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Neeme Järvi

Neeme Järvi (born 7 June 1937) is an Estonian American conductor.

Early life
Järvi was born in Tallinn. He initially studied music there, and later in Leningrad at the Leningrad Conservatory under Yevgeny Mravinsky, and Nikolai Rabinovich, among others. Early in his career, he held posts with the Estonian Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra, the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra and the Estonian National Opera in Tallinn. In 1971 he won first prize in the International Conductors Competition at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome. Järvi emigrated to the United States in 1980 with his family. He became an American citizen in 1985.

Career
In 1982, he became the principal conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, and held the post for 22 years, the longest-serving principal conductor in the orchestra's history. During his Gothenburg tenure, the recording profile and reputation of the orchestra greatly increased. He also helped to secure corporate sponsorship from Volvo that allowed the orchestra to increase in size from 80 to 110 players. He retained his post in Gothenburg until 2004, and now holds the title of Principal Conductor Emeritus (Chefdirigent Emeritus) with the orchestra.

Concurrently, Järvi was also Principal Conductor of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) between 1984 and 1988. At the time, he referred to his two orchestras as his "Berlin Philharmonic" (RSNO) and his "Vienna Philharmonic" (Gothenburg). With the RSNO, he made a number of landmark recordings for Chandos, notably Prokofiev and Dvořák cycles as well as Strauss's tone poems, various Shostakovich pieces, including Symphonies Nos. 4, 7 and 10, and the two violin concertos featuring Lydia Mordkovitch. After a guest-conducting appearance in December 2006 after a nine-year absence from the RSNO, the orchestra named him their Conductor Laureate.

In the United States, Järvi became Music Director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in 1990. He served until 2005, and is now its Music Director Emeritus. In November 1996, Järvi conducted a joint concert by the Philadelphia Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic in Camden, New Jersey, to raise funds for the Philadelphia Orchestra, which was in the midst of a strike. He donated his services and received no fee for this concert. He received praise from US orchestra musicians for this gesture, and expressed a lack of concern about the possibility that orchestral managers would be angry at him for doing so.

Järvi became Music Director of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra (NJSO) in 2005, with an initial three-year contract. With the 2007 decision by the NJSO to sell its "Golden Age" collection of string instruments, there was press speculation as to whether Järvi would renew his contract with the NJSO, as he stated that their acquisition of this collection was an important factor in his decision to accept the music directorship. When asked about the possibility of leaving after 2008, he stated: "It's very possible, but I haven't thought about it yet." In October 2007, the NJSO announced that Järvi had extended his contract as music director through the 2008–2009 season. In February 2008, the orchestra announced the conclusion of Järvi's tenure as the NJSO's music director at the end of the 2008–2009 season. In March 2009, the NJSO announced that Järvi had agreed to serve as the orchestra's artistic adviser, and named him their conductor laureate, after the scheduled conclusion of his contract as music director.

In September 2005, Järvi became Chief Conductor of the Residentie Orchestra of The Hague, with an initial contract of four years. In February 2008, the Residentie Orchestra announced the extension of Järvi's contract as Chief Conductor through 2011. In November 2009, the Residentie Orchestra further extended his contract through the 2012–2013 season. In August 2009, the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra announced the appointment of Järvi as its next music director, for an initial contract of three years. In November 2010, Järvi resigned over the dismissal of the orchestra's director. In September 2010, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande named Järvi as its ninth artistic and musical director, as of 2012, with an initial contract of three years.

Body of work
Järvi's discography includes over 400 recordings for labels such as BIS, Chandos and Deutsche Grammophon. He is best known for his interpretations of Romantic and 20th century classical music, and he has championed the work of his fellow Estonians Eduard Tubin and Arvo Pärt (whose Credo he premiered in 1968). His interpretations of Jean Sibelius with the Gothenburg Symphony are also well known. He has also recorded several works that have rarely been recorded in their complete form – among them all of Edvard Grieg's orchestral music, including the complete incidental music for Peer Gynt, as well as Tchaikovsky's complete incidental music for Alexander Ostrovsky's play Snegurochka (The Snow Maiden), and all three of Rimsky-Korsakov's symphonies and orchestral suites.

On SACD he has recorded Tchaikovsky's complete symphonies (with the Gothenburg SO – BIS label) and ballets (with the Bergen PO – Chandos label). He has also made SACD recordings of music by Mahler, Bruckner, Wagner, Raff and Atterberg for Chandos with his old orchestra, the Royal Scottish NO.

Järvi has given an annual master class, the Neeme Järvi Summer Academy, held until 2008 in Pärnu, Estonia during the David Oistrakh festival. Since 2009, the masterclass has been held during the Leigo Music days in South Estonia. In addition, he has helped raise funds for the Estonian Academy of Music, which opened in September 2000.

For his extensive, high-quality discography, Järvi received the Lifetime Achievement Award during the 2018 Gramophone Awards.

Personal life
Järvi and his wife Liilia have three children, the conductors Paavo Järvi and Kristjan Järvi and the flautist Maarika Järvi. After emigrating to the United States, the Järvi family settled initially in Shrewsbury, New Jersey. He and his wife now reside in New York City.

title: Neeme Järvi


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Rights and responsibilities of marriages in the United States

According to the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO), there are 1,138 statutory provisions in which marital status is a factor in determining benefits, rights, and privileges. These rights were a key issue in the debate over federal recognition of same-sex marriage. Under the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), the federal government was prohibited from recognizing same-sex couples who were lawfully married under the laws of their state. The conflict between this definition and the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution led the U.S. Supreme Court to rule DOMA unconstitutional on June 26, 2013, in the case of United States v. Windsor. DOMA was finally repealed and replaced by the Respect for Marriage Act on December 13, 2022, which retains the same statutory provisions as DOMA and extends them to interracial and same-sex married couples.

Prior to the enactment of DOMA, the GAO identified 1,049 federal statutory provisions in which benefits, rights, and privileges are contingent on marital status or in which marital status is a factor. An update was published in 2004 by the GAO covering the period between September 21, 1996 (when DOMA was signed into law), and December 31, 2003. The update identified 120 new statutory provisions involving marital status, and 31 statutory provisions involving marital status repealed or amended in such a way as to eliminate marital status as a factor.

The first legally-recognized same-sex marriage occurred in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1971. On June 26, 2015, in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court overturned Baker v. Nelson and ruled that marriage is a fundamental right guaranteed to all citizens, and thus legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.

Rights and benefits

 * Right to benefits while married:
 * Employment assistance and transitional services for spouses of members being separated from military service; continued commissary privileges
 * Per diem payment to spouse for federal civil service employees when relocating
 * Indian Health Service care for spouses of Native Americans (in some circumstances)
 * Sponsor husband/wife for immigration benefits
 * Larger benefits under some programs if married, including:
 * Veteran's disability
 * Supplemental Security Income
 * Disability payments for federal employees
 * Medicaid
 * Property tax exemption for homes of totally disabled veterans
 * Income tax deductions, credits, rates exemption, and estimates
 * Wages of an employee working for one's spouse are exempt from federal unemployment tax
 * Joint and family-related rights:
 * Joint filing of bankruptcy permitted
 * Joint parenting rights, such as access to children's school records
 * Family visitation rights for the spouse and non-biological children, such as to visit a spouse in a hospital or prison
 * Next-of-kin status for emergency medical decisions or filing wrongful death claims
 * Custodial rights to children, shared property, child support, and alimony after divorce
 * Domestic violence intervention
 * Access to "family only" services, such as reduced rate memberships to clubs & organizations or residency in certain neighborhoods
 * Preferential hiring for spouses of veterans in government jobs
 * Tax-free transfer of property between spouses (including on death) and exemption from "due-on-sale" clauses.
 * Special consideration to spouses of citizens and resident aliens
 * Threats against spouses of various federal employees is a federal crime
 * Right to continue living on land purchased from spouse by National Park Service when easement granted to spouse
 * Court notice of probate proceedings
 * Domestic violence protection orders
 * Existing homestead lease continuation of rights
 * Regulation of condominium sales to owner-occupants exemption
 * Funeral and bereavement leave
 * Joint adoption and foster care
 * Joint filing of taxes (see filing status)
 * Insurance licenses, coverage, eligibility, and benefits organization of mutual benefits society
 * Legal status with stepchildren
 * Making spousal medical decisions
 * Spousal non-resident tuition differential waiver
 * Permission to make funeral arrangements for a deceased spouse, including burial or cremation
 * Right of survivorship of custodial trust
 * Right to change surname upon marriage
 * Right to enter into prenuptial agreement
 * Right to inheritance of property
 * Spousal privilege in court cases (the marital confidences privilege and the spousal testimonial privilege)
 * For those divorced or widowed, the right to many of ex- or late spouse's benefits, including:
 * Social Security pension
 * Veteran's pensions, indemnity compensation for service-connected deaths, medical care, and nursing home care, right to burial in veterans' cemeteries, educational assistance, and housing
 * survivor benefits for federal employees
 * Survivor benefits for spouses of longshoremen, harbor workers, railroad workers
 * Additional benefits to spouses of coal miners who die of black lung disease
 * $100,000 to spouse of any public safety officer killed in the line of duty
 * Continuation of employer-sponsored health benefits
 * Renewal and termination rights to spouse's copyrights on death of spouse
 * Continued water rights of spouse in some circumstances
 * Payment of wages and workers compensation benefits after worker death
 * Making, revoking, and objecting to post-mortem anatomical gifts

Responsibilities

 * Spousal income and assets are counted in determining need in many forms of government assistance, including:
 * Veteran's medical and home care benefits
 * Housing assistance
 * Housing loans for veterans
 * Child's education loans
 * Educational loan repayment schedule
 * Agricultural price supports and loans
 * Eligibility for federal matching campaign funds
 * Ineligible for National Affordable Housing program if spouse ever purchased a home:
 * Subject to conflict-of-interest rules for many government and government-related jobs
 * Ineligible to receive various survivor benefits upon remarriage
 * Providing financial support for raising children born of the marriage

Ambiguous
There are some laws that either benefit or penalize married couples over single people, depending upon their own circumstances:
 * Marriage penalty/bonus
 * Changing beneficiaries in a retirement plan or waiving the joint and survivor annuity form of retirement benefit requires written spousal consent
 * Wages can be garnished at a maximum of 60% (instead of the normal 25% limit) if the garnishing is for alimony or child support

States
In addition, community-property states frequently have forms of ownership that allow a full basis step-up on one's own share of community property on the death of a spouse (in addition to the normal step-up on spouse's assets).

Legal remedies enacted following the GAO report
Following the 2004 GAO report at least one bill, the Uniting American Families Act, has been proposed to attempt to remedy some of the differences in rights between same-sex partnerships and marriages.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


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Thick-billed murre

The thick-billed murre or Brünnich's guillemot (Uria lomvia) is a bird in the auk family (Alcidae). This bird is named after the Danish zoologist Morten Thrane Brünnich. The very deeply black North Pacific subspecies Uria lomvia arra is also called Pallas' murre after its describer.

Taxonomy
The thick-billed murre was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae. He placed it with the other auks in the genus Alca and coined the binomial name Alca lomvia. Linnaeus specified the type locality as boreal Europe but this was restricted in 1921 to Greenland by the German orthithologist Ernst Hartert. The thick-billed murre is now placed together with the common murre in the genus Uria that was introduced in 1760 by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ouria, a waterbird mentioned by Athenaeus. The specific epithet lomvia is a Swedish word for an auk or diver. The English "guillemot" is from French guillemot probably derived from Guillaume, "William". "Murre" is of uncertain origins, but may imitate the call of the common guillemot.

Four subspecies are recognised:
 * U. l. lomvia (Linnaeus, 1758) – coastal northeast, southeast Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Jan Mayen (northeast of Iceland), north Scandinavia, Svalbard (north of Norway) to Novaya Zemlya (northwest Russia)
 * U. l. eleonorae Portenko, 1937 – coastal east Taymyr Peninsula to New Siberian Islands (central north Russia)
 * U. l. heckeri Portenko, 1944 – Wrangel and Herald Islands (north of northeast Siberia) and Chukchi Peninsula (northeast Siberia)
 * U. l. arra (Pallas, 1811) – coastal Kamchatka Peninsula, Sea of Okhotsk, Kuril Islands and Commander Islands (east Russia), Aleutian Islands, west, southeast Alaska, north Yukon (northwest Canada)

Description
Since the extinction of the great auk in the mid-19th century, the murres are the largest living members of the Alcidae. The thick-billed murre and the closely related common guillemot (or common murre, U. aalge) are similarly sized, but the thick-billed still bests the other species in both average and maximum size. The thick-billed murre measures 40 - 48 cm in total length, spans 64 - 81 cm across the wings and weighs 736 - 1481 g.  The Pacific race (U. l. arra) is larger than the Atlantic race, especially in bill dimensions.

Adult birds are black on the head, neck, back and wings with white underparts. The bill is long and pointed. They have a small rounded black tail. The lower face becomes white in winter. This species produces a variety of harsh cackling calls at the breeding colonies, but is silent at sea.

They differ from the common murre in their thicker, shorter bill with white gape stripe and their darker head and back; the "bridled" morph is unknown in U. lomvia – a murre has either a white eye-stripe, or a white bill-stripe, or neither, but never both; it may be that this is character displacement, enabling individual birds to recognize conspecifics at a distance in the densely packed breeding colonies as the bridled morph is most common by far in North Atlantic colonies where both species of guillemots breed. In winter, there is less white on the thick-billed murre's face. They look shorter than the common murre in flight. First year birds have smaller bills than adults and the white line on the bill is often obscure, making the bill an unreliable way to identify them at this age. The head pattern is the best way to distinguish first-year birds from common murres.

Distribution and habitat
The thick-billed murre is distributed across the polar and sub-polar regions of the Northern Hemisphere where four subspecies exist; one lives on the Atlantic and Arctic oceans of North America (U. l. lomvia), another on the Pacific coast of North America (U. l. arra), and two others that inhabit the Russian arctic (U. l. eleonorae and U. heckeri).

Thick-billed murres spend all of their lives at sea in waters which remain below 5°C, except during the breeding season where they form dense colonies on cliffs. They move south in winter into northernmost areas of the north Atlantic and Pacific, but only to keep in ice-free waters.

As a vagrant
Brünnich's guillemot is a rare vagrant in European countries south of the breeding range. In Britain, over 30 individuals have been recorded, but over half of these were tideline corpses. Of those that were seen alive, only three have remained long enough to be seen by large numbers of observers. All three were in Shetland - winter individuals in February 1987 and November/December 2005, and a bird in an auk colony in summer 1989. The 1989 and 2005 birds were both found by the same observer, Martin Heubeck.

The species has been recorded once in Ireland, and has also been recorded in the Netherlands. In the western Atlantic, they may range as far as Florida, and in the Pacific to California. Before 1950, large numbers appeared on the North American Great Lakes in early winter, passing up the St. Lawrence River from the East coast. Such irruptions have not been seen since 1952.

Breeding
Thick-billed murres form vast breeding colonies, sometimes composed of over a million breeding birds, on narrow ledges and steep cliffs which face the water. They have the smallest territory of any bird, requiring less than one square foot per individual. A breeding pair will lay a single egg each year. Despite this, they are one of the most abundant marine birds in the Northern Hemisphere.

Adults perform communal displays early in the breeding season to time their breeding cycles. They do not build nests, but lay the egg directly on bare rock. Both parents are involved in incubating the egg and raising the young. Due to the enormous amount of energy needed to take off in flight, adults can only provide one food item at a time to their chick. Chicks spend between 18 and 25 days on the cliffs before leaving for the sea. Once ready to leave, the young will await nightfall and jump off the edge towards the water. A parent immediately jumps after and glides within centimeters of the fledgling. At sea, the male and the chick stay together for around 8 weeks during which the adult continues to provide food for the young.

Survival rates of the young is not based on the number of individuals in the colony, but rather on the age of the breeders within the colony. Offspring of inexperienced pairs grow more slowly than those of experienced breeders, possibly because they do not receive as much food from their parents. Also, pairs which contain at least one young breeding bird tend to have lower hatch rates. Older and experienced adults obtain the better nesting sites located in the center of the colony, while the inexperienced individuals are kept on the margins where their young are more likely to be preyed upon.

Food and feeding
The thick-billed murre's flight is strong and direct, and they have fast wing beats due to the short wings. Like the other auks, these birds forage for food by using their wings to 'swim' underwater. They are accomplished divers, reaching depths of up to 150 m and diving for up to four minutes at a time; usually however birds make either shallow short dives or dive down to 21–40 m for longer periods. While hunting, the diving trajectory resembles a flattened 'U'. Birds will make long trips to get to favorite feeding grounds; while they usually forage several dozen km from their nest sites, they often travel more than 100 km to fish. The strong and direct flight of murres, which is, for their body size, the most costly form of sustained locomotion of any animal, is a result of their short wingspan.

The diving depths and durations regularly achieved by these birds indicate that they, and similar auks, have some—as yet unknown—mechanism to avoid diving sickness and lung collapse when surfacing. It is postulated that auks temporarily absorb excess gases into the vascular structure of their bones. From there, it is gradually released from temporary storage in a controlled process of decompression.

The nominate race feeds primarily on fish such as Gadus spp. and Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida), as well as the pelagic amphipod Parathemisto libellula. Other fish such as capelin (Mallotus villosus) and Myoxocephalus spp., as well as other crustaceans, polychaetes, and a few molluscs, are found in their diet but in relatively low numbers. When wintering near Newfoundland, capelin can account for over 90 percent of their diet.

Predators
Thick-billed murres have few natural predators because the immense number of concentrated birds found on the breeding colonies and the inaccessibility of these breeding sites make it extremely difficult for them to be preyed upon. Their main predator is the glaucous gull (Larus hyperboreus), and these feed exclusively on eggs and chicks. The common raven (Corvus corax) may also try to obtain eggs and hatchlings when they are left unattended.

Status and conservation
Although declines have been observed in many parts of their range, the thick-billed murre is not a species of concern as the total population is estimated to contain between 15 and 20 million individuals worldwide. Egg harvesting and hunting of adult birds are major threats in Greenland, where populations fell steeply between the 1960s and 1980s. In the Barents Sea region, the species has declined locally, due to influences associated with polar stations in Russia. Fisheries may also be a threat, but because thick-billed murres are better able to use alternative food sources the effect of over-fishing is not as severe as on the common murre. Pollution from oil at sea exerts another major threat. Murres are among the seabirds most sensitive to oil contamination. Incidental mortality brought on by entanglement with fishing gear is also an important cause of population decline.

Thick-billed murres are closely associated with sea-ice throughout the year. Consequently, some scientists believe that climate change may be a threat to this Arctic-breeding species. However the species seems adaptable. Populations at the southern edge of their range switched from feeding on ice-associated Arctic cod to warmer-water capelin as ice break-up became earlier. Dates for egg-laying advanced with the earlier disappearance of ice. The growth of chicks is slower in years when ice break-up is early relative to egg-laying by the murres. In extremely warm years, mosquitoes and heat kill some breeders.

title: Thick-billed murre


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Della Falls

Della Falls is a waterfall located within Strathcona Provincial Park on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. With a total height of 440 m, it ranks as the 16th tallest confirmed waterfall in Canada and the second tallest on Vancouver Island after Kiwi Falls in Schoen Lake Provincial Park.

Discovery
In 1899, prospector and trapper Joe Drinkwater discovered* Della Falls and named them after his wife. Drinkwater also built a 16 km (10 mi) hiking trail to the falls via Drinkwater Creek. Evidence of his gold mining operation, including an aerial tramway he built, can still be seen near the falls.

 * Discovered in the European context. The falls were known of by First Nations Peoples long before Drinkwater walked there.

Access
The only way to reach Della Falls, other than by helicopter, is by crossing the entire Great Central Lake by boat; the only road access to the lake is at the opposite side from Strathcona Park. After the 35 km (21 mi) crossing, there is a dock that marks the beginning of Strathcona Park, and a camping area which can be used as a base camp before trying the next 15 km (9 mi) ascent to the base of Della Falls. More campsites are available along the trail and near the base of the falls. The hike, part of which follows an old logging railway, takes about seven hours one way and is suitable for intermediate level hikers.

title: Della Falls


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2004 Constitution of Afghanistan

The 2004 Constitution of Afghanistan was the supreme law of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, which lasted from 2004 to 2021. It served as the legal framework between the Afghan government and the Afghan citizens. Although Afghanistan (Afghan Empire) was made a state in 1747 by Ahmad Shah Durrani, the earliest Afghan constitutional movement began during the reign of Emir Abdur Rahman Khan in the 1890s followed by the drafting in 1922 of a constitution. The 1964 Constitution of Afghanistan transformed Afghanistan into a modern democracy.

The constitution was approved by the consensus in January 2004 after the 2003 loya jirga. The Constitution consists of 162 articles and was officially signed by Hamid Karzai on January 26, 2004. It evolved out of the Afghan Constitution Commission mandated by the Bonn Agreement. The constitution provides for an elected President and National Assembly. The transitional government of interim president Hamid Karzai was put in place after the June 2002 loya jirga. The first presidential elections after the new constitution was in effect, took place in October 2004, and Karzai was elected to a five-year term. The first elections for the National Assembly were delayed until September 2005. The constitution was essentially abolished on August 15, 2021, with the overthrow and dissolution of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan by the Taliban. In late 2022, Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada confirmed that the 2004 Constitution had been formally abolished on his authority.

Eligibility of President
Article 62 of the Constitution of Afghanistan of 2004 stated that a candidate for the office of President must:
 * be a Muslim citizen of Afghanistan, born of Afghan parents;
 * not be a citizen of another country;
 * be at least forty years old;
 * not have been convicted of crimes against humanity, a criminal act or deprived of civil rights by court;
 * not have previously served more than two terms as president.

Legislative branch
The National Assembly of Afghanistan consisted of two houses: the Wolesi Jirga (House of the People) and the Meshrano Jirga (House of Elders).

The Wolesi Jirga, the more powerful house, consisted of a maximum of 250 delegates directly elected through a system of single non transferable vote (SNTV). Members were elected on a provincial basis and served for five years. At least 64 delegates were to be women; and ten Kuchi nomads were also elected among their peers. The Wolesi Jirga had the primary responsibility for making and ratifying laws and approving the actions of the president and had considerable veto power over senior appointments and policies

The Meshrano Jirga consisted of an unspecified number of local dignitaries and experts appointed by provincial councils, district councils, and the president. The president also appointed two representatives of the physically disabled. The lower house passed laws, approved budgets and ratified treaties – all of which required subsequent approval by the Meshrano Jirga.

Judicial branch and court system
The nation's top court was the Stera Mahkama (Supreme Court). Its members were appointed by the president for 10-year terms. There were also High Courts, Appeals Courts, and local and district courts. Eligible judges had their training in either Islamic jurisprudence or secular law.

Courts were allowed to use Hanafi jurisprudence in situations where the Constitution lacks provisions.

Cabinet
The current cabinet consists of the president, his two vice-presidents and 25 ministers. The ministers are appointed by the president but need approval from the Wolesi Jirga (lower house).

Provinces and Districts
The constitution divides Afghanistan into 34 provinces. Each province is governed by a provincial council with members elected for four-year terms. Provincial Governors are appointed by the president. Provinces are divided into districts, which contain villages and towns. Every village and town will also have councils, with members serving for three years.

Religion
The Constitution describes Islam as its sacred law and the most commonly practiced faith throughout Afghanistan.

Followers of other religions are "free to exercise their faith and perform their religious rites" within the limits of the law. There is no mention of freedom of thought, and apostasy from Islam.

Civil and human rights
Citizens were guaranteed the right to life and liberty, to privacy, of peaceful assembly, from torture and of expression and speech. If accused of a crime, citizens held the right to be informed of the charges, to representation by an advocate, and to presumption of innocence. Article 34 states, "Freedom of expression shall be inviolable. Every Afghan shall have the right to express thoughts through speech, writing, illustrations as well as other means in accordance with provisions of this constitution.  Every Afghan shall have the right, according to provisions of law, to print and publish on subjects without prior submission to state authorities.  Directives related to the press, radio and television as well as publications and other mass media shall be regulated by law."

Provisions are made to ensure free education and healthcare for all citizens.

Language
Article 16 of the constitution states that "from amongst Pashto, Dari, Uzbek, Turkmen, Balochi, Pashai, Nuristani and other current languages in the country, Pashto and Dari shall be the official languages of the state." In addition, other languages are considered "the third official language" in areas where they are spoken by a majority.

Article 20 states that the Afghan National Anthem (Wolesi Tarana) "shall be in Pashto with the mention of "God is Great" as well as the names of the tribes of Afghanistan."

The constitution aims "to foster and develop all languages of Afghanistan." (Article 16)

Land ownership
Foreigners are not allowed to own land in Afghanistan. Foreign individuals shall not have the right to own immovable property in Afghanistan.

title: 2004 Constitution of Afghanistan


text:
Talk:Afghan Constitution Commission

Comments
This article was getting a bit lengthy and overdone. Also, it was turning into a long chronology. I spent a good hour removing redundancies, fixing tenses, re-organizing and clarifying. I removed news items that were pasted into the article. I also removed the text of the proposed constitution and placed it in its own article: Proposed Afghan Constitution.

This article still needs to be streamlined. I welcome anyone to help. I'll give it another shot after a few days rest.

My compliments go out to User:CBorges for all the hard work put into this article. Kingturtle 07:20, 28 Nov 2003 (UTC)

When I first started experimenting with Wikipedia I went to the requested articles list and looked at the alphabetical list. Afghan articles were at the top, not surprisingly.

I'm greatly relieved that someone has taken up the task of improving this article. Although I hope things work out for Afghanistan and its people, this is not an area of expertise for me.

I certainly accept all of User:Kingturtle's comments. The article was getting overly long and not mentioning opposition to the draft was a serious omission on my part.

I would just add that it appears someone has undone his attempt to set up an article called Proposed Afghan Constitution. It now just redirects to the Afghan Constitution Commission entry, and the draft constitution has thus disappeared, which I think is a pity.

There also seems to be a problem with the numbering in the table of contents.

I'll check again in a few days once the imminent loya jirga is over. If User:Kingturtle or anyone else has added coverage by then, great. I'm happy to pass on the torch.

Otherwise I'll work on the formatting issue and do an update. CBorges 04:47, 14 Dec 2003 (UTC)

A discussion on Votes for deletion took place regarding Proposed Afghan Constitution. It reads as follows:
 * Afghan Constitution Commission was getting huge and unruly. While parsing it down, I cut the Proposed Afghan Constitution out and gave it its own article. However, I am not sure if Wikipedia is a facility for full-texts of Constitutions. It may have to be deleted. What are your thoughts? Kingturtle 07:25, 28 Nov 2003 (UTC) P.S. By the way, when counting up the votes, DO NOT count me as a vote either way. I am not sure which way to go on this question.
 * I think it's better to link to the text on an external (and authoritative) site. Onebyone 11:10, 28 Nov 2003 (UTC)
 * Agree. Anjouli 12:56, 28 Nov 2003 (UTC)
 * Redirected to Afghan Constitution Commission - will move to redirects for deletion. Martin 19:35, 28 Nov 2003 (UTC)
 * Maybe in the end of this process, this could turn into a redirect, but I think the community needs first to further discuss the article's potential or lack of potential. So, for now, I have removed the redirect. Kingturtle 21:01, 28 Nov 2003 (UTC)
 * Ok, that's fine. Wikipedia is not a collection of source texts, which is what normally applies here. Still, since we won't be deleting this article, it's probably not best placed here. Martin 00:43, 29 Nov 2003 (UTC)
 * Actually, I suppose what should appear at Proposed Afghan Constitution is a history and summary. Kingturtle 21:15, 30 Nov 2003 (UTC)
 * Keep, use redirects to fix. Daniel Quinlan 17:08, Dec 3, 2003 (UTC)

It was then decided to turn that page into a redirect. But if you feel otherwise, we can discuss it here. Kingturtle 04:58, 14 Dec 2003 (UTC)

Missing links
The link to http://www.unhcr.org.uk/afghanistan/documents/38eng_000.pdf is broken, but the directory still has content in http://www.unhcr.org.uk/afghanistan/documents/ but I could not decide which was appropriate.

title: Talk:Afghan Constitution Commission


text:
User talk:Gbog

Re: Talk:Confucius

I cannot tell that you're not a native English speaker! Your English seems native enough. You're too humble.

 * Maybe because I read to many Chinese writers ;)

Are you a native Chinese speaker?

 * Oh no! I'm French! (living now in Chengdu)

So I am. And I assure you, my English is nowhere near perfection. But I write nonetheless! And get corrected when other people notice my mistake -- that is the spirit of Wiki, collaboration and tolerance. --Menchi 07:21, 28 Nov 2003 (UTC)

 * Thanks for your advices, Menchi. I'll try to "be bold" but i have few time and I want to work also on fr.WP... Gbog 07:40, 28 Nov 2003 (UTC)

Image attribution
It's better to explicitly state the source (URL or a book) of a photo you uploaded, and say it in the image description pages (e.g., Image:Confucius 01.jpg) It is a responsibility to GFDL license. Thank you. --Menchi (Talk)ü| â 17:55, 8 Dec 2003 (UTC)

 * Well... i don't remember exactly where I found it... looking for it, I find this http://www.jb.man.ac.uk/~smao/Myself.html and my web-site http://afpc.asso.fr/wengu/wg/wengu.php?l=Lunyu

 * Say "Copyright status unknown; source unknown" in the image description page then (which obviously is not ideal). If you can find it, that's the best. --Menchi (Talk)ü| â 18:16, 8 Dec 2003 (UTC)

 * Ok, done it this way gbog

I browsed your website, and, do you build that yourself? It seems to be a huge project to set up a website like that!! It's wonderful! but ancient Chinese is quite tough for me to understand... :( -- yacht (Talk) 13:01, Dec 20, 2003 (UTC)

 * Yes, I did it with my own little hands and bits of php ! gbog

Hi, don't worry about not knowing what had happened before with the Mother Teresa article. There's been quite a history to it over the last two months, which I expect would be near-to-impossible for someone new to the page to follow. A quick summary of it is that many people feel the page is POV and the criticisms section need to be worked on, but Eloquence feels very strongly that this section must stay in the article, and that the photographs are NPOV. I do advise that if you want to get involved with the page, you check over the archives to make sure you're not raising the same points again. Also, you should be aware that the article has been the cause of quite a few raised tempers, so you need to tread carefully and not take criticisms personally if they are made against you. Good luck if you do get involved. Personally, I'm staying out of it. :) By the way, there's an NPOV tutorial which might help. Angela. 04:40, 15 Dec 2003 (UTC)

 * Thanks for advices. I will try to do something (be bold, ô my heart!)... I hope everybody share the same tiny goal: be able to remove the POV flag...

 * Very brave! :) Angela.

Please calm down. I've looked at your website and I think you're a very intelligent person. I understand you're trying to help. But please take a step back and read through my arguments. I really hope we can work together productively, especially when it comes to adding information to the article. I only ask you to accept my basic position not to remove relevant facts. As soon as you do that, I'm sure that we will be able to cooperate well. Please allow for the possibility that I am correct.—Eloquence

Again, please stop being so aggressive. Try to work with me here.—Eloquence

 * When you will stop taking me for an idiot.gbog
 * And when you will show you try to work with me "also". gbog

I see you are the latest contributor to the Mother Teresa article that Eloquence has tried to bully, ridicule and patronise into letting him have his own way. At this stage Eloquence's behaviour here has become notorious (the comments made about it on AIM and in emails are a howl!) Don't be afraid to defend your view and ignore any threats. Lots of luck with the. . . eh. . . experience. :-) FearÉIREANN 23:30, 20 Dec 2003 (UTC)

 * I don't know what is AIM and I'd like to see the comments on this little campfire :) gbog

 * AOL Instant Messenger. I guess FearÉIREANN received some messages there. --Menchi (Talk)ü| â 03:36, 21 Dec 2003 (UTC)

 * Thanks, Menchi

minor comments
Good luck with Mother Theresa article, sir. Eloquence is obviously quite knowledgeable, and has interesting points, but seems to me to want to use the article as a propaganda piece a bit, and displays a sad tendency to ad hominem attacks (which is unfortunate as otherwise he seems intelligent). I myself definitely don't care enough to wade into that mess :)

 * Yes, and ad hominem attacks from a sysop to a new Wikipedian is not exactly what I would call a good thing.gbog

From the top of one of your pages:

"that's what says Routledge article about Confucius and Confucianism."

I suggest rather this: "is what is written in the Routledge article about Confucius and Confucianism."

Notes: "say's" should not have an apostrophe, and "that's what says" sounds awkward, and too informal for written English. "Routledge" needs either an apostrophe, or else an article (an article makes it a noun used as an adjective here).

(I'm not a professional editor at all, so I just try to explain my understanding, which as a native speaker, is sometimes too intuitive and insufficiently educated to be explained decently.)

 * Thanks for to this note. Very useful. I have corrected the page. Any other suggestions highly welcomed, my English is saaoo bad :)

Instead of trying to start silly fights all over Wikipedia, how about working to improve the actual article? I've responded to your criticisms and rewrote the article in parts. Please respond if you consider these changes acceptable. If you think the changes to the NPOV tutorial are not, please explain your dissent. You seem be in passive-aggressive mode right now. That won't bring us forward.—Eloquence

 * I am in passive agressive mode because

 * you unfairly reverted me (->passive mode)
 * you don't allow me to edit the FAQ you write on MT discussion page (->passive mode)
 * nearly each time I suggest any change, you try your best to avoid making the change, as if it was your thing that I am not allowed to touch (->passive mode again)
 * you attacked me ad hominem (agressive mode), and deleted my answers. See User:Gbog/Baston

 * Silly questions: Why not changing the way you mess with new people in Wikipedia? Do you think that your attitude is the proper one for a sysop? gbog 11:22, 21 Dec 2003 (UTC)

I think I've made it quite clear that I'm willing to work with you on the facts, the phrases that are used, the attributions etc. I just won't accept the removal of significant criticisms of Mother Teresa. That's all that I ask you to respect. Can you? —Eloquence

 * I think you have made clear, with me and many other ones, including fully respected Wikinausors I guess, that you don't want to works with others people on the edit on this article. I don't ask you to accept removals of any kind, I just ask you to consider other people equally allowed as you are to edit this article or others. gbog

 * If that's the case, why did I just make half a dozen edits in response to your suggestions?—Eloquence

 * Answer is obvious: you feel guilty. gbog

Just a warning: More than three reverts in a row are a violation of revert policy.—Eloquence

A plea: I don't want to fight you. But simply removing info from wikipedia will not only not stand, but will get someone who tries to shunt it off lose credibility. (Cimon)

 * I did not intend to remove info from wp (but I may have unintentionally deleted something). What I think is not clear enough, off-topic, or has too much pov taste, I try to fix it. If I don't manage that, I may take the thing to the discussion page after asking for, so it can be easilly reworked.gbog

Hi gbog, the Mother Teresa discussions on the village pump were turning into nothing but a slanging match so I've refactored and moved only what was relevant to the NPOV tutorial talk page. You said on the pump "I have few info on few topics and I'd like to share them, that my goal here. I thought if was enough". Absolutely - do that! Don't let this episode put you off. I'm sure you can find a calmer place to edit than the MT article. It might be a good idea to take a break from it for a bit to let things cool down. They seem to be reaching boiling point again. Anyway, don't burn yourself out on it. Angela. 05:05, 22 Dec 2003 (UTC)

 * Don't worry, I am cool, and your refactoring is nice :) (but I don't like very much to be attacked and taken for an idiot, that's human...) gbog
 * Angela, as nobody is touching MT, and as I think frozen war will not make the MT article walk alone to npov, I will do little edits, if you don't mind. I just wanted you to now that I appreciated your advices and would have followed them (taking a break from MT) if there was some other editors on the task.

Just remember, gbog, that whenever you feel insulted at some corners of WP, you can always come to write about ancient China! There's little, if any, attack nowadays re: such subjects! :-) --Menchi (Talk)ü| â 06:19, 22 Dec 2003 (UTC)

 * You are perfectly right!

Boilerplate permission text
Hi Gbog, thanks for the correction. The page with boilerplate texts is: Boilerplate text, there are also some custom messages at MediaWiki custom messages, however the permission text is at Boilerplate request for permission. Good luck, and let me know if you have any more questions. Dori | Talk 17:54, Jan 11, 2004 (UTC)

Three Character Classic
Thanks for pointing out the information I lost with that grammar fix; I've tried to put it back, but I've added a note (on Talk:Three Character Classic, so others can spot it) that you might want to look at. - IMSoP 14:53, 6 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Li Po
Hi, I've answered on my talk page. Markalexander100 04:14, 22 May 2004 (UTC)

Great link
Woa! The French Chinese teacher site you linked at Du Mu is amazing! The bilingual hovering mouse stuff is my favourite function. Thanks for sharing the fantastic link! --Menchi 08:39, 1 Jun 2004 (UTC)

 * Your compliment touches my heart : This text base is my work, my little baby, my insignificant gift to Chinese culture :)

 * Now I'm trying to categorize a little bit China related articles I'm watching, but I'm not shure if I do it properly and I found very few docs about that "Category:Shemesheme" scheme. If you know a little about it and think it should be done differently (or later), tell me. gbog 08:51, 1 Jun 2004 (UTC)

 * Oh, is that your site? I came across it a few months ago, and since then I've been recommending it to everyone! Markalexander100 09:36, 1 Jun 2004 (UTC)

 * Nice to hear that ! gbog

Firefox problem
moved from Talk:Mozilla Firefox:

Hello, this is probably not the right place to ask that. I recently downloaded Firefox and am happy with it. I only have problems with few sites, and especially with wikipedia : links are underlined with a stroke that is touching the bottom of letters, and the result is ugly ang hard to read. Do I have to correct this myself in a personalized css or shall the GUI developpers be warned that a kind of bug has to be fixed ? gbog 15:27, 2004 Oct 17 (UTC)

 * Hi; it seems you're not the only one to have this problem, but I can't seem to reproduce it myself. Clear your cache, and if the problem's still there, perhaps you could give some more details: What version of Windows/MacOS// are you using? Does anything other than the skin make a difference (e.g. logging in/out)? Please respond on my talk page so I'll spot it; thanks. - IMSoP 17:49, 17 Oct 2004 (UTC)

In response to your response on my talk page:
 * Well, the reason I suggested you "clear your cache" (an over-simplification, obviously you only need to flush out the appropriate parts) was in case somebody had actually fixed the problem before I saw your comment - i.e. the reason I couldn't reproduce it was that I had a fixed CSS file which your browser hadn't loaded. Try holding down a ridiculous variety of modifier keys - contrary to people's instructions, I'm sure I've had Ctrl-Shift-R do something different from Ctrl-R, though I may have been imagining it.

 * Otherwise, well, we now know that I'm using exactly the same OS as you, so it's not that. I've also hunted through CSS files, and the font specified by Monobook appears to just be "sans-serif", so it's a pretty big deal if that is breaking Firefox. Just as a quick check, can you try pasting the following in to your address bar: to me, the text appears with a nice, normal, helpful underline just below the text, just like links on Wikipedia or any other site. Does it exhibit the problem for you?

data:text/html,This is a link
 * I admit, I'm pretty stumped here; not just because I don't have the in-depth knowledge of CSS to diagnose the error, but because I can't see any reason it should be different in my Waterquail Firefox from yours, unless you have a different stylesheet cached somewhere... - IMSoP 15:52, 19 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Article Licensing
Hi, I've started a drive to get users to multi-license all of their contributions that they've made to either (1) all U.S. state, county, and city articles or (2) all articles, using the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike (CC-by-sa) v1.0 and v2.0 Licenses or into the public domain if they prefer. The CC-by-sa license is a true free documentation license that is similar to Wikipedia's license, the GFDL, but it allows other projects, such as WikiTravel, to use our articles. Since you are among the top 2000 Wikipedians by edits, I was wondering if you would be willing to multi-license all of your contributions or at minimum those on the geographic articles. Over 90% of people asked have agreed. For More Information:
 * Multi-Licensing FAQ - Lots of questions answered
 * Multi-Licensing Guide
 * Free the Rambot Articles Project

To allow us to track those users who muli-license their contributions, many users copy and paste the " " template into their user page, but there are other options at Template messages/User namespace. The following examples could also copied and pasted into your user page:

 * Option 1
 * I agree to multi-license all my contributions, with the exception of my user pages, as described below:

OR
 * Option 2
 * I agree to multi-license all my contributions to any U.S. state, county, or city article as described below:

Or if you wanted to place your work into the public domain, you could replace " " with "  ". If you only prefer using the GFDL, I would like to know that too. Please let me know what you think at my talk page. It's important to know either way so no one keeps asking. -- Ram-Man (comment| talk)

Chinese philosophers
I've been adding the Category 'Chinese philosophers' to various articles, including some that I've started, but have just discovered that the Category is up for deletion. I can't find any discussion, or even an entry on the CfD page. Has it already been decided? I'd be sorry, because your Edit summary is surely incorrect; scientists, theologians, historians, etc., are all thinkers, but they're not philosophers. Mel Etitis ( Μελ Ετητης ) 11:21, 25 Feb 2005 (UTC)

 * The problem is that some say there is a Chinese philosophy, some say there is nothing of the kind. My opinion on this is not fixed yet, as I don't understand exactly what philosophy is, but I'm pretty sure that our Western categories don't work well in Chinese world. If Wang Chong may be a little close to our idea of a philosopher (because he's using suspicion as a tool for understanding the world), others like Confucius, Mencius or (worse) Lao Zi, are all but philosophers (in the narrow sense), mostly because Truth isn't their aim, and Logical reasonning isn't their mean. That's the reason why I'd prefer a category like "Chinese thinker", where we could include Sima Qian, than "Chinese philosopher" which is narrow and western-centric. Having both may be a solution but I read the policies were to try to avoid overlapping categories whenever possible. gbog 09:17, 2005 Feb 27 (UTC)

 * I don't know anyone living (at least, no-one significant in the field) who says that there's no such thing as Chinese philosophy; that was a claim made in the past by those who had a very narrow notion of Western philosophy, and little or no knowledge of anything else. Chinese philosophy is fully represented in mainstream philosophy texts, both more academic (see for example A Companion to the Philosophers ed. Robert L. Arrington; 2001: Blackwell) and more popular (see for example One Hundred Philosophers Peter J. King; 2004: Barrons).  (I also disagree with the claim that Confucius and Mencius weren't concerned with truth, or that they didn't use reason in their attempt to discover and argue for it — but see below.)
 * The Chinese themselves certainly distinguish between philosophers and other thinkers. There's obviously a problem when one goes further back in time, and it becomes more difficult to distinguish between philosophers and more general teachers of morality or good governance — but the same is true of Western philosophy, expecially with regard to much of the late-Classical early-Mediæval period.  Speaking as a professional philosopher myself, I have no problem with the idea that much of Chinese philosophy is as philosophical as Western philosophy.
 * The question of overlapping categories is a different matter, of course. I'd prefer to think of Philosophers as a sub-category of Thinkers, rather than as overlapping.  Perhaps that would solve the problem?  After all, there are many Western philosophers who would figure in more than one subcatgory of 'Western thinkers' (Kant is claimed by geographers, Descartes and Leibniz by mathematicians, Hume by historians, etc. Mel Etitis ( Μελ Ετητης ) 11:39, 27 Feb 2005 (UTC)

 * I have heard about Hegel denying the existence of Chinese philosophy. I know he is dead but I guess this kind of guy must have a reason to say that. I read a little bit of Wang Chong, more of Xun Zi and Confucius and the difference with Socrates' way (as read in Plato) is really amazing. I don't see many links between the two different ways. But I'm no professional philosopher, and therefore not qualified to determine the fields and methods of philosophy. the name of Thinker category probably came to my mind because I'm often consulting la Pensée Chinoise, written by Marcel Granet. That said, I don't care that much. I do care more when articles about Philosophy here don't say a word on Eastern part of the world. (Actually the article is better than before, but still represents a Western view on the topic. One example among many : the five types of questions, logical, epistemological, ethical, metaphysical, and aesthetic, don't fit for Eastern philosophy, where i would remove logical and metaphysical, and add politics and "self-cultivation" (no better term comes to my mind). Except in Zhuang Zi, who is not representative, I have never seen any questions about being and truth, or never asked in the way Westerners would do. In trying to agree with everybody, and to include the East, this article about Philosophy is full of annoying signs of meaningless soup like "most", "often", "generally", etc. Remove them, and you have a decent article about... Western Philosophy...) So far, I don't care that much anyway for name of categories and, because we have to choose, I would agree to use the western/modern scheme. gbog 19:16, 2005 Feb 28 (UTC)

I'm afraid that the sad truth is that some philosophers, including Hegel and (even more disappointingly) Kant and Hume, were racists. One can try to excuse them by pointing to the times and cultures in which they lived, but that's no excuse for a philosopher. As for the Socratic method — very few Western philosophers have followed it either. Mel Etitis ( Μελ Ετητης ) 19:15, 28 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Templates
About the Wikisource templates, I agree that italics don't work well with Chinese characters, so this means that we have to make a new template for China-related topics. -- ran (talk) July 4, 2005 17:23 (UTC)

Qi
Since the link is to proprietory software, and following your logic every Chinese character you speak of could be sourced at the Wenlin dictionary, don't you think you should remove it? Do you use Wenlin? Do you have any conflict of interest in the matter? Mccready 5 July 2005 15:06 (UTC)

 * No, it is not every chinese character that should be linked to Wenlin. In Qi it is the etymological description that belongs, I guess, to Wenlin. Is it a copyvio ? I don't think so as the text copyed is very short, but I feel better in giving the source. It is like quoting a translated sentence of Lao Zi, I think we should always use renowed translations and openly display the name of the translator. I may be mistaking however, and I don't know if there is already some guideline on this very point. gbog 6 July 2005 00:51 (UTC)

Cogito ergo sum
Thanks for letting me know, carelessness on my part, has been reverted. --TheMidnighters 08:06, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

Feng-kan != Fenggan
Why did you move all the Feng-kan related pages to Fenggan? I have never seen him named that, and I was following Red Pine's usage. Also, Feng-kan has multiple hits, for the right guy, while Fenggan returns many more hits- but not a single one appears to reference the monk. --Maru 16:40, 15 July 2005 (UTC)

From the Mozi article: 墨子 (翟)
His last name, unfortunately has the (hanyu) pinyin of zhái NOT dí BECAUSE

1)The 2 acceptable pinyin spellings for 翟 are dí and zhái HOWEVER, The spelling dí is archaic now it is no longer used.

2)The spelling dí brings a different meaning to the word 翟, it means long-tailed pheasant when dí is used HOWEVER, When the spelling zhái is applied, the meaning completely changes, it becomes the pinyin of an ACTUAL last name.

Found definitions at: HERE

--N0N4am0r 20:05, July 27, 2005 (UTC)

Fair Warning
Admin User: Mel Etitis, whom I see you are already acquainted with has posted the suspicion (on my talk) that User:Mr Tan MAY BE User:ETTan, whom you are 'debating' on Chinese Culture and Philosophy in at least a couple of articles. If so, you might want to take a long look at for what you may be up against by reading archieved talks (archieve4 will be enough) on Talk:Tsushima Island and RfC on Mr Tans problems with other editors. In sum, reasoned, logical arguements aren't going to budge him, you'll also need allies. I'm going inactive for a while, so if you get into further revert situations with this suspected socket puppet, get a hold of Mel. I re-reverted the emptiness/nothingness change he last made in 'Taoism' (???), but you will want to keep an eye on your watch list. Best Wishes! Fra nkB  04:52, 30 July 2005 (UTC)

I'm pretty new in Wiki. There are only 2 articles I'd commented about: Taoism and Tao Te Ching as I'd already working on these 2 topics for years. For me, its kind of weird to translate the chinese character 無, which means nothing, as empty. This is the main reason that I insist on the changes. Besides, I also provide other reasons, which are established knowledge among taoist scholars, in my discussions. Hopefully, you are not taking grudge against all chinese just because of some bad examples. Please read my comments properly and consult some real experts, who have to know classical chinese, if possible. Finally, I demand an apology from Mel for throwing mud at me.

--ETTan 15:35, 30 July 2005 (UTC)

Image Tagging Image:Confucius 01.jpg
Thanks for uploading Image:Confucius 01.jpg. I notice the 'image' page currently doesn't specify who created the content, so the copyright status is therefore unclear. If you have not created this media yourself then you need to argue that we have the right to use the media on Wikipedia (see copyright tagging below). If you have not created the media yourself then you should also specify where you found it, i.e., in most cases link to the website where you got it, and the terms of use for content from that page.

If the media also doesn't have a copyright tag then you must also add one. If you created/took the picture, audio, or video then you can use GFDL-self to release it under the GFDL. If you believe the media qualifies as fair use, please read fair use, and then use a tag such as or one of the other tags listed at Image copyright tags. See Image copyright tags for the full list of copyright tags that you can use.

If you have uploaded other media, please check that you have specified their source and copyright tagged them, too. You can find a list of 'image' pages you have edited by clicking on the "my contributions" link (it is located at the very top of any Wikipedia page when you are logged in), and then selecting "Image" from the dropdown box. Note that any unsourced and untagged images will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. Thank you. Jkelly 23:45, 15 February 2006 (UTC)

Shide page move
Hello: You moved the entry Shih-Te to Shide last year. This is now under discussion to move to Shide (poet). Would you please join the discussion at Talk:Shide to offer the rationale behind your move? Thank you. ~ trialsanderrors 01:51, 17 May 2006 (UTC)

WikiProject France
Hello! We are a group of editors working to improve the quality of France related articles. You look like someone who might be interested in joining us in the France WikiProject and so I thought I'd drop you a line and invite you! We'd love to have you in our project :-) STTW (talk)  15:01, 14 January 2007 (UTC)

Category:Chinese thought
Category:Chinese thought, which you created, has been nominated for possible deletion, merging, or renaming. If you would like to participate in the discussion, you are invited to add your comments at the category's entry on the Categories for discussion page. Thank you. —Justin ( koavf ) ❤T☮C☺M☯ 15:25, 19 May 2013 (UTC)

ArbCom elections are now open!
Hi, You appear to be eligible to vote in the current Arbitration Committee election. The Arbitration Committee is the panel of editors responsible for conducting the Wikipedia arbitration process. It has the authority to enact binding solutions for disputes between editors, primarily related to serious behavioural issues that the community has been unable to resolve. This includes the ability to impose site bans, topic bans, editing restrictions, and other measures needed to maintain our editing environment. The arbitration policy describes the Committee's roles and responsibilities in greater detail. If you wish to participate, you are welcome to review the candidates' statements and submit your choices on the voting page. For the Election committee, MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 22:13, 30 November 2015 (UTC)

title: User talk:Gbog


text:
Cleomenes III

Cleomenes III (Κλεομένης) was one of the two kings of Sparta from 235 to 222 BC. He was a member of the Agiad dynasty and succeeded his father, Leonidas II. He is known for his attempts to reform the Spartan state.

From 229 to 222 BC, Cleomenes waged war against the Achaean League under Aratus of Sicyon. After being defeated by the Achaeans in the Battle of Sellasia in 222 BC, he fled to Ptolemaic Egypt. After a failed revolt in 219 BC, he committed suicide.

Early life
Cleomenes was born in Sparta to the future Agiad king Leonidas II and his wife Cratesicleia. The exact year of Cleomenes' birth is unknown but historian Peter Green puts it between 265 BC and 260 BC.

Around 242 BC, Leonidas was exiled from Sparta and forced to seek refuge in the temple of Athena after opposing the reforms of the Eurypontid King, Agis IV. Cleomenes' brother-in-law, Cleombrotus, who was a supporter of Agis, became king. Meanwhile, having started his reforms Agis went on a campaign near the Isthmus of Corinth, which presented Leonidas with an opportunity to regain his throne. He quickly disposed of Cleombrotus, and went after Agis who had gone to find sanctuary. After holding out for quite some time, Agis was arrested and executed, along with other family members.

Following the execution of Agis, Cleomenes, who was around eighteen at the time, was forced by his father to marry Agis' widow, Agiatis, who was a wealthy heiress. According to legend, Cleomenes was hunting when his father sent him a message telling him to return immediately to Sparta. When he returned to the city, he saw that it was being decorated for a wedding and when he asked his father who was getting married, his father replied that he, Cleomenes, was. It was reported that Cleomenes was doubtful about the marriage because his father had had Agiatis' husband executed. Nevertheless, the marriage went ahead.

Early years
Cleomenes ascended the throne of Sparta in 235 BC, following the death of his father. Cleomenes had been inspired by Agis and followed through on his reforms. Meanwhile, the Achaean League under the command of Aratus of Sicyon was trying to unite all of the Peloponnese. Upon hearing of Leonidas' death, Aratus began attacking the cities of Arcadia, which bordered Achaea. Plutarch says that Aratus made these moves to discover Sparta's inclinations.

In 229 BC, the cities of Tegea, Mantinea, Caphyae and Orchomenus, who were allied with the Aetolian League, joined Sparta. Historians Polybius and Sir William Smith claim that Cleomenes seized these cities by treachery; however the translator of Plutarch on Sparta, Richard Talbert, claims he did so at their own request. Later that year, the ephors sent Cleomenes to seize Athenaeum, a fort on the Spartan border with Megalopolis which was being disputed by both cities. Cleomenes seized the fort and improved its fortifications. Meanwhile, the Achaean League summoned a meeting of its assembly and declared war against Sparta. In retaliation for fortifying Athenaeum, Aratus carried out a night attack on Tegea and Orchomenus but when his supporters inside those cities failed to help, he retreated, hoping to remain undetected.

Cleomenes discovered the attempted night attack and sent a message to Aratus asking the purpose of the expedition. Aratus replied that he had come to stop Cleomenes from fortifying Athenaeum. Cleomenes response was, "if it's all the same to you, write and tell me why you brought along those torches and ladders."

Cleomenean War
Cleomenes advanced into Arcadia before being called back by the ephors. When Aratus captured Caphyae, the ephors sent him out again. He ravaged the territory of Argos with an army of 5,000 men before being confronted by the new strategos of the Achaean League, Aristomachos of Argos and his army consisting of 20,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry at Pallantium. Aratus, who accompanied Aristomachos as an adviser, urged him to retreat. Smith agrees with Aratus' assessment that 20,000 Achaeans were no match for 5,000 Spartans.

This success greatly encouraged Cleomenes, and when he heard that Aratus was attacking Sparta's ally, Elis, he set off to confront them. The Spartan army fell upon the Achaean army near Mount Lycaeum and routed it. Aratus took advantage of a rumour saying that he had been killed in the battle and seized Mantinea. Aratus' victory at Mantinea reduced the Spartans' desire for war and they began to oppose Cleomenes' war effort.

Meanwhile, the Eurypontid King of Sparta, Eudamidas III, who was the son of Agis IV and Agiatis, died. Cleomenes recalled his uncle, who had fled after Agis' execution to Messene, to assume the throne. However, as soon as he returned to Sparta he was assassinated. Cleomenes' part in the assassination is unknown, with Polybius claiming that he ordered it, but Plutarch disagreeing.

Having bribed the ephors to allow him to continue campaigning, Cleomenes advanced into the territory of Megalopolis and started to besiege the village of Leuctra. As Cleomenes was besieging the village, an Achaean army under the command of Aratus attacked the Spartans. In the initial attack, the Spartans were repelled. However, Lydiadas of Megalopolis, the cavalry commander, disobeyed Aratus' order not to pursue the Spartans. When the cavalry scattered while trying to cross some difficult terrain, Cleomenes' skirmishers managed to defeat them. Encouraged by this counter-attack, the Spartans charged the main body of the Achaean army and routed them.

Confident of his strong position, Cleomenes began plotting against the ephors. After gaining the support of his stepfather, he embarked with him on a whirlwind military expedition against his opponents, and when they requested to stay in Arcadia due to exhaustion he returned to Sparta to carry out his reform plans. When he reached the city, he sent some of his loyal followers to kill the ephors. Four of the ephors were killed, while the fifth, Agylaeus, managed to escape and seek sanctuary in a temple. Having removed the ephors, Cleomenes began to implement his reforms.

The reforms
After having removed the ephors, who obstructed his political will, Cleomenes used the character of Lycurgus the lawgiver, which allowed him to legitimize the violence, and he began his reforms. He first handed over all his land to the state; he was soon followed in this by his stepfather and his friends and the rest of the citizens. He divided up all the land and gave an equal lot to every citizen, a unique achievement. The land was pooled and redistributed in equal portion to some 4,000 citizens (although the first Agis plan projected 4,500 citizens). These citizens were half old citizens, the so called inferiors, and half new citizens who for the most part were mercenaries who fought with the Spartan army. There were also Perioeci granted land for their dedication to Sparta. Those 4,000 citizens enhanced the body of Spartiates (Spartan full citizens), which had dwindled drastically (known as oliganthropia).

For the first time the amount of produce the Helots had to surrender to each klaros-holder was specified in absolute quantities rather than as a proportion of the annual yield. Cleomenes trained 4,000 Hoplites and restored the ancient Spartan military and social discipline.

The citizens' children were required to pass through an agoge, and the adult citizens had to practise again the old austere diaita centred upon communal living within the framework of the military-minded masses. More significantly, Cleomenes decreed that his new army should follow the model of the Macedonian army, a century after the bitter defeat of the Athenians and Thebans to the Macedonians at Chaeronea. This was characterised by the use of the Macedonian sarissa, a five-meter pike, which performed well over the next two campaigning seasons. Cleomenes completed his reforms by placing his brother, Eucleidas, in charge, making him the first Agiad king on the Eurypontid throne.

Macedonian intervention
In 226 BC, the citizens of Mantinea appealed to Cleomenes to expel the Achaean garrison from the city. One night, he and his troops crept into the city and removed the Achaean garrison before marching off to nearby Tegea. From Tegea, the Spartans advanced into Achaea, where Cleomenes hoped to force the League to face him in a pitched battle. Cleomenes advanced with his army to Dyme and was met by the entire Achaean army. In the battle, the Spartans routed the Achaean phalanx, killing many of the Achaeans and capturing others. Following this victory, Cleomenes captured the city of Lasium and presented it to the Elians.

The oligarchies opposed the Cleomenian reforms. With Cleomenes' quick victories this opposition increased throughout all the Peloponnese. Cleomenes took Corinth and other strategic places. The Cleomenian reforms, although they were not intended to be applied to the defeated populations, was a significant factor behind the campaign successes of the Spartan king. Indeed, some of the Achaean population wanted to be debt-free and were willing to share their lands for more equity. In reality, Cleomenes did not care that much about the defeated population and chose to negotiate with the oligarchies even if the enmity between Aratus and Cleomenes was too great to enable them to come to an agreement.

After this diplomatic failure, Aratus chose to negotiate with Antigonus III Doson, King of Macedonia, who decided to go to war against Sparta. Despite numerous attempts to break through the defensive line and reach Lechaeum in the Corinth Isthmus, Antigonus' forces failed and suffered considerable losses. At that time Argos rebelled and Cleomenes had to send 2,000 men to deal with the situation. With this lack of men, Cleomenes abandoned the Isthmus and retreated to Mantinea. At this point, Cleomenes could not avoid retreating and letting the Macedonian army advance through Arcadia.

Knowing that Cleomenes had received the money to pay for his mercenaries from Ptolemy, Antigonus, according to Peter Green, seems to have ceded some territory in Asia Minor to Ptolemy in return for Ptolemy withdrawing his financial support of Sparta. After that, Cleomenes entered Megalopolis and destroyed it as well as raided the territory of Argos. The damage caused by those raids was not so much a factor of military domination for Cleomenes but rather a break in the unavoidable defeats of the Spartan army, which could not face the Macedonian army in pitched battle. In 222, at the Battle of Sellasia the Spartans were defeated during which the Macedonian cavalry overcame the Spartan cavalry. The Spartan phalanx was overwhelmed by the deeper ranks of the Macedonian phalanx and almost destroyed, and only a few Spartans escaped from the battle, with Cleomenes at their side.

Defeat and exile
In 222 BC Cleomenes was defeated in the Battle of Sellasia by the Achaeans, who received military aid from Antigonus III Doson of Macedon. Cleomenes returned to Sparta, advised the citizens to submit to Antigonus, and fled to Alexandria to his ally Ptolemy Euergetes of Egypt, hoping for assistance in regaining his throne.

However, when Ptolemy died, his son and successor, Ptolemy Philopator neglected Cleomenes and eventually put him under house arrest. Together with his friends, he escaped his house arrest in 219 BC and tried to incite a revolt. When he received no support from the population of Alexandria, he avoided capture by committing suicide. Thus died the man who nearly conquered all of the Peloponnese and is described by William Smith as "the last truly great man of Sparta, and, excepting perhaps Philopoemen, of all Greece."

title: Cleomenes III


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Cape Peron

Cape Peron is a headland at Rockingham, at the southern end of Cockburn Sound in Western Australia. The cape is locally known as Point Peron, and is noted for its protected beaches, limestone cliffs, reefs and panoramic views. Cape Peron includes the suburb of Peron, and "Point Peron" is the designation of a minor promontory on the south side of the cape's extremity.

The feature was named after the French naturalist and zoologist François Péron, who accompanied the expedition of Nicolas Baudin along the western coast of Australia in 1801.

A causeway was constructed in 1973 between Cape Peron and Garden Island to carry vehicular traffic between the mainland and the island. Since the island houses HMAS Stirling, a Royal Australian Navy base, access is restricted by the military.

The wreck of RMS Orizaba (1886–1905) lies on Five Fathom Bank, 5.5 km west of the cape.

Land use
The cape and southern environs comprise a crown land reserve on which a number of recreational resort activities and camps have been established, including buildings constructed of asbestos material which are now unsuitable. During World War II, an observation post for the nearby coastal battery was located on the hilltop, and the old buildings remain, being listed as a permanent entry on the national estate.

Control was vested in the Commonwealth of Australia until 10 January 1964, when the land was transferred to the state of Western Australia on condition that future use was restricted to purposes of public recreation and/or parklands. It was further agreed that when existing holiday-camp leases expired, the entire area would become an A-class reserve.

Cape Peron is currently included in planning by the state's Department of Environment and Conservation for the Rockingham Lakes Regional Park. It is one of the scheme's main areas or estates and a former environment minister, Donna Faragher, drew attention to its "extremely high nature conservation values [providing] the local community with a unique opportunity to enjoy the natural environment".

Military use
From 1942 until 1945, Cape Peron was the site of the "K" Battery complex, one of a chain of coastal gun emplacements defending the Perth region between Swanbourne in the north and Cape Peron in the south. "K" Battery was established as part of Australian coastal defences in 1942 following the fall of Singapore to the Axis powers and the imminent threat of invasion of Australia by Japanese forces. This chain of gun emplacements was colloquially named "Fortress Fremantle" and included sites at both Rottnest Island and Garden Island. During World War II, Fremantle was not only the Allied forces' largest submarine base in the Southern Hemisphere, it was also an important logistical port, troop station and location for ship repairs.

The battery consisted of two 155 mm American field guns, two observation posts and numerous support buildings including ammunition magazines, engine and generator rooms, and troop accommodation for approximately 100 troops. The guns were placed to cover any shipping within range of Rockingham, Safety Bay and the western side of Garden Island. In addition to providing cover for shipping, "K" Battery also provided cover for a boom defence across the south channel that provided access to Cockburn Sound between Cape Peron and Garden Island. The battery never fired upon an enemy target and was decommissioned in 1945. , the complex lies in a state of disrepair with the gun emplacements and observation posts suffering from extensive structural damage due to erosion, vandalism, reclamation by the natural environment and pedestrian activity. There have been calls over the years for the site to be rehabilitated and repaired into a memorial to remember Australia's wartime history. There have been various restoration efforts with Australian Army Reservists and the Department of Environment and Conservation taking part, but limited funding has resulted in the complex remaining in disrepair. A group known as the Point Peron Restoration Project is leading a push to restore the site, stating their goals as being:

Proposed private development
A proposal for an extensive private residential canal and marina redevelopment caused much controversy among the local community until refused necessary planning approval by the state government on 1 March 2018. The project was advanced by a state government agency, LandCorp, in partnership with Cedar Woods Properties Limited, and titled "Mangles Bay Marina Based Tourist Precinct" Acceptance of the proposal would have required abrogation of a 1964 compact for everlasting public ownership, and transfer of 77 hectares to the developer.

Prolonged public objection led by "Hands Off Point Peron" claimed such development would damage seagrass beds, threaten the stability of ecosystems at nearby Lake Richmond and result in significant long-term maintenance expense to taxpayers, besides loss of the land's current status as a regional park.

Terrestrial flora
Cape Peron is an unprotected headland that is subsequently exposed year round to severe prevailing southerly and westerly winds, and hot, dry summers. These harsh environmental conditions result in the endemic species of flora to Cape Peron being typical of Western Australian coastal shrubs. Hardy, halotolerant plants such as Spinifex, sea-heath (Frankenia pauciflora) and coastal sword-sedge (Lepidosperma gladiatum) are commonplace close to the shore, abating to coastal scrublands that consist of wattle, coastal daisy-bush and grasslands, amongst other species.

Oceanic flora
The underwater flora of Cape Peron consists of many species of algae, including red, green and brown algae, that develop dependent on the exposure of the reef platform they grow on to weather and tides. Away from the rocky limestone reefs, expanses of sandy seafloor beds contain large seagrass meadows containing a variety of species of kelp.

Terrestrial fauna
Studies undertaken by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) have recorded an extensive variety of fauna at Cape Peron. It is common to find large seabirds, for instance osprey, albatross and cormorants amongst the cliff faces or searching for prey. Wading birds, such as whimbrels and a variety of gulls, are also found closer to the shoreline and nesting in the cliffs of Cape Peron. Little penguins have also been spotted at the site, although they are not known to breed at, or inhabit the site. Further away from the coast, and into the scrubland of Cape Peron, it is common to find rainbow bee-eaters, grey fantails, inland thornbills and silvereyes. An extensive survey of terrestrial fauna undertaken by the EPA found ninety-six species of fauna living at Cape Peron. Of the ninety-six species found, there were: sixty-six species of avifauna, nineteen species of reptiles including lizards and snakes, five species of amphibians and six species of mammals. All native animals found at Cape Peron are protected under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. Furthermore, a total of forty-seven of the species observed are listed as protected on the Department of Environment and Conservation's priority list.

Oceanic fauna
The varied underwater landscape of Cape Peron accommodates a variety of sea life. The intertidal reef platforms host an array of sea squirts, sponges, urchins and molluscs that cling to the reef. In and around the various reefs, ledges, overhangs and swathes of seagrass meadows it is not uncommon to find a sizeable variety of marine life, including but not limited to: bottlenose dolphins, grey nurse sharks, great white sharks, Australian sea lions, loggerhead turtles, pink snapper, King George whiting, baitfish, tailor, garfish, skipjack trevally, and blue swimmer crabs.

title: Cape Peron