text:
2004 Khobar massacre

On 29 May 2004, a Saturday, four men armed with guns and bombs attacked two oil industry installations and a residential compound, in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia—the hub of the Saudi oil industry. Over approximately 25 hours, the gunmen, describing themselves as members of "The Jerusalem Squadron" or "Jerusalem Brigade", killed 22 and injured 25, mainly third country national personnel working in Khobar.

Their targets were the Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation building and the Al-Khobar Petroleum Centre, and a foreign workers' housing complex, the Oasis Compound, in the Gulf city of Khobar. Their victims included 19 foreigners from nine countries—eight people from India, three from the Philippines, two from Sri Lanka, one each from Sweden, Italy, the United Kingdom, the United States, South Africa and Egypt. According to witnesses the attackers asked the hostages if they were Christian or Muslim, letting the Muslims go with a lecture, and shooting the non-Muslims. One victim was tied to the back of a vehicle and dragged through the street.

Perpetrators
Most news describe the attackers being four in number. Claiming responsibility was a previously unheard-of militant group calling itself "The Jerusalem Squadron" or 'Jerusalem Brigade' of the 'Mujahedin of the Arabian Peninsula'—a local Saudi Arabia-based faction of al-Qaeda. The group said it was attacking "Zionists and Crusaders" who are in Saudi Arabia to "steal our oil and resources." According to the then Saudi Ambassador in Washington, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the goal of the terrorists was to harm Saudi Arabia's stability and harm its economy. An audio tape was released in which Abdulaziz al-Muqrin, thought to be one of al-Qaeda's leaders in Saudi Arabia, took responsibility. Jamestown Foundation's Terrorism Monitor identified its leader as Turki bin Fahd al-Moteiri (known as Fawwaz al-Nashami).

Kidnappers asked the hostages if they were Christian or Muslim, letting the Muslims go, and slitting the throats of non-Muslims.

In a 3000 word account of the killings posted on a website by the operation's commander, Fawaz Bin Mohammed Al-Nashmi, Nashmi describes the killing of an Italian expatriate after the captive has pleaded for his life. "Brother Husayn spotted the Italian infidel lout. He pointed his weapon at him and ordered him to approach. The infidel lout approached. We examined his identification papers and decided to contact Al-Jazeera so that he could address his countrymen and send them a message warning against fighting a war against Islam and its people. We would then cut his throat to send a message to the Italians who are fighting our brothers in Iraq and to the idiot leader of Italy, who wants to confront the lions of Islam. We contacted Al-Jazeera. I told the announcer to talk to him [the Italian]. He began to talk to him. The announcer asked me, 'Does he speak English?' I told the announcer, 'Do you have Italian translators?' He said, 'Yes.' I said, 'So let him speak his language.' He spoke for several minutes. I asked the announcer, 'Did you record that?' He said, 'Yes.' Then the hero Nimr cut his throat."

Saudi security forces have been criticized for allowing the perpetrators to move freely from one target to another as late as five hours into the attack, to eat and sleep at the hotel and to give an interview to al-Jazeera television over the phone during their operation. Government forces also failed to prevent the attackers from fighting their way out of the compound and escaping. According to author Michael Griffin, the seeming "impotence" of the security forces and the "stolen SUVs, pilfered uniforms and a freedom in their savagery" of the attackers, may indicate that the attacks were "condoned, if not encouraged, by the security forces set up" to protect the foreign workers.

Sources for attack details
Various accounts exist of the precise details of this attack.

Al-Khobar Petroleum Centre
At 06:45 a group of four terrorists, separate from the group that attacked the Oasis compound, arrive in a vehicle and shot at guards and employees around the front gate of the Al-Khobar Petroleum Centre, which is next to the DHL building on the main Doha to Khobar road. An American and two Filipinos protecting the American were killed.

Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation Building
At 7:15 terrorists in a vehicle attacked the Apicorp Compound. The compound is a quarter of a mile away down the Khobar Dammam highway next to Raka compound. They used an RPG on the gatehouse and killed two security guards. A school bus was coming out at the time and was shot at, killing a 10-year-old Egyptian boy who was the son of an Apicorp employee.

Michael Hamilton, British, a leading member of the Apicorp Corporation, who had just dropped his wife off, arrived at the gate. His car was shot at and the gunmen dragged him out of the car still alive and tied him to the back of their four-wheel-drive vehicle, driving up the Raka road to the Dammam highway. Hamilton's facial features were unrecognizable when his body and car were later found dumped under a causeway. The terrorist vehicle with Hamilton tied behind made it as far as the intersection lights before a Saudi civilian rammed their car off the road. The terrorist shot the Saudi dead before he could get out of his car. The police shot the terrorists before they could make their escape. In honour of Michael Hamilton's death, British International School of Al Khobar (BISAK) named one of their halls after him.

Oasis 3 Compound
At 7:30 six terrorists scaled the walls of Oasis 3 compound. Another five drove up to the main Vehicle Check Point. A civilian car was in front of the attackers and a school bus behind in the queue. The checkpoint had two closed gates. A car drove through one gate, was inspected after the first gate closed, and then the second gate opened to let the car through. On the morning of the attack, the second was continuously open, so when the first gate opened, the terrorists drove straight through the second gate. While doing so, a terrorist opened the sunroof of their vehicle and killed the two armed guards with a machine gun. Turning back, he fired on the school bus, killing two children and wounding four children. 5-year-old and 7-year-old children were critically wounded.

The terrorists then drove into the main compound area. A security guard then got the children off the school bus and conducted them to a safe area in the compound.

They then exited their vehicle and moved on foot into the residential complex. They kicked in the doors and slit the throats of any non-Muslims they could find. Among those murdered were an Italian cook, Antonio Amato (35), and a Swedish maître d'hôtel, Magnus Johansson (50). Both were beheaded. The terrorists killed one American—Frank Floyd, an assistant marketing director for Resources Sciences Arabia Ltd. Most of the killings took place inside the compound's Italian restaurant, Casa Mia, where Amato and Johansson worked. According to an account by terrorist Fawaz al-Nashimi, captives were also executed with bullets to the head.

In the morning, the terrorists ate breakfast in the restaurant. They then returned to the first floor with the intention of killing Hindus. Eight Indians were killed. Al-Nashmi lists 3 cohorts, Nimr al-Baqmi, Husayn, and Nadir.

Booby-traps were placed at the exits of the Soha Towers Hotel. Al-Nashmi and two cohorts then escaped over the wall and stole a car to make a getaway. This was despite the compound being surrounded by soldiers and reporters with live television. "We were now on a road with trees shadowing the way, and all the security forces thought we were still in the hotel," Nashmi wrote. Nimr al-Baqmi was wounded while firing out of his vehicle, and was captured.

Rescue operation
By 21:30 Saudi Special Emergency Forces had surrounded the complex and extracted the school bus children who were hiding in an underground parking garage. A few British nursery workers were rescued from the Oasis compound, and were returned to the Las Dunas compound, where their families and friends had been waiting.

At 2:00 the next morning Saudi Special Emergency Forces attempted to enter the booby-trapped hotel. Several were injured in two explosions, and the group pulled back after receiving threats from the remaining terrorists to kill the hostages. At 02:30 two American military officers were injured and subsequently admitted to SAAD Specialist hospital and later flown out to Kuwait.

Saudi forces in four National Guard Kawasaki KC113 helicopters arrived at 06:30 and were lowered onto the roof of the Soha Hotel to storm the building, while ground attackers fired into the building as a diversion. Following the operation, Saudi authorities announced that all the hostages were free and that they had killed two terrorists and captured another. Apparently, most of the attackers had fled before the Saudi raid. However, according to the Jamestown Terrorism Monitor, the terrorist cell was miles away by the next morning when the counter-terrorism forces landing on the hotel rooftop, and none of the terrorists were killed.

The Saudi Interior Ministry issued a statement claiming 41 hostages had been rescued by the commandos. According to a Western diplomat the hostages had been hiding in parts of the complex to avoid being killed by the gunmen.

Downtown Khobar
During the same day, shooting broke out in downtown Khobar, about twenty minutes away from the Oasis 3 compound. A vehicle was reported to be driving around the Khobar area with four armed men on board. They proceeded to kill and injure another 11 security and military personnel located at approximately five other compounds with one being confirmed as the Golden Belt. Another man, an Indian national was shot dead while his car was driving.

Emergency response in schools away from attack sites
The British and American schools around Khobar and Dhahran were put on lock-down during the terror attacks. In Dhahran, British Grammar School and the Dhahran primary and middle schools as well as the high school (all on the same campus next to the American consulate), children were not released from school until over an hour after the usual time.

International Indian School, Dammam (IISD) is a school about 30 minutes away in Dammam. Several of their students lived in the Dhahran/Khobar area. The school was on lockdown until it was time for school to dismiss, with many of the pupils not knowing what was happening. Many area schools ended the term a few weeks early due to the events.

Aftermath of the attacks
Following the attacks, some foreign workers either fled the country or were evacuated by the companies they worked for, as they felt it was too dangerous to stay. The attack provided "a significant morale boost for al-Qaeda" according to the Jamestown Terrorism Monitor. However, an expert from the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies interviewed by the New York Times stated the lack of strategic importance of the sites indicates the weakness of the extremists.

World crude oil prices rose by 6.1% to $42 a barrel after the attack.

Several of the nearby compounds like al Mohawis, Rolaco, TIG, al Bustan, and others had around 3 to 6 Saudi army soldiers stationed at the gates checking each car thoroughly before allowing them in (including residents). Security at Oasis was hyped to the point where there was a lane out of each of the surrounding streets that was taken and dedicated to security lines. Each lane was blocked from the road by barricades, and eyewitnesses describe it as pretty much impenetrable. There were several stages of army protection including thorough checkups. Each army personnel was armed with machine guns. Several schools shut down a few weeks early including ISG schools like Dhahran Academy and ISG Dammam.

In early 2016, Saudi Arabia executed some of the surviving terrorists who were arrested in 2004. They were executed alongside Shiekh Nimr.

title: 2004 Khobar massacre


text:
Seax-Wica

Seax-Wica, or sometimes Seax Witchcraft, is a tradition of neopagan practice blending aspects of Wicca with the iconography of Anglo-Saxon paganism, while not seeking to reconstruct the early mediaeval religion itself.

The tradition was founded in 1973 by Raymond Buckland, an English-born high priest of Gardnerian Wicca who had recently moved to the United States. His 1974 book The Tree was written as a definitive guide to Seax-Wica, and subsequently republished in 2005 as Buckland's Book of Saxon Witchcraft.

The tradition primarily honours two principal deities: Woden and Freya, representations of the Wiccan deities the Horned God and the Mother Goddess. The tradition uses ceremonial tools such as the spear and runes.

Openness
Seax-Wica does not employ any secrecy oath. Buckland's Book of Saxon Witchcraft was written in mind that the reader would already be well versed in the various techniques of Witchcraft and Wiccan ritual. However, Buckland has pointed out that his Complete Book of Witchcraft gives instructions on how to proceed when no tools are available. These instructions are enough to allow one to begin, self-initiate, and consecrate one's first tools.

Organisation
Seax-Wica allows self-dedication as entry into its tradition, as well as solitary practice. In the Seax tradition, covens work by a form of democracy, electing, un-electing, and re-electing coven officers, the high priest and priestess. Within ritual settings, there are the thegn, a type of sergeant-at-arms/guard/watchman, who can also be responsible for the covenstead (the meeting place of the coven), or guarding a ceremony being performed; there is also a scribe/secretary, who keeps most, if not all, of the coven's records. The word "Thegn", or "Thane" is an Anglo-Saxon title (Anglo-Saxon: þeg(e)n meaning "a servant, one who does service for another." )

Buckland was not the head of the tradition, but is respected as its founder, and continued to practice and contribute to it, until his death on September 27, 2017.

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

title: Seax-Wica


text:
User:Ratiocinate/oldcontribs

 * 13:04, 6 Feb 2005 Thermal grease
 * 13:03, 6 Feb 2005 Thermal paste
 * 17:45, 25 May 2004 KIA
 * 17:40, 25 May 2004 The Second Sex
 * 16:58, 25 May 2004 The Second Sex
 * 16:57, 25 May 2004 Simone de Beauvoir
 * 16:37, 25 May 2004 Roe v. Wade
 * 20:57, 24 May 2004 Crash test dummy

title: User:Ratiocinate/oldcontribs


text:
User talk:Vbganesh

Everyone please read
Before you write to me about any fault in any article I have written/edited, please try to correct the article itself, of course with supporting evidence and NPOV. --ganesh 22:18, 14 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Different Language
Hello, I assume you're asking me why certain languages aren't available for certain articles. Each language has its own Wikipedia, and the language link only appears if someone has created it (and the same article exists in the foreign language Wikipedia). See Interlanguage links for more details. Hope this helps. – Jrdioko (Talk)  20:44, 31 May 2004 (UTC)

 * Ok, I understand now. I thought you were talking about a Tamil language link on the Linux article. The browser, not the operating system (Windows or Linux), would most likely be the cause of foreign-language characters not displaying properly. However, I'm not familiar with using that language on computers, so I'd suggest asking your question on either Help desk or Village pump. Good luck!    – Jrdioko  (Talk)  23:22, 31 May 2004 (UTC)

 * Ganesh, have you had this issue fixed? If not, you should install a Unicode font; I've been able to view Tamil text on both Windows (IE and Firefox) and Linux (Mozilla). Ambarish | Talk 04:49, 3 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Marina
Hiya.. I don't think that the article Marina should be a disambiguation page. Since it's only disambiguating the word "marina" from a beach which is fully titled "Marina Beach", I think the proper form would be for the article Marina to have been left much as it was, but with a sentence added to point to the article Marina Beach. Also, your description of the first link is wrong, "Marina" isn't "a harbor in Monte Carlo", it's a type of harbor, of which there is a good example in Monte Carlo. Anyway, if you have no objections, I will switch it around. --Stormie 01:48, Jun 3, 2004 (UTC)
 * OK, I've switched it around. Oh, I also found an article at Marina Beach (with a capital "B"), I have added the info from Marina beach to it and turned Marina beach into a redirect. --Stormie 01:58, Jun 3, 2004 (UTC)

Responded to your comment at my own talk page. Ambarish | Talk 04:46, 3 Jun 2004 (UTC)

User:Rrjanbiah suggested that you might be able to help out with hijra, there are a few problems right now. Any help would be greatly appreciated. -- AlexR 14:34, 6 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Image:Idli.JPG
Your copyright limitation at Image:Idli.JPG is not in line with the requirements of the GFDL license. If you retain copyright, then you will have to delete this image off Wikipedia. Rick'''K 06:26, Jul 11, 2004 (UTC)

Sorry, as long as you keep the wording Reproduction of this image only with my explicit permission only, it violates GFDL. Either remove that and say that you release the pic under GFDL, or delete the pic from Wikipedia. Rick'''K 06:41, Jul 11, 2004 (UTC)

Thank you! Rick'''K 06:41, Jul 11, 2004 (UTC)
 * I have come across pictures without any mention of GFDL. One such image is Image:Chessset2.jpg. Since I think you are assuming the role of a moderator, I am intimating it to you. --ganesh 06:48, 11 Jul 2004 (UTC)

User:Drbalaji md has been placed on Requests for comment
As you are mentioned in the allegations, notably as one of his sockpuppets, I hope you will present your views there. Johnleemk | Talk 10:47, 13 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Unverified image
Thanks for uploading Image:Kannagi.jpeg. I notice it currently doesn't have an image copyright tag. Could you add one to let us know its copyright status? (You can use if you release it under the GFDL, or  if you claim fair use, etc.) If you don't know what any of this means, just let me know where you got the images and I'll tag them for you. Thanks, Kbh3rd 13:47, 15 Dec 2004 (UTC)

A few things
Hi. Seeing your user page, I feel that you can contribute (text and images) to loom. Also, you might want to participate in the now-on-revival-path Tamil wiki project. Perhaps you can start with translating loom. On a side note, my forefathers including my great-grandfather were weavers from Ettayapuram, though I do not know weaving properly. -- 07:08, May 30, 2005 (UTC)

P.S. You might also be interested in the following links:

Speedy deletion of File:Idli.JPG
A tag has been placed on File:Idli.JPG, requesting that it be speedily deleted from Wikipedia. This has been done for the following reason:

replaced with Image:Idli.jpg at commons

Under the criteria for speedy deletion, articles that do not meet basic Wikipedia criteria may be deleted at any time. Please see the guidelines for what is generally accepted as an appropriate article, and if you can indicate why the subject of this article is appropriate, you may contest the tagging. To do this, add  on the top of the page and leave a note on  explaining your position. Please do not remove the speedy deletion tag yourself, but don't hesitate to add information to the article that would confirm its subject's notability under the guidelines.

For guidelines on specific types of articles, you may want to check out our criteria for biographies, for web sites, for bands, or for companies. Feel free to leave a note on my talk page if you have any questions about this. --Geniac (talk) 04:23, 11 February 2009 (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) 22:15, 30 November 2015 (UTC)

title: User talk:Vbganesh


text:
Category:Baseball players

This is a category for baseball players. Biographical articles should generally not be included in this main category; instead, players should be put in one or more subcategories, such as those under Category:Major League Baseball players.

title: Category:Baseball players


text:
Category:Orchestral percussion

This category contains percussion instruments that are traditionally used in the symphony orchestra. Although in modern times, composers have written music for the orchestra that includes a wide variety of the world's percussion instruments, this category focuses on those instruments that were used during the common practice period.

title: Category:Orchestral percussion


text:
User:Moral Defense

Major Contributions
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon

Articles I Started
Hernando County Sheriff's Office HCSO (Redirect)

title: User:Moral Defense


text:
User:Faedra

All items become the intelectual property of the contributor by deed, but lose all meaning, beyond that. Due to circumstances beyond my control and the banality of several users I have decided to call it a day at Wikipedia: I have created the following pages, but much of my work has changed because of the open nature of this encyclopedia, this is great, but the arrogance of some demonstrates only the pointlessness of continuing.

List of good reasons to contribute to wikipedia: 1?

1] wikipedia is the most reliable source of verified information available on Google.

ii] wikipedia has to many emtries made to it today to make it possible to police without bots, so it needs educated help to maintain.

III] WIKIPEDIA has unrepaired errors anf typos and is also vulnerable to control freaks, like the church of Scientoilogy.

I dont like my wikipages being cloned, I assert my rights under Copyright law but an happy to offer facts to Wikipedia, should they be honestly maintained.

Wikipedia had a problem with over zelous ediros/administrators in 2005.

Coastal Towns of Kent.
Some of these pages are part of an exising Wikipedia project: English seaside resorts.  Cinque Ports. Faversham: Cinque Port. Goodwin Sands. Hoo Peninsular. Hythe: Cinque Port High-Halstow. Reculver. Sandwich: Cinque Port. Swanscombe. and of related interest:
 * Higham in Kent.
 * Strood next to Rochester.
 * Stone.
 * Shepherd Neame Probably the oldest Brewery in Britain: (at Faversham), its history.
 * North Kent Marshes.
 * Penshurst Place

Lord Wardens of the Cinque Ports.
Lord Wardens of the Cinque Ports.

Henry Hoese Prob son or nephew of the Lord Warden Henry Hoese ?

Airports related items: See also: WikiProject Airports.

Manston Airport Shoreham, in Kent: Village and Aircraft museum.

Football related.

Gravesend and Northfleet Football Club: (historic members: i). Frederick Holbourn.

ITEM 01: Alternative Culture and Society: 01 Critical Mass (Pressure Group). caused an outbreak of protests. 02 Politantric Circle. Stonehenge free festival movement. 03 William Preston. Author and Freemason.

Lifeboats and lifeboat rescues Project.
Lifeboats and lifeboat rescues Project.

ITEM 02: LIFEBOAT PROJECT;

01 Inventor of the first Lifeboat. 02 William Wouldhave. (Seperated from the above). 03 Culmer White lifeboat. 04 Lifeboat Mary White. 05 Song of the Mary White. 06 Friend to all Nations. Lifeboat stories. 07 Margate Surfboat. 08 Rescue of the Northern Belle, 1857. 09 Shipwreck of the Guttenburg, Ramsgate. 10 Ramsgate Tugboats 11 Cap lopez: Shipwreck of Deal in Kent. 12 Penlee Lifeboat Disaster. 13 Southport Lifeboat.

ITEM 03: The Culmer Family, (Viking).

01): Richard Culmer. 02): Culmer family.

Of related interest: Shrine of our Ladye of Bradstowe.

Battles and Wars.
ITEM 06 Battles and Wars.

01 Battle of Sandwich 1460 02 Battle of St.Quentin. 1557. Henry Dudley. 03 Battle of Ivry. 1590. Capt. Henry Dudley. 04 Battle of Cropredy Bridge. 1644 Sir William Waller. 05 The Battle of Philiphaugh. 1645. The Earl, James Grahame. 06 Battle of Medway. 1667. Peter Pett. 07 Battle of Louisburg. 1758. Admiral Holburne.

Additional: The Second Anglo Dutch War. 1667. (prelude): placement of text in existing item inspired by wiki user: Deb.

ITEM 07 Historical Figures.

01 1st earl Loudoun. small contribution. 02 John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun. (needs revision). 03 David Leslie, 1st Baron Newark. 04 Alexander Leslie 1st Earl of Leven. 05 Hugh de Bigod. 06 Edward Hasted.

Lords Maclellan of Kirkcudbright:

07 Robert Maclellan 1st Lord Kirkcudbright. 08 Thomas Maclellan 2nd Lord Kirkcudbright. 09 Lords Maclellan of Kirkcudbright. 10 John Maclellan 3rd Lord Kirkcudbright 11 William Maclellan, I of Bombie. 12 Patrick Maclellan of Bombie.

Of related interest: Kirkcudbright. Ancient Scottish town.

ITEM 09: Early UK Shipwrights of some note.

Pett family of Shipwrights. 01 The Pett Dynasty. 02 Peter Pett. 03 Phineas Pett Other famous shipwrights. 04 Richard Holbourn. 05 Robert Holborn. 06 Mathew Baker. b 1530. 07 Richard Chapman. Queen Elizabeth's Master Shipwright. 08 John Hawkins. Naval Treasurer, Pirate, Slaver.

Additional Data: Chatham Dockyard.

Lords Sutton of Dudley.
ITEM 10: The lords Sutton of Dudley. Parts I x II.

Part I.

BARONS DUDLEY:

01 John de Sutton Vth(father of:) 02 Lord Dudley. (father of:) 03 Edmund Dudley. (father of:) wk 2nd Baron Dudley. 04 John 3rd lord Dudley(father of:) 05 Edward Dudley.4th Baron Dudley. 06 Dudd Dudley

Also related: Metallum Martis ...and from: (User:TMiscia): Thomas Dudley.

Captain Henry, (Knt), Son of the Third Baron Dudley, John and; Roger Dudley, son of Henry.: Dudleytown

''Part II. : The lords Sutton of Dudley''.

LORDS DUDLEY:

wk John Dudley Duke of Northumberland (outline) Northumberlands Family, the lords Dudley.

01 John Dudley 2nd Earl of Warwick, 02 Ambrose Dudley, 3rd Earl of Warwick, 03 Robert Dudley 1st earl leicester.(90%) 04 Duca de Northumbria:(Robert Dudley). 07 Lady Anne Dudley,

Additional: 08 Dell Arcano del Mare.

ITEM 11: Barons Holburne of Menstrie:

01 Sir Robert Holbourne. 02 James Holburn of Menstrie. 03 Alexander Holborne. 04 William Holborne. 05 Admiral Francis Holbourne.

Miscellaneous.
ITEM 12: Miscellaneous: Ships. | 01 John Samuel White. 02 HMS Invincible. 03 Sovereign of the Seas. 04 Frigate: Small contrib. ref Phineas/Peter Pett. 05 Royal Charles. Built by Peter Pett. 06 The Revenge. Built by Mathew Baker. 07 Henri Grace à Dieu 1 Paragraph. 08 RMS Lusitania. Added significant details, and some rescue info. 09 Oceanic. RSM/HMS. Shipwrecked off Shetland Isles WW1.

Additional: Interesting passinger lost on RSM Lucitania: Mr. Lothrop_Withington

ITEM 13: Miscellaneous: Forts and Castles.|

01 Tangier garrison. 02 Fortress Louisbourg.

Anti Masonry.

User:Faedra/Gallery: Image list: These images have been uploaded to Wikipedia to better illustrate some of the items listed above.

MR GREET AND THE NEAR DESTITUTION OF QUEENBOROUGH
Dear Faedra,

Alas you are probably not looking at this page any more!

I'm assuming that you have written much of the history of Queenborough for the Wickipedia page on the borough - or maybe not. - here is my question:-

In the 1820s the town's corporation (led by the mayor called Thomas Young Greet) came in to conflict with the town's fishermen. It led to the town's near destitution. It is quite a saga which I've only picked up in snippets using Google Book Search. Is there a modern account of these events?

Paul Buttle

(email Buttlekeswick at hotmail dot com) - 8th October 2007

title: User:Faedra


text:
Talk:THC Ministry

Religion
Quick Note: The government(at least in the United States) does not "recognize" or license religions, though they do provide for religious organizations to incorporate for various reasons... for example as a church to hold property or conduct commerce activities.

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/501c3 as an example of regulations providing for religions to incorporate for specific activities otherwise regulated by law. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.44.17.190 (talk) 19:30, 1 January 2010 (UTC)

For those who want to edit the THC Ministry page:

THC Ministry IS a religion, IT DOES NOT "CLAIM" to be a religion, as it is OFFICIALLY REGISTERED ON DIFFERENT CONTINENTS!!! SO PLEASE STOP VIOLATING THIS PAGE WITH DISRESPECT! I KNOW WE ARE RECOGNIZED & LICESENCED TO PRACTICE BY THE STATE IN HAWAII AND COLORADO!

We are aware that there are individuals who do not like the fact that there is a variaty of different belief systems on this earth and there are also individuals who do not agree with our mission. This does not give people the right to edit the THC Ministry page to give false information. Ferre

Please source your claims. people have the right to edit and what matters is to source the edits and make them neutral so any unsourced edits climing it is a religion can be removed. Please assume good faith, SqueakBox 22:28, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

Reply to Ferre:

First, there was the "claims to be a religion" version. Then it became "IS a religion". Then I made both those points of view available side by side so that viewers might decide for themselves. Then "Ferre" changed it back to "IS a religion" and flamed about me violating this page. Fine. This is what I have to say:

THC Ministry qualifies as a religion for being officially registered as such. But is that the ultimate truth concerning THC Ministry we should satisfy for in this case? And, most importantly, why should there be an "ultimate truth" in any case? What in God's name happened to offering people many different points of view?

I am a religious person and as such have no disrespect for various religious activity and religious groups - I don't buy that "one only truth" bull many religions market. I see all religions as different threads of one collective loom. I am also a cannabis law reform advocate and thus somewhat sympathetic of THC Ministry's goals. I also feel that the cannabis plant, as well as many other psychotropical substances, have played a major part in human religious history and possibly even evolution itself. But, in my mind, the blatant "use pot freely" -type of hype THC Ministry performs is at least an understatement of (and negative publicity for) all religious practice. What other religion bases its main message on literally offering a get-away-free card for socially or legally unaccepted behavior? What other religion focuses on advertising an expensive "kit" designed to free its holder of common law? What other religion hides its religious message deep into the labyrinths of some flashy webpage that screams out loud: "Smoke pot! Get away with it! Just hop on the religious freedom train! And pay us!"? I am referring to most major religions and quite aware that yes, there are hoaxes around, too.

If THC Ministry would publicly and foremostly focus on the truly credible issues, such as the long companionship between the cannabis plant and humanity, and not making money while trampling on the Bill of Rights, I'd have a different tone. Don't you "believers" have any shame for eating away at the very base of religious freedom in your society? Don't you realize that if enough people use freedoms, meant to assure safe and peaceful religious practice, for trying to "get out of the loop", those freedoms are some day going to be taken away from you?

DO NOT ABUSE YOUR FREEDOMS IF YOU VALUE THEM.LET ME STOP THE CONFUSION HERE LETS STOP THIS IGNORANCE HERE rev.baker of green faith ministry If you would like to bring up some of the thc-ministries patrons faults (contant sacraments of the Herb) should not u stop there!! we do not preach to most western accepted religions about the clergy molesting the altar boys and all the alcholizm, money extohrtion, deviant sexual charades etc............. NO we let the courts(reason 4our sanctuary kit)and your head Religious figures determine that, So as a real and respected religion; We WOULD like the same rights!! (Not to mention cannabis is also a medicine and some people requie medication daily) Then to complain about 200 dollars one time for a life time membership, free websites, emails, support, instant answers,etc.... THAT'S ALOT CHEAPER THAN 10% of your earnings(plus if u cant afford it they will donate u the bare neccesities) SO I WONDER.... R u really as ignorant as your replies to ferrer imply? The church doesnt change things its the patrons, just like the people r supposed to run the government, and i can speak for alot of members who donate to(norml,mpp,asa,maps,drug sense,etc..)fight numerous court battles for all our constitutional rights(like to smoke herb all day)protest daily in the shittiest weather, lose friends and family, TO STOP THE STUPID DRUG WAR How do you think we got the idea for uniting in to one main source and what do you think the GOAL BEHIND OUR RELIGION IS?peace thru burnt offerings of kind sacraments (smokeherb) 06:35, 22 January 2008 (UTC)

As said before, I have nothing against using cannabis. Much more so I resist mindless drug wars. This is just my opinion on mixing avoidance of drug laws with true religion. I will not edit the THC Ministry page any more - I have no interest in waging an information war. But I urge you all to STOP TRYING TO ACHIEVE SOME ABSRACT "OBJECTIVE" POINT OF VIEW. It will not happen. It is a utopia. Why not let different opinions all be shown equally and let the viewers make up their own minds?

(I will answer that one myself: Those who most fear for their precious "truths" to tumble down also most resist any "stepping out of line".)

Peace! Juuso

--- Continued:

I checked the history of recent edits.

I find it hypocritical that the words "sell" and "price" have been changed to "offer" and "donation". What the * is that all about? Is it because THC Ministry has been registered as a religion that the action of trading funds for a product has "miraculously" transformed from simple business to "donations" and "offerings"? That is marketing speech. That is in no way different from any businessman's simple strategy.

Since THC Ministry supposedly "offers" a product in exchange of a "donation", shouldn't that imply that they would also give away freely the product in some cases? Shouldn't that imply that there would be no set price, as a donation is usually considered an act of variable value? Because otherwise that is just PLAIN BUSINESS. Nothing saintly about it.

I would like to know - just to clear things out - where these "donations" go to and who they benefit. Are the funds used to address the issues of unethical drug wars? Are the funds used to fight what is wrong in society? Or are they merely collected to the personal accounts of the "priesthood" of THC Ministry? Who could answer me?

If one would allow oneself a cynical outlook, he'd certainly see this as a pretty package covering a simple money-making scheme.

Juuso

--

Juuso,

If we don't use our freedoms, we will lose them. If we don't use our rights to the fullest, they might as well not exist at all. If you ever see the movie Demolition Man, there is a hilarious quote in there from the character Edgar Friendly (as portrayed by Denis Leary)

''You see, according to Cocteau's plan I'm the enemy, because I like to think, and I like to read. I'm into freedom of speech and freedom of choice. I'm the kind of guy who'd walk into a greasy spoon and wonder - "Gee, should I have the T-bone steak or the jumbo rack of barbecued ribs with the side order of grave(y)rev.b fries?" I WANT high cholesterol. I wanna eat bacon and butter and BUCKETS of cheese, okay? I want to smoke Cuban cigars the size of Cincinnati in the non-smoking section. I want to run through the streets naked with green jello all over my body reading playboy magazine. Why? Because I suddenly might feel the urge to, okay, pal? I've SEEN the future. Do you know what it is? It's a 47-year-old virgin sitting around in his beige pajamas, drinking a banana-broccoli shake, and singing "I'm an Oscar Meyer Wiener." ''

As far as the article goes, I could care less. If they want to smoke pot and call it a sacrament, fine, let them. I don't smoke pot and I'm not religious. I agree with most of your post, but that ONE line, just got under my skin. I value my rights and I am inclined to use them. Abusing them is a matter of perception.

I know this is slightly OT, but I had to get it out of my system :-|

--barista 10:21, 23 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Straighten some things out
Hello Juuso, Ferre and everyone,

Aloha. This is Roger, Founder of the THC Ministry. Ferre alerted me to this discussion a few months ago and I'm finally getting around to commenting. A good debate is a fine thing. Thanks for bringing this stuff up.

We have been pro-'claiming' to be a spiritual path, or a 'religion' since our inception. We claim to be 'legitimate' and we can prove it because we ARE legitimate. Licensed by the State of Hawaii, registered with the I.R.S. We are A path, not THE path. We are A religion, not THE religion. Take your pick, there are millions of demoninations and sects out there. If you can find one for fellowship that feels good and right - great! If not, START one! That's what I did. It's all good.

As for as "scream out loud Smoke pot! Get away with it." That's not our style, or our motto, or our mission. We seek to provide a safe and secure shelter from the storm of extreme cannabis prohibition. We seek to fellowship with religious enjoyers of cannabis. Spiritual people. Respectful people. Reverent people. We seek to let people know that there IS a spiritual component to 'just' smoking pot. We let people know when they join to take a 'fast' and stop smoking for a while. Then start again with a small amount and see what happens. We recommend cannabis vapor, tincture, tea and holy anointing oil to avoid 'smoking'. (Smoke includes carbon monoxide, a deadly poisonous gas.)

We DON'T hype "use pot freely". Our ethics include using only in private - at home, or church. I can't and won't defend use in public, or any sales of herb. We also insist on zero 'commerce' in sacrament. This is NOT a 'winky-wink' cover or loop-hole for smuggling freighter-loads from Thailand, or wherever. I DO take "donations" for holy anointing oil and other services and sacraments. It's a fine line sometimes and I seek to be in integrity with good morals and ethics to the best of my ability. If I'm out of line, please inform me like a good brother would do. Mahalo.

We do provide a FREE membership for anyone over 21 years old. We do provide a FREE ordainment by referring people to the Universal Life Church. www.ulc.org.

Yes, we do have a $200. Cannabis Sanctuary Legal Defense Kit. So? It's fully guaranteed money-back if not satisfied. So far, zero people have ever asked for their money back. Why? It's worth it! Should we let people only donate what they want to I would soon be broke. A 'suggested donation' is the right way to go, in my opinion. Do I ever give it away for FREE? All the time! Just ask me for one if you doubt me.

Where does the money go? To me and to the ministry. Just get to know me a little bit and you'll see where I put my energy. For instance, I gladly testify in court for our members if they are ever arrested and prosecuted. Just last month I was on the witness stand for over three hours in one case of a Motion to Dismiss on religious grounds.

A "simple money-making scheme"? Not at all, bro. I do respect you asking the question, however. I need the ministry finances to be 'transparent' for all to see. Ferre has been advising me on this very thing, to his credit.

What other 'religion' faces such persecution in the USA? Zero. What other 'religion' faces such prosecution in the USA? Zero.

We need to stay pro-active or else we lose our members to jail or prison or drug-testing probation, or worse. I'm determined to exercise my rights as long as I'm motivated to do so. I usually prefer to do things for 'exponential benefit', however. One pro-active lawsuit to benefit millions of people instead of just fighting one defensive case at a time.

What else? I'm open to any and all of your criticisms. Fire away! Can handle.

All the very best to you,

Roger Christie

Hilo, Kingdom of Hawai'i February 20th, 2005

Advocacy/Commerce
Quoting from the website:

 * Do you use cannabis religiously?
 * Would you like to use cannabis religiously?
 * Would you like to be free of legal problems associated with cannabis for the rest of your life?
 * Would you like identification that will help to protect you from arrest, prosecution and conviction of cannabis charges?
 * If you answered yes to any of these questions, then the THC-Ministry might be for you.

Now, let's distinguish questions 1 and 2 from questions 3 and 4. First off, whether and how one uses cannabis for religious purposes, this information ought simply to be made freely available without being "tied" to an "identification scheme" for protecting one from arrest, prosecution and conviction. Why is this not just put on the website, or offered freely?

As for the second set of questions, they have nothing whatsoever to do with religion, faith or belief of any kind. They advertise a strategy, one which I think unlikely to hold up in US courts at least, based on IDENTIFYING oneself as a member of this organization, without in fact necessarily even sharing their beliefs, whatever they may be.

Now, few people may understand what is meant by a sacrament, it is not a legalistic concept but one that can be directly understood through spiritual experience, or testified to by those who have knowledge of it. To the extent that the "THC Ministry" wishes to testify, I give them all support and encouragement, and I will even testify my own agreement. Cannabis is the sacrament of communion for some people. Others use it recreationally or without such effects, and I think they should not be prohibited from doing so, for the very reason they may discover such higher potentials. Indeed, I think this is precisely *why* it is illegal. Cannabis does more than this, it is also a treatment for pain and nausea and glaucoma and other conditions which are the subject of current medical pot advocacy, and this has validity although it is a narrower point. I make my own position plain here so that I will not be accused of bias against the concept of a cannabis ministry, when I say that this organization is apparently a commercial enterprise with a very damaging effect on the perceptions of people who may conclude that everyone who ascribes religious significance to cannabis is somehow connected with this legalistic and money-making scheme.

Since Roger Christie has posted here, I say to him: Do not trivialize this issue and make claims of legal protection which you cannot provide. The US courts have not recognized the right of Rastafari to use the sacrament, they will not give greater deference to your church. It has always been the case that those who hold sincere religious convictions must endure hardships and often practice in secrecy. I do not say you should stop testifying, to the contrary, I encourage it, but keep clear of claiming temporal powers you do not possess. Whig 08:17, 23 July 2005 (UTC)

Just wanted to add my two cents...
Just wanted to point out that according to (at least in the U.S.) constitutional law (that is, a decision handed down by the Supreme Court), it is not the place of ANYBODY to determine the legitimacy of any religion.

I think it sounds a lot more biased to say that they 'claim' to be a religion than to afford them the same courtesy given any other more 'traditional' religion. In the persuit of NPOV, therefore, it seems most prudent to refer to them as a religion, lest it should sound as though Wikipedia is saying that they are a bunch of kooks making wild claims. You CLAIM that they CLAIM to be a religion.

According to the American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company, religion is defined thusly:

re·li·gion n. 1. 1. Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe. 2. A personal or institutionalized system grounded in such belief and worship. 2. The life or condition of a person in a religious order. 3. A set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader. 4. A cause, principle, or activity pursued with zeal or conscientious devotion.

I fail to see how the THC Ministry does not justify the use of the word religion according to this definition. On stumbling upon this debate, I read over the THC Ministry's website and found that they indeed provide quite an ample historical basis for their beliefs (or alleged beliefs, as I am sure some of you would like to word it). They say, correctly I might add, that cannabis sativa (hemp) has been used for centuries by Buddhists, and that there is are many theologeans that believe that the holy anointing oil of the Judeo-christian faiths (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) is composed mostly of hemp. If you doubt the intent of the ministry's members, I suggest you browse their forums, where most of the discussion is about scripture (I doubt that even the most skeptical among you can suggest that a bunch of 'stoners' seeking mere legal asylum for their vice of choice sit around and discuss verses of the Torah, New Testament, Avesta, and other theological texts).

Just some thoughts. If in doubt, I suggest the Wikipedia community stop passing judgement. Isn't that exactly what we're NOT supposed to do? Thanks to all who read this, I read all of your posts before posting and appreciate the breadth of the discussion.--thereverendeg 15:30, 23 July 2005 (UTC)

Oh yeah another thought really quick here.... what's with people demonizing eachother? Why put quotes around "Ferre" sardonically... I mean, IT'S HIS REAL NAME! Jeeze people... how about some semblance of being civilized?

For some further reading on what does and what doesn't constitute a religion, those of you who seem passionate about this page might want to take a look at Mircea Eliade's The Myth of the Eternal Return, and his theory of the sacred and the profane. For a section of a community that's endeavoring to build and maintain an encyclopedia, I'm finding this discussion to be sadly absent of real academic sources in its arguments. Don't turn this discussion into just another bunch of ad hominem arguments arguments about marijuana use; then it won't serve any purpose. Instead, why don't we try to focus on finding a definition of religion that's acceptable to everyone who cares, and proceed from there? It's disappointing that you folks seem to want to argue from the pornographic definition (I can't explain it, but I know it when I see it...) of religion. Let's get something more concrete, please. - Tum Tum —Preceding unsigned comment added by 139.140.180.34 (talk) 01:29, 7 December 2009 (UTC)

Another thought.... perhaps wording acceptable to everyone...
I thought again about this and figured that this wording may be agreeable to all... How about instead of saying that "The THC Ministry is a religion" or that they "claim to be a religion" why not say "According to their website [and/or founder Roger Christie and/or practitioners], the THC Ministry is a religion..."

That seems to be NPOV-sufficient, while maintaining TRUE citation. Thoughts anyone? --thereverendeg 15:35, 23 July 2005 (UTC)

Just some notes in response to something Whig said....

[]

Did you not say something about how American courts would never uphold his beliefs? I believe you, sir, are incorrect. I believe, sir, that the Circuit Court of Hawaii indeed qualifies as an American court. I believe, sir, that the document linked-to above demonstrates American courts to have done just this, sir. Good day, sir.

 * I don't see the Circuit Court of Hawaii having ruled against prosecution for cannabis possession or use by the THC Ministry, based upon this document. For the sake of those who are not familiar with legal practice, a "Stipulation" is by a party to an action, and in this case the prosecutor (not the judge) agreed that the "Religion of Jesus Church" is a bona fide religion, and that the defendant (Dennis Shields) sincerely believes in the sacramental use of cannabis. The particular charge that seems to be at issue here is "Promoting detrimental drug in the 2nd degree" in violation of some claimed statute. Frankly, I think such a charge ought to be dismissed on first amendment grounds at the very least. This is not a prosecution for actual possession or use. Whig 04:19, 24 July 2005 (UTC)

Urantia
Since thereverendeg claims to be a member of the THC Ministry I took his edit that the organization is based on the Religion of Jesus Church (Urantia) to be accurate, however I would like to see this documented/cited appropriately in the article. Whig 05:39, 24 July 2005 (UTC)

 * Ah, essentially the THC Ministry is founded in Urantia on the basis that Roger Christie (founder of the THC Ministry) "was ordained by the Reverend Dennis Shields into the Religion Of Jesus Church in early June of 2000" (according to the Hawai'i Ministry of Cannabis Sacrament's website at www.thc-ministry.org - exact page linked here, almost imediately after which he founded the THC Ministry by becoming licensed on June 19 (probably a week or so later) as a "Cannabis Sacrament" minister (document here). I'm not exactly sure how this should be added into the article, so I suppose I should leave this to you, Whig? I appreciate your manor, by the way. --thereverendeg 00:33, 25 July 2005 (UTC)

 * So is the THC Ministry a separate religion in any way from the Religion of Jesus Church and if not, should we move or merge this content? Whig 01:58, 25 July 2005 (UTC)

 * IMHO, the thing we should do is remove the redirect for Religion of Jesus Church (RJC) and instead make a new article for it. The THC-Ministry and the RJC are seperate organizations; Roger Christie simply was ordained by the RJC and used much of its structure to form the THC Ministry. The Urantia is also a seperate entity from the RJC, who use it as a religious text (though it isn't even mentioned in the Urantia article). I think a few changes are deffinitely in order to all of the mentioned articles. If there is no argument I will go ahead and set to work on it. --thereverendeg 02:48, 25 July 2005 (UTC)

'claim' edited in to be insultive
As I stated (in other words) in the first post I made in this discussion, I find it extremely insulting that people feel the need to edit this article to have it read that we, THC Ministry members, "CLAIM" to believe in our religion.

I am de founder of the Amsterdam THC Ministry and anyone who tells me that I "claim" to believe is clearly out to insult my religion, the members of my religion and me personally. WHY?

How would other religions like it if people start editing the other religions pages with that "CLAIM" to believe? Shall we introduce at the Muslim and Christian pages that they "CLAIM that there is a god" and see what happens?

I am afraid, since our ministry got attacked the way it was in this comments tread and the article itself, to edit anything in that page myself anymore because I feel bullyed by a few editors who do not have any knowledge of our religion and edit the article in such a way that we look like we are not sincere.

every time this article reflects sincere belief, this is edited out using POV as an excuse to do so. this is not right and for all I care wikipedia can delete this insulting article. --Ferre 07:29, 18 January 2006 (+1 GMT)

 * I have edited the article in the light of your comments and it should be okay now. I do agree with your comments, good luck with your legalising mission, hopefully you can spread that message further than just Holland, SqueakBox 14:46, 18 January 2006 (UTC)

Thank you very much SqueakBox, This is also very much appreciated by our members world wide. I also thank you for your kind words about spreading the message into the world. I have good news for you, and everyone else who have some sympathy for our cause, a google search on thc ministry will show you that we are now presented al over the world. Ferre 20:04, 19 January 2006 (UTC)

Removed the "delete" Message
The message stated that this article should be removed because according to the person who added this message, THC Ministry would be "Not noticeable".

This is incorrect, High Times magazine, the millenium edition, had an article dedicated to THC Ministry, also in the latest edition (Jan '08) there is an article about THC Ministry and THC Ministry is mentioned in a section of "The Cannabible" by Jason King, a frontpage article, Monday, September 06, 2004 on the Hawai'i Tribune Herald. There has been a four page article in the Dutch HighLife magazine a few years ago as well as articles in various news papers due to court cases THC Ministry members have been involved in due to their religious beliefs and many more articles in various magazines and newspapers the past 8 years.

January '07 the American tv presentator Bill Maher has travelled to Amsterdam for an interview with me personally to talk about THC Ministry for a documentary on religions which will be released within the coming months, directed by Larry Charles who also directed the "Borat" movie. If THC Ministry is not "noticeable" then tell me why Bill Maher comes all the way to Amsterdam with a film crew (two cameras and the works) to interview me about this religion. Apparently THC Ministry is not as un-noticeable as the editor who added that delete message would like people to believe.

Also, with a google search for THC Minisry with 77.900 results that is not what one would call not noticeable.

Firthermore, as one of the administrators I can confirm that THC Ministry has more than 10.000 registered members world wide (the amound exceeds 10.000 many times, but THC Ministry does not enclose exact statistics) and there is a physical head office in Hawai'i and an office in Amsterdam and it's officially registered in various US states and countries outside America. (one of them being the Netherlands)

Scanned article in Dutch Highlife Magazine; http://www.thc-ministry.net/downloads/HighLife-article.pdf (scanned copy on pdf file) Scanned article from High Times magazine: http://www.thc-ministry.org/pdfs/roger-christie-a-promotion-from-god.pdf

And as a last remark, I plead to wiki editors to drop their prejustice and stop their attempts to burry this article, in fact I fail to see why people who have different religious beliefs should be editing other people's religion's articles, as that delete message clearly displayd apparently there is some sort of bias against this religion on wiki, this is not the first time this article has been up for discussion about its credibility.

Ferre (talk) 22:29, 5 January 2008 (UTC)

 * Wikipedia has a consistent set of rules for defining notability which apply to all articles equally. It is not arbitrary, biased or prejudiced. What you need to do to demonstrate notability is get links to show that the organisation has received independent coverage by reputable sources. To be honest, stoner magazines may not be considered the best reputable sources but you should still add them as references, if that is the best you have. If you have anything more mainstream then add that as well. Try to link directly to the source rather than a copy on the organisation's own site. If you can adequate demonstrate notability then the article will not be deleted. If not, I suspect that somebody will list it at Articles for Deletion. If that happens there will be a discussion about whether to delete the article. Remember, it is the article that we are concerned about here, not the organisation itself. There are a lot of organisations in the World which are not notable enough to be in an Encyclopaedia. It doesn't mean that there is anything wrong with them. Try not to take it personally. --DanielRigal (talk) 01:08, 6 January 2008 (UTC)

I understand, but I hope you can see my problem here. If I edit this article this is considered to be biased and that's why I have left this article as it is since ages, hoping that others who are considered to be more neutral would make additions to this article.

Your remark about "stoner magazines" is slightly insultive as well, as if magazines with a pro cannabis theme are not credible??? Are you telling me that, for example, a magazine about fishing could not give reliable information? What about magazines dedicated to science? Or are you just insinuating that people who use substances for other than medicinal reasons are not reliable? Of course you will find articles about THC Ministry on "stoner" magazines and websites, just as you'll find articles about fishing in fishing magazines, that does not make those articles unreliable whatsoever, there are many different fields of journalism and publications and in it's field, High Times is an internationally distributed quality magazine with a very solid reputation. I read it, as I also read the Times and The lancet and other magazines, each supplying information on different issues, each just as reliable as the other.

As for the urls from our own domains, these are scanned articles from two seperate magazines, in two seperate countries, those articles can not be found online, they were printed only, these are scans, not articles published at our domains in html, those articles are not pblished by THC Ministry, we only host the scans from the magazines they were published in.

When you say that there are other organisations in this world that are not notable to be in wiki, you forget that this is not just any organisation, it's a religion. Most other religions, specially the mainstream ones, have massacred millions of people during the past 2000 years and have interfered in our political systems in a very intrusive manner, that's notable alright, we prefer to be less notable. A belief system is a private matter, we don't go around converting others, we do not advertise and generally keep a "low profile" on an individual basis simply because of the prejustice and persecution most of our members experience regarding their religious/spiritual practices.

Ferre (talk) 11:54, 6 January 2008 (UTC)

 * You make some fair points. You are right that you should we very wary of editing the article as you are so closely associated with the organisation but I think that adding references to the existing content is OK under these circumstances. I wasn't trying to be insulting. The problem with the sources is that many counter-culture magazines tend not to have as high a level of accuracy as mainstream and other specialist magazines. They are independent however, so you can still use them as references. Reputable sources is not necessarily a binary thing and I am not saying that the sources you provided are disreputable. All I am saying is that an article in an indisputably mainstream publication would be even more helpful as it would establish notability beyond any question. I can see your problem with the scans. It is better if you link to the primary sources when you can but it is OK to use the scans when you can't. --DanielRigal (talk) 13:09, 6 January 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for your understanding Daniel. I will do some more searching for "reliable" sources the coming week, but please tell me, how can I provide proof for articles in newspapers which have only been published in print and are not found online? The Hawai'i Tribune has mentioned THC Ministry many times in several printed articles the past years for example, but none of those articles can be found online, other newspapers have articles online but one has to be registered to be able to read them, to name only a few problems I encountered the past days while looking for reliable sources. The problem is not that THC Ministry has not been written about by third parties in several publications, the problem is that there is little published online. Ferre (talk) 15:56, 7 January 2008 (UTC)

On a side note, is FOX news coverage of a THC Ministry member's court case "reliable"? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvVeKj2DV8o Ferre (talk) 16:15, 7 January 2008 (UTC)

 * Sources do not need to be "on-line". Wikipedia accepts printed sources as well.  For example, you mention that the ministry was written up in High Times ... this is fine.  You can cite any information from the High Times article in the following way:  The important thing is that things stated in the article be verifiable (see our policy at WP:Verifiability), and not based upon purely personal knowledge or opinion (see our policy at WP:No original research).  At the moment they are not.  Not having sources increases the likelihood that the article will be deleted. Blueboar (talk) 22:22, 11 February 2008 (UTC)

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title: Talk:THC Ministry


text:
Category:Latin percussion

Percussion used in Latin American music.

title: Category:Latin percussion


text:
Category:Idiophones

In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, idiophones are designated as '1'.

title: Category:Idiophones


text:
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Knut Lyngar

 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review).  No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was Update: I count 4 votes to delete. I'll delete the page now. Wile E. Heresiarch 16:35, 31 May 2004 (UTC)

Knut_Lyngar
vanity page. Name gets 6 google hits. Zoda, who wrote this page, is Knut Lyngar's nickname according to. Maximus Rex 07:49, 25 May 2004 (UTC)

 * Greet new user. Then delete and remove image too. Dunc Harris | Talk 12:48, 25 May 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete. Vanity. Andrewa 14:44, 25 May 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete. City where his radio station is (Elverum) only has 18,000 inhabitants. According to our article on the county it's in (Hedmark) says it only has 4.1% of the population of Norway. We may want to clarify a policy on radio DJs. Most have 5,000+ listeners, but, other than Howard Stern and some others, I believe most listeners tune in for the station's format, not the DJ. (PS One of the Yahoo hits is this VfD listing. lol) Niteowlneils 15:51, 26 May 2004 (UTC)
 * FWIW, I've added "Non-syndicated radio disc-jockeys that haven't become a major news item due to controversy, etc. Out." to WIWO. Niteowlneils 19:27, 27 May 2004 (UTC)
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.


text: Category:University departments in Sweden


text: Category:Constitutional law

title: Category:Constitutional law


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Talk:R. S. Thomas

Untitled
The internet gives three seperate dates for Thomas' Nobel prize nomination. Anyone know for sure? maybe he was nominated more than once. Also should the little category|writer/poets tags be added to articles? cant find any info on this. Is it done automatically? someone who knows could add a link here to where the instructions on that are, can't seem to find them. cheers.Monk Bretton 16:37, 31 May 2004 (UTC)

Wrong link in references
The link to Byron G. Rogers as author of "The Man who Went into the West" is incorrect. That is a different Byron Rogers. The actual author does not appear to have a wikipedia page (though I thought he did at some point in the past). I'm not sure how to edit the reference so I'll leave it to someone else rather than mess it up. Also this page's visual edit option is not working for me at the moment so I hope I haven't messed this up either. Hundovir (talk) 20:48, 23 December 2020 (UTC)

On further perusal there is a page for the correct author: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byron_Rogers_(author). But I don't know how to edit the reference list. to be clear, this is reference number 4. The link to the author might also be useful in reference 5. Hundovir (talk) 09:13, 26 January 2021 (UTC)

 * ✅. Yes, it's Byron Rogers (author). Thanks. Martinevans123 (talk) 10:03, 26 January 2021 (UTC)

Exact place of birth
This blog site says he was born at 5, Newfoundland Road, Gabalfa, in Cardiff. But I am unable to find any better source to verify. Martinevans123 (talk) 20:57, 15 April 2021 (UTC)

title: Talk:R. S. Thomas


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Noindex

The noindex value of an HTML robots meta tag requests that automated Internet bots avoid indexing a web page. Reasons why one might want to use this meta tag include advising robots not to index a very large database, web pages that are very transitory, web pages that are under development, web pages that one wishes to keep slightly more private, or the printer and mobile-friendly versions of pages. Since the burden of honoring a website's noindex tag lies with the author of the search robot, sometimes these tags are ignored. Also the interpretation of the noindex tag is sometimes slightly different from one search engine company to the next.

Noindexing entire pages
Possible values for the meta tag content are: "none", "all", "index", "noindex", "nofollow", and "follow". A combination of the values is also possible, for example:

Bot-specific directives
The noindex directive can be restricted only to certain bots by specifying a different "name" value in the meta tag. For example, to specifically block Google's bot, specify:

Or, to block Bing's bot, specify:

Or, to block Baidu's bot, specify:

robots.txt file
A robots.txt file can be used to block crawling.

Noindexing part of a page
It is also possible to exclude part of a Web page, for example navigation text, from being indexed rather than the whole page. There are various techniques for doing this; it is possible to use several in combination. Google's main indexing spider, Googlebot, is not known to recognize any of these techniques.

tag
The Russian search engine Yandex introduced a new tag which prevents indexing of the content between the tags. To allow the source code to validate, alternatively can be used:

Other indexing spiders also recognize the tag, including Atomz.

microformat
There is a 2005 draft microformats specification with the same functionality. The Robot Exclusion Profile looks for the attribute and value  class="robots-noindex"  in HTML tags:

A combination of values is also possible, for example:

Yahoo!
In 2007, Yahoo! introduced similar functionality to the microformat into its spider. However, Yahoo!'s spider is incompatible in that it looks for the value  class="robots-nocontent"  and only this value:

SharePoint
SharePoint 2010’s iFilter excludes content inside of a  tag with the attribute and value  class="noindex" . Inner  s were initially not excluded, but this may have changed. It is also unknown whether the attribute can be applied to tags other than.

Google Search Appliance
The Google Search Appliance uses structured comments:

Other indexing spiders also use their own structured comments.

title: Noindex


text: Category:Go players

title: Category:Go players


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Talk:Lepidopteran diversity

Untitled
These figures are hearsay at present, trawled from: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/taxome/lepnos.html and http://www.ndsu.edu/ndsu/ndmoths/family/

Would anyone with access to the Kristensen work care to fill in the gaps?

--Keith Edkins 16:40, 31 May 2004 (UTC)

Aren't blanks better than question marks?
 Bfpage |leave a message 22:08, 21 February 2015 (UTC)

title: Talk:Lepidopteran diversity


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User:Vbganesh

I am currently inactive in wiki.

title: User:Vbganesh


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Talk:Spit (card game)

Format
Just wondering, am I the only person who thinks that this article sounds a bit too much like an instruction guide? Overuse of the 2nd person and complete focus on gameplay just make the article sound... weird. Does anybody agree with me? I want to know before I start to change it.--Montaced (talk) 22:59, 10 June 2009 (UTC)
 * I definitely agree about the 2nd person usage. And the article is quite heavy on the gameplay to the point of sounding more like a how-to guide; I think if the article included more information about the history or development of Spit or its cultural relevance or something of the sorts, it would balance things out, but since I know nothing about the topic, I'm afraid I'm pretty useless here. Waverly (talk) 21:15, 14 June 2009 (UTC)

Ok
I think this article is ok overall. The nature of a description of a card game with many variants is that much explanation is needed. I do NOT think it should be moved to Wikiversity. And it should not be removed. I first learned to play split in 4th grade, and this is folk knowledge -- it is Subject-specific common knowledge. This article is NOT a quotation, an exceptional claim, it is not contentious. (See policy When_to_cite and You don't need to cite that the sky is blue

I appreciate the Wikipedia authors who have taken the time to put this information about Spit. While I would welcome the addition of secondary sources, I do NOT think this article should be removed because of a lack. Rather, we need people to spend the time (as they have) to carefully write out the rules. Hence there are no citations... unless you want to interview some elementary school kids. We do not need to cite some books or magazine articles for the rules of spit. It's like looking up citations for making smores. Wxidea (talk) 05:30, 9 June 2010 (UTC)

merge?
should this be merged with Speed (card game) ? I think they are different names for the same game.... 174.16.200.131 (talk) 03:15, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

Speed comparison
I rewrote the section of Speed relating to Spit. Might copy it here. Alanf777 (talk) 21:51, 24 April 2016 (UTC)

Copyvio
I've removed the bulk of this article as most of it is a copyvio from http://www.pagat.com/patience/spit.html. There was a concern raised that they might have copied us but waybackmachine proves they had it before Wikipedia was even started. I've not revdel'd the versions as there might be salvageable material there but editors should note that they will be responsible (not the original uploader) for any material they restore. Dpmuk (talk) 21:11, 23 July 2012 (UTC)

Removed material
The following material has been removed as it is not appropriate for the article but is recorded here as it may be of interest to other readers: anecdotal evidence traces it back at least to the 1940s in Texas. Bermicourt (talk) 08:43, 31 August 2023 (UTC)

I removed the reference to origin in the 1980s in the UK. I realize this is completely anecdotal but I know someone who played as a child in the 1960s. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2603:7081:63B:211E:D186:7E08:121D:23A1 (talk) 17:31, 22 November 2023 (UTC)
 * That kind of anecdote is very useful as a starting point for researching whether a source might be incorrect, but it isn't enough by itself to conclude that the source is wrong. (It's possible, for example, that your friend had been playing the older game of Racing Demon, and has conflated the two games somehow.)
 * It's prompted me to check my Parlett, though. I have an earlier edition than the 2008 one cited here, and in that one he doesn't explicitly suggest that Spit originated in the 1980s, only that he was taught the game by his daughter around that time. --Belbury (talk) 18:58, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

 * I think it may well be the case that there is an earlier origin, but it still needs citing. In the meantime, perhaps we should amend the text to more accurately reflect Parlett.Bermicourt (talk) 21:46, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

title: Talk:Spit (card game)


text: Category:Pitched percussion instruments

title: Category:Pitched percussion instruments


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Character assassination

Character assassination (CA) is a deliberate and sustained effort to damage the reputation or credibility of an individual. The phrase "character assassination" became popular around 1930. This concept, as a subject of scholarly study, was originally introduced by Davis (1950) in a collection of essays revealing the dangers of political smear campaigns. Six decades later Icks and Shiraev (2014) rejuvenated the term and revived academic interest by addressing and comparing a variety of historical character assassination events.

Studying CA
Icks and Shiraev (2014) address several political science models to explain character assassination from the attacker's point of view. They believe that the attacker's motivation is often based on the intent to destroy the target psychologically, or to reduce their public support or chances to succeed in a political competition. For example, during elections, attacks are often used to sway undecided voters, create uncertainty with tentative voters, or prevent defections of supporters. These attacks therefore become an effective means of manipulating voters toward a desirable action. They also facilitate the repositioning of originally favorable supporters to the ranks of the "undecided" or "uncommitted" voters.

Narcissism
According to Thomas, character assassination is an intentional attempt, usually by a narcissist or their codependents, to influence the portrayal or reputation of someone in such a way as to cause others to develop an extremely negative or unappealing perception of them. It typically involves deliberate exaggeration or manipulation of facts, the spreading of rumours and deliberate misinformation to present an untrue picture of the targeted person, and unwarranted and excessive criticism.

Psychopathy in the workplace
The authors of the book Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work describe a five phase model of how a typical workplace psychopath climbs to and maintains power. In phase four (confrontation), the psychopath will use techniques of character assassination to maintain their agenda.

In politics
In Australian politics, a Dorothy Dixer is a rehearsed or planted question asked of a government Minister by a backbencher of their own political party during Parliamentary Question Time. While intended to enable a Minister to discuss or address concerns about the subject asked of him, a Dixer will often conclude with "Is the Minister aware of any alternative policies?" This addition allows the Minister to launch into often aggressive attacks on the opposition, which depending on the leeway offered by the Speaker (who is a member of the ruling party and thus will usually side with the Minister), can include not just attacks on Opposition policy, but attempts to character assassinate opposition members directly.

Charging an opponent with character assassination may have political benefits. In the hearings for Clarence Thomas' nomination to the Supreme Court of the United States, supporters claimed that both Clarence Thomas and Anita Hill were victims of character assassination.

In a totalitarian regime
The effect of a character assassination driven by an individual is not equal to that of a state-driven campaign. The state-sponsored destruction of reputations, fostered by political propaganda and cultural mechanisms, can have more far-reaching consequences. One of the earliest signs of a society's compliance to loosening the reins on the perpetration of crimes (and even massacres) with total impunity is when a government favors or directly encourages a campaign aimed at destroying the dignity and reputation of its adversaries, and the public accepts its allegations without question. The mobilisation toward ruining the reputation of adversaries is the prelude to the mobilisation of violence in order to annihilate them. Generally, official dehumanisation has preceded the physical assault of the victims.

Specific examples include Zersetzung, by the Stasi secret service agency of East Germany, and kompromat in Russia. It was also prevalent during the Red Scare in the United States, being carried out by both the government and the media.

The International Society for the Study of Character Assassination
The International Society for the Study of Character Assassination (ISSCA) specializes in the academic study and research of how character attacks and character assassinations have been executed in both history and during contemporary times. In July 2011, scholars from nine countries gathered at the University of Heidelberg, Germany, to debate "the art of smear and defamation in history and today". They formed a group to study character assassination throughout the ages. The group included historians, political scientists, and political psychologists.

Research Lab for Character Assassination and Reputation Politics
Founded in 2016 in cooperation with the ISSCA, the Research Lab for Character Assassination and Reputation Politics (CARP) includes scholars with disciplinary homes in psychology, history, communication and public relations. With investigators from George Mason University, the University of Baltimore, and the University of Amsterdam, the CARP team focuses efforts along three main dimensions: research on historical and contemporary examples of character assassination; education for academic and public audiences about character assassination causes, impacts and prevention; and risk assessment to determine vulnerabilities and mitigation strategies for public figures concerned about their reputations. The Mason CARP website features materials about the lab and its activities. The CARP Lab additionally publishes a blog and is affiliated with the Global Informality Project, a leading online resource for the world's open secrets, unwritten rules and hidden practices, broadly defined as "ways of getting things done."

In 2017 and 2019, CARP hosted two international conferences that welcomed numerous U.S. and international researchers and academics studying different aspects of CA. The proceedings and report of the CARP 2017 conference "Character Assassination in Theory and Practice" can be found on the Mason website.

The CARP 2019 conference "Character Assassination and Populism: Challenges and Responses" featured critical input from practitioners in crisis management, journalism, and public relations. The event attracted scholars from twenty countries around the world.

In 2019, the CARP Lab published its first handbook titled "Routledge Handbook of Character Assassination and Reputation Management".

title: Character assassination


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Category:Keyboard percussion instruments

Percussion instruments arranged in keyboard layout, but not themselves played using a keyboard mechanism.


text: Category:Keyboard instruments

title: Category:Keyboard instruments


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Talk:Fado em Mim

I'm a little bit shocked that this chick is on wikipedia and amalia rodrigues isnt...

title: Talk:Fado em Mim


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Princess Mafalda of Savoy

Princess Mafalda of Savoy (19 November 1902 – 28 August 1944) was the second daughter of King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy and his wife Elena of Montenegro. In 1925, at the age of 22, she married the Landgrave of Hesse, Philipp. In 1943, during World War II, she was imprisoned in the Buchenwald concentration camp, where she died. The future King Umberto II of Italy was her younger brother.

Mafalda was born a princess of Savoy. She was the second child and daughter of King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy and Elena of Montenegro. She was very close to her mother, and went with her mother to visit Italian military hospitals during World War I. In 1925, Mafalda married Philipp, Landgrave of Hesse. They had four children together.

In 1943, during World War II, Mafalda was tricked into going to the German Embassy, under the impression that her husband needed to speak to her. However, her husband was already imprisoned in a concentration camp, while her children were in Rome. When she arrived in Nazi Germany, Mafalda was arrested. She soon was imprisoned in the Buchenwald concentration camp.

On 24 August 1944, the Allies bombed Buchenwald’s ammunition factory. Mafalda suffered from burns on her left arm and face, and was found covered up to her neck in debris. Her arm soon became infected, and she had an operation done. The operation resulted in her death from blood loss during the night of 28 August.

Early life: 1902–1925
Mafalda Maria Elisabetta Anna Romana was born on 19 November 1902 in Rome, and was nicknamed "Muti". She was the second child born to King Victor Emmanuel III and Queen Elena of Italy. She was baptized at the Quirinal Palace on 15 December 1902. She had four siblings: Yolanda, Umberto, Giovanna, and Maria Francesca.

During her childhood, she was closest to her mother, from whom she inherited a love for music and the arts. During World War I, she accompanied her mother on her visits to Italian military hospitals. In 1919, she accompanied her mother, her sister Yolanda, and the Duchess of Aosta to Paris, France, where the Prince of Wales was also there.

Marriage: 1925–1943
On 23 September 1925, at Racconigi Castle, in the presence of the whole royal family, Mafalda married Prince Philipp of Hesse, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel and grandson of German Emperor Frederick III, whom she met at a garden party earlier in 1925. Prince Philipp and his brother Christoph were members of the Nazi Party.

Prince Philipp's marriage to Princess Mafalda put him in position to act as intermediary between the National Socialist government in Germany (ruling since 1933) and the Fascist government in Italy, ruling since 1922. On the evening of 26 March 1935 she was present at an informal diplomatic dinner given by Adolf Hitler in the Reich President's House in Berlin. She sat next to Anthony Eden.

However, during World War II, Adolf Hitler believed Princess Mafalda was working against the war effort; he called her the "blackest carrion in the Italian royal house". So did Hitler's Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels, who called her "the biggest bitch (grösste Rabenaas) in the entire Italian royal house".

Imprisonment and death: 1943–1944
The relationship between Prince Philipp and Hitler was beginning to sour by the spring of 1943. Although he initially worked for Hitler, Prince Philipp tried to resign, but he was prevented. He, reportedly, provided passports for Jews to allow them to flee to the Netherlands.

Early in September 1943, Princess Mafalda travelled to Bulgaria to attend the funeral of her brother-in-law, King Boris III. While there, she was informed of Italy's surrender to the Allied Powers, that her husband was being held under house arrest in Bavaria, and that her children had been given sanctuary in the Vatican. The Gestapo ordered her arrest, and on 23 September she received a telephone call from Hauptsturmführer Karl Hass at the German High Command, who told her that he had an important message from her husband. On her arrival at the German embassy, Mafalda was arrested, ostensibly for subversive activities. Princess Mafalda was transported to Munich for questioning, then to Berlin, and finally to Buchenwald concentration camp. The Italian prisoners at the Buchenwald concentration camp recognized her, and stated that she shared her food with other prisoners.

On 24 August 1944, the Allies bombed an ammunition factory inside Buchenwald. Some four hundred prisoners were killed and Princess Mafalda was seriously wounded: she had been housed in a unit adjacent to the bombed factory, and when the attack occurred she was buried up to her neck in debris and suffered severe burns to her arm. She said, "I’m dying. Remember me not as a princess but as your Italian sister."

The conditions of the labour camp caused her arm to become infected as a result, and the medical staff at the facility amputated it; she bled profusely during the operation and never regained consciousness. She died during the night of 26–27 August 1944; her body was reburied after the war at Kronberg Castle in Hesse.

Eugen Kogon, author of The Theory and Practice of Hell – The German Concentration Camps and the System Behind Them (1950), adds more details of Mafalda's death – some of it in conflict with the previous account. After the air raid of 24 August 1944, the princess was wounded in the arm and Dr. Schiedlausky, camp medical office, performed the arm amputation, but his patient did not survive due to loss of blood. Her naked body was dumped into the crematorium, where Father Joseph Thyl dug it out of the body heap, covered her up, and arranged for speedy cremation. Thyl cut off a lock of the princess's hair, which was smuggled out of camp to be kept in Jena, until it could be sent on to her German relatives. Her death was not confirmed until after Germany's surrender to the Allies in 1945.

Legacy
In 1995, the Italian government honored Princess Mafalda with her image on a postal stamp. Mafaldine ("little Mafalda"), a variety of flat pasta, are named after her.

Children
Princess Mafalda married Philipp, Landgrave of Hesse, on 23 September 1925 (civilly and religiously) at Racconigi Castle near Turin. They had 4 children:
 * 1) Moritz Friedrich Karl Emanuel Humbert (6 August 1926 – 23 May 2013); married on 1 June 1964 (civilly) and on 3 June 1964 (religiously) in Kronberg to Princess Tatiana of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (born 31 July 1940), with issue (div. 16 October 1974).
 * 2) Heinrich Wilhelm Konstantin Viktor Franz (30 October 1927 – 18 November 1999); unmarried, without issue.
 * 3) Otto Adolf (3 June 1937 – 3 January 1998); married first on 5 April 1965 (civilly) in Munich and on 6 April 1965 (religiously) in Trostberg to Angela Mathilde Agathe von Döring (12 August 1940 Goslar – 11 April 1991 Hanover), daughter of general Bernd von Doering, without issue (div. 3 February 1969) then married secondly on 28 December 1988 to Elisabeth Marga Dorothea Bönker (formerly Wittler) (31 Jan 1944 Rumburg, Czechoslovakia – 12 April 2013), without issue (div. 1994).
 * 4) Elisabeth Margarethe Elena Johanna Maria Jolanda Polyxene (born 8 October 1940); married on 26 February 1962 (civilly) and on 28 February 1962 (religiously) in Frankfurt am Main to Count Friedrich Karl von Oppersdorf (30 January 1925 Głogówek – 11 January 1985 Gravenbruch), with issue.

Honours

 * House of Savoy: Knight Grand Cordon of the Royal Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus
 * Sovereign Military Order of Malta: Knight Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, 3rd First Class

title: Princess Mafalda of Savoy


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Middle French

Middle French (moyen français) is a historical division of the French language that covers the period from the mid-14th to the early 17th century. It is a period of transition during which: It is the first version of French that is largely intelligible to Modern French speakers, contrary to Old French.
 * the French language became clearly distinguished from the other competing Oïl languages, which are sometimes subsumed within the concept of Old French (l'ancien français)
 * the French language was imposed as the official language of the Kingdom of France in place of Latin and other Oïl and Occitan languages
 * the literary development of French prepared the vocabulary and grammar for the Classical French (le français classique) spoken in the 17th and 18th centuries.

History
The most important change found in Middle French is the complete disappearance of the noun declension system (already underway for centuries). There is no longer a distinction between nominative and oblique forms of nouns, and plurals are indicated simply with an s. This transformation necessitates an increased reliance on the order of words in the sentence, which becomes more or less the syntax of modern French (although there is a continued reliance on the verb in the second position of a sentence, or "verb-second structure", until the 16th century).

Among the elites, Latin was still the language of education, administration, and bureaucracy; this changed in 1539, with the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts, in which François I made French alone the language for legal acts. Regional differences were still extreme throughout France: in the south of France, Occitan languages dominated; in east central France, Franco-Provençal languages were predominant; while, in the north of France, Oïl languages other than Francien continued to be spoken.

The fascination with classical texts led to numerous borrowings from Latin and Greek. Numerous neologisms based on Latin roots were introduced, and some scholars modified the spelling of French words to bring them into conformity with their Latin roots, sometimes erroneously. This often produced a radical difference between a word's spelling and the way it was pronounced. Nevertheless, Middle French spelling was overall fairly close to the pronunciation; unlike modern French, word-final consonants were still pronounced (though they were optionally lost when they preceded another consonant in the beginning of an immediately following word).

The French wars in Italy and the presence of Italians in the French court brought the French into contact with Italian humanism. Many words dealing with the military (alarme, cavalier, espion, infanterie, camp, canon, soldat) and artistic (especially architectural: arcade, architrave, balcon, corridor; also literary: sonnet) practices were borrowed from Italian. These tendencies would continue through Classical French.

There were also some borrowings from Spanish (casque) and German (reître) and from the Americas (cacao, hamac, maïs).

The influence of the Anglo-Norman language on English had left words of French and Norman origin in England. Some words of Romance origin now found their way back into French as doublets through war and trading contacts.

Also, the meaning and usage of many words from Old French were transformed.

Spelling and punctuation in this period are extremely variable. The introduction of printing in 1470 highlighted the need for reform in spelling. One proposed reform came from Jacques Peletier du Mans, who developed a phonetic spelling system and introduced new typographic signs (1550); but this attempt at spelling reform was not followed.

This period saw the publication of the first French grammars and of the French-Latin dictionary of Robert Estienne (1539).

At the beginning of the 17th century, French would see the continued unification of French, the suppression of certain forms, and the prescription of rules, leading to Classical French.

Literature
Middle French is the language found in the writings of Charles, Duke of Orléans, François Villon, Clément Marot, François Rabelais, Michel de Montaigne, Pierre de Ronsard, and the poets of La Pléiade.

The affirmation and glorification of French finds its greatest manifestation in La Défense et illustration de la langue française (The defense and illustration of the French language) (1549) by the poet Joachim du Bellay, which maintained that French (like the Tuscan of Petrarch and Dante) was a worthy language for literary expression and which promulgated a program of linguistic production and purification (including the imitation of Latin genres).

title: Middle French