Content deleted Content added

Inline

Revision as of 14:50, 5 July 2015

Welcome to the humanities section
of the Wikipedia reference desk.

skip to bottom

Select a section:

Shortcut

WP:RD/H

Want a faster answer?

Main page: Help searching Wikipedia

How can I get my question answered?

Select the section of the desk that best fits the general topic of your question (see the navigation column to the right).
Post your question to only one section, providing a short header that gives the topic of your question.
Type '~~~~' (that is, four tilde characters) at the end – this signs and dates your contribution so we know who wrote what and when.
Don't post personal contact information – it will be removed. Any answers will be provided here.
Please be as specific as possible, and include all relevant context – the usefulness of answers may depend on the context.
Note:
- We don't answer (and may remove) questions that require medical diagnosis or legal advice.
- We don't answer requests for opinions, predictions or debate.
- We don't do your homework for you, though we'll help you past the stuck point.
- We don't conduct original research or provide a free source of ideas, but we'll help you find information you need.

Ready? Ask a new question!

How do I answer a question?

Main page: Wikipedia:Reference desk/Guidelines

The best answers address the question directly, and back up facts with wikilinks and links to sources. Do not edit others' comments and do not give any medical or legal advice.

June 29

music intervals

moved to Wikipedia:Reference desk/Entertainment#music intervals 96.52.0.249 (talk) 13:48, 29 June 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Judaism and history

I know that Christians believe that Jesus actually resurrected himself as a historical fact and that Muslims believe that Muhammad actually ascended to heaven on the dome of the rock as a historical fact. Is there any equivalence in Judaism? Are there any things in Judaism that Jews may believe to be historical fact? 66.213.29.17 (talk) 14:10, 29 June 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Lack of universal acceptance in Jewish theology mirrors the fabulously messy tangle of blurs of white, grey and black that is Jewish law. But a good place to start is here. --Dweller (talk) 14:21, 29 June 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for providing the links. 66.213.29.17 (talk) 14:47, 29 June 2015 (UTC)[reply]

The Jewish religion's founding narrative, which by Divine commandment is recited annually at Passover during the ceremonial seder meal, is written in the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament dubbed the "Five Books of Moses." The narrative features the events surrounding the patriarch Jacob and sons, notably Joseph, in the Egyptian Land of Goshen, the Hebrews' captivity in Egypt, their liberation through the efforts of Moses, their flight from Egypt ("The Exodus") including the parting of the Red Sea, Moses receiving the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai and the episode of the Golden Calf, the forty years' wandering in the desert, and to the Promised Land of Canaan. Check these internal links to read about the historicity of these events. -- Deborahjay (talk) 06:07, 30 June 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Plus, if you're looking for something analogous to Jesus' resurrection or Muhammad's ascenscion, there's Elijah, who didn't die, but was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind accompanied by a fiery chariot, and is prophesied to return. --Nicknack009 (talk) 07:43, 30 June 2015 (UTC)[reply]

And also Enoch, the Enoch (ancestor of Noah) of the Hebrew Bible. In the words of the King James Bible (which I love for its Early Modern English prose, but is rejected as a translation by mainstream Bible scholars) "And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him."

--Shirt58 (talk) 11:02, 1 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Just bear in mind that "Jews" are not a homogenous group. Two Jews, three opinions is the old joke and it's well founded. As such pretty much anything that may fall into "things in Judaism that Jews may believe to be historical fact" would also fall into "things in Judaism that Jews may believe to be fiction".

You could narrow the request by asking about traditional Orthodox Judaism, but even within those bounds there's still a multiplicity of viewpoints on, for example, the historicity of much of Midrash and even books of the Tnakh. One famous example: see Job_(biblical_figure)#Job_in_Judaism for the arguments over whether the book of Job is regarded a true story or just a story.

That said, Deborah is right, that much of Tnakh is regarded by Orthodoxy as fact and that absolutely includes the Exodus narrative. --Dweller (talk) 08:51, 30 June 2015 (UTC)[reply]

order of Southern Baptist liturgy

Do Southern Baptist liturgies have any order? So, I visited a Southern Baptist church last weekend. It seemed that the first part of the worship service was a hymn, except the fact that there was no congregational singing. It was more like a theatrical display of the hymn, performed by children, at the front of the room on a stage-like thing. Then, there was a very long sermon with citations from the Bible, instead of reading an excerpt from the holy scriptures and then interpreting it to the congregation. The only thing that the congregation said was "Amen", but it was very sporadic and non-collective. Near the end, there was another hymn, but this time some congregants thought it was over and left! Apparently, there was no communion. What did I just see? Why was the sermon so long? Why were there no Bible readings before the sermon? What happened to the Eucharist? Do Southern Baptists ever take communion? And exactly where do they take communion? 66.213.29.17 (talk) 14:37, 29 June 2015 (UTC)[reply]

For a partial answer to your questions, see Eucharist#Protestant: "It is rare to find a Baptist church where The Lord's Supper is observed every Sunday; most observe monthly or quarterly, with some holding Communion only during a designated Communion service or following a worship service." Gandalf61 (talk) 14:55, 29 June 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Oh. So, does that mean Southern Baptists hold Communion during a designated Communion service or following a worship service? Either way, why do Protestants separate Communion from the actual worship service instead of holding Communion within the worship service? How is the Communion service different from the worship service in terms of structure? Is there a reason behind the sparing Communion services? 66.213.29.17 (talk) 15:02, 29 June 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Most of the protestant churches used rejection of transubstantiation as one of their bickering points with the Catholic church, and some took it further and argued that it shouldn't be part of worship. Ian.thomson (talk) 15:13, 29 June 2015 (UTC)[reply]

(edit conflict)Baptists in general are supposed to be independent, and although the Southern Baptist Convention doesn't mind yanking funding from seminaries based on what they teach ("Arminianism? No funding for you!"), they still don't enforce any particular order. Baptist churches do tend to be heavier on the sermon than other parts, in part because of Evangelicalism, the Great Awakenings, and Revival meetings. If they have a good minister of music (...or just an enthusiastic one), there may be more music than some other churches.

Despite being allowed to believe in whatever Eucharistic theology a member can reconcile with the Bible and their own reasoning, most just settle for memorialism and many will actively reject transubstantiation out of some faint memory that we're supposed to be protesting something (...or just straight up sectarianism). Some Baptist churches have "the Lord's Supper" (i.e. communion) every week, but most have it on special occasions. It really varies from each congregation to congregation. How communion is done also varies from church to church. The one I grew up in had trays of wafers and small cups of grape juice passed down each row by a pair of ushers. The last one I attended had everyone come up to the alter, tear off a piece of bread, and dip it in a cup of grape juice. There are enough Baptists who are teetotalers for there to be a stereotype that we're all teetotalers (even though it's on an individual basis), so if you ever find one that uses wine, please let me know so I can move there.

This is only dealing with mainline and evangelical Baptists. There are some hardcore independent Baptist churches that... well... you'll know them when you see them. (If the church building doubles as a fallout shelter, or there are no minorities, or the congregation keeps referring to "the compound," you've probably found one). I've only passed by those and have not attended their services.

In short: Baptists are sort of ecumenical anarchists. Ian.thomson (talk) 15:13, 29 June 2015 (UTC)[reply]

66.213.29.17, you sound like you're from a more thoroughly liturgical church, perhaps Catholic or Anglican or high Lutheran. You have to begin by noting that most Baptists reject the term "liturgy", associating it with missals and pre-determined schedules and not realising that any order of service (including the traditional way of worship in a Baptist church) is a kind of liturgy. I've never heard of churches that celebrate the Lord's Supper outside of a worship service, so the fact that some do is probably as surprising to me as to you. We Protestants have generally separated the sacraments from normal worship services, and when the sacraments are celebrated, it's with special other elements, perhaps a special sermon or even an earlier start time to accommodate the extra elements. [Note that there's an important exception: many or most Restoration Movement churches, e.g. "Church of Christ", celebrate the Lord's Supper weekly.] I don't know why Baptists may celebrate the Lord's Supper just a few times per year, but I can guess: Baptists (and the Presbyterians of whom I am one) came out of the context of the Act of Uniformity 1662 (England) and corresponding legislation in Scotland, by which all clergy rejecting episcopal church government (and at least in England, Anglicanism in general) were forced out of their pulpits; comparatively few dared to reject it (after all, this was your and your family's life), leaving dissenters largely without clergy, so even if every minister officiated at the Lord's Supper every week, many congregations could only celebrate it a few times per year because the minister would only visit a few times per year. Combine this with the idea that preaching, not the sacraments, was central to the worship service, and mix it with later regard for the traditions of the elders (all the while rejecting the Catholic dependence on tradition!), and you just celebrate the sacraments rarely because that's what Grandpa's church (and Grandpa's grandpa's church) did. And re: Ian's last comment, see A little stone pretended to be out of the mountain for an earlier work taking this position (but it will be hard to read, due to the seventeenth-century orthography); congregationalism and independency naturally lead to ecumenical anarchy. Nyttend (talk) 14:46, 30 June 2015 (UTC)[reply]

We don't seem to have an article on Extempore prayer (the use of prayers composed to suit the moment, rather than written liturgy), but see A Word About Written Prayers. Alansplodge (talk) 10:26, 2 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Greek businesses opening overseas bank accounts

Just watched the news about capital controls in Greece. I was wondering, could a tourist business that mostly sells to foreigners, but is legally based in Greece (a small hotel, for example), realistically arrange a bank account in a more stable country and get all its customers to pay for bookings there? With something like Paypal for card payments. Meaning they would still have hard currency if this doesn't get sorted out. Basically how hard is it to open foreign accounts for a smallish business, and would they get away with it re the Greek government? 213.205.251.244 (talk) 15:10, 29 June 2015 (UTC)[reply]

It would be wise for the Greek government to encourage this, as tourism dollars are badly needed (the government would still get a share via taxes, assuming they manage to collect them). However, riots may discourage tourism. StuRat (talk) 20:46, 29 June 2015 (UTC)[reply]

There is some expense and trouble involved. It might be beyond the resources of a small hotel. See this article on the subject. Basically, the hotel would have to pay either high fees to open and maintain a "high-risk merchant account" in a country outside Greece, or the hotel would have to register as a business (with all of the fees involved) in a different country and then open a domestic merchant bank account in that country. In either case, a credit check would be involved (since the merchant would be expected to face some liability for chargeback), and at the moment, I doubt that most banks would consider any Greek business a good credit risk. Marco polo (talk) 15:19, 30 June 2015 (UTC)[reply]

They might want to pick an "iffy" nation with lax banking laws. StuRat (talk) 01:22, 2 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Greek referendum documents

A referendum will take place in Greece next Sunday. The question will be: “Do you agree with or reject the proposal of the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank, consisting of two documents, entitled Reforms for the completion of the Current Program and Beyond and Preliminary Debt sustainability analysis?”. My question is: is it possible to find and read the text of these two documents online?--The Theosophist (talk) 21:30, 29 June 2015 (UTC)[reply]

The last draft of the creditors' proposals, which were being discussed with Greek delegates right up to the referendum announcement, has been published on the EU website. It's in the form of a list of things they want Greece to do (or perhaps more realistically start doing) before anything would be paid out. Presumably if the "memorandum" was resurrected it might be based on this. 213.205.251.244 (talk) 22:05, 29 June 2015 (UTC)[reply]

The question of the referendum names two specific documents. I search for online editions of these.--The Theosophist (talk) 22:34, 29 June 2015 (UTC)[reply]

I think these might be the two: [1] and [2] (they have the right titles, but I don't speak Greek). 184.147.138.101 (talk) 00:37, 30 June 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, they are the ones. Thank you.--The Theosophist (talk) 11:26, 30 June 2015 (UTC)[reply]

You're welcome!184.147.138.101 (talk) 16:14, 30 June 2015 (UTC)[reply]

June 30

What happened to the US?

These things are totally forgotten, just like erased from history, very strange.

--Lexikon-Duff (talk) 02:21, 30 June 2015 (UTC)[reply]

They are both very much part of the US government:

1) Mergers of large companies are regularly reviewed, and often rejected, when they will lead to a lack of competition, or, in the case of media companies, a lack of independent voices.

2) The Social Security Administration is perhaps the most lasting effect of the New Deal. StuRat (talk) 02:33, 30 June 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Also still very much part of history. Erased things don't have Wikipedia articles, let alone well-sourced ones. Do you mean erased from history class? If so, I don't know much about that (even if they're taught or not), but, in general, there aren't enough hours in the school day for most important events. Even American history is very long. Can't teach every kid every thing. Even Wikipedia can only try. InedibleHulk (talk) 03:47, June 30, 2015 (UTC)

Don't forget the FDIC! Neutrality^talk 04:31, 30 June 2015 (UTC)[reply]

I believe that the uncovering of the 2015 FIFA corruption case was the result of the application US antitrust law. Alansplodge (talk) 08:49, 30 June 2015 (UTC)[reply]

And United States v. Microsoft Corp. was not so long ago either. It received a ton of media coverage. --Xuxl (talk) 09:42, 30 June 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Also the more recent United States v. Apple Inc. which didn't perhaps receive quite so much, but still a fair amount. As Sturat has said, antitrust law also comes in to play with most major mergers. Even if it doesn't stop the merger or result in additional conditions, it's the reason (in particular the Clayton Act 1914 I think) why such mergers need approval. (Note also, the lack of rejection or additional conditions isn't an indication the law isn't doing anything, the companies themselves will consider such issues before proposing a merger so may not propose a merger unlikely to be successful or may have already agreed to do something to satisfy government concerns.) Of course in the modern world it usually isn't just US anti-trust law that comes in to play.

In the case of the New Deal, it's difficult to watch much Fox News, or read other US conservative news without seeing some discussion of how the New Deal destroyed America/prolonged the great depression and how Obama is doing the same thing in some way.

So as with many others, I don't understand the OPs question. I don't live in the US and was well aware of these probably since my mid teens. (Well at least US antitrust although that was difficult to ignore as this was the time of the MS case.)

Nil Einne (talk) 14:18, 1 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

One date "they" don't tell you about is June 18, 1958. The day Homer J Simpson died. Note, students, the J stands for nothing. Even a Findagrave site search on Google for "homer j simpson" doesn't find him. But he was real, once. InedibleHulk (talk) 10:33, June 30, 2015 (UTC)

In other news, US Air Force Major General Chester E. McCarty (this guy) took three jackrabbits, two horned toads and an armadillo to Portland, Oregon. He returned to Waco, Texas with a porcupine and a beaver. Elsewhere, a bridge fell. How many fifth-graders know that? InedibleHulk (talk) 10:45, June 30, 2015 (UTC)

You mean, present or past fifth-graders? By the way, the zoo swap happened the day before the article is dated, that would be June the 17th. That would be a reason to desesperate, while in fact there are plenty of them if not just targeting the same Google research date. --Askedonty (talk) 12:26, 30 June 2015 (UTC)[reply]

In real time, a day before. But when reviewing history, perception is reality. Nobody knows the news till it's fit to print. Many things were in the zeitgeist that week, but in my eye, flying armadillos deserve the recognition as much as any southbound pachyderm. I'll bet no birth notice in any paper mentioned "Jello Biafra" was born. But he was real, later. InedibleHulk (talk) 22:42, June 30, 2015 (UTC)

Marty Haggard, a constant value following birth notices, whom we don't know what the tale would be if he'd decided exploring alternative realities, was born on the 18th, not the 17th: now him real right from the start, and at the same time, we are now reading the news only a long time after they have been pushed (or after he's been shot by a hitch-hicker, imagine that.) --Askedonty (talk) 23:37, 30 June 2015 (UTC)[reply]

I saw this guy released an album and song called "The Bridge" 42 years after the other bridge released, tried to scrape some nutjob meaning from the lyrics, and wouldn't you know it? I knew the Internet would forget history, but to see lyrics disappear is more troubling than missing LOLcats. Guess I'll just have to chalk another one up to the Mothman instead. InedibleHulk (talk) 00:14, July 1, 2015 (UTC)

I could find the song on Youtube and I think '42' means only the guy was 42. If you're doing Christian simplicity music, the Bridge it's a bit one of the doctorates. Now you can still reason he chose the style deliberately. --Askedonty (talk) 03:44, 1 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

same as happened to old-school Leftism in general. Got replaced by social justice warriordom and market fundamentalism. Also, stuff (at least electronics) actually getting cheaper (or becoming more advanced for the same price) thanks to China (which helps dull people's suspicion of cartel activity) Asmrulz (talk) 14:31, 30 June 2015 (UTC)[reply]

I don't understand the question. These topics are covered in standard U.S. history texts used in U.S. schools today. Check any major text and you will find them. Marco polo (talk) 14:58, 30 June 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Story checks out. At least for the New Deal. InedibleHulk (talk) 22:56, June 30, 2015 (UTC)

Merry Christmas!

I'm pretending to be in Australia, where Christmas comes in early summer :-) Do we have any coverage of "Joseph dearest, Joseph mine"? I'm not finding much under that title, "Song of the crib", or "Josef, Lieber Josef Mein", but as with any obscure work translated from another language, I don't want to assume that these are the only names under which it might appear. Nyttend (talk) 14:50, 30 June 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Christmas is always on December 25th, regardless of the hemisphere, right? I found this on Google. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 15:24, 30 June 2015 (UTC)[reply]

No, it isn't on 25 December in Russia or in Ethiopia. All together now, "Do they know it's Christmas time at all?". Itsmejudith (talk) 15:33, 30 June 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Yea, in some Eastern European sects Christmas is in January, but that has nothing to do with which side of the equator you are on. The side of the equator inverts the seasons, but not when Christmas is. Therefore they have Christmas in summer south of the equator. That might seem strange to us in the Northern Hemisphere, but keep in mind that Bethlehem is close enough to the equator that it wouldn't be likely to have snow any time of the year, anyway, and that we really don't know when Jesus was actually born. StuRat (talk) 15:59, 30 June 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Not entirely unheard of [3]. Mikenorton (talk) 14:22, 1 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Some eastern churches, such as Russian Orthodox, still go by the Julian calendar rather than the Gregorian. So they still celebrate Christmas on December 25th, Julian, although it's into January, per the standard calendar. The civil calendar was changed to sync with the west, after the "October" (actually November) revolution which put Lenin in power. Lenin and his pals did a lot of bad things, but at least they made the civil calendar run on time. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 16:04, 30 June 2015 (UTC)[reply]

There is actually Christmas in July or alternatively Mid Winter Christmas (which isn't necessarily in July). That said, while I can't comment on the situation in Australia, I don't think it really gets much attention here in NZ except among various places looking for a way to make money (generally places associated with snow, and eateries). Actually I think Matariki probably gets more attention in recent times. Nil Einne (talk) 14:08, 1 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

We have an article on the translator credited on the page you linked Percy Dearmer. He published three hymnbooks in his lifetime (1906, 1926 and 1928); two have online versions but I can't find this hymn in either of them. However if you can get the third; Oxford Book of Carols, it seems most likely.

(Nevertheless, I found at least one mention of this song title before any of those books were published: [4] (1898).)

Anyway, most useful information I found was in the German wikipedia article on the original hymn. [5] It says the tune goes back to a Latin one that we have an English article on Resonet in laudibus, which says the words have been credited, but far from definitively, to Johannes Galliculus (couple of references in that article). On the other hand, the German article says the words were likely by Monk of Salzburg.

The German article also says the song is attested in five medieval manuscripts, and links to one of them dated c. 1420 [6]. Another reference (Ludwig Erk, Franz Magnus Böhme (Hrsg.): Deutscher Liederhort. Band 3. Leipzig 1894, S. 643 f.) dates it to c. 1400 and there's an unreferenced claim that puts it in the mid-12th century as part of a Christmas play (no English article, but see [7]). 184.147.138.101 (talk) 16:42, 30 June 2015 (UTC)[reply]

July 1

In the Horus article where is the section about Horemakhet and how does it related to the Great_Sphinx_of_Giza

Thank you! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Venustar84 (talk • contribs) 23:23, 30 June 2015 (UTC)[reply]

The sphinx one says "hor-em-akhet" means "Horus of the Horizon", and was another name for the kitty. The Horus article doesn't mention it, or if it does, it hides as well from me as you. InedibleHulk (talk) 23:38, June 30, 2015 (UTC)

Yes. Horemakhet was a form of Horus who represented the sun. He was one of several Egyptian sun gods, the best-known of which is Ra, who is very similar to Horemakhet, though not so much to other forms of Horus. There are no Egyptian texts that refer to the sphinx from around the time it was built, but in the New Kingdom, a thousand years later, it was called Horemakhet. Lions were symbols of the sun in ancient Egypt, and the sphinx is assumed to represent the king who built it (probably Khafre or perhaps Khufu) taking the form of a sun god like Ra or Horemakhet. The New Kingdom name for the sphinx therefore loosely fits with the meaning that its sculptors probably meant to convey. Here is an article with more details about the sphinx's meaning. A. Parrot (talk) 01:34, 1 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Questions of the form "Why is XXX not in Wikipedia/this Wikipedia article?" (and the passive-aggressive variant "Where is XXX in this Wikipedia article?") almost always have one or both of the following answers:

Because nobody has written it yet: if you have reliable published sources, why don't you go ahead and put it in?
Because there aren't enough reliable published sources for it, so it can't be written. --ColinFine (talk) 12:06, 1 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Also possible that someone wrote and sourced it well, then someone else deleted it for any of many reasons (not just good ones). InedibleHulk (talk) 23:55, July 3, 2015 (UTC)

Les Chants de Maldoror public domain English translation

The title says it all: is there a public domain English translation of Les Chants de Maldoror (The Songs of Maldoror) by the Comte de Lautréamont?--The Theosophist (talk) 12:34, 1 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

The article lists one published in 1924 - which will be public domain in the U.S. in 2019 (without further changes in the laws). Rmhermen (talk) 14:36, 1 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Showing skin

Women's clothing in the west has developed so that more and more skin is shown, i.e. cleavage legs etc. How did this development occur? 84.13.27.150 (talk) 13:58, 1 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

History of Western Fashion is the general article, but all these are also relevant: mores, hemline, dress code, Shorts#Sociology, Neckline, Cleavage_(breasts), Buttock_cleavage. SemanticMantis (talk) 15:10, 1 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Also Modesty has some nice historical context, both worldwide, and in western countries. These trends go in cycles. 10 years ago the young women on large university campuses in the USA were often exposing the tops of their butts - whale tail. Today, that is ~~much less~~ uncommon, but instead it seems ((WP:OR)) more acceptable to show expose a bit of the bottom of the buttocks - underbun (redlink, plenty of google hits. I'd think it's notable enough for an article if whale tail and buttock cleavage are, but that's another discussion). SemanticMantis (talk) 18:15, 1 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Double negative alert: "less uncommon" = "more common". StuRat (talk) 01:11, 2 July 2015 (UTC) [reply]

Oops, totally opposite meaning of that I intended. Corrected now, thanks, SemanticMantis (talk) 13:20, 2 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Part of the trend may be due to women working in more fields today, some of which require less clothing, due to heat, or specific cases, like a lifeguard, who can't get dragged down due to the weight of heavy, wet clothes. However, working women in other fields may need less revealing clothes, like pants. But, once you establish that women could wear different clothes in different circumstances, personal preference starts to play into their selection, too.

Another factor may be that tans became fashionable for women, where previously pale white skin was desirable. However, more recently, the link of tans to wrinkles and skin cancer may reverse that trend, leading women to wear more clothes, at least outside. StuRat (talk) 01:16, 2 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Also: "The West" is wide and contains cultural variances and differences. Latin culture, Anglo-Saxon culture, Nordic culture, Japanese culture, American culture, etc etc, tend to handle women's clothing fashion in various and different and opposite ways. Akseli9 (talk) 10:12, 2 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

It's interesting to see what "fashion in -" articles we have. We have Fashion in the United States and Fashion in India but no Fashion in Japan or Fashion in France or Fashion in England. This situation probably reflects some of our bias in coverage. We do have Japanese street fashion. SemanticMantis (talk) 13:24, 2 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

July 2

Ptolemaic numbers

I am looking for a table of Ptolemaic numbers and their modern counterparts (1, 2, etc). Not a system of planets or tides, just the actual physical numbers, 1-20 if possible. If you can find them please tell me what I should have entered into the Google search engine also! :) 14.2.30.233 (talk) 00:18, 2 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Just to clarify, are you looking for how the numbers 1-20 were written in an ancient language ? Ptolemy was Greco-Egyptian, in Alexandria while it was under Roman control, so do you want ancient Greek, ancient Egyptian, or Latin, from that period ? StuRat (talk) 01:06, 2 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Our articles on the Almagest and Geography (Ptolemy) say that both were originally written in Greek, so presumably Greek numerals would be the form used. In fact, that last article has a map from the Geography which shows the use of Greek numerals. Interestingly, it's a decimal system, rather than being like Roman numerals. MChesterMC (talk) 08:16, 2 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Terminations and buy-back

I've just learned Macy's ditched Donald Trump, as did NBC. The network will also no longer air the Miss USA and Miss Universe Pageants. (Trump still owns half of the Miss Universe Organization.) By any chance, will somebody hired by CBS, buy Trump's half, as well as the broadcast rights to both pageants?2604:2000:712C:2900:5090:B7FE:BF98:2807 (talk) 03:48, 2 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

It's not the job of the Reference Desk to make predictions. --70.49.171.136 (talk) 06:47, 2 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Let me rephrase the question. Since Macy's and NBC ditched Donald Trump, does that also mean the Miss Universe Organization have done the same thing, as well?2604:2000:712C:2900:5090:B7FE:BF98:2807 (talk) 07:53, 2 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Their statement (pdf press release available from http://www.missuniverse.com/press_releases/index) does not say they have. 184.147.138.101 (talk) 09:33, 2 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

There still seems to be an open question of whether those entities had the legal right to do what they did, so even the stuff that's been done already, could eventually be nullified. Or not. So there's no way to predict. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 16:30, 2 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Using that approach, we would be loath to report that anyone has ever been convicted of a crime, because there's always the possibility they could appeal, be successful, and become un-convicted. No, I think it's best to report what is, and let what may be may be and deal with it when and if it ever becomes is. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 20:00, 3 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

At least one of the pageants has already been picked up by an independent cable network, which doesn't rule out their return to one of the "big 3" but probably makes it unlikely for the near future at least.--William Thweatt ^Talk^Contribs 01:19, 3 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

India-Bangladesh border deal

Is there anywhere online that I can see a map showing the results of the recent border deal between India and Bangladesh? From what I can tell, Google Maps still displays the pre-deal situation. --Lazar Taxon (talk) 22:56, 2 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

India–Bangladesh enclaves was on the front page here three weeks ago. μηδείς (talk) 00:10, 3 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Okay, but that article only has maps showing the pre-deal situation. I'm asking if there are any maps showing the outcome of the deal. --Lazar Taxon (talk) 01:22, 3 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

It's interesting that the bill itself [8] does not contain a map, though all the pieces of land are described very exactly. Anyway, a recent map *was* made, according to the bill: as determined through joint survey and fully depicted in the respective adversely possessed land area index map (APL map) finalised by the Land Records and Survey Departments of both the countries between December, 2010 and August, 2011. I can't find whether this map has been made public though - can anyone else? 184.147.138.101 (talk) 03:14, 3 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

This question would probably interest Wikipedia:WikiProject India/Members (especially User:Amitrc7th and User:Anuomkara and User:Copperchloride and User:Harsimaja and User:Kondi and User:LRBurdak and user:Ninney and User:Planemad and User:Vin09; also User:Amartyabag and User:Arijit109 and User:Tamravidhir). Also, it would probably interest Wikipedia:WikiProject Bangladesh/Members (especially User:Crtew and User:Freemesm).

—Wavelength (talk) 02:50, 3 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

This question would probably interest Wikipedia:WikiProject Geography/Project volunteers (especially User:Cooper-42 and User:Funandtrvl and User:Laurinavicius and User:Ridoco234). Also, it would probably interest Wikipedia:WikiProject Countries/Volunteers (especially User:Dwaipayanc and User:Funandtrvl and User:Kirananils and User:Naveenpf and User:The Way).

—Wavelength (talk) 03:31, 3 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

These links might be helpful: http://www.askalo.info —> http://www.askalo.in.

—Wavelength (talk) 03:44, 3 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

You can ask a librarian at the Delhi Public Library (http://www.dpl.gov.in/index.php/ask-librarian).

—Wavelength (talk) 04:42, 3 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

According to this article: Bangladesh and India – Mapped out, the people in the enclaves will be given the choice to which 'side' they will be on, along with citizenship. So, the map wouldn't exist yet, and I don't know what timeline the people have been given to make their choices. Funandtrvl (talk) 15:05, 3 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

As I understand it, the residents can chose which country they want to be citizens of, but the actual enclaves themselves will be exchanged no matter what - if you wanted to remain an Indian/Bangladeshi citizen, you'd have to move to contiguous India/Bangladesh. Smurrayinchester 07:00, 4 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

July 3

Joseph Lane

Besides his pro-slavery views, why was Joseph Lane chosen as the Southern Democrats' vice-presidential candidate alongside John C. Breckinridge in 1860? Was their a strategy of using Lane's Western (Oregon) and Northern (Indiana) affiliations to curry votes in non-Southern states?--KAVEBEAR (talk) 02:01, 3 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

That might be, but regarding the 1860 Baltimore convention however, things were not at all as much clear cut as they became at the time of Secession. Daniel S. Dickinson from New-York for example, gave his support to Breckinridge. --Askedonty (talk) 15:18, 3 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Baikonur, Kazakhstan - status

What is the status of Baikonur? Is it Russian territory or Kazakhstani territory controlled by Russia. The article seems a bit confusing. Hack (talk) 07:12, 3 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

According to this article in The Atlantic from June 2013 [9], The town exists in a strange state of political suspension. When the Cosmodrome was built, it was squarely in USSR territory. Today that land is Kazakhstan, and Russia rents the town from the Kazakh government for $115 million a year. 184.147.138.101 (talk) 13:39, 3 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Whiskey barrels on the American frontier

I'm in the middle of writing an expansion for the Yost Tavern stub, and according to this historical text, in 1809, the tavern's customers purchased more than fifty barrels of whiskey. Was "barrel" a standard size at the time (e.g. the 31 or 31.5 gallons of a fluid Barrel (unit)?), or does it simply mean that Mr Yost dispensed the contents of thirty-one whiskey casks? Perhaps there was a standardised size for taxation purposes, but Whiskey Rebellion tells me that the 1791 federal excise tax on spirits was repealed in 1801, so I can't rely on its definitions. Nyttend (talk) 17:57, 3 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Since barrels were used to transport liquids at the time, they would have needed to be standardized to avoid people getting cheated (and also so you would know how many fit on a given wagon, etc.). However, that doesn't necessarily mean the standard was 31 or 31.5 gallons. There might have even been regional variations in the standard size. StuRat (talk) 23:10, 3 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Barrels were made by "coopers" - simple logic posits any given cooper kept to specific sizes based on measurements of his tools, as otherwise it would be nearly impossible to make a non-leaky barrel. As this was a "trade" - coopers in any area would have had to keep to the same standards. Collect (talk) 23:47, 3 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Not necessarily a single size, though. They could have had several. StuRat (talk) 00:07, 4 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

According to this book [10], Ohio had no laws about standard measures until 1811. You can scroll back back a few pages to get an idea of the standards that applied in neighbouring states at the time. 184.147.138.101 (talk) 01:33, 4 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Placement of the numbers on the face of a clock

Recently, some incident (irrelevant and unimportant) sparked my curiosity about these matters. Question One: Is there any rhyme or reason as to why the numbers on the face of a clock are placed in the way that they are? In other words, why does "clockwise" go around from the top 12, moving (somewhat rightward) to the 1, then the 2, then the 3, etc.? Counterclockwise goes the other way (somewhat towards the "left" and down from the 12). Is there any practical or logistical or ergonomic or historical reason for this? Once the standard was set, of course, everyone simply followed that standard. But, when it first started (i.e., clocks were first created), there was an affirmative decision to place the numbers in the positions that we now see. Question Two: Same question as above. With the added question, why did they place the "12" at the very top? I am (obviously) referring to a round clock face. I scanned this article (clock), but I didn't see anything (unless I missed it). Thanks. Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 20:36, 3 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

'Clockwise' follows the movement of the sun in the northern hemisphere - and accordingly follows the shadow on a sundial. AndyTheGrump (talk) 20:39, 3 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks. And what happens in the southern hemisphere? The exact opposite? Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 20:42, 3 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

The Southern Hemisphere is well known as a place of heathens, pagans, convicts, sports champions and other assorted riffraff, and nothing important ever happens there. Just forget about it, I say. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 20:53, 3 July 2015 (UTC) [reply]

Ah. Never a truer utterance said. Also, their TV soap operas are an offense to the sensibilities of all cultured people as well ;¬)--Aspro (talk) 21:15, 3 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

I think Larry Wilmore may be positing that the Southern Hemisphere might be the Northern Hemisphere.[11] Bus stop (talk) 21:49, 3 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Yes - sundials are different in the Southern Hemisphere. [12]. Collect (talk) 21:56, 3 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Ancient Egyptian sundial (c. 1500 BCE) from the Valley of the Kings. Daytime divided into 12 parts.

There is a ton of info here History of timekeeping devices though you have to sift through it to find specific answers to your questions. MarnetteD|Talk 22:07, 3 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

As for why the 12 is at the top, that's where we normally start things, like reading from the top of the page. Keep in mind that the 12 is also a 0, from a time before we had such a concept. But, the day still started there (as did afternoon), whether it had a zero of not. So, then why do we normally start looking at an object from the top ? Well, it certainly would seem odd if you started looking at a person's feet before their face, since feet don't display emotions or talk. Perhaps that started the pattern ? StuRat (talk) 23:03, 3 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

My question wasn't so much "why is the 12 at the top, instead of somewhere else?". My question was more along the lines of "why is the 12, and not some other number, at the top?" Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 04:00, 4 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Before the decimal system was invented, it was convenient to use numbers that could easily be divided to yield integers. 10 hours in a day would fail if you tried to divide it by 3, while 24 can be divided by 2, 3, or 4, so you could set guard shifts every 12, 8, or 6 hours without having to worry about minutes. (At night, without sunlight, they could use a version of an hourglass.) So why two divisions of 12 hours ? Well, noon was a convenient point to split the day in two, as you didn't even need a sundial to tell when it was noon, since that's when shadows are shortest (this method no longer works because of time zones and daylight savings time). StuRat (talk) 13:04, 4 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

You are not understanding my question. Say that we have the exact clock face that we are now accustomed to. But, instead of a "12" at the very top, there is a "7" at the very top. (Or whatever number) So, the clock would appear, clock wise, 7 (at the top), 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 1 (at the very bottom), 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. Or, with whatever permutation, given the "new" number at the top. Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 15:33, 4 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

That would totally screw up the poster for Tomorrow at Seven. InedibleHulk (talk) 21:29, July 4, 2015 (UTC)

Let's first discard placements considered starting at the left or at the right. If the one was at the top, the twelve would seem to be waiting to take the place of the one. Now let's try any other possible sequence: they all seem highly arbitrary. Is that of being conditioned by the two first tests ? (there was only one) --Askedonty (talk) 19:12, 4 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

It is also where midnight would be, on a conventional vertically-mounted sundial, if sundials actually worked at midnight. AndyTheGrump (talk) 23:05, 3 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

If a sundial works at midnight, it doesn't work at any time (or what used to be times), including midnight. It would stick at "all the time", and nobody would ever need to buy one. Scary stuff. Less clear whether planes would fall from the sky, Y2K-style, but maybe! InedibleHulk (talk) 00:17, July 4, 2015 (UTC)

A sundial could work at midnight near the poles, or even in space, provided it had at 24 hour rotation period about it's axis, and it's axis wasn't pointed toward the Sun. StuRat (talk) 02:03, 4 July 2015 (UTC) [reply]

I'm not sure if that makes sense. Maybe. All I know is sundials need light and midnight needs darkness. Turn! Turn! Turn! InedibleHulk (talk) 02:21, July 4, 2015 (UTC)

See Land of the Midnight Sun. StuRat (talk) 12:56, 4 July 2015 (UTC) [reply]

Definitely catchier with "midnight", but it's not night. InedibleHulk (talk) 21:26, July 4, 2015 (UTC)

Presumably you could make a "moondial", but would have to be re-oriented daily, as the moon is only overhead at midnight when it's full. And as the moon gets dimmer the rest of the month, the moondial would be hard to read. So probably not worth the effort. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 05:19, 4 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

We've a moondial article. Unsourced, though. InedibleHulk (talk) 21:26, July 4, 2015 (UTC)

The full explanation is given in the article clockwise, which has some interesting snippets about clocks that move in the opposite direction. Am adding this pic from the article MarnetteD linked - the oldest known sundial. 184.147.138.101 (talk) 23:42, 3 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

According to Clock face, the way it was set up imitates the way it appears on sundials. That, of course, raises the question of why it's at the top on a sundial. As suggested by others here, the 12 is also a 0. And at high noon, local time, the straight-overhead sun produces no "angular" shadow, so to speak. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 05:16, 4 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

See Gnomon - the gnomon is at an angle such that a shadow is cast (other than exactly at noon at an equinox exactly at the equator). Collect (talk) 11:25, 4 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

According to 12-hour clock, the conventional division of the day into two sections of 12 hours each, with the 12s being noon and midnight, goes back to ancient times. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 05:25, 4 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

July 4

Approximate number of STANAG magazines manufactured annually in the US

I'm trying to find the approximate number of STANAG magazines manufactured annually in the US. Alternatively, the number of such magazines sold annually would also suffice as an approximation, since imports and exports are essentially negligible. I found some excellent data[13][14][15] regarding the number of firearms manufactured, but can't seem to find any useful data regarding firearm magazines.

I asked this question previously. My other car is a cadr (talk) 00:04, 4 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Crossing the floor

Have there ever been (recorded) instances of an MP changing party affiliaton in the midst of a debate and literally crossing the floor?--The Theosophist (talk) 03:15, 4 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Winston Churchill crossed the floor publicly, to the applause and boos of the appropriate sides; I don't know if this were in the middle of a debate, but it was a literal floor-crossing. Nyttend (talk) 03:19, 4 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

You sure about that? Source I'm looking at says Churchill "entered the Chamber and, without prior notice, sat on the opposition benches with the Liberal Party." On the other hand, "In 1981, Christopher Brocklebank-Fowler concluded a speech by crossing the floor to join the Social Democratic Party from the Conservatives." Traditions and customs of the House: House of Commons Background Paper. --jpgordon^{::==( o )} 05:06, 4 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

It's been several years since I read of the incident; apparently I misremembered. Nyttend (talk) 22:45, 4 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

It's happened numerous times in the Australian Parliament (the relevant section of the House of Reps Practice is here). It can be a career-ending or -limiting move, but some pollies still have principles. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 03:34, 4 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

What is the correct term for this relationship?

I am trying to identify a cousin-related term for the daughter of the sister of my mom's brother's wife. Can someone help me on this? 221.13.204.254 (talk) 09:11, 4 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

I'm presuming the relationship is between you and her? I'd consider she was your cousin-in-law, but there's no blood or legal relationship between you. --TammyMoet (talk) 09:35, 4 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

|

Adam

Agatha

Luke

Laura

Betty

Ben

Charles

Corinda

Mark

Maud

David

Emma

Nicola

[ec] See Cousin#Additional terms, and the diagram under "Maternal cousin". The relationship you describe is that of "David" and "Nicola" in that diagram, who, according to the article, "would only be related if they share a common ancestor." To spell it out:

Your mom's brother ("Charles" in the diagram) is your uncle.

Your mom's brother's wife ("Corinda") is your aunt-by-marriage.

Your mom's brother's wife's sister ("Mark" in the diagram - a brother rather than a sister, but it doesn't affect the relationship) is not related to you by blood or marriage (although it's reasonable to call her an "aunt"). Neither is her daughter ("Nicola") related to you; it's reasonable to call her a "cousin", but she'll only be something like a twenty-sixth cousin, and finding that number will mean tracing back your aunt-by-marriage's family tree until it rejoins yours. Tevildo (talk) 09:39, 4 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Step-cousin ? StuRat (talk) 13:11, 4 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

There's no way to tell from the chart how far back the connection could be. The ones at the top could be siblings or first cousins or whatever. Lacking further info, in cases like this they're "in-laws of in-laws", and it's convenient to consider them "cousins" as the term "cousin" covers a lot of ground. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 13:57, 4 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

My mother's family (quite large and complicated) jokingly uses the phrase "the in-laws and the out-laws" when collectively referring to those who have no direct blood relationship, and yet are considered part of the extended family. When referring to these "relatives" individually (or when addressing them) we simplify things by using the catch-all "cousin"... as in: "Good to see you again, Cousin Fred". Blueboar (talk) 15:00, 4 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

How do I find the SET-plan budget

On Energy_policy_of_the_European_Union#SET_Plan, the article (before my edits) mentioned that the SET plan budget should be out in late 2008. I searched EUR-Lex but I could not find it. Can somebody tell me how to find something like that in EUR-Lex? --Ysangkok (talk) 19:46, 4 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Naming of 61 Communards shipyard in Odessa

There is a shipyard in Mykolayiv, Ukraine, named during the Soviet Union for "61 Communards". I've just read the Communards and Paris Commune articles, but I can't find any reference to a group of 61. Guessing they might have been victims of a summary execution during the reconquest of Paris by the regular army, but can anyone confirm that? 213.205.251.251 (talk) 20:15, 4 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Just as a point of order, or something like that, since starting to learn Russian it's always annoyed me that we translate names involving "imeni" as such awkward Boratisms. The meaning is clear, and it's not like we don't name things after heroes or events in the West. Written from fairly close to "square in name of great battle Trafalgar", London. 213.205.251.251 (talk) 20:28, 4 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

This might be better on the article talk page, but the most official name of the shipyard is "State Enterprise 'Shipyard named after 61 Communards'", according to their website. Other sources use more reasonable translations, such as "The 61 Communards Shipyard", which might be a better title for our article. Finding information to answer the OP's question isn't proving easy - would it have been announced in Izvestia? Tevildo (talk) 09:14, 5 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Ah! According to this article (which calls it "the 61 Communards Shipyard"), it was named after "strikers who took it over and closed it down during the 1905 Revolution." So, no connection with Paris apart from the name. Tevildo (talk) 09:24, 5 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

According to this article, "When on July, 14th, 1905 [ OS ] the rebellious battleship [ Potemkin ] has lifted mutiny, workers of Nikolaev have supported the risen seamen mass strikes." This may have been the incident that Stalin decided to commemorate. Tevildo (talk) 09:46, 5 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Do illegal migrants have good reason to head for the UK, as opposed to other stable countries?

Another one! :-) There are now several thousand illegal migrants hanging around the ferry port in Calais, desperate to get into Britain by any means available. Regardless if they would all qualify as proper refugees, I'm not disputing that they had sensible reasons for wanting to get into Europe. But by this point they are in France, and presumably most have come through other European countries to get there. Are they completely deluded in holding out for Britain, or does it make sense for them to resist claiming asylum somewhere on the Continent? 213.205.251.251 (talk) 21:40, 4 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

English is the international language of business. They might figure they'll fare better immersed in that than French, German or whatever. InedibleHulk (talk) 22:21, July 4, 2015 (UTC)

What a ridiculous, unsourced piece of guesswork. Try this article instead for some actual answers, e.g. admiration of British society, perceived less racism, existence of ethnic communities that they can fit into, perceived better state education, number of minority ethnic MPs, etc. --Viennese Waltz 22:46, 4 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

I've added a source, less ridiculous now. Immigrants to the UK must pass an English test. French immigrants must pass a French test. If there's more English in the global media (and it seems there is), it stands to reason more people could more easily pass the English one. InedibleHulk (talk) 23:03, July 4, 2015 (UTC)

But who says they're "illegal migrants"? You have to actually cross the borders of a country, and do so contrary to the laws of that country, to become "illegal". If all they're doing at this stage is contemplating migrating to the UK, there's nothing illegal about thinking. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 23:31, 4 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

The French and UK governments say they're illegal as they have entered France (and the EU) illegally and wish to further enter the UK illegally. Nanonic (talk) 00:10, 5 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Nothing illegal? Seriously though, have we considered whether they think snow's a real good thing? Britain's a bit colder than Africa and South Asia, but nothing compared to mountain Europe's chilling effect (literally, not this). InedibleHulk (talk) 00:48, July 5, 2015 (UTC)

There are many reasons, chief amongst those reported is the lower unemployment rate compared to France (that is, they believe they would have better job prospects in the UK). Tied in with this is that a lot of them know a small amount of English but no French at all so the UK is more attractive. A third reason is that it is seen to be easier to declare a wish to seek asylum in the UK. Some also mention the hostile attitude to them in France. See [16], [17], [18] and [19]. Nanonic (talk) 00:10, 5 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

For a very general and possibly useless answer, consider everything's tendency toward the path of least resistance. InedibleHulk (talk) 00:13, July 5, 2015 (UTC)

Well actually it's the path of MOST resistance, because France and most other EU countries are in the Schengen Area, so once you're inside, there are open borders; however, the UK won't be doing with any of that malarky and still has border controls at the English Channel which serves us "as a moat defensive to a house, Against the envy of less happier lands". Alansplodge (talk) 08:13, 5 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

When was Vostok Island claimed by the UK?

The best sourcing I can find is that a "Mr John T. Arundel" claimed Vostok Island for the United Kingdom in 1873. Does anyone have any idea if it's possible to find the specific date and what it might be? The best I can conceive is going through the archives of Parliament for 1873-4 and seeing if it was mentioned but that seems an excessive amount of work that may not even pan out. --Golbez (talk) 02:44, 5 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Arundel also claimed Flint Island for the UK in 1881, again without any specific date; would love to know that as well. --Golbez (talk) 03:10, 5 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

We do have an article on him: John T. Arundel, which lists several sources. Rojomoke (talk) 06:22, 5 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Order of competing claims

(I am not sure if this is the right place, if not, I would be happy if someone directed me to the correct place)

In many articles, in WP:ARBPIA, there are competing claims. The UN says something, Israel says something, the Palestinians say something etc. Is there some guideline as to which order these claims should be presented in a section? See for instance, the dispute here. Kingsindian ♝♚ 09:18, 5 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Raymond Lubitz

Resolved

The final chapter of the book Anarchy, State, and Utopia lists a number of individuals. One of them is "Raymond Lubitz". Who is Robert Nozick likely referring to? The name could be misspelled (for example the same list includes "Hugh Hefner" spelled with two "f"'s). If it helps, the entire list is as follows: "Wittgenstein, Elizabeth Taylor, Bertrand Russell, Thomas Merton, Yogi Berra, Allen Ginsburg, Harry Wolfson, Thoreau, Casey Stengel, The Lubavitcher Rebbe, Picasso, Moses, Einstein, Hugh Heffner, Socrates, Henry Ford, Lenny Bruce, Baba Ram Dass, Gandhi, Sir Edmund Hillary, Raymond Lubitz, Buddha, Frank Sinatra, Columbus, Freud, Norman Mailer, Ayn Rand, Baron Rothschild, Ted Williams, Thomas Edison, H. L. Mencken, Thomas Jefferson, Ralph Ellison, Bobby Fischer, Emma Goldman, Peter Kropotkin." Gabbe (talk) 10:11, 5 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

The economist Raymond Lubitz (1937-1984). He was Assistant and Associate Professor of Economics at Columbia University (from 1967-1973), a member of the Federal Reserve Board (1973-1984), and Chief of the FRB's World Payments Economic Activities Section (Division of International Finance). In 1971, he co-authored International Economics with Peter Kenen. Nanonic (talk) 10:24, 5 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

One of the essays of Socratic Puzzles was dedicated to Raymond Lubitz, the economist. So it seems you are spot on. Thanks for the quick response! Gabbe (talk) 10:55, 5 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Pansexuality and Cochin

How come the so called Pansexual pride flag is directly copied from the flag of the Kingdom of Cochin? Is this just a coincidence or is there any Indian spiritual inspiration for the new flag which has led to this?

@@ Line 362: / Line 362: @@
 :The economist Raymond Lubitz (1937-1984). He was Assistant and Associate Professor of Economics at Columbia University (from 1967-1973), a member of the Federal Reserve Board (1973-1984), and Chief of the FRB's World Payments Economic Activities Section (Division of International Finance). In 1971, he co-authored ''International Economics'' with [[Peter Kenen]]. [[User:Nanonic|Nanonic]] ([[User talk:Nanonic|talk]]) 10:24, 5 July 2015 (UTC)
 ::One of the essays of ''[[Socratic Puzzles]]'' was dedicated to [http://books.google.com/books?id=XOVelCewRMIC&pg=PA368 Raymond Lubitz, the economist]. So it seems you are spot on. Thanks for the quick response! [[User:Gabbe|Gabbe]] ([[User talk:Gabbe|talk]]) 10:55, 5 July 2015 (UTC)
+== Pansexuality and Cochin ==
+How come the so called [[Pansexual pride flag]] is directly copied from the flag of the [[Kingdom of Cochin]]? Is this just a coincidence or is there any [[Kamashastra|Indian spiritual inspiration]] for the new flag which has led to this?