welcome!"). There are lots of Mexican places where this is quite common, just as an example. Is it fast food? Sure, I suppose, by definition — even if the food is pretty much exactly the same as what you'd get in another Mexican place down the road, where they have waiters that bring you the food and you pay afterwards. So I guess I'm sort of concluding that the definition of "fast food" is in part related to the order in which one pays. --Mr.98 (talk) 19:04, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

I think the fast-food/non-fast-food distinction is in error. From a restaurant's point of view, if you are going to place an order for some food and what you order is all you will get, ask for the money up front. If you are going to possibly extend your order with more items such as drinks or desserts, ask for money when the meal is done. Adding to this, if you tend to get customers who run off without paying, ask for money up front (in the U.S., you can't simply ignore them or they will sue). If you have a captive group of customers, such as a resort where it is a pain to go elsewhere, you can hold the bill until the customers are getting ready to leave. That makes me think of a hotel I stayed at where all meals were just added to the tab and I paid when I checked out. -- kainaw™ 19:14, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

I didn't understand what you meant by "you can't simply ignore them or they will sue". Who will sue whom, and for what cause ? StuRat (talk) 20:54, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

Every couple years some restaurant chain in the U.S. is sued because they refused to serve some (fill in the oppressed minority here) people. -- kainaw™ 00:17, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

Aah! I initially read you as meaning that some people will order food, eat it, run off without paying, and then sue the restaurant! {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 90.197.66.254 (talk) 14:46, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

My brother only gets a half hour for lunch, which is darned near impossible at most restaurants. He goes to Pizza Hut, which has a pizza buffet at lunch. He walks right in, grabs a slice and starts eating. They usually get around to giving him the bill while he's there (which he then pays immediately to the waitress), but, if not, he just walks out without paying. Note that if he had to wait in any type of line to pay (either before or after), lunch would go over the time limit. StuRat (talk) 20:54, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

Why doesn't he go up to the counter to settle his bill? APL (talk) 02:42, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

Because then he would have to wait in a long line and be late. StuRat (talk) 05:40, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

I assume very common passive-aggressive behavior. Instead of complaining to his boss, he takes out his frustration over a short lunch on strangers at Pizza Hut. -- kainaw™ 02:56, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

I'm not sure it's a good idea to publish a statement on the internet that your brother routinely steals pizza... If he doesn't have time to wait for them to bring the bill, he could just leave the cash on the table (it sounds like he goes there quite often, so presumably he knows how much it is). Alternatively, if he doesn't have time to eat in a restaurant he could try not eating in a restaurant. He could bring a packed lunch from home, he could go to a sandwich bar, he could go to a fast-food vendor, etc.. A short lunch break is not a good excuse for stealing your lunch. --Tango (talk) 12:13, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

So called "fast food" places like McDonald's tend to be slower, due to long lines at lunchtime. That's why he likes Pizza Hut's pizza buffet, no need to wait in a long line (if they bring him the bill and collect at the table in a timely manner) or wait for food to be prepared. StuRat (talk) 05:47, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

Are things really that bad during lunch hour in the US? 30 minutes isn't that long but from my experience is more then doable even if you have to go somewhere. It seems to me if it takes him 8 minutes to and back from the place and 8 minutes to eat, he still has 14 minutes to que up to order, pay and receive his order. I'm surprised that it routinely takes more than 14 minutes at all fast food places in the US even during lunch hour. If it takes more then 8 minutes to walk there and back (please don't tell me he's driving), then even more reason to bring a packed lunch. Even ignoring the ethics, it seems to me to be a bad idea to routinely steal food from the same outlet, even if it's during a lunch hour rush there's a fair chance ultimately someone will notice and if he goes there all the time, tracking him down isn't going to be too hard. Of course as others have suggested, there are other options then bring a packed lunch and find a place that works better, like negotiating a longer lunch break or even trying to work out a deal with the Pizza Hut where he pays for the meals at some other time or way. I do agree with Tango on another point and this reminds me of someone else on the RD, remember it's one thing to reveal details about yourself, another to reveal details about others, are you sure your brother would be happy with you telling everyone on the internet he routinely steals food? Don't assume you aren't identifable just because you use a pseudonym. Nil Einne (talk) 11:32, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

I was about to make the same points as Tango. A packed lunch would also be healthier and less stressful. Alternatively, he could speak to the other employees, or his trade union (if he has one) about jointly approaching the boss about negotiating a change to the working conditions. If there's give and take in the suggestion, most employers would be pleased to have happier staff, who'll work better and more productively, not slag off their business to friends and won't need expensive/inconvenient replacement every so often. --Dweller (talk) 12:20, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

Presumably when they get round to bringing him the bill for last week's pizza, he will cheerfully pay them.  Card Zero  (talk) 18:44, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

Presidential Visits in the Year before an Election in the US?

Are there records of how many times a presidential candidate has visited a state in the year before an election for the past several elections? --CGPGrey (talk) 14:53, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

Fair Vote had a Campaign Tracker listing visits during the 2008 campaign. They also do an ongoing Presidential Tracker. I'm not aware of a list of visits for the year prior to an election. Dalliance (talk) 20:19, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

List of all US cities with a population over 10,000?

Is there a list of all US cities with a population over 10,000? Misplaced Pages only lists over 100,000 and I can't find the answer on the census site. --CGPGrey (talk) 15:19, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

Wilipedia's List of lists of settlements in the United States might help, but it is not quite what you asked for. Dbfirs 16:05, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

Such a list would be unweildy; there would be thousands of settlements whose population exceeded 10,000 people. --Jayron32 17:54, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

Unwieldiness is a relative concept. One could argue having a collection of almost 4 million articles on notable subjects (and that's just in one language) is out of the question because it would be impossibly unwieldy. -- Jack of Oz 19:10, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

In that case, the OP could simply start at Category:Populated places in the United States and go through each article individually and find the ones with more than 10,000 people. I certainly would find such an endeavour "unweildy", but since you Jack do not, perhaps you Jack could do this for the OP? --Jayron32 19:13, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

That would be unwieldy, but that's not the same as generating a list automatically, which could surely be done easily with access to the database and some scripts. (Easiness is, of course, also a relative concept.) Adam Bishop (talk) 19:36, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

See http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=471319 for old data.

—Wavelength (talk) 19:55, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

I can't find the info on the census bureau site either, but printed versions of the World Almanac and Book of Facts, among other such reference works, have long featured such a list - taken from Census Bureau data. Textorus (talk) 21:53, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

Looks like you'll have to go into the raw data, download each state individually and pick them out. Or just e-mail the census and ask if they have it all in a single file. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 00:38, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

See https://ask.census.gov/app/ask.

—Wavelength (talk) 00:54, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

If it is important to be a list of cities and not, say, towns, there are plenty of incorporated towns with a population larger than 10,000. Danvers, Massachusetts, is the first example that comes to mind. Just something to consider. I think the best way to find an answer is to use the Census's "ask a question" link Wavelength posted. Pfly (talk) 02:00, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

The Census Bureau refers to cities and villages as "places" and entities like Massachusetts towns as "minor civil subdivisions." The problem is the bureau also counts unincorporated communities known as CDPs with "places," so a list of "places" will have both incorporated municipalities and places that aren't incorporated. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 23:34, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

See census-designated place and minor civil division ("division", not "subdivision"); if you want municipalities only, you're not going to count anything in Hawaii except Honolulu, since it doesn't have cities in the sense that the other 49 states do. All New England towns and towns in New York and Wisconsin are minor civil divisions, as are townships in every state that has them as a functioning unit of government; see Civil township. Nyttend (talk) 01:18, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

Feminism

Why do feminists think that it's okay to oppress men? Isn't feminism just as sexist as misogyny? --207.160.233.153 (talk) 20:16, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

Isn't your premise somewhat flawed? -- Jack of Oz 20:46, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

Isn't their main belief that women are better than men? --207.160.233.153 (talk) 20:47, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

Isn't that something you've picked up from gossip, and not something that's actually supported by the facts? -- Jack of Oz 20:49, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

Or from listening to Rush Limbaugh too much. ←Baseball Bugs carrots→ 22:20, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

To make it clear for the OP, the basic tenets of feminism is essentially identical to gender equality; that is women should be given the same rights and privileges as men and should not be singled out or treated inferior merely for their gender. To be fair to the OP, there is a term called Misandry which may be what the OP is talking about; but misandry as an actual political or social movement, while it does exist, represents the Lunatic fringe of feminism; the vast majority of people who self-idenitify as feminist are merely interested in eliminating gender discrimination against women and do not feel that either gender is inherently "superior". --Jayron32 22:47, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

Also to be fair to the OP, "feminism" is a misleading word. Communism means "supporting Communists", racism means "supporting only one race", and nationalism means "supporting only one nation"; linguistically, there's no reason why feminism doesn't mean "supporting only females". --140.180.14.123 (talk) 01:08, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

But, it doesn't mean supporting until they become the dominant gender. 88.9.210.218 (talk) 01:59, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

See Category:Male feminists.

—Wavelength (talk) 03:12, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

207.160.233.153 -- The people who hold such beliefs as you mention call themselves "Female supremacists", and tend to look down with disdain at mere feminists. What Misplaced Pages has on this is at Matriarchy#In feminist thought. Meanwhile, as Rebecca West may have said, "I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat or a prostitute." -- AnonMoos (talk) 14:45, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

Obama Zombie and similar past incidents

Hello,

I was reading an article on the Obama zombie incident (article here: http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/11/01/republicans-criticize-local-gop-group-for-obama-zombie-depiction/) and was wondering if other similar incidents of this nature have occurred in the past (towards a president from either party). I suspect there have been, but have had a hard time finding any. Thank you in advance for your help. Marcus Lupus (talk) 22:32, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

What kind of parallels are you looking for? That is, what parts of this incident are you looking for similarities to? --Jayron32 22:38, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

You did have some Bush-as-a-vampire imagery while he was president — e.g. . It's of a mostly different character than the "Obama zombie" stuff, though definitely not flattering. I don't think it was sent around by actual organs of the Democratic Party, though. --Mr.98 (talk) 00:11, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

Well, imagery suggesting violence towards the president. It's not something one sees all to often, so I thought I'd ask whether there were past incidents (even the fast hundred or so years...). Marcus Lupus (talk) 00:20, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

here's one. The sad thing is, the news reports at the time presented the graphic as an example of free speech ... meanwhile the secret service was getting the guy fired, at which point the site was shut down. (It seems to be one of their top skills) Wnt (talk) 02:28, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

Actually the article doesn't describe the existance of any actual imagery of violence towards the US President. There was violent imagery for several people including Bob Dole (who was never president even if running to be one at the time) and Boris Yeltsin (who was the President of Russia at the time but never the US). The source also mentions the artist was considering adding Bill Clinton, and perhaps he did (although perhaps the site was shut down before he got round to it), but your source obviously doesn't establish he did. It may also be there was someone else in the list who was a president of the US but again, not mentioned in your source. Nil Einne (talk) 03:13, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

Baby Bush was the butt of many violent depictions. For example, one artist made mock U.S. stamps that showed Bush with a gun to his head. The main difference is that when Bush was depicted in this way, the response was that he deserved it for being Republican. When Obama is depicted as a zombie, the response from both Republicans and Democrats was that it was in bad taste and should not happen ever again. -- kainaw™ 02:37, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

While there may be a difference in the way violent depictions of Bush were treated, I don't think the examples you've given show that. As Mr.98 mention and the source says, the example of the Obama zombie was from a GOP group, so Republicans had no choice to respond (and the media probably specifically asked them) to make it clear this was just one isolated group and not supported by most Republicans. The Bush stamp thing which was investigated by the Secret Service , was my some random artist who's ties to any party don't seem to be mentioned and even if he was a member of the Democratic party, he was clear doing it as an individual so there was no point for people in either of the 2 major parties in the US to respond (and from what I can tell they didn't) and most likely the media never asked for a response. Nil Einne (talk) 03:04, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

It's not hard to find overreactions to presidential death images from previous administrations. Here's a story about the secret service investigating a high school student's t-shirt. APL (talk) 03:27, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

I think the distinction of "random depiction" versus "a depiction sent out through official party channels" is a pretty big one. You can find a lot of individual nuts in the world, nobody doubts that. But for a nutty idea to be given some semblance of validity through official political channels is a pretty different situation. --Mr.98 (talk) 11:59, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

Not violent and not a president but the painting of Harold Washington entitled Mirth & Girth might be worth a look. Washington was the mayor of Chicago. Dismas| 03:40, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

November 2

bairum khan...of iran

GOOD morning sir, myself KADIR KHAN,from mumbai,india First of all i really thank you and wikipedia.org that they provide us with the column that we can ask question to it.

I want information about Bairum khan,who once upon a time a great soldier and commander,in one of the rule of the then king of iran .But i am not getting any information about him.I know only few things that,he was a great commamnder and soldier in army and once he had won a great fight,due to which his king got very happy and he rewarded him to go along with his family and stay in india,on which he came to india and resided in uttar pradesh,india..being i stay in India i cannot go iran and go on for so long search.it will be time consuming for me.also i am busy person with my studies..my parents had once told me this true story.. \ please sir will you help me,by searching this information..i love history.. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 14.97.140.126 (talk) 04:06, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

There's a short but decent article about him at Misplaced Pages, but it appears you just misspelled his name. See Bairam Khan. The article also has lots of references and additional reading, so if you can located those sources you can find more information about him. --Jayron32 04:24, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

I found some information in The Cambridge History of Indua on Google books (I hope you can see it too, as different results are sometimes shown in different countries). You may be able to find a copy of this book in a public library. Alansplodge (talk) 09:01, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

Liliuokalani on film

Was Queen Liliuokalani of Hawaii ever filmed on camera? It wouldn't have been in her reign but she did live till 1917.--KAVEBEAR (talk) 06:05, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

Like these? Clarityfiend (talk) 09:42, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

I'm assuming that you mean a moving image? There doesn't seem to be anything online.Alansplodge (talk) 09:45, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

Yes moving pictures.--KAVEBEAR (talk) 23:49, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

IMDb only credits her for her songs, mostly "Aloha ʻOe" (as opposed to someone like Mark Twain, who has two acting credits). Clarityfiend (talk) 10:11, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

One Twain credit seems to be a mistake. Clarityfiend (talk) 18:53, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

I've found a clip of it on youtube but here at 1.57 but does anyone know about the moment these two clips were taken and who she was with.--KAVEBEAR (talk) 23:49, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

Clerical dress question

I was watching the old ATV adaptation of the Father Brown stories the other night. Kenneth More as Father Brown dresses always in some kind of cassock, with a sort of very short cape which only reaches to the elbows (picture). Can anyone tell me the name for this kind of garment? Marnanel (talk) 09:24, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

That would be a mozzetta. Clarityfiend (talk) 09:40, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

I quote from the Mozzetta article: "A shoulder cape, elbow-length like the mozzetta but open in front, is sometimes worn with the cassock, either fixed to it or detachable. It is known as a pellegrina. It differs from the mozzetta also in not being associated with a cotta, surplice or rochet". Alansplodge (talk) 09:50, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

How many Hail Mary's must I say? Clarityfiend (talk) 10:05, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

I only got there by following your link. I can do traditional Anglican kit, but Catholics have a whole lot more in their wardrobe, and Italian styling too! Alansplodge (talk) 10:40, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

Ulster Resistance

What was the point of the Ulster Resistance thing? Why did someone feel that yet another loyalist paramilitary was needed instead of just, say, strengthen the UDA? I heard Ian Paisley supported the movement at first but when he "realized" it was violent in nature he retracted his support. Our article about them doesn't say much. --Belchman (talk) 11:02, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

What is the need for any new "splinter group". Obviously, the people who formed the Ulster Resistance opposed some fundemental philosophy in the UDA. This isn't a novel event, in many paramilitary groups this sort of thing happens all the time. You'll also note that besides the Ulster Resistance and UDA, there is also the Ulster Volunteer Force and the whole bunch listed at Ulster loyalism. See List of organisations known as the Irish Republican Army for a list of similar splinter groups. --Jayron32 13:19, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

Ulster Resistance came about in the wake of the Anglo-Irish Agreement. It was an umbrella organisation comprising many leading Unionist politicians and religious leaders. The UDA was already an unwieldy, cumbersome organisation, with its many brigades. It often carried out bloody feuds with the UVF. Ulster Resistance served to bring in all loyalist groups and leaders.--Jeanne Boleyn (talk) 13:38, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

So it wasn't really a paramilitary organization —at first—, but a loyalist umbrella group to plan the loyalists' reaction to the Anglo-Irish Agreement (more or less), right? --Belchman (talk) 13:53, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

It was a paramilitary organisation.--Jeanne Boleyn (talk) 15:01, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

From the very beginning? Ian Paisley says he didn't know that —which is kind of difficult to believe, but whatever—. --Belchman (talk) 15:14, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

This article from the Belfast Telegraph may be of interest to you: "A Spectre From the Past Back to Haunt Peace". Belfast Telegragh--Jeanne Boleyn (talk) 15:33, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

Grim, indeed. --Belchman (talk) 16:09, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

Contemporary autodidacts

Please name some contemporary autodidacts such as Eliezer Yudkowsky. --Toiuyty (talk) 11:15, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

Most people are somehow autodidacts nowadays, but you seem to be searching for someone without formal education and with a successful career. 88.9.210.218 (talk) 11:34, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

Yes. --Toiuyty (talk) 11:46, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

Or maybe you want to know about school drop-outs who became successful? It's not rare to find self-made men in some fields like business. Many people like Bill Gates or Steve Jobs apparently didn't get any business formal education and only a little college exposure. 88.9.210.218 (talk) 14:10, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

Though being a drop-out is pretty different from being an autodidact. Getting into the position to become a drop-out usually requires substantial formal learning, and exposure to college can be as valuable as the actual education. --Mr.98 (talk) 15:44, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

The other major problem is that most modern developed societies have full compulsory education though someone's late teens, and most of those also offer free post-secondary education for people who show the right apptitude for it, making it rare for a person who was raised in a developed nation to have avoided exposure to some level of advanced education. Presupposing the objections to this analysis, I will remind all people that the word "rare" is not a synonym for impossible, so I expect it does happen, just not as commonly as it used to. The OP can likely find people they are looking for at the article List of autodidacts. --Jayron32 16:20, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

It's a difficult thing to find out about, because in the modern age (where policitians are castigated if they don't put on a show of providing education for all) it's quite easy to be handed a structured education, whether at school or at university, even if you actually found the structure useless and took the initiative. (I see Jayron has just said much the same thing.) Searching for "did poorly at school", I came up with Jack Russell Weinstein, who "was able to pursue his long-held interests in reading, writing, and learning in the free university environment". I also found Arran Fernandez, who is extraordinarily precocious and passed a mathematics exam at age five. Does he structure his education himself? I'm not sure how to determine that.  Card Zero  (talk) 17:02, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

N.K.B.

Old New York Times Book Reviews are sometimes signed "N.K.B", such as this review from 1947. What is the full name of this reviewer? Viriditas (talk) 12:21, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

Nash K. Burger, one of the editors of The New York Times Book Review. Adam Bishop (talk) 12:55, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

Thank you! Viriditas (talk) 13:02, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

"Phaedon" in Moby Dick

In chapter 35 of Moby Dick, Melville writes:

And let me in this place movingly admonish you, ye shipowners of Nantucket! Beware of enlisting in your vigilant fisheries any lad with lean brow and hollow eye; given to unseasonable meditativeness; and who offers to ship with Phaedon instead of Bowditch in his head.

I know that Bowditch is the famous navigator, but who is Phaedon? Misplaced Pages finds several people with that name, none of whom seem to make sense here. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 131.107.0.112 (talk) 17:46, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

This essay on the relationship between Herman Melville's writing and the US Civil War says: "Ishmael's deft contrast between Phaedo, Plato's great dialogue on the immortality of the soul, and Nathaniel Bowditch's New American Practical Navigator (1802) is but one indication of Melville's juxtaposition of the philosophical problem of the nature of the soul, with all its attendant implications for the best political regime, and the utterly practical problem of how to find one's way on the vast expanses of the ocean and thus to safety at last by returning to the shelter of political society." (p.202 - 203 or 11/104) I'm not much wiser after that, but at least we know who Phaedon is. Alansplodge (talk) 18:08, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

I wonder if it isn't an alternative or misspelling of Phaeton, the reckless driver of Apollo's chariot (and not somebody you'd want at the head of your boat). Probably not, though, given the above. The more I read it, the more I think it's basically saying, "don't trust your boats to someone who reads philosophy rather than practical boatsmanship." Which seems like good advice... --Mr.98 (talk) 19:10, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

Unlikely (your first thought, that is), because the same passage continues: ""Beware of such an one, I say: your whales must be seen before they can be killed; and this sunken-eyed young Platonist will tow you ten wakes round the world, and never make you one pint of sperm the richer" (my emboldening). This confirms his reference to Plato. Now, I'm sure an otherwise respectable editor is at this very instant itching to make a gag about the "pint of sperm", so I'll yield to the inevitable. Alansplodge (talk) 21:29, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

Agreed. (Coincidentally, I've been reading Moby Dick myself lately, though I haven't gotten quite that far. It's really a marvelous book. I had been put off by its "mandatory reading" status, but it's far more entertaining, funny, and cleverly written than I had expected.) --Mr.98 (talk) 11:48, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

Alansplodge, you've hit the nail squarely on the head. Bowditch refers to Nathaniel Bowditch's The American Practical Navigator. An updated version is still published by the DMA's Hydrographic/Topographic Center, and it remains a well known book among modern sailors who refer to it simply as "Bowditch" or as "Publication Number 9". (As I type this, both volumes are within arms reach on the port bookcase.) Likewise, Phaedon refers to Plato's dialog Phaedo (Greek: Φαίδων, Phaidon), named after Phaedo of Elis. Thus the line from Moby Dick is telling ship owners to sign on sailors who have studied the practical arts of sailing and navigation, not those contemplative souls who have studied philosophy (just as Mr. 98 wrote). -- ToE 00:47, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

The inherent bias of public opinions

Hello,

I'm am writing an essay about my skepticism about the notion that ideology was the main reason behind the conflict between the Soviet Union and the United States during the Cold War, as it is generally (and nearly universally) assumed by the historiographic scholarship of the era. I'm mostly having an issue with John Lewis Gaddis' work, who purports that the legitimacy of the Soviet memos that he had access to is irrefutable proof that 1) the Soviet leadership strongly believed in communism, and 2) since strong belief in something leads to proselytizing, imperialism was unexpected. (however Gaddis also notes that the U.S wasn't really a Saint, either; but that's beyond the point)

However, how does one know that what the Soviet leadership wrote was sincere? It's frigging words. They're dead, and even if they weren't, they could still be lying. That's like when politicians claim that they are very saddened by events; how does one know that they are actually disturbed, and not playing a game due to peer pressure? Further, assuming that the politicians know that some day it is highly likely that what they're writing will be unveiled to the public, they're probably taking extra care for the sake of their historical posterity. let's say that Khrushchev wrote in a memo "America must be destroyed. The Motherland is awesome". How does one know that Mr. Khrushchev was not playing ta game for the sake of power (i.e. for the chicks) and not a closeted liberal? Has there been any scholarship done on such a subject? Like, I don't know, the bias of historical documents. 184.163.160.61 (talk) 18:30, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

I don't agree with your premise that nearly all scholarship of the era claims that ideology was the main reason behind the conflict. In fact I don't think I have never run into any scholarship that claimed ideology was the main reason for the conflict. Neither of the current main works of the history of the 20th century, like Tony Judts Postwar, Mark Mazowers Dark Continent or Eric Hobsbawms Age of Extremes, claim that ideology is the main reason. --Saddhiyama (talk) 18:36, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

On your general point, there is definitely a line of criticism that suggests that the obsession with archival findings (as opposed to intangibles) is a basic part of historical methodology. In the end there is an insurmountable gulf when one discusses the internal states of human beings. We do our best to navigate around it — any such approaches must be theories at best. The question is whether the theory matches up with the indisputable things. It would be a fair criticism to say that Gaddis uses official documents to derive internal states of being, and this is no doubt as false as doing so today would with regards to official press statements. By itself that's not enough, though — you'd want to push the alternative as well and show how it could be acceptable given said documents.

As for historiography, Gaddis is something of a revisionist, so attributing the majority point of view to him is wrong. Gaddis pushes ideology in particular as a way to revise the pre-1990s view of the Cold War as just realpolitik. Gaddis is saying, no, ideology was important too. Whether one agrees or disagrees with that, it's important to situate Gaddis correctly. He is important and a major figure, but he's not what I would call representative of the general historiography of the Cold War. --Mr.98 (talk) 19:18, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

I suppose one could try to understand what people really believed by looking at their non-public works, such as their diaries or personal letters. Granted, no one among the Soviet nomenklatura was going to leave a diary saying "I hate Stalin" around or something. The KGB didn't ask for search warrants. But I did see an interview with Khrushchev's son Sergei in which he says his father really believed in communism, and I see no reason not to believe him. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 23:31, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

In the end it's a judgment call. Part of what it means to be a real historian is to learn enough of the facts and context to be able to interpret actions, letters, utterances, etc. A huge amount of historical practice is judging which sources are the most reliable, and making sense of the genuinely contradictory nature of real-life human beings. There is always some unknown there. I'm glad for it — it makes being an historian interesting, and it means there are always a lot of new things to be found, interpreted, understood. History has always straddled the boundary between the social sciences and the humanities; I lean towards the humanities personally, recognizing that there is a great deal of art to it. --Mr.98 (talk) 00:16, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

You could look for Western appreciations of Soviet theory of international politics from the era; but, you'd be arguing that Soviet theory actually influenced practice. Fifelfoo (talk) 00:09, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

I agree with your skepticism in believing the words of politicians. I would judge them by their actions, not their words. Did these "communists" actually work for the equality of all or just use that as a pretext to accumulate riches and power unto themselves ? StuRat (talk) 03:08, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

Eeesh, this could lead to some rather conflicted results. While Soviet policy within its current sphere of influence was defined by obvious and immediate support for bastards in almost all instances (Kadar at the head of an "anti-party bloc" over Nagy at the head of a bunch of reformists with broad worker's councils support for example; for the counter, consider the removal of Rakosi); in the case of Soviet support for agents outside the Soviet sphere of influence, for example with the Vietnamese Workers' Party this is less clear, as it is only possible to untangle the revolutionary current from the nomenklatura current in the mid 1970s. An equivalent analysis of the United States would leave us with a similarly schizoid power that acts with apparent altruism at times (Suez), merely lobbies for its ridiculous policies in some allies' public sphere (Encounter Quadrant), but in other cases engages in acts of mass barbarity for the most trivial reasons only rivalled by the other great powers' own trivial mass barbarity of the day. Fifelfoo (talk) 04:12, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

Small c-Conservative and large c conservative

What is the difference between small-c conservative and large-c conservative? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.89.43.151 (talk • contribs)

It depends on your political context (politics is relative to the political system you are working in). I see from your IP address that you appear to be editing from Canada, I apologize in advance if you are not, but I will make my answer based on that assumption. In that case, the difference is likely between people who self-identify as "political conservatives" (see Conservatism) and people who are members of, and/or self-identify with the Conservative Party of Canada. A small-c conservative would be someone who supports political conservatism as a concept, but does not belong to or support the Conservative Party of Canada. A large-c Conservative would be a person who was a member/direct supporter of the Conservative Party of Canada. The difference would be between a person holding a particular ideology and belonging to a specific political party. Usually, someone who specifically calls themselves a "small-c conservative" is saying they adhere to the ideology of conservatism, but for whatever reason are distancing themselves from the Conservative Party. --Jayron32 19:24, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

Also, see Small-c conservative. --Jayron32 19:29, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

Richard Armour once defined "conservative" as "a man who saves his money (even before women and children)." ←Baseball Bugs carrots→ 01:27, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

Red grit and blue grit

Is there such thing as red grit and blue grit in Canadian politics? what about blue tory and red tory?— Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.89.43.151 (talk • contribs)

See Blue Tory and Red Tory for the different strains of Conservatism in Canada. There are no "Blue Grits" and "Red Grits" because the Liberal Party of Canada has not had the same sort of shake-up and division that the Tories have had. The distinction between the reds and the blues among Canadian Tories has to do with the way in which divisions arose within the Conservative Party (or parties, there have been several splits and mergers over history) over fundemental ideology. It appears that the distinction came about in the 1960s, per info in some of these articles. --Jayron32 19:37, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

The term "Blue Liberals" has sometimes been used to describe centrist members of the Liberal Party. For those unfamiliar with the topic, members of the Canadian Liberal Party are knowns as "grits" for some reason. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 23:12, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

I sometimes wondered about that. It seems the name came from a predecessor of the Liberal Party, the Clear Grits. Clarityfiend (talk) 02:29, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

England political conservative and liberal areas

Which parts of England are conservative due to history of Conservative Party traditional strongholds and which parts of England are liberal due to history of Labour Party traditional stronghold?— Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.89.43.151 (talk • contribs)

You can find a map of the most recent election by constituency at United Kingdom general election, 2010 and you can also work backwards to previous elections using the navigation tools at the top of the infobox in that article for similar maps. Going just by the 2010 election, the three main parties appear to be arranged on a rural/urban distinction: Labour won most of the seats in urban districts (the red bits on the map are concentrated near the largest urban areas like London, Merseyside, Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle, the Edinburgh/Glasgow axis in Scotland, South Wales which has many of the urban areas in Wales) while the Conservatives seem concentrated away from those urban centers. The Liberal Democrats seemed to take sizable numbers of seats in the Scottish highlands, in the Southwest, and in Central Wales. The balance of the seats seems to mostly consist of the Nationalist parties like the Scottish National Party, Plaid Cymru, various Irish national parties in N. Ireland, etc. There are also a few random seats from various minor parties. --Jayron32 20:02, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

Do note that the Labour Party are historically socialist, rather than liberal. You may be thinking of the Liberal Party or the Liberal Democrats. Or you may have confused liberalism with the left wing. Marnanel (talk) 21:16, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

To add to the above, generally it's the industrial or formerly-industrial areas like Merseyside, Tyneside, and parts of the Midlands and Yorkshire that were traditionally liberal or left-wing. In the 19th century, Whigs and Liberals were associated with Manchester and Liverpool, the West Midlands, and other areas of early industrialisation; the newly wealthy industrialists were in conflict with the Tories who got their wealth from land rather than manufacture, and who had their power base in the more rural areas and the south-east. The strong working-class culture of trades-unionism, particularly in mining and heavy industries like steel and ship-building, had close links to the Labour party; these were generally based in the north and midlands (where there was coal, water, iron ore, etc). London has traditionally been more mixed, with lots of wealth, but also poverty, immigrants, and some industry. The countryside and farmers in particular have always been Conservative supporters (for various, not always obvious, reasons). The south-west (Cornwall and Devon) has a strong history of Liberalism rather than socialism through the 20th century, often returning Liberal and Liberal Democrat MPs; I'm not so sure why this is, but it probably reflects an independence of spirit and localism. --Colapeninsula (talk) 21:21, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

Independence of spirit and localism yes, but also chapel: church is Tory ("The Church of England is the Tory party at prayer"), chapel is Liberal. DuncanHill (talk) 21:52, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

Not so much now - more the bane of the Conservative Party. The Dean of St Paul's Cathedral invited anti-capitalist protesters to camp out in the forecourt and the Archbishop of Canterbury (who was once arrested at a US airbase on a CND protest) said this week that bankers should be taxed more. Then there was the Faith in the City thing in the 1980s that riled Mrs Thatcher so. Alansplodge (talk) 22:12, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

I wouldn't describe anything about the Labour party being particularly liberal. Bunch of statist control freaks is the description you're looking for.

ALR (talk) 22:17, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

I'm not going to comment on your soapboxing, but the person asking the question is from Canada, where "liberal" can mean "left of center," as opposed to "libertarian." -- Mwalcoff (talk) 23:09, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

Liberalism and Libertarianism are themselves quite different, although there is a more Libertarian wing within the Liberal Democrat Party, as there is in the Conservative Party. Equally neither of those would compare to the flavour of libertarianism in North America.

There is a very small liberal wing within the Labour Party, although predominantly present in the Co-Operative Party element there. They've certainly not been particularly prominent in the last 13 years.

ALR (talk) 11:12, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

The debate on the political complexion of Labor generally accepts that Labour has always been multifaceted. Why the ILP ran a strong socialist line in early labour, the majority of labour were lib-labs with a liberal or at best "Labourite" mentality of social progress. The role of nationalisation and universal welfare in labour were hotly contested, especially from working class areas satisfied with working men's welfare. The emergence of a concept of labour as nationalisation and universal welfare came relatively late in British Labour due to a strong lib-lab influence, and due to confusion over whether nationalisation actually meant socialism (a thing many labourites opposed). So while it is more than a little silly to call Labour voters in the UK "Liberal" from a US perspective, when "Labourite" represents a long running ideology of social welfare in British society and is the term of art often used in political analysis of the Anglophone labour parties... the UK Liberal mentality had a long standing influence on Labour through the lib-labs. Fifelfoo (talk) 00:04, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

right wing and left wing france

Which part of France has been traditionally left wing stronghold (e.g. Socialist Party) and which part of France has been traditionally right wing stronghold (e.g. UMP, and its predecessors)? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.89.43.151 (talk) 20:07, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

The maps in the article French presidential election, 2007 should give you an idea. Also in the French wiki article there are some maps and a table "Analyse socioprofessionnelle" at the bottom of how different employment groups voted. Sussexonian (talk) 20:45, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

In recent years the east and north have voted conservative, while the more rural south and west are more left-wing. However, 30 years ago things were a bit different with the industrial north-east and the area around Marseille (traditionally popular with immigrants and full of shipworkers) left-wing or even communist. Lately Marseille seems to have gone more towards the National Front. --Colapeninsula (talk) 21:34, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

How can I go about researching the Hobby Horse for an article I need to write on wikipedia for class?

Besides utilizing my school library and google, where else is good to look? — Preceding unsigned comment added by MYoung1030 (talk • contribs) 22:09, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

Please have a look at our Hobby horse (disambiguation) page and let us know what sort of hobby horse you would like to know about. Alansplodge (talk) 22:35, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

Assuming you mean hobby horse, we already have an article on that. If you want to add to it, perhaps you could call toy stores and antiques dealers and see if any of them have one you can take a picture of, and then upload that picture to Misplaced Pages (which would require scanning, if it's a film picture). StuRat (talk) 02:54, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

Leaving the euro

I'm seeing articles that Greece could leave the euro. (Also mentioned at Greek_financial_crisis#Objections_to_proposed_policies) Question is... how does that work in practice? It seems to me that anyone in Greece, knowing the local currency would be destined to lose most of its value, would stick to using euros at all costs. So how do they switch? Wnt (talk) 22:31, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

Whooo-hoo! Greece goes back on the dollar? Yeah! Helen never looked so good. USA! Dualus (talk) 23:08, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

Helen was said to have weighed in the neighborhood of 200 pounds. However, that was Troy weight. ←Baseball Bugs carrots→ 01:25, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

I don't believe they would let people a chance to keep using the euro. They would declare a bank holiday and force convert all assets. Or simply introduce the new currency and start paying all civil servants in it. 88.9.210.218 (talk) 23:21, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

Does this mean that right now Greeks are frantically moving their assets to offshore accounts? Wnt (talk) 01:39, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

it has been happening for a long time, it's not like this is the first time the possibility of Greece leaving the Euro has been suggested. Edit: Rereading the article more carefully it highlights another issue, the Eurozone problems and the risk to Eurozone banks, even without considering Greece leaving, are itself a reason for some to get out. Nil Einne (talk) 05:19, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

The new currency would only lose value if they print too much of it. Given the lack of discipline that led to the crisis in the first place, that's not unlikely, but there is nothing that forces it to happen. Looie496 (talk) 23:33, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

Currency doesn't only lose value by printing too much of it. The new currency would lose value depending on the expectations regarding the Greek economy. And I'm pretty sure that they are bad. 88.9.210.218 (talk) 23:42, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

Indeed given their current situation it's difficult to imagine what's the point of (or how it would happen that) Greece leaving the Euro if it's going to remain the same value as the Euro. Nil Einne (talk) 05:17, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

I agree that leaving the Euro would be a disaster for Greece. If they pay their civil servants in drachmas, with little value (since they could not be backed by anything and people would have no faith in them), and everyone else continues to use Euros (either legally or on a black market, if made illegal), then civil servants would be paid less than everybody else and would eventually all quit. A similar situation exists in Cuba, where waiters who get tips in dollars do far better than doctors who are paid by the government. StuRat (talk) 02:48, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

This has been discussed several times before, e.g. Misplaced Pages:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2011 August 19#The Euro, Misplaced Pages:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2011 June 21#Weak countries leaving the Euro - could it work at all?, Misplaced Pages:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2011 September 7#Euro and the debt of others. As mentioned there, Argentine economic crisis (1999-2002)#End of convertibility perhaps has some lessons here. Nil Einne (talk) 04:50, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

Another good historical example from S. America was Plano Real, the Brazilian plan to revamp its currency. Brazil's problem wasn't sovereign debt so much as inflation, but it does present a model of sorts for shutting down one currency and establishing a new one. --Jayron32 05:55, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

Heh, I guess I should have looked! was quite informative, for example. Wnt (talk) 05:51, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

Wnt -- The "local currency destined to lose most of its value" would be a bad thing for some people, but probably would be an overall good thing for the Greek economy as a whole, according to many economists. Right now, all the EU has to offer to Greece is perpetual austerity with no end in sight. Keeping Greece in the Eurozone requires continual bailouts and infusions of new money, but these expensive bailouts do almost nothing to improve the situation of ordinary people in Greece. By contrast, if Greece had a separate currency, it could take a short-term dose of bitter medicine, and then hopefully be in a position to start a good long-term recovery (as has happened to many nations in the past, including Argentina etc.). AnonMoos (talk) 09:27, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

In other words: all bank savings of the Greek people would become virtually worthless as they would be exchanged into the new Drachma, which would lose its value extremely quickly. Better withdraw every single euro before that happens and hide under the mattress (no Greek bank will be able to survive that). The same would happen to the salaries (of the people who still have a job); they would be paid in the new Drachma and as the hypothetical new currency is meant to be devalued on purpose the monthly salary may just become sufficient to by a loaf of bread. I believe that rampant inflation also hurts the economy. But yes, the Greek economy would survive. I'm not so sure about Greek democracy though. Flamarande (talk) 10:47, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

Economics not being my strong suit, can anyone point me to a brief account in plain English of why Greece went down the tubes in the first place? From a reliable source, of course. Textorus (talk) 11:52, 3 November 2011 (UTC) Never mind, I found one on the Greek_financial_crisis page. Textorus (talk) 11:55, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

A nice summary from the BBC: Flamarande (talk) 11:59, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

Letter bomb attacks against Alois Brunner

I'd like to know more details about the letter bomb attacks against Alois Brunner. Was the intention of the Mossad to kill or just to mane him? How could he fall into the same plot twice? Couldn't the Mossad have killed him instead of sending letter bombs? 88.9.210.218 (talk) 23:06, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

The only way to know the intentions of a militarised government agency is to either accept the rare public announcements regarding that agency's intentions, or to wait until the archives are released and historians analyse them. As with the great Soviet history debacle, where "pre-archival" and "archival" work often have substantively different conclusions due to the suspect methods of anti-communist Sovietologists; I'd suggest that even "expert" speculation by academics regarding Mossad's intentions will be far less trustworthy than the results of research after the Mossad archives open. Fifelfoo (talk) 23:58, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

Not sure what that means -- When Soviet archives were made partially available in the 1990s, it threw new light on many things, including Soviet spying in the U.S., and even verified many of the claims of Elizabeth Bentley (who had been considered by many to be a hysterical liar). AnonMoos (talk) 09:15, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

I'm happy to accept that in areas other than the ones I read, that new light was thrown on different phenomena. In the areas I read, mainly Soviet society, the hystericism of the 1950s and 1960s sovietology in the US wasn't borne out. Rather, the non-Americans, the non-sovietologists, the historians and sociologists generally had their depiction of soviet society confirmed. Fitzpatrick on administrative structures and advancement, for example, did much better than the various hermeneutics of dispatches. (What's even sadder is that it wasn't hard to correctly read data coming of central and eastern europe correctly, and the CIA readers got it right, and quite often published most of it.) Fifelfoo (talk) 09:24, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

My Auntie Maim wants to know, does he have that ghastly a mullet? Clarityfiend (talk) 00:41, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

But, how can we know at all that it was the Mossad then? Couldn't it be any other Jewish/Polish/Dutch/Dane/whatever-Nazi-victims group? 88.9.210.218 (talk) 02:13, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

Our article is reliant on Alois Brunner : La Haine Irreductible by Didier Epelbaum, January 1990; who seems to publish scholarship, but I'm not very good at the French system. Fifelfoo (talk) 04:18, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

November 3

Islamic New Year

How Prophet Muhammed PBUH used to celebrate the Islamic New Year the hijri new year? like eid ul fitr or different like doing a lot of prayers or something else? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.31.18.28 (talk) 01:44, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

The first month of the year is sacred in Islam to allow pilgrims to return. I'm guessing family dinners. Dualus (talk) 05:26, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

Becoming famous

How to become famous on facebook and youtube? --Toiuyty (talk) 04:13, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

Ask Fred Figglehorn. --Jayron32 04:29, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

It might be worth pointing out that many times originality is needed, though, rather than there being any given "template for fame" that works for anyone. Ks0stm 04:37, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

Wait for your 15 minutes to roll around? -- AnonMoos (talk) 09:05, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

Self-promotion. Lots of websites display amusing videos from the internet (see e.g. Viral video#Notable viral video sites, Social bookmarking, and social networks), and many take submissions or let users post links to videos they've found. Lots of people use Facebook and twitter for promotion; if you can get some famous people re-tweeting a link to your video, you've got it made. Warning: about 99.999% of videos on the internet are dull, and there are millions if not billions of videos online, so you do actually have to have something interesting going on. --Colapeninsula (talk) 11:44, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

Is it true that America won every major battle in the Vietnam War?

Topic says it all. ScienceApe (talk) 11:36, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

The situation in Vietnam doesn't really lend itself well to a fairly binary question like this. Essentially the answer is, broadly yes for an arbitrary value of "won".

From a broader perspective you'd want to ask "did the engagement deliver the desired outcomes or results?" In that case you'd say no they didn't.

Vietnam was very much what we'd now describe as an asymmetric conflict. Campaign objectives were never going to be delivered through set piece battles.

ALR (talk) 11:53, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

It depends on your definition of "major", "battle", and "won". For reference, see Category:Battles and operations of the Vietnam War. The USA/South Vietnam won most battles during the time the USA was there. However there were Viet Cong wins during that time, such as: Battle of Fire Support Base Ripcord, Battle of Pat To. Some battles were inconclusive: e.g. Operation Bribie, and it's hard to say who won the Tet Offensive - a tactical victory for the US but a strategic loss. After the US withdrew, the North won battles such as Battle of Phuoc Long. --Colapeninsula (talk) 12:10, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

The PLAF won a number of battles prior to 1964, and the PAVN won a number of battles subsequence to 1972. So it also depends on your definition of the Vietnam War. Also, and I can't reemphaise Colapeninsula enough here, the ARVN won quite a number of battles; and the Korean and Australian forces won a smaller number of battles. Fifelfoo (talk) 12:13, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

why does china have such little debt

i just read this article

http://www.news.com.au/national/aussie-taxpayers-shouldnt-have-to-rescue-eu/story-e6frfkvr-1226184375316

and am curious, but I want a short answer.

Why is their debt so relatively small compared to the GDP/debt of other (western) countries.

thanks Ballchef (talk) 12:13, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

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