text:
Talk:Small arms

Positive small arms effects
It must be noted that non military small arms like pistols, revolvers, rifles and shootguns in private hands provide a deterent to radical government movements if freely available in a stable society. They reduce the risk of genocide and mass murder in such environments. They are the source of many hunting and shooting competitions."

Hi there - I took this out for the moment - can you back this up with any evidence, or opinion from someone knowledgable? I'll grant that they are essential for hunting and shooting competitions, but the other statement sounds questionable. Thanks, Mark Richards 22:49, 2 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Hi there.

I don't want to get into an argument with you, but ever heard of the genocide of the Jews, Armenians, Cambodians, elimination of political dissidents in China, Soviet union, ever watch the news on Africa ? If you count the victims, more the 50 million people have been exterminated by their governments during the 20th century alone. That is equivalent to the victims of the 2nd world war. In each of these case, the genocide was preceded by gun confiscation. So yes, civilian small arms are a deterent against extreme dictatures, at least until these get confiscated.

Can you provide facts on the 500'000 victims the UN claims ? In know that you can't cause the UN itself can't. I guess the best is to try to be neutral and to list the UN figures and those by gun owners groups.

Let me guess Mr Richards... you're British ? If you don't mind, me like most Swiss have a different opinion on this subject.

Hi there - not sure who you are, so please sign your post ;) Yes, I've heard of genocide, but it's not clear to me that there is a direct causal link between low rates of gun ownership and genocide. I'm open to this if there is evidence, but it seems like speculation to me. Can you provide a reference for the 'international gun owner's group study'? In general, this page is not about gun politics in stable states - I'd really like to keep that on gun politics etc, it's about proliferation of generally illegal military grade weaponry in unstable areas. Thanks, Mark Richards 19:25, 4 Mar 2004 (UTC)

The page small arms has to be about small arms. If you want you can either write sections about small arm proliferation or start a new article on small arms prolferation. This top level article has to describe them, their use, their availablity and legality, their history, etc. Rmhermen 19:36, Mar 4, 2004 (UTC)

Hi there - thanks - there are plenty of articles on that, gun, gun politics etc. The term small arms is used almost exclusively in the context of illegal weapons traded internationally, not domestic, legal gun ownership. If you like we can change the name of the article. Mark Richards 20:08, 4 Mar 2004 (UTC)

PS - did you really want to put back the comment on hunting and shooting competions? It doesn't seem relevant, and seems to trivialise the issue. Mark Richards 20:10, 4 Mar 2004 (UTC)

I have to agree with Rmhermen, we should only define small arms in this top layer and put all the argumentation on prolifertation like the UN study, etc. in a lower layer on proliferation and control issues. As to their legality, that would also be a political question, not one concerning their description.

The main problem here is that the UN has included sporting and hunting arms into small arms, which rather defines "military type portable weapons". So we should come up with a fair and correct description and definition, not one that the UN proposes to enforce.

The genocides I mention were all preceded by gun confiscation, the evidence is overwhelming, if the million of corpses are no hard evidece to someone, I have doubts that such a person values human life very much. I doubt that Mr. Richards holds the view that it is OK to mass murder people, I believe he has not fully thought out the question. I will add links to other studies, no worry, I wanted to complete some GLOCK pages first.

I guess the best approach here is a compromise where all views are fairly represented, this way readers can form their own opinions.

Let me appoligize for not being registered yet, I shall do that these days.

I have moved the small arms proliferation issues into an own page, removed some of my stuff, added the view of gun owners associations and some links. I believe that this form would be closer to a fair representation. Please leave the links, thx. The other links on proliferation control are also national and not internationnal. It is only fair to give links to both sides. Please stop basing your comments on the UN study, they have never substantiated a single of their numbers, which is the reason why the US Gov. has vetoed UN actions on this subject.

This is ridiculous. You have created a sub-stub in order to bring domestic gun politics debates (which are perfectly well covered elsewhere) into an issue which is unrelated. On a practical note - please reference which 'international gun owner's associations' make these claims. Your comments on genocide border of the offensive, and provide no evidence that a high availability of military grade weaponry provides safety from masacres or genocide. Mark Richards 22:21, 5 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Dear Mr. Richards, there is no question about the fact that even gun owner associations favor strong export controls on assault rifles and other military small arms. But the issue of small arms is now indeed related to gun onwership because of the UN agenda which wishes to put all small arms under the same regime and wants to force nations where private gun ownership is widespread to confiscate these. If the UN would not push this position, there would already be better controls for military small arms. No where did anyone say that military grade small arms reduce the risk of genocide, what gun owners associations are saying is that civilian small arms reduce such a risk. I am surprised that you are offensed by the fact that many of the worlds big genocides were preceded by gun confiscation. But it is a fact. Time shall tell how long it will take before the genocide phenomenon will take before it comes back to some western nations that have taken the first steps to make genocides possible. Regards Meswiss.

Dear Meswiss, Please reference which 'gun owner associations'. You may be right, but without any reference to studies, this is your conjecture and speculation, not suitable content for an encyclopedia. Yours, Mark Richards 08:45, 6 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Accuracy of the article
At the moment it starts with "The term small arms describes any weapon that a person can easily transport and fire..."

Shouldn't it be singular? "The term small arm describes any weapon ...", or is it always plural like trousers? Does it really cover any weapon [that is portable] - e.g. is a knife, or a javelin, a small-arm (or should it be a small arms?)? Or is it just guns and bombs?

Jll 09:40, 19 Mar 2005 (UTC)
 * Technically "small arms" are any guns below .60 caliber. 220.235.166.177 14:52, 15 August 2006 (UTC)
 * My bad, turns out it's 20mm or .78 caliber. 220.235.166.177 15:23, 15 August 2006 (UTC)

Current picture
The current picture seems a bit out of place. The RPGs in it seem to clash with the list of commonly included small arms. I suggest either adding RPGs to the main list, or get a more selective picture. -Whursey 02:15, 28 December 2005 (UTC)

it's more than four years later, but i think your comment is right, and the pic still hasn't been swapped. should come up with suggestions 220.236.66.156 (talk) 10:21, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

Small Arms (Xbox game)
Eh, that should a) be rewritten, sans typos, plus more info and a Video Game banner, and appropriate flags, and b) be removed from this page. Its a RINO (Related in name only). Aevangelica 20:36, 10 August 2006 (UTC)

reference
I am wondering why the reference I entered is not displayed at the bottom of the article Bokkie 08:56, 3 April 2007 (UTC)

the anti-small arms documentary
This is a very one-sided article. It references a film which makes the case that small arms are bad for civilians in developing countries (when seems to contradict what actually happens in these countries when their civilians are disarmed), but it does not reference any studies or scholarly works that claim the opposite (such as a history textbook). And is an encyclopedia article about small arms really the place to bang the "let's disarm (or arm, for that matter) the civilians" drum, anyway? I think this article should describe what small arms are, and leave the political agendas for political articles. -- 76.104.46.56 (talk) 05:19, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

Possible merge?
Shouldn't this and 'personal arms' be combined or merged and redirected? There's already a pretty big article at 'personal weapons', when it seems the definition is simply an expanded version of the definition of small arms to include all man-portable single-crew weaponry, including archaic melee weaponry. 69.210.34.101 (talk) 05:38, 19 May 2008 (UTC)

Dictionary definition
I have add dictdef tag because if something is "a term of art" used by a sub group (by armed forces), its dictionary definition per WP:NOTDICTIONARY. This needs referenced material to show this is encyclopedic or it needs to be redirected/merged to Firearm since its a duplicate description. Fountains of Bryn Mawr (talk) 20:57, 10 April 2013 (UTC)
 * I am taking off the dictdef tag because I don't see why this article on Small arms is any worse than Side arm or Ancillary weapon, two other weapons articles. WP:NOTDICTIONARY says an article should be moved to Wiktionary if it only does what a dictionary does, which is to discuss "the actual words or idioms in their title and all the things it can denote. The entry octopus is about the word "octopus": its part of speech, its pluralizations, its usage, its etymology, its translations into other languages, and so forth." That is not what the Small arms article is like. I also can't find any discussion about "term[s] of art" used by sub-groups being dictionary definitions in the WP:NOTDICTIONARY guide. OnBeyondZebrax • TALK 01:21, 23 June 2015 (UTC)

 * I already removed that tag . I applied a different tag, Template:Copy to Wiktionary. — Godsy (TALK CONT ) 01:27, 23 June 2015 (UTC)

 * "In Wikipedia, things are grouped into articles based on what they are, not what they are called by. In a dictionary, things are grouped by what they are called by, not what they are." (WP:NOTDICTIONARY). What we have here are things that are grouped by what they are called as defined in the lead sentence re: an "international arms control" grouping, that's a prime reason for deletion/move off to another project. "General and Complete Disarmament: Small Arms" ref simply shows usage of a word (not a sufficient ref), "Definitions of Small Arms and Light Weapons" is weak (anonymous article) and states thare "is no universally accepted definition", and we have an unreferenced United Nations quote. The United Nations quote and "Definitions of Small Arms and Light Weapons" both have a definition that is exactly the same as "Firearm". We do not have two articles in Wikipedia covering the same topic, one (this one) should be a redirect. Per Side arm and Ancillary weapon, WP:OTHERSTUFFDOESNTEXIST rationals are not good reasons to keep any particular article. Fountains of Bryn Mawr (talk) 13:46, 23 June 2015 (UTC)
 * There is obviously encyclopedic info in this article that doesn't belong in a dictionary article. So IMHO the template should be removed.  The alternative view is that article should be deleted from the encyclopedia with relevant definitional info transferred to Wiktionary.  I don't support such deletion but the place to have such a discussion is WP:AFD.  I'm going to remove the template again: if Fountains of Bryn Mawr still thinks this is not an encyclopedic article then I ask that he or she open an AfD rather than edit warring over the template.  That's the proper place to resolve a question like this. 173.228.123.101 (talk) 18:50, 1 March 2016 (UTC)
 * In addition, there are dozens or hundreds of books about the topic. That means at worst that the article could use expansion, not that it should be eliminated. 173.228.123.101 (talk) 19:13, 1 March 2016 (UTC)
 * Noting a words usage is not the same as referencing an encyclopedic topic. Added to WP:AFD. Fountains of Bryn Mawr (talk) 21:57, 1 March 2016 (UTC)
 * Thanks, that's the best way to handle it. 173.228.123.101 (talk) 06:39, 2 March 2016 (UTC)

Military usage
This was under the military definition/usage (lead paragraph 3). I added the "cite" book/web formats, but other than that, they're as I found them when I arrived on this page. The sources don't seem to support what's written, and I'm not sure that it's truly relevant for the article. It's a helluva lot of detail for the lead. It's old, and some of it isn't even about "small arms" (or "light weapons" for that matter).

 * ... Smith and Haslam say that small arms do not include infantry support weapons or crew-served weapons such as heavy machine gun or mortars. According to Ankony, in the U.S., any modern firearm (post-1898) that utilizes a projectile (bullet) greater than 1/2 in in diameter is legally defined as a "destructive device," while any firearm having a bore diameter of  or less is normally considered a "small arm."  The so-called "1/2 inch rule" does not apply to shotguns, sporting cartridge big-bore rifles (such as rifles chambered in .600 Nitro Express), muzzleloading black-powder weapons, whether original antiques (pre-1898), or modern replicas, many of which have bore diameters larger than .50 caliber.

Merge with Small Arms and Light Weapons
I think we should merge this page with Small Arms and Light Weapons. Both pages cover the same subject matter. However, the Small Arms and Light Weapons page has better coverage.--RAF910 (talk) 01:00, 21 March 2016 (UTC)

title: Talk:Small arms


text:
Talk:Taejo of Joseon

Untitled
I moved this article back to King Taejo of Joseon, to keep in line with the naming of other articles about Korean monarchs. See Naming conventions (Korean). (I had to manually move the article by cutting and pasting, since I couldn't use the "Move this page" feature) --Sewing 22:49, 2 Mar 2004 (UTC)

FIRST unexplained revert
The following revert needs further discussion:
 * diff 12:06, 29 August 2009 Historiographer (13,911 bytes) (diplomatic envoys were dispatched to China at first. However, It is not written, therefore, relationship with Japan is also unnecessary.)
 * diff 16:09, 30 August 2009 Tenmei (14,754 bytes) (Undid revision 310703098 by Historiographer ... removed sole inline citation and bibliogrphic reference; see talk)

For years, this article has had a -headnote; nevertheless, in an article with no inline citations and no bibliographic reference source citations, Historiographer deleted both. The rationale for this edit is not transparent; and therefore, it needs to be explained.

I do not immediately recognize any relationship between the edit summary and the actions which this edit accomplished. In the context suggested by Historiographer's edit summary, the following may be relevant steps in a constructive direction:
 * Korean-Japan bilateral relations
 * Korea-China bilateratl relations

This small misunderstanding doesn't need to become a bigger problem. --Tenmei

SECOND unexplained revert
Historiographer -- This revert needs amplification: Two unexplained deletions of the same text is difficult to understand, don't you think? As you know, this is my second revert; and in both instances, my "undo" was accompanied by an edit summary which pointed to further comments in this talk page context. Does this need to become a bigger issue? --Tenmei (talk) 17:26, 31 August 2009 (UTC)
 * diff 14:18, 31 August 2009 Historiographer (14,885 bytes) (→Reign:  superfluous words.)
 * diff 17:10, 31 August 2009 Tenmei (15,340 bytes) (Undid revision 311083766 by Historiographer ... See talk page)

 * Comment
 * The following seems relevant in this context. --Tenmei (talk) 17:53, 10 September 2009 (UTC)
 * This was copied from Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Korea
 * Hi, can you please come to discuss disputes on the talk page of Taejo of Joseon, and Joseon Tongsinsa? I deleted some unnecessary information in Taejo of Joseon about relationships with Japan added by User:Tenmei. But the user readded it and placed He did the same to Joseon Tongsinsa. He deleted arbitrary about diplomatic mission (Tongsinsa) of Joseon Dynasty before Japanese invasions of Korea, and changed their name as old romanization. Those are history articles that need more opinion from editors who know Korean history. Please join the discussions. Thank you.--Historiographer (talk) 14:51, 31 August 2009 (UTC)
 * This page is not "a lot of talks on Talk that I can not understand." Without any evidence of trying to understand, this page only shows a one-sided effort. --Tenmei (talk) 15:14, 17 September 2009 (UTC)

THIRD unexplained revert
This third unexplained revert is not unexpected; but more is required. The rationale which informs it is not obvious, not easy-to-understand. This revert does not illustrate collaboration. --Tenmei (talk) 15:14, 17 September 2009 (UTC)
 * diff 14:37, 17 September 2009 Historiographer (14,510 bytes) (Undid revision 311083766 by Tenmei ... See talk page)

Portrait of King
I'm not sure why a red robed-portrait is used. It's clearly a modern, photoshopped version of the actual, surviving blue-robed one from the Joseon period. I've reverted the image to the blue image.

Please refer to the Korean site on King Taejo's royal portrait: https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EC%A1%B0%EC%84%A0_%ED%83%9C%EC%A1%B0_%EC%96%B4%EC%A7%84 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.202.16.80 (talk) 16:37, 10 February 2017 (UTC)

Romanization of Yi Seong Gae
There is currently a edit war about the following text in the first sentence:

Taejo of Joseon (October 27, 1335 – May 24, 1408), born Yi Seong-gye, whose changed name is Yi Dan, was the founder and the first king of the Joseon dynasty of Korea.

I think the text is misleading because Yi was not the correct romanization of 李 during the Joseon era.

Please take a look at these historical records..

The transition process of 李's standard spelling in Korea.

1. First attested in the Bullyu dugongbu si eonhae (分類杜工部詩諺解 / 분류두공부시언해), 1481, as Middle Korean 니 (Yale: ni).

2. Also attested in the Hunmong jahoe (訓蒙字會 / 훈몽자회), 1527, as Middle Korean 니 (Yale: ni).

Also attested in the Gyechuk ilgi (癸丑日記 / 계축일기), c. 1600, as Middle Korean 니 (Yale: ni).

Also attested in the Dongguk sinsok samgang haengsildo (東國新續三綱行實圖 / 동국신속삼강행실도), 1617, as Middle Korean 니 (Yale: ni).

Also attested in the Namhun taepyeongga (南薰太平歌 / 남훈태평가), 1863, as Modern Korean 니 (ni).

Also attested in the F. C. Ridel's Grammaire Coréenne, 1881, as Modern Korean 니 (ni).

Also attested in the Dongnip sinmun (獨立新聞 / 독립신문), 1896, as Modern Korean 니 (ni).

The Yale romanization of Korean, developed by Samuel Elmo Martin and his colleagues at Yale University assigns 李's Middle Korean as 니(Ni).

 * 杜詩諺解 初刊本 (성종 12년 : 1481)“셩이 니가 (姓李的)”
 * 訓蒙字會 [중종 22년(1527). 아동에게 한자의 音과 뜻을 정확하게 가르치기 위해 지은 책] 李’ 자의 音과 뜻을 ‘외엿니’ 라고 했음. [참고로 ‘柳’ 자는 ‘버들류’로 되어 있음.)
 * 東國新續三綱行實 [광해군 9년(1617)에 왕명에 의하여 국가 사업으로 편찬된 孝子, 忠臣, 烈女의 기록집] 李壽慶(니슈경), 李慶男(니경남), 李宅仁(니?인) 등 ‘李’자는 모두 ‘니’로 표기됨.
 * 癸丑日記 (光海君 때, 仁穆大妃 內人) 니이첨(李爾瞻) 니덕형(李德馨) 니?복(李恒福)
 * 古時調集 南薰太平歌 [純祖 때에 편찬된 것으로 추정됨. 作者 未詳의 時調]“옛날에 니??도”“그곳에 니젹선(李謫仙) 소동파
 * 한글로 된 小說에 있는 ‘니’씨 姓 표기 春香傳 : “젼나도 남원부? 니등이 ? 아?을 두어스니 ”九雲夢 : “니쇼화(李蕭和)은 황졔의 ?이니”意幽堂集 : “니번은 뉼곡 형이라 파쥐예 잇더니 서울 드러와“니탁 - 니상국 탁은 셩묘됴 명신이라.
 * 獨立新聞 창간호 [1896년 4월 7일 창간. 최초의 한글 전용 신문] 관찰사 니건하. 문쳔 군슈 니한용. 회계원 출납과장 니용교” 등 모두 ‘니’로 표기됨.

B2V22BHARAT (talk) 07:42, 18 February 2020 (UTC)

 * You used edit semi-protected, but I'm guessing you meant to suggest semiprotecting the article? If so, you can go to WP:RFPP. – Thjarkur (talk) 15:18, 23 February 2020 (UTC)

 * Yeap. Thanks for help. B2V22BHARAT (talk) 15:03, 1 March 2020 (UTC)

It should be noted that the standard convention in English language is to use either modern Revised Romanization or McCune Reischauer for rendering Korean names; Yale is useful for historical pronunciation, but that's a different convention that should not be applied here.Haedongchong (talk) 02:03, 30 March 2020 (UTC)

Not convincing because names of historical people are usually romanized according to modern pronunciation. Should the names of ancient Chinese people be romanized according to Old Chinese pronunciation? 220.99.219.75 (talk) 01:49, 15 September 2023 (UTC)

Birth and death dates
Most of the dates concerning Joseon, and Korea in general prior to the 20th century, are only available in the lunar calendar. While birth and death dates of the more important people might be found in the solar calendar too, using them in the article leads to confusion as every other date is in a different calendar. I think mentioning the solar calendar dates in a note is enough. Maria0215 (talk) 15:24, 28 November 2023 (UTC)

 * @Maria0215, this is an English-language Wikipedia not the Joseon-era Wikipedia. Changing the dates from the Julian calendar to the Korean lunar calendar is completely unhelpful. If every culture used their historical calendars for medieval-era articles that would be completely unhelpful to the common reader. I do not think there is a consensus to use lunar dates here. It should be lunar dates mentioned in a hatnote, not the other way around. Tip: If you want to convert lunar dates into lunisolar calendar, you can use this tool from the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute.  ⁂CountHacker (talk) 10:30, 20 April 2024 (UTC)
 * I repeat: the problem is that dates in the solar calendar are unsually only available for the births and deaths of the most important people (and sometimes it's unclear if it's the julian or the gregorian calendar). Solar calendar birth and death dates aren't available for small figures, neither are dates of reigns/tenures in government offices, wars or other important eventz so this creates confusion in the article. Until someone can convert ALL dates to the gregorian calendar, the lunar calendar should be maintained. Maria0215 (talk) 23:34, 21 April 2024 (UTC)
 * Let me repeat: the lunar dates can be easily converted to lunisolar dates with the right knowledge. ALL the dates should be converted to the right format. We shouldn't keep it in the wrong format just because it is a hassle to change it. In fact, even the Korean Wikipedia choses to use the "Western" lunisolar dates instead of the Korean lunar calendar for those dates. Per MOS:ERA, "Other era systems may be appropriate in an article. In such cases, dates should be followed by a conversion to Anno Domini or Common Era, and the first instance linked: Qasr-al-Khalifa was built in 221 AH (836 CE), or in 836 AD (221 AH)." This suggests that the era system used should be either Julian or Gregorian then followed by the alternative era system such as the lunar calendar. This is also WP:CONSISTENT with other countries using the lunar calendar such as Japan or China. Taejo's contemporaries in Japan and China, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu and Hongwu Emperor both use the Julian calendar rather than the lunar calendar. Also we aren't even properly using the lunar calendar either. Taejo was not born in the lunar year 1335, but rather the 3rd year of Yuantong. The Ssangseong Province was definitely not counting the years based on Jesus' birth year. ⁂CountHacker (talk) 03:08, 22 April 2024 (UTC)
 * I have no issue with using the solar (preferably the gregorian) calendar as long as ALL dates in the article are also converted. I don't have to knowledge to do it so until someone who has the knowledge can do it, I suggest to maintain the lunar calendar with the appropriate notes for the article's cohesiveness. Maria0215 (talk) 11:24, 23 April 2024 (UTC)
 * I am more than willing to convert all the dates to the lunisolar calendar. For all dates before October 1582, the solar calendar used should be Julian as it makes no sense to use the Gregorian calendar prior to the time it was invented. And of course hatnotes should be required to cross-reference with Korean primary sources. ⁂CountHacker (talk) 08:45, 24 April 2024 (UTC)

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

title: Talk:Taejo of Joseon


text:
Talk:King Taejo of Joseon

I moved this article back here from Taejo of Joseon, to keep in line with the naming of other articles about Korean monarchs. See Naming conventions (Korean). (I had to manually move the article by cutting and pasting, since I couldn't use the "Move this page" feature) --Sewing 22:50, 2 Mar 2004 (UTC)

title: Talk:King Taejo of Joseon


text:
Al-Faw peninsula

The Al-Faw peninsula (شبه جزيرة الفاو; also transliterated as Fao or Fawr) is a peninsula in the Persian Gulf, located in the extreme southeast of Iraq. The marshy peninsula is 20 km southeast of Iraq's third largest city, Basra, and is part of a delta for the Shatt al-Arab (Arvand Rud) river, formed by the confluence of the major Euphrates and Tigris rivers. The al-Faw peninsula borders Iran to the northeast, with the cities of Abadan and Khorramshahr on the opposite side of the Shatt al-Arab, and Kuwait to the southwest, opposite from Bubiyan Island and Warbah Island, near the Iraqi city of Umm Qasr.

Al-Faw, the only significant town on the peninsula and its namesake, is a fishing town and port which during Saddam Hussein's presidency featured the main naval base of the Iraqi Navy. The remainder of the al-Faw peninsula is otherwise lightly inhabited, with few civilian buildings or settlements and most of its few residents involved in the fishing, oil, or shipping industries. It is the site of a number of important oil installations, most notably Iraq's two main oil tanker terminals: Khor al-Amaya and Mina al-Bakr, due to its chief importance as a strategic location controlling access to the Shatt al-Arab waterway and thus access to the port of Basra.

Iran-Iraq War
During the Iran–Iraq War in the 1980s, al-Faw was bitterly contested due to its strategic location at the head of the disputed Shatt al-Arab waterway and was the site of many large-scale battles. On February 11, 1986, the Iranians capitalized on the weakness of the Iraqi defences located at the southernmost tip of the peninsula by launching a surprise attack against Iraqi troops defending al-Faw. The Iraqi units in charge of the defences consisted mostly of poorly trained Iraqi Popular Army conscripts that collapsed when they were suddenly attacked by Iranian Pasdaran (Revolutionary Guard) forces.

It marked the first time that the Iranians had successfully invaded and occupied Iraqi territory. The Iranians defeated several Iraqi Republican Guard counter-offensives and managed to hang on to their foothold.

The occupation of al-Faw placed Basra at risk of being attacked. The Iranians also used the peninsula as a launch pad for Silkworm missiles which were deployed against shipping and oil terminals in the Persian Gulf, and also against Kuwait, which supported Iraq throughout the war.

On April 17, 1988, the newly-restructured Iraqi Army began a major operation, "Ramadan Mubarak," which was aimed to clear the Iranians out of the peninsula. The Iraqis concentrated well over 100,000 troops from the Republican Guard versus 15,000 second-rate Iranian Basij soldiers.

By using sarin nerve gas, artillery barrages and air bombardments, the Iraqis eventually expelled the Iranians from the peninsula within 35 hours, with much of their equipment captured intact. The event was marked as an official national holiday under the former regime of Saddam Hussein, celebrated as the Faw City Liberation Day.

Anglo-American occupation
The 1991 Gulf War was fought south and west of al-Faw, but the peninsula's military installations were heavily bombed by Allied forces during the conflict. The Allied forces effectively closed down all of Iraq's shipping activities and thus rendered its access to the Shatt al-Arab and the Persian Gulf useless.

The peninsula was one of the first targets of the Coalition forces in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, with British, American and Polish troops involved. Forces from the Royal Marines, US Marines and the Polish GROM staged a successful midnight amphibious assault on the peninsula. All of them were attached to the British 3 Commando Brigade. Their goal was to secure the port of Umm Qasr to allow humanitarian goods to be shipped in, and to secure the key oil installations located in the area before they could be sabotaged by retreating Iraqi forces. The Mina al-Bakr oil terminal was seized by SEAL Teams 8 and 10; as well as US Navy EOD personnel. The Khor al-Amaya oil terminal was seized by GROM operators. The peninsula fell quickly with minimal Iraqi resistance, but unexpected fierce resistance in Umm Qasr required several days of fighting before the town had been secured.

The British, based at Camp Driftwood, provided the security and countersmuggling force on land, and the American forces providing maritime assistance. Camp Driftwood was handed to Iraqi control in March 2007 by troops from 1st Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment.

title: Al-Faw peninsula


text:
Bank Street (Ottawa)

Bank Street (French: Rue Bank) is the major commercial north–south street in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It runs south from Wellington Street in downtown Ottawa, south through the neighbourhoods of Centretown, The Glebe, Old Ottawa South, Alta Vista, Hunt Club, and then through the villages of Blossom Park, Leitrim, South Gloucester, Greely, Metcalfe, Spring Hill, and Vernon before ending at the city limit at Belmeade Road, becoming Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry county highway 31.

Bank Street made up much of Highway 31 before it was downloaded in 1998 (all of it south of Heron Road). Currently it is also known as Ottawa Road #31.

Features
Between Wellington Street and Gladstone Avenue in downtown, Bank Street is a shopping and business development district officially known as the "Bank Street Promenade" and the street is lined with common signage affixed to streetlights and street-level advertising billboards showing this distinction.

The area between Somerset Street West and Gladstone Avenue (within the Bank Street Promenade) is considered the centre of Ottawa's burgeoning gay village, characterized by a small concentration of businesses targeted to Ottawa's LGBT community. In 2011, the city officially unveiled signs identifying the neighbourhood as Ottawa's gay village, at the intersections of Somerset, James and Nepean Streets with Bank Street.

Travelling south, there exists a shopping district in The Glebe running exclusively along Bank Street from approximately the Queensway to Holmwood Avenue. Bank Street is home to Lansdowne Park where the Ottawa 67's and Ottawa RedBlacks play. Even further south, after the road passes over the Rideau Canal on the Bank Street Bridge, Bank Street is home to the Billings Bridge Plaza and eventually, the South Keys Shopping Centre.

Bank Street north of Billings Bridge is an historic urban arterial road, often with many more pedestrians than vehicular traffic and significant parking issues, hence the flow is generally quite slow. South of Billings Bridge to Leitrim Road, the street turns into a more modern four-lane (or five-lane) urban arterial, which flows much better despite the 50 km/h (30 mph) speed limit on the northern half and 60 km/h (about 40 mph) from South Keys southward. South of Leitrim it is a rural two-lane highway with an 80 km/h speed limit until the community of Vernon. Recently, just south of Leitrim Road, Bank Street gives access to a developing neighborhood called Findlay Creek that will become quite significant in the long term, and it will also provide access (after secondary roads are extended) to the community of Riverside South.

Bank Street also serves in some contexts as an unofficial division between "eastern" and "western" Ottawa. For example, prior to the takeover of Maclean-Hunter by Rogers Cable in 1994, the street marked the division between those cable companies' service areas in Ottawa: cable subscribers west of Bank Street were served by Maclean-Hunter, while cable subscribers east of Bank Street were served by Rogers.

Name of the street
Contrary to popular belief, the street is not named after the Bank of Canada headquarters at the corner of Bank Street and Wellington Street. The street name dates back to the 19th century, whereas the bank was founded in 1934. It's believed that the road was named this because it originally went from the "bank" of the Ottawa River at its northern end to that of the Rideau River to the south. However, the road was originally called Esther Street in honour of Colonel By's wife. Bank Street officially ends at Wellington Street and the portion of the street running closest to the actual riverbank is federal Crown land for the Parliamentary Precinct of the Parliament of Canada. South of the Rideau River the road was previously named "Prescott Road".

As a Provincial Highway
Highway 31 was formed in 1927, and started at the junction of Highway 2 in Morrisburg, Ontario. It travelled north through the town of Winchester, and eventually into Ottawa. The road was paved in stages, but was fully paved by 1936. The road's designation of Highway 31 was extended from the Dundas-Stormont-Glengary/Russell-Prescott county line into Ottawa later that same year. While maintaining its alignment along Bank Street for its entire history, the road was re-aligned along Canal Drive (now today's Queen Elizabeth Driveway). From here, it became less clear where the northern terminus of the road was located, as Ottawa posted Highway 31 as a scenic route within its limits along Heron Road and Bronson Avenue (concurrent with Highway 16) before terminating in downtown, while the Ministry of Transportation noted no changes in road length (78 km / 48.8 mi). This is presumed to be a connecting link between Highway 31 and The Queensway (Highway 417), but these scenic routes/connecting links were all decommissioned by 1960. The road was also re-aligned along the Winchester Bypass, when it was completed and opened in 1974, but no other changes were made to the road since then, until being fully decommissioned as a provincial highway, in 1998.

Bank Street rehabilitation
Portions of Bank Street have undergone major reconstruction each year since 2006. The City of Ottawa held public consultations for a major redevelopment of Bank Street between Wellington Street and the Rideau Canal.

Major intersections (from North to South)

 * Ottawa Road 34 (Wellington Street)
 * Ottawa Road 48 (Laurier Avenue)
 * Ottawa Road 36 (Somerset Street)
 * Gladstone Avenue
 * Highway 417
 * Ottawa Road 19 (Riverside Drive)
 * Ottawa Road 16 (Heron Road)
 * Ottawa Road 103 (Alta Vista Drive)
 * Walkley Road
 * Ottawa Road 32 (Hunt Club Road)
 * Albion Road
 * Ottawa Road 125 (Conroy Road)
 * Ottawa Road 14 (Leitrim Road)
 * Ottawa Road 8 (Mitch Owens Road)
 * Ottawa Road 6 (Snake Island Road)
 * Ottawa Road 4 (Dalmeny Road)

Areas/Communities

 * Downtown Ottawa
 * Centretown
 * The Glebe
 * Ottawa South
 * Billings Bridge
 * South Keys
 * Blossom Park
 * Findlay Creek/Leitrim
 * Greely
 * Metcalfe
 * Vernon

title: Bank Street (Ottawa)


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Mystic Pizza

Mystic Pizza is a 1988 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Donald Petrie in his feature directorial debut, and starring Annabeth Gish, Julia Roberts and Lili Taylor. It follows the coming-of-age of three young Portuguese-American friends who work at a pizza parlor in a seaside Connecticut town. The film received positive reviews, with Roger Ebert declaring at the time, "I have a feeling that Mystic Pizza may someday become known for the movie stars it showcased back before they became stars. All of the young actors in this movie have genuine gifts." It marked Matt Damon's film debut.

Plot
Sisters Kat and Daisy Araújo and their friend Josephina "JoJo" Barboza are Portuguese-American young adult women working as waitresses at Mystic Pizza, a pizza parlor owned by Leona and her husband Vic in the fishing town of Mystic, Connecticut.

JoJo faints at her wedding to Bill because she has cold feet about making a lifetime commitment. Nonetheless, she wants to continue having sex with Bill until she is ready to be married. Bill eventually breaks up with her because she will not make a commitment.

Kat and Daisy are total opposites. Kat, the younger sister, is an aspiring astronomer with several jobs, including working at the planetarium of the Whaling Museum in the Mystic Seaport and Mystic Pizza. Kat has been accepted to Yale University on a partial scholarship while glamorous Daisy's goal is to have as much fun as possible. Their mother is pleased with Kat, but often questions Daisy's life choices and worries that her carefree daughter’s future isn’t certain.

Daisy meets Charles, a rich young man at a bar. The two are immediately attracted to each other and begin a relationship, much to her mother's dismay. At a family dinner, Charles's relatives unintentionally make insensitive comments about Daisy's Portuguese ethnicity, and Charles overreacts. Daisy breaks up with him, accusing him of using her to rebel against his parents.

Kat finds herself infatuated with her employer Tim, an architect and Yale (class of 1979) graduate, who hired her to babysit his four-year-old daughter Phoebe while his wife works in England. A relationship ultimately develops between them that Kat believes to be love, and they end up sleeping together.

The sisters argue over Kat’s dalliance with Tim, Daisy bitter that Kat continues to judge her for being promiscuous while carrying on an actual affair with a married man. However, when Tim’s wife Nicki returns, Kat's illusions are shattered. Daisy consoles her devastated sister, and they bond.

A famous television food critic called "The Fireside Gourmet" unexpectedly visits Mystic Pizza. As Kat, Daisy, JoJo, and Leona watch from the counter, he takes a few bites of one pizza slice, jots notes in his notebook, and leaves after paying the check. His approval can do wonders for a restaurant, but they are not optimistic.

A few days later, Tim brings Phoebe to Mystic Pizza because she wants to say goodbye to Kat as the family are leaving town. Tim gives Kat a check to help cover her tuition expenses, but she tears it up just as the Fireside Gourmet’s show latest airs and he gives the restaurant his highest rating (4 stars), calling the pizza "superb". The pizzeria’s phone immediately starts ringing, with Leona laughing as she informs the caller that no reservations are needed.

JoJo finally marries Bill, Kat accepts a loan from Leona, and Daisy and Charlie reconcile at the wedding. The film ends with the three girls overlooking the water from the restaurant's balcony, reminiscing about their time together and wondering about the future.

Production and filming locations

The title of the film was inspired by a pizza shop in Mystic, Connecticut. Screenwriter Amy Holden Jones was summering in the area and chose Mystic Pizza as the focus of her story about the lives of three young waitresses.

Jones was set to direct, but was replaced by Petrie, who made his feature film directorial debut. The film was also Alfred Uhry's screenwriting debut. Filming began October 12, 1987 and was due to last six weeks. The film's plot is set in Mystic, but most of the filming locations were in neighboring towns. The building used for the pizza restaurant was a converted home in Stonington Borough at 70 Water St. After the film's release, the real-life Mystic Pizza building in downtown Mystic was renovated to resemble the film set. The Windsor family home, the wedding reception restaurant, the Peg Leg Pub pool hall, and the fishing docks were also filmed in Stonington Borough. The hitchhiking incident takes place on North Main Street in Stonington Town. The Araújo home is in Pawcatuck, Connecticut; the lobster business and the wedding church are in Noank, Connecticut. Tim Travers' home and the Windsors' country club are in Watch Hill, Rhode Island. The most notable scenes that take place in Mystic were filmed at the Mystic Seaport planetarium and at the Mystic River Bascule Bridge.

Release
Goldwyn spent a company record $6.5 million on prints and advertising and other marketing activities, including tie-ins with Domino's Pizza and others. The film had 100 pre-opening screenings and premiered in Mystic, Connecticut on October 18, 1988. It was released on October 21, 1988.

Reception
The film received mostly favorable reviews, which praised the performances by the three lead actresses. It received "two thumbs up" from popular film critics Siskel and Ebert, giving particular praise to the three female leads, including Gish, whom Ebert likened to a "young Katharine Hepburn". Variety called it "a deftly told coming-of-age story about three young femmes as they explore their different destinies, mostly through romance, it's genuine and moving, with enough edge to impress contemporary audiences."

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a score of 78% based on reviews from 27 critics. The website's critics consensus reads: "Mystic Pizza is like its namesake food: it's cheesy, topped with romance, and rises to the occasion." On Metacritic, it has a score of 60% based on reviews from 10 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Home media
On January 13, 2009, Mystic Pizza and Say Anything... were released as a double feature on DVD. On April 5, 2011, Mystic Pizza was released on Blu-ray.

Stage musical adaptation
On January 22, 2019, it was announced that Mystic Pizza would be adapted into a stage musical. Melissa Etheridge would write the score, while Gordon Greenberg would direct and co-write the book with Sas Goldberg. This came years after a fictional Broadway musical adaptation of the film had served as a plot point in the early part of season 2 of the NBC sitcom 30 Rock in 2007.

The world premiere of the musical version of Mystic Pizza was produced by Ogunquit Playhouse in Ogunquit, Maine from September 1, 2021, through October 2, 2021. The production, which featured songs by Melissa Etheridge and other pop songs of the 1980s, starred Krystina Alabado as Daisy, Gianna Yanelli as Jojo and Kyra Kennedy as Kat. The production was directed by Casey Hushion, featured a book by Sandy Rustin, choreography by Liz Ramos, musical supervision by Carmel Dean, with Kristin Stowell as music director. Executive producers were Michael Barra and Allison Bressi of Lively McCabe Entertainment.

title: Mystic Pizza


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title: User:Philwiki


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Great Bernera

Great Bernera (Beàrnaraigh Mòr), often known just as Bernera (Beàrnaraigh), is an island and community in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. With an area of just over 21 km2, it is the thirty-fourth largest Scottish island.

Great Bernera lies in Loch Roag on the north-west coast of Lewis and is linked to it by a road bridge. Built in 1953, the bridge was the first pre-stressed concrete bridge in Europe. The main settlement on the island is Breaclete (Gaelic: Breacleit).

The island, under the name of "Borva", was the setting for A Princess of Thule (1873) by the Scottish novelist William Black. The novel is notable for its descriptions of the local scenery.

History

The island's name is Norse in origin and is derived in honour of Bjarnar, father of the Norse Chieftain of Lewis Ketil Bjarnarson (or the Flatneif). The vast majority of placenames in the district are similarly Norse, implying extensive Viking settlement.

The most common name on Great Bernera is MacDonald (MacDhòmhnaill or Dòmhnallach), and these are said to be descended from a watchman of the Macaulays of Uig, who gave him the island in return for his services.

After 1962 the island was owned by Robin de la Lanne-Mirrlees, a former Queen's Herald, who was recognised as Laird of Bernera. He eventually inherited the title Prince of Coronata and died in 2012. His home Bernera Lodge was at Kirkibost. Bernera was inherited by his grandson, Cyran. The island's residents are seeking to buy the land from him. The Mirrlees family commissioned a flag recognised by the Lord Lyon King of Arms.

Kirkibost / Circeabost
In the southeast of the island is the first planned crofting township in the Outer Hebrides. It was created in 1805 by the regular allotting of individual crofts by the Earl of Seaforth's land surveyor, James Chapman. The tenants of this planned village were all evicted in 1823 and the publication of the first edition of the Ordnance Survey rather poignantly showed the deserted village and the original parallel croft boundaries. The village was resettled in 1878 and the original boundaries are still in use today.

Calanais VIII
Callanish VIII is a unique standing stone arrangement near the bridge between Lewis and Bernera, set out in a semicircle. It is known locally as Tursachan, which means merely "Standing Stones". The ruins of Dun Barraglom broch are nearby.

Bostadh
Bernera is also known for its Iron Age (or possibly Pictish) settlement at Bostadh (or Bosta), discovered in 1992 and now covered by sand so that it is preserved. A replica Iron Age house matching those now buried is sited nearby.

Bostadh Beach is the location of a Time and Tide Bell, one of a series of installations by Marcus Vergette.

Teampall Chirceaboist
Teampall Chirceaboist (St Macel in Kirkibos) is the ruin of church, that is a scheduled monument. However, there is some debate about its actual location, local belief is that the scheduled monument is actually a more recent church, built around 1820, and the real Teampall Chirceaboist is located further up a hill.

Bernera Riot
The island was the location of the Bernera Riot of 1874, when crofters resisted the Highland clearances. This was a peasant revolt and subsequent legal case which resulted in a victory for oppressed small-tenants against the heavy-handed evictions and treatment by Donald Munro, the factor of Sir James Matheson. The islanders refused to agree to remove their stock in favour of expanding sporting estates, and were in turn threatened with a military visit. This did not occur, but even more eviction notices were handed out, and the visitors were pelted with clods of earth. The legal case was the first recorded victory for small-tenants at will and the evidence that was heard at the eleven-hour trial paved the way for land reform in Scotland.

Geography and geology
The island is roughly 8 km long by 3 km wide, the length being oriented from northwest to southeast. The coast is much indented and there are also numerous fresh water bodies such as Loch Barabhat, Loch Breacleit and Loch Niocsabhat. The highest point is the eminence of Sealabhal Bhiorach south of Bostadh and north of Tobson that reaches 87 m. There are deposits of muscovite and tremolite asbestos. An example of a rock of tremolite on muscovite from Great Bernera is shown in the photograph to the right.

The western side of the island is included in the South Lewis, Harris and North Uist National Scenic Area.

Surrounding islands
There are many islands in Loch Roag. To the west, from north to south are Pabaigh Mòr, Vacsay (Bhacsaigh), Fuaigh Mòr (Vuia Mòr), and Fuaigh Beag (Vuia Beg). To the north, the island of Bearnaraigh Beag (Little Bernera), and a number of islets. To the east, there are not so many islands, but there is Eilean Chearstaidh (Eilean Kerstay) to the southeast.

Flora and fauna
Sea life is especially rich where there is tidal run between the Caolas Bhalasaigh (English: "Valasay Straits/Kyles") and the inner sea-loch of Tòb Bhalasaigh. There are numerous molluscs, sponges, brittlestars, and sea stars, the latter growing noticeably larger in size than normal. Cup coral, snakelocks anemone and dead man's fingers coral, may also be found here. Common fish include shanny and butterfish and Atlantic and common seals are regular off-shore visitors.

Great Bernera hosts numerous seabird species, including gulls, waders and ducks such as goldeneye. More unusually, a jack snipe was observed on the island in 2007.

Economy and infrastructure

Great Bernera's population is mainly dependent on lobster fishing, crofting, tourism and arts & crafts. Fertile machair pasture permits sheep and cattle grazing. A processing plant was built at Kirkibost in 1972 which was later closed and redeveloped as a state-of-the-art music recording studio. In 2022, a new pontoon was built close to Kirkibost Pier and further developments such as camper van hook up points, laundrette and shower are opening in 2023. There are still a few weavers but this is no longer one of the main industries. Breacleit is home to a small museum, church, community centre with gym, sports halls, café and shop, self service fuel pump, electric vehicle charge points, fire station, community polytunnels and doctor's surgery.

Communications were much improved during the 20th century. The first telephone was installed on Lewis in 1897 and outlying villages were slowly connected. Great Bernera was the last exchange to link to Lewis with a single wire circuit and an earth return. Nowadays Bernera has access to fast fibre broadband, which has brought new employment opportunities. The bridge to the island from Lewis was built in 1953 and was one of the first constructed using pre-stressed concrete post-tensioned techniques in Europe. It was constructed after the islanders threatened to dynamite the hillside to create a causeway of their own making. The bridge is sometimes referred to as The Bridge over the Atlantic, though this designation is also used for other bridges in Scotland and Faroes. In 2020, during a structural survey serious faults were identified and in 2021 work began to build a single span Delta bridge. This bridge opened with celebrations on the 15th December 2021.

In 2012 the island residents began a feasibility study to bring the island into community ownership, a process that has been successfully completed by the islanders of Gigha and Eigg. At the time of the 2011 census there were 252 people usually resident on the island, an increase of 8% on the figure of 233 for 2001.

Notable people

 * Murdo Stewart Macdonald Born on the island (1852–1938); the last of the Sea Barons and Lloyds Surveyor of Shipping.
 * John Nicolson Macleod (1880–1954); Educationalist and writer. Was the schoolteacher resident in Bernera for many years.  He was the author of the satirical collection of essays "Litrichean Alasdair Mhòir" and the definitive collection of poetry from Lewis "Bàrdachd Leòdhas".
 * George Macleod Born on the island (1890–1969); a maritime model-maker of national recognition with examples of his work on exhibit in The National Maritime Museum, Greenwich and the Liverpool Ship Museum.
 * Dr Peter John Macleod Born on the island (1896–1951); award-winning medical practitioner and specialist in rehabilitation of ex-servicemen.
 * Callum Macdonald Born on the island (1912–99), arguably the most important publisher of Scottish poetry of the 20th century.

 * Robin de la Lanne-Mirrlees (1925–2012). Owner and Laird of Great Bernera formerly resident in Kirkibost.  Mirrlees was a researcher in heraldry and set out the flag of the island.
 * Dòmhnall MacAmhlaigh Born on the island (1930–2017); Professor Emeritus in Celtic at the University of Aberdeen.  He was one of the foremost modern Gaelic poets in Scotland and was a respected researcher in Norse/Gaelic placenames.
 * Alistair Darling (1953–2023); UK politician. The former Chancellor of the Exchequer owned a converted blackhouse at Breaclete, and his mother's family were from the island. On 1 December 2015 he was created a life peer, taking the title 'Baron Darling of Roulanish, of Great Bernera in the county of Ross and Cromarty'.
 * Cathy MacDonald Educated and resident in the district. Journalist and broadcaster who is the current anchor of numerous Gaelic television programmes.

title: Great Bernera


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Maritime flag

A maritime flag is a flag designated for use on ships, boats, and other watercraft. Naval flags are considered important at sea and the rules and regulations for the flying of flags are strictly enforced. The flag flown is related to the country of registration: so much so that the word "flag" is often used symbolically as a metonym for "country of registration".

Ensigns

The ensign is the national identification of a ship and hoisted up in a national flag world-wide. They are required to be worn when entering and leaving harbour, when sailing through foreign waters, and when the ship is signalled to do so by a warship.

Ensigns are part of seafaring traditions of private and naval forces and have their origins in the era of sailing vessels. Flag dipping is done with the ensign. Ships usually wear their ensigns between the morning colours ceremony and sunset when moored or at anchor. Warships wear it at all times when underway, and when engaged in battle, wear the "battle ensign" or multiple ensigns.

Tradition dictated that if a ship lowered its ensign it was deemed to have surrendered. Masts were targets of gunfire, and the second and subsequent ensigns were worn in order to keep the ensign flying even after a mast hit.

Jacks
Jacks are flown on the bow and placed upon a jackstaff, and used when the vessel is in a port or dressed on special occasions, and not while being underway. The origin of the jack was on warships only. However, it became an additional flag for certain other vessels and is sometimes identical with the ensign on merchant ships, depending on the ships origin.

Jacks in the Royal Navy must be run up when the first line is ashore when coming alongside.

Distinctive marks
On 16 January 1899, commissioned ships of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey were authorized to wear their own flag to distinguish them from ships of the United States Navy, with which they shared a common ensign. Although they continued to wear the same ensign as U.S. Navy ships, ships of the Survey flew the Coast and Geodetic Survey flag as a "distinctive mark" until the newly created National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) took over control of the Survey's ships in 1970. Since then, commissioned ships of the NOAA fleet, which also wear the same national ensign as U.S. Navy ships, have worn the flag of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as a distinctive mark.

Similarly, all ships of the United States Lighthouse Service wore the U.S. Lighthouse Service flag until the service merged into the United States Coast Guard on 1 July 1939, and ships of the United States Bureau of Fisheries wore the Bureau of Fisheries flag until the bureau was merged into the United States Fish and Wildlife Service on 30 June 1940. the Fish and Wildlife service subsequently has flown its flag as a distinctive mark on its ships.

Rank flags
The rank flag or distinguishing flag is the flag worn by a superior officer on their flagship or headquarters (hence the term flagship). The origins of this are from the era before radiotelegraphy and radiotelephony, when orders were given by flag signals. The flag denotes the ship which must be watched for signals designating orders. Such flags are also worn when leaders of the government (presidents, prime ministers or defense secretaries) are aboard Navy ships, showing the ship to hold the headquarters of highest level of authority for the Armed Forces. Today, with the progress in communications, this flag indicates the obligation of the other Naval vessels to pay the relevant honours (Manning the rails, firing cannon salute, attention, etc.) according to nautical etiquette. In a group of naval ships all commanded by superior officers, only the commander of the group or the officer of the highest rank can wear his flag.

 * In the Royal Navy, admirals fly rectangular rank flags: an Admiral of the Fleet flies a Union Flag, while an admiral flies the St George's Cross. The flags of vice-admirals and rear-admirals have one and two additional red balls respectively. Commodores fly a Broad Pennant which is a short swallow-tailed pennant based on the St George's Cross, with a red ball at the canton (upper quarter next to the staff).
 * In the United States Navy and the navies of some other countries, admirals fly rectangular flags with stars according to rank. Line officer flags are blue with white stars, while staff officer flags are white with blue stars.
 * In the United States Coast Guard, the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps, admirals fly rectangular flags with stars according to rank.
 * In the Hellenic Navy (Greek Navy) Admirals fly blue square flags bearing a white cross (similar to the Hellenic Navy Jack) with four six-point stars (one in each of the squares formed by the cross); Vice-Admirals fly the same flag but with three stars; Rear Admirals two stars; and Commodores one star. Captains, when commanding a flotilla or squadron, fly a burgee (square swallow-tailed flag) with the colours of Hellenic Navy Jack. When a rank flag is flown the commissioning pennant is displaced downward.

Pennants
The pennant, historically called a pennon, is a long narrow flag, conveying different meanings depending on its design and use. Examples:

 * A commissioning pennant, or masthead, which a warship flies from its masthead and indicates the commission of the captain of the ship (and thus of the ship itself). In the Royal Navy, the commissioning pennant is a small St George's Cross with a long tapering plain white fly. In the United States Navy, it is red above white, with seven white stars in the blue hoist. In the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration fleet, it has 13 (on the largest ships) or seven (on other vessels) red triangles on a white background at the hoist with a long tapering blue fly. The commissioning pennant may be displaced by various rank flags, namely the flags or pennants of admirals or commodores, and the personal flags of heads of state and members of royal families. In former centuries, masthead pennants were of a length similar to that of the ships that wore them, but nowadays very long pennants tend only to be seen when a ship is paying off.
 * A church pennant, as used by the Royal Navy, Royal Netherlands Navy and Commonwealth Navies, is a broad pennant flown on ships and at establishments (bases) during religious services, and has the George Cross and Dutch flag incorporated; chosen after the English Dutch Wars where both sides stopped for Church on a Sunday. A similar church pennant is flown by U.S. Navy ships during services.
 * A senior officer present afloat pennant using the NATO signal flag for "starboard" is green on the hoist and fly with a white field between.
 * A gin pennant means that the wardroom is inviting officers from ships in company to drinks. The origins of the gin pennant are uncertain, but it seems to have been used since the 1940s and probably earlier. Originally it was a small green triangular pennant measuring approximately 18 by, defaced with a white wine glass; nowadays the gin pennant is the "starboard" manoeuvering signal pennant defaced with a wine or cocktail glass. Its colour, size and position when hoisted were all significant as the aim was for the pennant to be as inconspicuous as possible, thereby having fewer ships sight it and subsequently accept the invitation for drinks. The gin pennant is still in regular use by Commonwealth navies, such as the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Within the RAN it is common practice, whilst in port, for junior officers of one ship to attempt to raise the gin pennant on the halyard of another ship, thereby forcing that ship to put on free drinks for the officers of the ship that managed to raise the pennant. If, however the junior officers are caught raising the pennant, then it is their ship that must put on free drinks within their Wardroom. Usually this practice is restricted to Commonwealth navies.
 * Broad pennant

House flag
Merchant ships often fly a flag identifying which company owns the vessel. This was formerly flown from the mainmast but is now usually flown from the jackstaff.

Private signal
Private signals are custom designed flags used to symbolize and identify the owner of a boat.

Yacht club burgee
Members belonging to a yacht club or sailing organization may fly their club's unique burgee both while underway and at anchor (however, not while racing). Sailing vessels may fly the burgee from the main masthead or from a lanyard under the starboard spreader on the mast. Power boats fly the burgee off a short staff on the bow.

Unit citations
Warships of various navies may be awarded a unit citation, for which a burgee (tapering flag with swallow-tail fly) is flown when in port.
 * Ships of the United States Navy:
 * Presidential Unit Citation - yellow with blue stripe on top and red stripe at the bottom.
 * Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation - green with four yellow stripes divided by two blue and one red stripes at the centre.
 * Navy Unit Commendation - symmetrical colouring from the centre: green, red, yellow, blue.
 * Ships of the Royal Australian Navy may have:
 * Unit Citation for Gallantry - burgee with narrow white band surrounding green field surmounted by a silver star.
 * Meritorious Unit Citation - design as above with yellow field.

Signal flags
There is a system of International maritime signal flags for each letter of the alphabet, and pennants for the numerals. Each flag (except the R flag) has an additional meaning when flown individually, and they take other meanings in certain combinations.

Courtesy flag
A courtesy flag (or courtesy ensign) is flown by a visiting ship in foreign waters as a token of respect. It is often a small (that is, smaller than the ship's own national ensign) national maritime flag of the host country, although there are countries (such as Malta) where the national, rather than the maritime flag is correct. The flag is customarily worn at the foremasthead of multi-masted vessels, the dockside yardarm or crosstree of the mast of single-masted vessels, while the house flag would be outboard. It may be flown from the jackstaff of vessels without masts.

Flag etiquette
The position of honour on a ship is the quarterdeck at the stern of the ship, and thus ensigns are traditionally flown either from an ensign staff at the ship's stern, or from a gaff rigged over the stern.

The rule that the highest flown flag takes precedence does not apply on board a ship: a flag flown at the stern is always in a superior position to a flag flown elsewhere on the ship, even if the latter is higher up.

The priority of hoisting locations depends on the rig of the vessel. With sloops, ketches and schooners the starboard yardarm or spreader of the highest or main mast is the second most honoured position (that is, after the ensign at the stern). Next after the starboard spreader is the port spreader. House flags (those defining the owner) are usually flown from the mainmast truck. When a club burgee is flown, it will normally be hoisted to the truck of the most forward mast. On a sloop, then, not having a foremast, the house flag could be moved to the port spreader if the starboard spreader was in use, and a burgee was being flown. On a ketch, the house flag would be moved to the mizzen.

When in port, the ensign should always be flown from the staff at the stern. This is traditional, because in former times the gaff was then lowered along with the mizzen sail. The only ensign ever flown from the starboard spreader or yardarm is that of a nation being visited. This is known as a courtesy hoisting or a courtesy flag.

At sea, it used to be that the ensign was flown from the mizzen gaff. When Bermudian sails came into general use, some skippers started to fly the ensign from two-thirds the way up the main-sail leech. Many consider this an affectation with the past. Others have taken to flying the ensign from a backstay. These are not good locations because the flag does not fly out well when hoisted raked forward.

The Canadian Heritage web page states: "whenever possible, the proper place for a vessel to display the national colours is at the stern, except that when at sea, the flag may be flown from a gaff; when in harbour the flag should be hoisted at 0800 hours and lowered at sunset."

Another recent custom has been to fly a burgee and/or a cruising or power squadron flag from the starboard spreader. This custom has arisen because many sailboats today place a racing flag or wind indicator at the masthead.

Motor boats without masts should always fly the ensign from an ensign staff at the stern. Conventionally, courtesy flags are flown from the jackstaff at the bow. This seems to some landsmen as being a reversal of priorities. However, a boat is steered by the stern and this gives it pride of place.

Nautical etiquette requires that merchant vessels dip their ensigns in salute to passing warships, which acknowledge the salute by dipping their ensigns in return. Contrary to popular belief the United States Navy does dip the Stars and Stripes in acknowledgement of salutes rendered to it. Merchant vessels traditionally fly the ensign of the nation in whose territorial waters they are sailing at the starboard yard-arm. This is known as a courtesy flag, as for yachts.

The flying of the ensigns of two countries, one above the other, on the same staff is a sign that the vessel concerned has been captured or has surrendered during wartime. The ensign flying in the inferior, or lower, position is that of the country the ship has been captured from; conversely, the ensign flying in the superior, or upper position, is that of the country that has captured the ship.

Dressing overall
As a sign of celebration, ships in harbour may be dressed overall.

title: Maritime flag