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Tom Regan

Tom Regan (November 28, 1938 – February 17, 2017) was an American philosopher who specialized in animal rights theory. He was professor emeritus of philosophy at North Carolina State University, where he had taught from 1967 until his retirement in 2001.

Regan was the author of numerous books on the philosophy of animal rights, including The Case for Animal Rights (1983), one of a handful of studies that have significantly influenced the modern animal rights movement. In these, he argued that non-human animals are what he called the "subjects-of-a-life", just as humans are, and that, if we want to ascribe value to all human beings regardless of their ability to be rational agents, then to be consistent, we must similarly ascribe it to non-humans.

From 1985, Regan served with his wife Nancy as co-founder and co-president of the Culture and Animals Foundation, a nonprofit organization "committed to fostering the growth of intellectual and artistic endeavors united by a positive concern for animals". The Vegan Society remembers him as "a stalwart vegan and activist".

Education and career
Regan graduated from Thiel College in 1960, receiving his M.A. in 1962 and his PhD in 1966 from the University of Virginia. He taught philosophy at North Carolina State University from 1967 until 2001. Regan directed the 1986 film We Are All Noah, which is available on VHS videotape.

Animal rights
In The Case for Animal Rights, Regan argued that non-human animals bear moral rights. His philosophy aligns broadly within the tradition of Immanuel Kant, although he rejects Kant's idea that respect is due only to rational beings. Regan points out that we routinely ascribe inherent value, and thus the right to be treated with respect, to humans who are not rational, including infants and the severely mentally impaired.

The crucial attribute that all humans have in common, he argues, is not rationality, but the fact that each of us has a life that matters to us; in other words, what happens to us matters to us, regardless of whether it matters to anyone else. In Regan's terminology, we each experience being the "subject-of-a-life". If this is the true basis for ascribing inherent value to individuals, to be consistent we must ascribe inherent value, and hence moral rights, to all subjects-of-a-life, whether human or non-human. The basic right that all who possess inherent value have, he argues, is the right never to be treated merely as a means to the ends of others.

In Regan's view, not to be used as a means entails the right to be treated with respect, which includes the right not to be harmed. This right, however, is not absolute, as, there are times when to respect someone' s right not to be harmed, another' s right not to be harmed must be overridden. His philosophy employs principles such as the miniride principle (a.k.a. minimize overriding) and the worse-off principle to deal with these situations. The miniride principle is that when faced with overriding the rights of many innocent beings versus the rights of few innocent beings—when each individual involved would be equally harmed—we should override the rights of the few. The worse-off principle states that, when individuals involved are not harmed in a comparable way given a certain course of action, we should mitigate the situation of those who would be worse-off. Thus, if the harm of a few innocent beings is greater than the harm to many innocent beings, the right action is to override the rights of the many. As this relates to animal rights, Regan asserts the harm in the death of an animal is not tantamount to the harm in the death of a normal, healthy human. This is supposedly because the ending of an animal life entails the loss of fewer opportunities when compared to the loss of a normal, healthy human. According to Regan, there would be more harm in the death of a normal, healthy dog than there would be in the death of a person who was irreversibly comatose, as the dog would have more opportunities for satisfaction than the irreversibly comatose human.

Supporters argue that Regan's argument for animal rights does not rely on a radical new theory of ethics, but that it follows from a consistent application of moral principles and insights that many of us already hold with respect to the ethical treatment of human beings; however, others criticize the lack of certainty with which Regan's "inherent value" or "subject-of-a-life" status can be determined, and note that the sufficient conditions he lists—for example, having sense-perceptions, beliefs, desires, motives, and memory—in effect reduce to "similarity to humans".

According to Regan, it follows from the ascription to animals of the basic right to be treated with respect that we should abolish the breeding of animals for food, animal experimentation, and commercial hunting. Starting as a leather-wearing, circus-visiting meat eater, a series of musings, experiences, and insights led him to conclude he was morally unable to use animals for meat, clothing, or any other purpose that does not respect their rights.

G. E. Moore scholarship
In the 1980s, Regan published three books on G. E. Moore's philosophy. The first book, G. E. Moore: The Early Essays, is a collection of essays that were originally published between 1897 and 1903, none of which Moore himself anthologized. Regan argues that these papers reveal Moore's early taste for speculative metaphysics; in "The Nature of Judgment", for example, Moore maintains that "the world consists of concepts", including existence, "which is itself a concept ... Thus, all that exists ... is composed of concepts necessarily related to one another in specific manners, and likewise to the concept of existence." In another paper, "Freedom", Moore enthusiastically affirms his agreement with F. H. Bradley, writing: "I can only say that the arguments by which Mr. Bradley has endeavoured to prove the unreality of Time appear to me perfectly conclusive." Regan's second book, The Elements of Ethics, is a series of ten lectures Moore delivered in 1898. Large parts of these lectures were carried over by Moore into Principia Ethica and, Regan maintains, these lectures cast important light on Principia pages.

Regan's third book, Bloomsbury's Prophet: G. E. Moore and the Development of His Moral Philosophy, represents Regan's major contribution to Moorean scholarship. Representative reviews include E. D. Klemke writing that Bloomsbury's Prophet is "a marvelous book", while Aurum Stroll writes "[t]he portrait of the man Moore that Regan gives us is not only unique ... but it is well done, indeed." In this book, Regan relies on a trove of unpublished material, housed in the Moore Archive at the University of Cambridge, including Moore's two dissertations, on Kant's moral philosophy; correspondence, consisting of letters that Moore wrote as well those he received; scores of papers he read at meetings of the Cambridge Conversazione Society, also known as the Apostles, and at the Sunday Essay Society; and a diary Moore kept throughout his formative years, breaking off on April 19, 1916. Using these materials, Regan argues that Principia's primary purpose was (as Moore wrote) to "humble the Science of Ethics" by exposing the "lies" told by "would-be scientific ethicists" ("Art, Morals, and Religion": May 5, 1901). In Moore's view, a truly scientific ethic is able to prove very little concerning values, rules, duty, and virtues.

Regarding values: such an ethic cannot establish anything concerning what has intrinsic value—what is good in itself. That must be left to the judgment of individuals who, taking due precautions, ask themselves what things would be good if they were the only things to exist in the world. Regarding rules of conduct: a truly scientific ethic can at most establish that "a very few rules" (Principia, xxii, italics in the original) ought always to be followed. Not even all the rules commended by Common Sense qualify: only "most of those most universally recognized by Common Sense" are possible candidates, and even in their case Moore maintains only that the requisite type of justification "may be possible" (p. xxii, italics in the original). That being so, almost all our decisions will need to be made without relying on any rule: in almost all cases, Moore writes, "rules of action should not be followed at all" (Ibid., p. xiii). In all cases of this sort, individuals should guide their choice "by a direct consideration of the effects which the action may produce" (p. XX), doing what one thinks will promote one' s own interests, as these are enlarged by the lives of others in whom one has "a strong personal interest" (Ibid., XX) instead of attempting to satisfy the demands of "a more extended beneficence," as in "the greatest good for the greatest number." And of the goods to be aimed at, the more immediate are generally to be preferred to the more distant. In short, in virtually all our activities in our day-to-day life we are at liberty to live and choose without troubling ourselves about whether we are doing what duty, in the form of the rules of morality, requires.

Regarding virtues: a truly scientific ethic should promote the private virtues of prudence, temperance, and industry (the only virtues Moore discusses in Principia), not the (so-called) virtues of beneficence, charity, civic-mindedness, social justice, patriotism, piety, reverence, or altruism. Such an ethic should promote the virtues of the creative self, not the virtues of the conscientious citizen. On this basis Regan argues that Moore genuinely is "Bloomsbury' s prophet," advocating, as he does, the values, the rules of conduct, and the virtues that are synonymous with the name, "Bloomsbury." As Regan notes, "theirs was an anarchy of the bedroom, not the streets." Writing in the Library Journal, Leon H. Brody assessed the work as follows. "Regan's thesis is that an adequate understanding of Moore's ethical philosophy can be achieved only when seen against the backdrop of Bloomsbury—the avant-garde group of free spirits (among whom were Lytton Strachey, Virginia Woolf, and John Maynard Keynes) who met weekly in London between 1905 and 1920. When seen in that light, Regan argues, Moore's thought as expressed in Principia Ethica is a "radical defense of the freedom of the individual to choose," rather than a defense of conformity to the status quo, as is usually assumed. Written with the verve appropriate to its subject, and yet philosophically scrupulous, this book deserves a place in philosophy and cultural history collections in both public and academic libraries."

Personal life
Regan and his wife Nancy had two children, Bryan and Karen. Regan died of pneumonia at his home in North Carolina on February 17, 2017.

Books

 * Understanding Philosophy. Encino, California: Dickenson Publishing Co. 1975. ISBN 978-0822101222.
 * Animal Rights and Human Obligations; with Peter Singer. Englewood Cliffs: New Jersey: Prentice Hall. 1976. ISBN 978-0130375315
 * All That Dwell Therein: Essays on Animal Rights and Environmental Ethics. Berkeley: University of California Press. 1982. ISBN 978-0520045712.
 * The Case for Animal Rights. Berkeley: University of California Press. 1983. ISBN 978-0520049048.
 * Animal Sacrifices: Religious Perspectives on the Use of Animals in Science. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. 1986. ISBN 978-0877224112.
 * Bloomsbury's Prophet: G. E. Moore and the Development of His Moral Philosophy. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. 1986. ISBN 978-0877224464.
 * G. E. Moore: The Early Essays; edited by Tom Regan. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. 1986. ISBN 978-0877224426.
 * The Struggle for Animal Rights. Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania: International Society for Animal Rights. 1987. ISBN 978-0960263219.
 * The Thee Generation: Reflections on the Coming Revolution. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. 1991. ISBN 978-0877227724.
 * G.E. Moore: The Elements of Ethics; edited and with an introduction by Tom Regan. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. 1991. ISBN 978-0877227700.
 * Defending Animal Rights. Illinois: University of Illinois Press. 2000. ISBN 978-0252026119.
 * The Animal Rights Debate; with Carl Cohen. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. 2001. ISBN 978-0847696635.
 * Animal Rights, Human Wrongs: An Introduction to Moral Philosophy. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. 2003. ISBN 978-0742533547.
 * Empty Cages: Facing the Challenge of Animal Rights. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. 2004. ISBN 978-0742533523.
 * Other Nations: Animals in Modern Literature; with Andrew Linzey. Waco, Texas: Baylor University Press. 2010. ISBN 978-1602582378.
 * Maud's Place and Other Southern Stories. Morrisville, North Carolina: Lulu Press Inc. 2014. ISBN 978-1304292544.
 * A Better Life and Other Pittsburgh Stories. Morrisville, North Carolina: Lulu Press Inc. 2014. ISBN 978-1304292339.

Films

 * We Are All Noah (1986)
 * Voices I Have Heard (1988)

title: Tom Regan


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Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes

The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes (Sanctuaire de Notre-Dame de Lourdes; Santuari de Nòstra Senhora de Lorda) is a Catholic Marian shrine and pilgrimage site dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes in the town of Lourdes, Hautes-Pyrénées, France. The sanctuary includes several religious buildings and monuments around the grotto of Massabielle, the place where the events of the Lourdes apparitions occurred in 1858, among them are three basilicas, the Basilica of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, the Rosary Basilica and the Basilica of St. Pius X, respectively known as the upper, lower and underground basilica.

The sanctuary is a destination for sick and disabled pilgrims as the Lourdes water, which has flowed from the grotto since the apparitions, is reputed for miraculous healings. The area is owned and administered by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tarbes-et-Lourdes, and has several functions, including devotional activities, offices, and accommodation for sick and disabled pilgrims and their helpers. In addition to the grotto and the three basilicas, the sanctuary includes fountains providing Lourdes water, baths for immersion in the water, an esplanade for processions, a calvary, the offices of the Lourdes Medical Bureau, and several places of worship in a 52 ha area.

The sanctuary of Lourdes is one of the most-visited Catholic shrines in the world, with around four million tourists coming every year. The grotto of Massabielle, which is the most famous site in the sanctuary, has hundreds of replicas around the world, known as "Lourdes grottos".

History
The sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes began with the Marian apparitions to Bernadette Soubirous in 1858 in the town of Lourdes. On 11 February 1858, a 14-year-old peasant girl, called Bernadette Soubirous, said she saw a "lady" while playing near the grotto of Massabielle (from masse vieille: "old mass") with her sister and a friend, on the left bank of the Gave de Pau river. The "lady" was standing on a rose bush in a niche above the main cavity of the Massabielle grotto.

At the time of the apparitions, the grotto lay well outside town, on common ground which was used by the villagers variously for pasturing animals, collecting firewood, and as a garbage dump, and it had a reputation for being an unpleasant place.

Bernadette told her sister not to tell their parents about the apparition, but she told them anyway and their parents forbid them to go to the grotto again. Bernadette ignored their orders and kept going to the grotto. From 11 February to 16 July 1858, Bernadette saw the same vision 18 times. The "lady" eventually introduced herself to Bernadette as the Immaculate Conception, which had been proclaimed as a dogma for the Virgin Mary by Pope Pius IX in 1854. This convinced local priest Dominique Peyramale that Bernadette saw an authentic apparition of the Virgin Mary.

During the apparitions, Bernadette was given instructions by the "lady", which were to prove central in the development of the sanctuary and its ceremonies. Bernadette was told to go and drink water from a spring which was to appear inside the grotto and wash herself with it. She was also told to go and tell the priests to build a chapel at the grotto site where people were to come in procession.

During the months after the apparitions, public interest in the apparitions grew, and curious visitors began to be replaced by pilgrims from increasingly far away, drawn by compelling stories of apparitions and miracles.

Local priest Dominique Peyramale and local bishop Bertrand-Sévère Laurence bought the grotto and the land around it from the town of Lourdes in 1861, three years after the apparitions. Immediately they set about modifying the area to make it more accessible to pilgrims, and started work to build the first of the churches, which is now known as the "Crypt".

In 1864, the French sculptor Joseph-Hugues Fabisch was commissioned to create a statue of Our Lady of Lourdes based on Bernadette's descriptions. Although it has become an iconic symbol of Our Lady of Lourdes, it depicts a figure which is not only older and taller than Bernadette's description, but also more in keeping with orthodox and traditional representations of the Virgin Mary. The statue rests in the niche where the Virgin appeared to Bernadette. The original wild rose bush was destroyed shortly after the apparitions by pilgrims seeking relics, but a newer one has been planted nearby.

Due to French political upheaval resulting in an enforced separation of Church and State, the property and grounds of the sanctuary were confiscated from the Church and returned to the ownership of the town in 1910. The then bishop, François-Xavier Schoepfer, contested this confiscation and was permitted to rent the area of the sanctuary from the town until the outbreak of World War I in 1914.

Later, a visit to Lourdes by Marshal Pétain in 1941 provided official recognition of the sanctuary. Church officials successfully petitioned Pétain to allow the Church to reclaim ownership of the sanctuary.

Administration
The Bishop of Tarbes and Lourdes is responsible for the spiritual governance of the sanctuary. He appoints a local representative, who is called the rector. The sanctuary is run independently of the parish of Lourdes, which is responsible for the spiritual needs of the Lourdais themselves.

Thirty full-time chaplains are employed in the sanctuary, from dioceses and religious communities worldwide. there were 292 full-time lay employees and a further 120 seasonal employees working in 63 different divisions, with an annual running budget of €18 million, 90% from donations.

The sanctuary is open all year round. In winter there are substantially fewer visitors, a reduced timetable of services and devotional activity, and no processions. The winter season runs from 1 November (the feast of All Saints) until Easter. On 11 February, the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, a full programme of activities usually takes place.

The sanctuary is fully active between Easter and All Saints' Day each year, and has a programme of devotional activities including Mass, processions, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and the sacrament of reconciliation. Many activities are carried out in several languages; in some services the liturgy is repeated in different languages.

The grounds are open daily from 5 am until midnight; outside these times the grotto is accessible via the Lacets Gate behind the Upper Basilica.

An estimated 200 million people have visited the shrine since 1860. The Roman Catholic Church has officially recognized 70 miracle healings, the 70th of which was the cure of Sister Bernadette Moriau, recognised on 11 February 2018.

Lourdes water
Lourdes water flows from a spring at the same spot where it was discovered by Bernadette, in the grotto of Massabielle. The original spring can be seen within the grotto, lit from below and protected by a glass screen. Pilgrims drink Lourdes water due to its reputed healing power. The water is accessed from individual taps located between the grotto and the baths. The water from Lourdes was thoroughly analysed by independent chemists in 1858 and 1859, and does not appear to have a latent power to cure and has no special scientific or medicinal properties. Despite this, the water is itself a strong symbol of devotion for Lourdes pilgrims, and many buy statues and rosary beads containing small vials of it, and take home large plastic containers of it.

Processions
Processions are held in the sanctuary, with the torchlight procession being perhaps the best-known and most visually impressive.

Blessed Sacrament procession
The Blessed Sacrament procession is held daily at 5:00 pm. The procession begins at the open-air altar on the prairie across the river from the grotto and is led by sick pilgrims followed by a priest, bishop or cardinal carrying a monstrance containing the Blessed Sacrament. Typically the bearer of the Blessed Sacrament is sheltered by a baldachin. The Blessed Sacrament is accompanied by candle bearers and incense burners. These ministers are chosen from the pilgrims. A representative group of doctors from the various pilgrimages follow directly behind the Blessed Sacrament, both during the procession and the Blessing of the sick. Lastly, there are groups of pilgrims, some following their parish or diocesan banner. The procession makes its way across the river, past the Crowned Virgin, along the esplanade and down into the St. Pius X underground basilica where pilgrims with disabilities are provided accommodations (often in the front) to access the altar. During the procession, there are meditations, prayers, hymns and chants, all in several languages. When all the participants are assembled, there is a period of Eucharistic adoration, followed by the Blessing of the Sick.

During extreme weather conditions, the procession takes place inside the basilica.

Torchlight procession
The torchlight Marian procession takes place daily at 9 pm. It begins near the grotto and continues in the alleys of the esplanade ending in the Rosary square. In extreme weather an indoor ceremony may be held in the Underground Basilica instead. The procession is led by sick and disabled pilgrims followed by volunteers carrying a replica of the Cabuchet statue of the Virgin Mary. Most participants carry a candle.

The focus of this procession is the rosary. All five decades are recited, usually in a variety of languages. The Immaculate Mary, the Lourdes hymn, is also sung, with verses in different languages. Intercessions may be invoked followed by the Laudate Mariam. There is a final blessing in Latin, and then an invitation to exchange the sign of peace with fellow pilgrims.

Upper Basilica

The Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, commonly known as the "Upper Basilica", was consecrated in 1876. It is an impressive, elaborate building in Gothic style, designed by architect Hyppolyte Durand, and on one side seems to emerge directly from the rock of Massabielle (the sanctuary is directly above the grotto). The walls are lined with ex voto plaques, and banners from official National Pilgrimages of the past. It has a series of stained-glass windows depicting various events in the story of Lourdes; the clerestory windows depict Mary as "the Second Eve".

The exterior is dominated by a 70 m spire, and two lesser spires completed later in 1908. Above the entrance is a mosaic depicting Pope Pius IX, who defined the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in 1854.

The basilica has a crypt, which was the first church to be completed in the sanctuary, in 1866. Construction was started by Abbé Peyramale and bishop Laurence. Bernadette's father worked on its construction and was present at its official opening, on Pentecost Sunday 1866. The nave is small and a notable feature as are the enormous pillars which support the weight of the Upper Basilica, which was constructed on top of it.

The crypt is entered along a corridor, whose entrance is dominated by a large bronze statue of St. Peter, holding the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Opposite stands a statue of Pius X. The walls of the corridor and nave are lined with small marble plaques, known as ex voto plaques, donated in thanks for spiritual favours received.

Lower Basilica
The Rosary Basilica, known as the "Lower Basilica", was completed in 1899, and designed by architect Leopold Hardy. It was consecrated in 1901 and has a capacity of 1,500 worshipers. Its style is influenced by Byzantine architecture. The nave is open and circular, surmounted by a dome. The exterior of the dome is surmounted by a dramatic gilded crown and cross, which were a gift from the people of Ireland in 1924.

The exterior facade of the basilica was modified in 2007 to include a depiction of the luminous mysteries, which are not a part of the traditional fifteen mysteries, but of an extended version of it by Pope John Paul II in 2002.

Underground Basilica
The Basilica of St. Pius X, known as the "Underground Basilica", is the largest of the sanctuary's churches. It was designed by the architect Pierre Vago and completed in 1958 in anticipation of the enormous crowds expected in Lourdes for the centenary of the apparitions. A modern, concrete building, it is almost entirely underground (part of the building lies beneath the Boulevard Père Rémi Sempé above). When full it can accommodate 25,000 worshippers.

Grotto area
The place where Bernadette Soubirous is said to have seen the Lourdes apparitions is called the "grotto of Massabielle", which is the most famous place in the sanctuary. The Lourdes water flows from a spring located inside the cave. From 2014 to 2018, the surroundings of the grotto were modified to facilitate the passing of pilgrims through the various facilities around the grotto. A new esplanade was built on the banks, taps providing water from the spring were moved away from the grotto while new fountains for pilgrims were created, baths were renovated and a new bridge was built. Chapel of lights were built on the right bank for pilgrims to light candles.

Grotto of Massabielle
In contrast to the grandness of Rosary Square and the three basilicas, the grotto at Massabielle where St Bernadette's visions took place is very simple and stark. The recess of the grotto itself is undecorated, although a plain stone altar and lectern have been placed there so that Mass can be celebrated. Above the main recess is the niche where the "lady" seen by Bernadette Soubirous was standing during the apparitions and Fabisch's statue of Our Lady of Lourdes now stands. A large candelabra with 96 candles next to the altar is kept burning throughout the year. During the pilgrimage season, two pilgrimage Masses are usually celebrated each morning at the grotto.

The spring Bernadette that was discovered can be seen at the rear of the grotto, shielded by a glass cover. When Mass is not being celebrated, pilgrims can process through the grotto where it is traditional to touch the rocks directly under the statue; so many people have done this that the stones have become polished. Also at the rear of the grotto is a metal box into which written prayers or petitions may be deposited; they are collected daily and burnt.

Rows of benches allow visitors to sit and pray or contemplate. Pilgrims are asked to remain silent while in the vicinity to create an atmosphere of devotion. One of the spots where Bernadette prayed to the Virgin is marked by a special paving slab.

Some of the rock walls around the grotto bear clear signs of deliberate alteration, presumably to improve access for pilgrims. It is therefore no longer clear what the original configuration of the grotto was.

At least one contemporary account describes a series of chambers behind the statue's niche, which can only be reached by climbing "like a lizard" through clefts in the rocks.

Water taps and fountains
Lourdes water used to be available for pilgrims at water taps located near the grotto along the Massabielle rock. However, people in charge of the sanctuary thought it would be better to have two separate places for Lourdes water distribution, with one place available for drinking water and filling bottles and containers with water and another place intended for pilgrims to take water as a religious gesture, in the same way Bernadette Soubirous did during the apparitions when she was told by the "lady" to drink water from the spring and wash herself with it. This is why new fountains were created for the "water gesture" on the western side of the grotto along the Massabielle rock, shaped to made it difficult to fill bottles and containers, with a low water flow. New water taps were built on the bank, intended to filling bottles and containers with Lourdes water, away from the grotto.

Baths of water
In addition to washing their face at the fountains, pilgrims can immerse in baths filled with Lourdes water (called piscines in French, meaning "pools"). This is also meant to repeat a gesture made by Bernadette Soubirous during the apparitions as she washed herself with the water after she was told to do so by the "lady". The original baths were built in 1862 and the current baths in 1955. They are located on the western side of the grotto along the Massabielle rock. Pilgrims are helped by volunteers for a full immersion into the bath. Each year about 350,000 pilgrims bathe. It is not allowed to take pictures or videos.

Chapels of light
Lighting a votive candle is another religious gesture that Bernadette Soubirous made during the apparitions and which is now part of the Lourdes pilgrimage. Pilgrims used to light candles near the grotto, along the Massabielle rock. Now they have to cross the Gave de Pau river on a new bridge to reach the "chapels of light", where all candles are meant to be lighted. Around 800 tonnes of wax is burnt annually in devotional candles. Pilgrims can place candles of various sizes, some of them bring large candles from their respective parishes. The candle burners are tended by a staff of feutiers, attendants whose job is to ensure candles are burnt safely and evenly and to remove the trays of melted wax which collects under each burner. In July 2022, four candle chapels were damaged by a fire caused by candles and are currently closed.

Additional religious sites
In addition to the three basilicas and the grotto area, the sanctuary has various places of worship and places intended for the pilgrims.

Church of St. Bernadette
The most recent of the major centres of worship is the Church of St. Bernadette, which was consecrated in 1988. It was built opposite the grotto across the river, on the spot where Bernadette Soubirous stood during the 18th and final apparition on 16 July 1858.

The Church of St. Bernadette is a brutalist building with comparatively little adornment. It was designed to allow as much natural light as possible into the nave, and light-coloured materials have been used, making it noticeably brighter than the Underground Basilica. It was designed by the architect Jean-Paul Felix.

It is also a more versatile building. The nave has provision for 5,000 seated worshippers and 350 wheelchairs, but partitions can be drawn to divide the nave into smaller sections. In addition, it includes the hemicycle, a large lecture room which may be used for worship, and an assortment of conference rooms and smaller rooms which may be used for devotional or non-devotional activity.

Chapel of reconciliation
The chapel of reconciliation formerly occupied a site slightly more remote, at the entrance of the upper stations of the Cross. It was moved several years ago into a more prominent position, into the building previously known as the Accueil Notre Dame, near the crowned statue and facing the esplanade.

The chapel of reconciliation is somewhat unusual in that no Masses or other services take place there; instead it is given over entirely to the sacrament of reconciliation. Priests from different countries observe a duty roster, which means that, at almost any time of day, pilgrims from Europe (and occasionally further away) can find a priest who will hear their confession in their own language.

St. Joseph's Chapel
St. Joseph's Chapel, named in honor of Mary's husband Saint Joseph, is situated at the far end of the esplanade, near St. Michael's Gate. It is a modern, concrete church, mostly underground, with little natural light. It was also designed by Pierre Vago, and was consecrated on 1 May 1968. It has provision for 450 seated worshipers and 80 wheelchairs.

Rosary Square
The open space in front of the Rosary Basilica is known as "Rosary Square". The entrances to the Upper Basilica and its crypt, both of which are built on top of the Massabielle rock, are far above ground level. To facilitate access, two enormous ramps were constructed, which curve down either side of Rosary Square. The image of the entrance of the Rosary Basilica, flanked by the two ramps and surmounted by the spires of the Upper Basilica, has become one of the iconic symbols of Lourdes, and a stylised form of this image has been adopted by the sanctuary itself as its logo.

Crown statue
The statue of the Crowned Virgin is a statue of Our Lady of Lourdes very similar to the statue in the grotto of Massabielle. It has been known as the "crowned statue" after its canonical coronation on 3 July 1876 by papal legate Pier Francesco Meglia. The statue stands across Rosary Square from the Rosary Basilica and faces the entrance. This prominent statue is a familiar landmark and a traditional meeting point. The statue is 2.5m high and cast in bronze, painted white and blue in the traditional colours. Her rosary is of the Birgittine style and incorporates six decades. Behind the Crowned Statue is the Esplanade, a large open walkway which is used for the processions.

Prairie
Across the Gave from the grotto is a wide, open, uncluttered space covered with grass and known in French as the prairie, or in English, the meadow. In the corner of the prairie is the tent-like chapel of adoration, consecrated in 1995 and given over entirely to adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. There is also an open-air altar for outdoor ceremonies. In 2002 the Water Walk was introduced, across the Gave and slightly downstream from the grotto. It consists of a series of nine stations of the Cross at which there is a small Lourdes water font.

Calvary
The sanctuary include a calvary built on the Espelugues hill, located south of the grotto and the basilicas. The Espelugues hill is separated from the central part of the sanctuary by the avenue Mgr Théas and the route de la Forêt. The Espelugues lands extending over the hill were acquired by the missionaries of Garaison, which were in charge of the sanctuary's administration. The first station was built in 1901, and the calvary was inaugurated in 1912.

The stations of the Cross feature a total of 115 characters which are slightly larger than average human size. The calvary extends on a course of around 1,500 m, starting close to the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception and climbing up to the 13th station then descending back to the basilicas and the grotto. It includes the fourteen traditional stations of the passion of Christ and a fifteenth station, the resurrection of Christ, added in 1958. To reach the first station, a stone staircase of 28 steps is reminiscent of the Scala Sancta in Rome, with some pilgrims also climbing it and on their knees.

Accommodation

Across the river from the grotto and the churches is the Accueil Notre Dame, a modern facility built in 1996 to house sick pilgrims during their time in Lourdes.

The Accueil Notre Dame was built to replace two older residencies for pilgrims. The old Accueil Notre Dame stood opposite the Underground Basilica, and has been extensively remodelled, being divided into two buildings by removing a section. One building now contains the Chapel of Reconciliation, which used to be the refectory, and also houses the convent of the Sisters of Charity of Nevers. The other section is now known as the Accueil John Paul II, and contains several chapels, the First Aid post and Dispensary, and the offices of the Hospitalité. The other was the Accueil St. Bernadette, which stood across the river from the old Accueil Notre Dame, and was demolished to make way for the new one.

Since Easter 1997 sick pilgrims from all over the world have been housed in the Accueil Notre Dame, an airy modern building. The Accueil is organised into two wings, each consisting of six storeys, with the Reception area on the ground floor and the Transit Lounge on the fifth. Each floor from one to four is named after a specific saint, with female saints honoured on one side and male ones on the other. Each floor has a central refectory area where pilgrims congregate to eat.

The rooms, each with bathroom and shower, accommodate from one to six people. Each room has a window, with some fortunate ones having a view of the grotto, and storage cupboards and a table and chairs. Each room opens onto a communal area.

Linking the two sides is the Administration Area, with two panoramic lifts bringing visitors to each floor. The administration offices are on the sixth and seventh floors, and there are kitchens for each side.

Typically, pilgrims arrive at the Accueil Notre Dame in specially adapted buses, either from Tarbes Airport or Lourdes train station, and will be welcomed in the transit lounge from where they are taken to their rooms.

Another residency, the Accueil Marie St. Frai, is located a short distance outside the sanctuary; it is similar in design and atmosphere to the Accueil Notre Dame.

Criticism
Modern Lourdes contains many souvenir shops. Some visitors may dislike the commercialism of parts of Lourdes, with neon-emblazoned shops overflowing with what Malcolm Muggeridge, a supporter of the shrine, called "tawdry relics, the bric-a-brac of piety". Bernadette herself despised any and all commercialization related to the apparitions. Lourdes has been called the "Disneyland of the Catholic Church". Critics argue that the Lourdes phenomenon is nothing more than a significant money-spinner for the town and the region, which therefore has a strong vested interest in keeping the pilgrims coming. The Church, however, distances itself from commercialisation. The many trinket stalls are privately owned, and hawkers are strictly forbidden inside the sanctuary.

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

title: Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes


text:
Talk:Adam Vinatieri

Corrected Information
I made a very important edit to this article. Adam Vinatieri only played in FIVE Super Bowls. In Super Bowl XLIV, the Colts' kicker was Matt Stover, because Adam Vinatieri was injured. In fact, this article contradicts itself, by saying that he played in two Super Bowls with the Colts, then later explains the injury and why he didn't play in XLIV, later on in the article. I fixed this. Very sloppy work by you guys, I'm disappointed.

Untitled
I think Vinatieri is the first place kicker to have his jersey sold to fans. I have no way of checking that, of course. How many legitimate "star" kickers are there? --Feitclub 17:56, Oct 20, 2004 (UTC)
 * Not sure to be honest, the only 'star' kickers I can think of are Vinatieri, Vaderjagt (possibly for the wrong reasons) and maybe Morten Anderson and George Blanda, although the later was also a QB. Cryomaniac 22:11, 10 July 2006 (UTC)

Not true. Roy Gerela's jersey was sold in the 70s. Even had a fan group called "Gerela's Gorillas." — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:7:A680:1E7:9905:945F:503:4F23 (talk) 16:30, 28 December 2013 (UTC)

This edit
This edit looks highly questionable. No sources and reeks of POV/original research. Forgive me for reverting it. savidan(talk) (e@) 03:52, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

Lincoln Mac
Wrestling rumor: In Vinatieri's senior year, he was teched (match ends after one competitor is ahead by 15 points) by Lincoln McIlravy, one of America's best college wrestlers, in the state championship. Can anyone confirm or deny? Stilgar135 02:31, 28 July 2006 (UTC)

Colts contract info
Is it really correct that the Pats "chose" not to match the counteroffer? Various reports in the Boston media claim that the Pats were never even given the chance to match it. [I'll edit this post when I can find the articles in question.] Samer 16:35, 11 January 2007 (UTC)
 * My understanding is the Pats chose to let Adam Vinatieri go when he was asking for more money. But that was what I heard as a fan, I don't know if there's any information to really back it up.Kinglink (talk) 17:02, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Incorrect information
"He also holds the record for most consecutive postseason field goals with 38, not missing one until the end of the first half of Super Bowl XLI."

I removed this, since the data is clearly incorrect (he missed a FG in the 2005 playoffs against Denver). He might have a record, but it's not 38. Samer 05:31, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Super Bowls
I made a mistake with my edits, I forgot about his first Super Bowl with the Patriots, so I added incorrect information. The mistake has been fixed. Branson03 (talk) 05:33, 10 January 2011 (UTC)

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The Oilers
Adam Vinatieri is the last player in the NFL to play against the Oilers, he played against the Tennessee Oilers with the New England Patriots in week 3 1998 On September 20, 1998. The Patriots won the contest 16-27. Vinitari is also the final player in the NFL to score against the Oilers as he scored 2 field goals and 3 extra points. (I Dan tha Man I (talk) 16:29, 22 December 2016 (UTC))

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Semi-protected edit request on 7 June 2020
Played in 5 Super Bowls. Three with the patriots and two with the colts. 71.83.203.91 (talk) 18:56, 7 June 2020 (UTC)
 * Red question icon with gradient background.svg Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate.  JTP (talk • contribs) 19:14, 7 June 2020 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 15 September 2020
Change Adam Vinatieri played in four superbowls with the Patriots (He only played in three superbowls with the Patriots in 2001, 2003, and 2004. Rjpro81 (talk) 05:42, 15 September 2020 (UTC)

 * ❌. Superbowl XXXI in 1996. Trut-h-urts man  (T • C) 15:10, 15 September 2020 (UTC)

title: Talk:Adam Vinatieri


text: User talk:67.164.78.98

title: User talk:67.164.78.98


text:
Talk:Golf ball

333 dimples?
I don't know how they create a golf ball with 333 dimples.

http://www.srixon.com/ball_hrx333.asp

See, there's a @#$! 3-piece ball that has 333 dimples. How could it be possible?

Let's see, a dodecahedron has 12 faces, 30 edges and 20 vertices. Now let:

 * each face has x dimples (not including dimples located on edges and vertices);
 * each edge has y dimples (not including dimples located on vertices, y can be 0); and
 * each vertex has z dimples (z = 0 or 1)

The ball will have 12x + 30y + 20z dimples. And that number has to be 333.

But since 12x and 30y and 20z are all even numbers or 0, the ball could not have odd-numbered dimples unless you want to sacrifice its perfect symmetry. This is ridiculous! This is not logical! It drives me crazy! I can't sleep! -- Toytoy 17:57, Oct 20, 2004 (UTC)

 * Do not assume that x,y and z are integers. There can be half or third dimples on the faces, i.e. a dimple can be on an edge or vertex. -- Lipi 20:43, 30 January 2006 (UTC)

-

 * "And since there is no dimple located on any great circle"

How can this be? There are an infinite number of great circles through any point on a sphere, so some of them must pass through a dimple. Molinari 19:01, 21 Oct 2004 (UTC)

 * Sorry for my mistake. -- Toytoy 22:55, Oct 21, 2004 (UTC)

 * It probably should say "There is a great circle that does not intersect any of the dimples." I have to question the statement: "A golf ball can have not a single dimple at all. But most balls on sale today have about 300 to 450 dimples."  This makes no sense.

 * There are multiple great circles that does not intersect any of the dimples. However with certain designs, it is impossible to let a great circle not to intersect any dimple (e.g. a ball covered with densely populated large and small dimples). -- Toytoy 22:55, Oct 21, 2004 (UTC)

Possible advert
I removed the following text which read suspiciously like an attempt to promote this company's product. Feel free to re-add it with sources. Sandstein 08:48, 16 April 2006 (UTC)
 * Some of the new technological advances in a golf ball have hexagonal dimples. This new technology enables the ball to have less drag than the normal dimpled golf balls.  The balls have variations on the size of the dimples and also some have deeper dimples than others, Callaway is the main supplier of the hexagonal design golf balls, such as the Callaway HX.

I don't understand why the article should contain this sentence: "One odd-numbered ball on the market is a ball with 333 dimples, called the Srixon AD333." So I removed it. Feel free to re-add it with sources. Freeinfo 22:57, 09 April 2012 (GMT) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 46.31.108.11 (talk)

Dimples and drag
I've corrected the section which previously said dimples increase drag. The opposite is true (see the link in the article to 'Flight Dynamics of a Golf Ball' - sorry new user no idea how to creat a hyperlink). Same priciple which means that a shark's rough skin reduces the drag through the water compared to if it had smooth skin. MarkW

I agree that the overall drag is lower, but I do not think that dimples allow the turbulent air to attach to the ball. From memory, dimples, trip the laminar flow into turbulent flow earlier. This prevents excessive drag but I am not sure that the simplified explanation I was given is correct. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.191.179.252 (talk) 06:02, 9 February 2010 (UTC)

What's on the inside of the ball?
Can somebody described the inside of a typical golf ball (ie. what's under the dimpled skin) please. Albatross2147 12:39, 17 May 2007 (UTC)

Metric vs. Customary
"Jason Zuback broke the world ball speed record on an episode of Sports Science with a golf ball velocity of 204 mph. The previous record of 302 km/h (188 mph) was held by José Ramón Areitio, a Jai Alai player." Shouldn't the first speed be converted into kilometers, too? Also, I notice how the first speed's main measurement was in mph, while the second speeds main measurement is km/h. Shoundn't they both be the same?

--Turbokoala (talk) 21:06, 20 January 2008 (UTC)

This article contradicts itself
"...though there have been balls with more than 5000 dimples. The record holder was a ball with 1,070 dimples..."

How can there have been balls with more than 5000 dimples if the record holder only had 1070? 97.80.173.252 (talk) 13:25, 25 January 2011 (UTC)

 * Originally read 500 not 5000 before the article was vandalised many moons ago. Reverted now. Thanks, wjemather bigissue 16:29, 25 January 2011 (UTC)

Used and refurbished golf balls
Used golf balls are golf balls that have been played, most likely hit out of bounds or into a water hazard, then retrieved, cleaned up and resold. Used golf balls come in different gradings, such as mint (AAAAA), near mint (AAAA) or practice (AA). They are sometimes referred to as "lakeballs". Damaged golf balls with cuts or path marks are also known as "hit-aways" and usually sold in bulk for practice play.

Cleaned recycled golf balls means "Cleaning only". The found golf ball goes through a wash process that allows the recovered golf balls to soak in a cleaning solution. The golf balls are then washed in a specially designed golf ball washer. Some companies remove most or all the clear coat from the ball with a mechanical wet blasting process. This process allows them to get the golf ball as clean as possible before re-clear coating. The objective of the freshly applied clear coat is to provide a consistent and more durable recycled product. Refinished golf balls are processed by stripping, painting and/or clear-coating. The original paint and finish from the golf balls is removed using, a mechanical wet blasting process, the equipment utilized in this process is similar to equipment used in the process of removing mould lines and prepping many new golf balls, before they are painted in the factory. This leaves the original surface to be re-painted, printed and then re-clear coated. This process is utilized mostly for more expensive balls such as Pro V1, HX Tour, and Nike one etc. The same process is also used by some factories to correct misprints. Independent testing has shown that refinished golf balls have only minimal change in flight or roll characteristics, the average player would never feel the differences. Refinishing can not repair cuts, scrapes or path marks. --Netpi (talk) 01:06, 24 March 2011 (UTC)

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Wiki Education assignment: STS 1010
— Assignment last updated by Ktburke (talk) 13:38, 5 April 2023 (UTC)

title: Talk:Golf ball


text: Category:Polish engravers

title: Category:Polish engravers


text: User talk:167.206.174.99

title: User talk:167.206.174.99


text:
Null-subject language

In linguistic typology, a null-subject language is a language whose grammar permits an independent clause to lack an explicit subject; such a clause is then said to have a null subject.

In the principles and parameters framework, the null subject is controlled by the pro-drop parameter, which is either on or off for a particular language.

Typically, null-subject languages express person, number, and/or gender agreement with the referent on the verb, rendering a subject noun phrase redundant.

For example, in Italian the subject "she" can be either explicit or implicit:

Maria non vuole mangiare.

Maria not want [to-]eat

"Maria does not want to eat."

{} Non vuole mangiare.

Subject not want [to-]eat

"[(S)he] does not want to eat."

The subject "(s)he" of the second sentence is only implied in Italian. English and French, on the other hand, require an explicit subject in this sentence.

Of the thousands of languages in the world, a considerable number are null-subject languages, from a wide diversity of unrelated language families. They include Albanian, Arabic, Basque, Berber, Bengali, Catalan/Valencian, Chinese, Estonian, Finnish, Galician, Gujarati, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Italian, Romanian, Japanese, Korean, Maltese, Nepali,  Persian, Portuguese, Punjabi,  Sindhi, Slavic languages, Spanish, Tamil and the Turkic languages, as well as most languages related to these, and many others still.

Characterization
Languages which are not null-subject languages usually require an explicit subject. English and French make an exception for the imperative mood, or where a subject is mentioned in the same sentence, one immediately preceding it, or where the subject is implied. These languages can sometimes drop pronouns in limited contexts: e.g, German for "please", Bitte, literally means "[I] beg", and in English "Not happy!" would be clearly understood as the first person singular "I am not happy". Similarly, in some cases the additional inclusion of pronouns in English has equivalent force to their optional inclusion in Spanish or Italian: e.g, "I cook, I wash up and I do the shopping" is more emphatic than simply "I cook, wash up and do the shopping".

Subjects may sometimes be dropped in colloquial speech where the subject is implied.

In the framework of government and binding theory of syntax, the term null subject refers to an empty category. The empty category in question is thought to behave like an ordinary pronoun with respect to anaphoric reference and other grammatical behavior. Hence it is most commonly referred to as "pro".

This phenomenon is similar, but not identical, to that of pro-drop languages, which may omit pronouns, including subject pronouns, but also object pronouns. While all pro-drop languages are null-subject languages, not all null-subject languages are pro-drop.

In null-subject languages that have verb inflection in which the verb inflects for person, the grammatical person of the subject is reflected by the inflection of the verb and likewise for number and gender.

Examples
The following examples come from Portuguese:

 * "I'm going home" can be translated either as "vou para casa" or as "eu vou para casa", where "eu" means "I".
 * "It's raining" can be translated as está chovendo (Brazilian Portuguese) or está a chover (European Portuguese). In Portuguese, as in most other Romance languages (but not all, French is a notable exception), there is no exact equivalent for the pronoun it. However, some older persons say Ele está a chover (European Portuguese) which directly translates to "He is raining".
 * "I'm going home. I'm going to watch TV" would not, except in exceptional circumstances, be translated as Eu vou para casa. Eu vou ver televisão. At least the subject of the second sentence should be omitted in Portuguese unless one wishes to express emphasis, as to emphasize the I.

As the examples illustrate, in many null-subject languages, personal pronouns exist and can be used for emphasis but are dropped whenever they can be inferred from the context. Some sentences do not allow a subject in any form while, in other cases an explicit subject without particular emphasis, would sound awkward or unnatural.

Most Bantu languages are null-subject. For example, in Ganda, 'I'm going home' could be translated as Ŋŋenze ewange or as Nze ŋŋenze ewange, where nze means 'I'.

Arabic
Arabic is considered a null-subject language, as demonstrated by the following example:

sā‘id ghayrak, yusā‘iduk

help other, {helps you}.

"Help another, (he) helps you."

Subject information for 'they' is encoded in the conjugation of the verb يساعد.

Azerbaijani
Gəldim, gördüm, {işğal etdim}

came, saw, conquered

I came, I saw, I conquered. ("Veni, vidi, vici")

Bulgarian
Дойдох, видях, победих

came, saw, conquered

I came, I saw, I conquered. ("Veni, vidi, vici")

Catalan/Valencian
In Catalan/Valencian, as in Spanish, Portuguese, Galician, etc., the subject is also encoded in the verb conjugation. Pronoun use is not obligatory.
 * (Nosaltres) Anem a la platja: We go to the beach.
 * (Tu) Ets la meva amiga: You are my friend.
 * (Vostès/vosaltres) No són/sou benvinguts aquí: You are not welcome here.
 * (Ells) Estan dormint: They are asleep.
 * (Jo) Necessito ajuda: I need help.
 * (Ell) És a la seva habitació: He is in his bedroom.
 * (Ella) Està cansada: She is tired.

In Catalan/Valencian, one may choose whether to use the subject or not. If used in an inclined tone, it may be seen as an added emphasis; however, in colloquial speaking, usage of a pronoun is optional. Even so, sentences with a null subject are used more frequently than sentences with a subject. In some cases, it is even necessary to skip the subject to create a grammatically correct sentence.

Chinese
Most varieties of Chinese tend to be non-null-subject. Verbs in Chinese languages are not conjugated, so it is not possible to determine the subject based on the verb alone. However, in certain circumstances, most Chinese varieties allow dropping of the subject, thus forming null-subject sentences. One of the instances where the subject would be removed is when the subject is known. Below is an example in Mandarin:

The above example clearly shows that a speaker could omit the subject if the doer of the verb is known. In a Chinese imperative sentence, like the first text, the subject is also left out.

Galician
In Galician, as in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, etc., the subject is also encoded in the verb conjugation. Pronoun use is not obligatory.
 * (Nós) Imos á praia: We go to the beach.
 * (Ti) E-la miña amiga: You are my friend. (Informal singular)
 * (Vós) Non sodes benvidos aquí: You are not welcome here. (Informal Plural)
 * (Eles) Están durmindo: They are sleeping.
 * (Eu) Necesito axuda: I need help.
 * (El) Está no seu cuarto: He is in his bedroom.
 * (Ela) Está cansada: She is tired.

In Galician, one may choose whether to use the subject or not. If used in an inclined tone, it may be seen as an added emphasis; however, in colloquial speaking, usage of a pronoun is optional. Even so, sentences with a null subject are used more frequently than sentences with a subject. In some cases, it is even necessary to skip the subject to create a grammatically correct sentence.

Modern Greek
"Εγώ(Egó)", which means "I",has been omitted. The conjugation has encoded them,

Hebrew
Hebrew is considered a partially null-subject language, as demonstrated by the following example:

azor l'acherim, ya'azru l'kha

help others, will-help you

You help others, they will help you.

Subjects can usually be omitted only when the verb is conjugated for grammatical person, as in the third-person plural in the example above. In Hebrew one can also construct null-subject sentences as in the Latin and Turkish language examples: "We/you/they are going to the beach" can be expressed as "holkhim la-yam" (הולכים לים), lit. "Are going to the beach." This is truly a null-subject construction.

As in Spanish and Turkish, though, Hebrew conjugates verbs in accordance with specific pronouns, so "we went to the beach" is technically just as much a null-subject construction as in the other languages, but in fact the conjugation does indicate the subject pronoun: "Halakhnu la-yam" (הלכנו לים), lit. "Went (we) to the beach." The word "halakhnu" means "we went", just as the Spanish and Turkish examples indicate the relevant pronoun as the subject in their conjugation. So these should perhaps not be considered to be true null-subject phrases. Potentially confusing the issue further is the fact that Hebrew word order can also make some sentences appear to be null-subject, when the subject is in fact given after the verb. For instance, "it's raining" is expressed "yored geshem" (יורד גשם), which means "descends rain"; "rain" is the subject. The phrases meaning "It's snowing" and "It's hailing" are formed in the same way.

Hindi
Hindi shows radical pro-drop. This type of pro-drop differs from pro-drop in languages like Spanish where pro-drop is licensed by rich verbal morphology. Radical pro-drop is possible only in NP languages. South Asian languages such as Hindi, in general, have the ability to pro-drop any and all arguments. Here, the case is expressed in a morpheme that is independent from the stem, making the pro-drop possible.

bārish ho rahī hai.

rain:DIR happen:VRB stay:FEM:SG is:3P:SG

'It is raining.'

tum-ne nādyā-ko khānā di-yā

you:ERG nadya:DAT food:DIR give:PRF:MASC:SG

'Did you give food to Nadya?'

hā̃ diyā

yes give:PRF:GND:MASC:SG

'Yes, (I) gave (food to her).'

Italian
The conjugations of the root verbs (faccio for fare; chiama for chiamare) already imply the subject of the sentences.

Japanese
Japanese and several other null-subject languages are topic-prominent languages; some of these languages require an expressed topic in order for sentences to make sense. In Japanese, for example, it is possible to start a sentence with a topic marked by the particle は(read as wa, written as ha) and in subsequent sentences leave the topic unstated, as it is understood to remain the same, until another one is either explicitly or implicitly introduced. For example, in the second sentence below, the subject ("we") is not expressed again but left implicit:

In other cases, the topic can be changed without being explicitly stated, as in the following example, where the topic changes implicitly from "today" to "I".

It is also common for Japanese to omit things which are obvious in context. If the above line were part of a conversation about considering purchasing the game, it could be further shortened to:

Latin
Verb-conjugation endings in Latin express number and person (as well as tense and mood).

Veni, vidi, vici

Came-I, saw-I, conquered-I

I came, I saw, I conquered.

Cogito ergo sum.

Think-I, therefore am

I think, therefore I am.

Macedonian
Дојдов, видов, победив.

came, saw, conquered

I came, I saw, I conquered. ("Veni, vidi, vici")

Polish
Myślę, więc jestem.

{(I) think}, therefore {(I) am}.

I think, therefore I am. ("Cogito ergo sum")

In Polish, the subject is omitted almost every time, although it can be present to put emphasis on the subject.

Russian
Пришёл, увидел, победил

came, saw, conquered.

I came, I saw, I conquered. ("Veni, vidi, vici")

Sindhi
āyus, dditham, khatiyus

I came, I saw, I conquered. ("Veni, vidi, vici")

With subjects: آئون آيس، مون ڏٺو، آئون، کٽيس

Idiomatic translation: I came, I saw, I conquered.

Spanish
In Spanish, as with Latin and most Romance languages, the subject is encoded in the verb conjugation. Pronoun use is not obligatory.
 * (Yo) Necesito ayuda: I need help.
 * (Tú) Eres mi amiga: You (informal) are my friend.
 * (Vos) Sos mi amiga: You (informal) are my friend.
 * (Usted) Me ve: You (formal) see me.
 * (Él) Está en su habitación: He is in his bedroom.
 * (Ella) Está cansada: She is tired.
 * (Nosotros) Vamos a la playa: We go to the beach.
 * (Vosotros) Deberíais andaros: You (plural, informal) should leave.
 * (Ustedes) No son bienvenidos aquí: You (plural) are not welcome here.
 * (Ellos) Están durmiendo: They are asleep.
 * (Ellas) Van allí: They (feminine) go there.

In Spanish, for the most part one may choose whether to use the subject or not. Generally if a subject is provided, it is either for clarity or for emphasis. Sentences with a null subject are used more frequently than sentences with a subject.

Tamil
Verb conjugations in Tamil incorporate suffixes for number (singular and plural) and person (1st, 2nd and 3rd), and also for gender (masculine, feminine and neuter) in the third person. An explicit subject, therefore, is unnecessary, and can be inferred from the verb conjugation.

Tamil script: முடிந்துவிட்டது Transliteration: muḍinduviṭṭadu Literal Translation: It has left, having ended. Idiomatic Translation: It has come to an end.

Another example:

Turkish
Geldim, gördüm, yendim.

{(I) came}, {(I) saw}, {(I) conquered}

I came, I saw, I conquered. ("Veni, vidi, vici")

Düşünüyorum, öyleyse varım.

{(I) Think}, therefore {(I) exist}.

I think, therefore I am. ("Cogito ergo sum")

Impersonal constructions
In some cases (impersonal constructions), a proposition has no referent at all. Pro-drop languages deal naturally with these, whereas many non-pro-drop languages such as English and French must fill in the syntactic gap by inserting a dummy pronoun. "*Rains" is not a correct sentence; a dummy "it" must be added: "It rains"; in French "Il pleut". In most Romance languages, however, "Rains" can be a sentence: Spanish "Llueve", Italian "Piove", Catalan "Plou", Portuguese "Chove", Romanian "Plouă", etc. Uralic and Slavic languages also show this trait: Finnish "Sataa", Hungarian "Esik"; Polish "Pada".

There are constructed languages that are not pro-drop but do not require this syntactic gap to be filled. For example, in Esperanto, "He made the cake" would translate as Li faris la kukon (never *Faris la kukon), but It rained yesterday would be Pluvis hieraŭ (not *Ĝi pluvis hieraŭ).

Null subjects in non-null-subject languages
Other languages (sometimes called non-null-subject languages) require each sentence to include a subject: this is the case for most Germanic languages, including English and German, as well as many other languages. French, though a Romance language, also requires a subject. In some cases—particularly in English, less so in German, and occasionally in French—colloquial expressions allow for the omission of the subject in a manner similar to that of Spanish or Russian:

 * "[It] Sounds good."
 * "[I] Bumped into George this morning."
 * "[We] Agreed to have a snifter to catch up on old times."
 * "[We] Can, must, and shall fight."
 * "[You] Went down to Brighton for the weekend?"

The imperative form
Even in such non-null-subject languages such as English, it is standard for clauses in the imperative mood to lack explicit subjects; for example:
 * "Take a break—you're working too hard."
 * "Shut up!"
 * "Don't listen to him!"

An explicit declaration of the pronoun in the imperative mood is typically reserved for emphasis:
 * "You stay away!"
 * "Don't you listen to him!"

French and German offer less flexibility with respect to null subjects.

In French, it is neither grammatically correct nor possible to include the subject within the imperative form; the vous in the expression taisez-vous stems from the fact that se taire, "to be silent," is a reflexive verb and is thus the object with similar meaning to "yourself" in an English imperative.

In German, the pronoun (singular du or plural ihr) is normally omitted from the informal second-person imperative (Mach das, "Do it"), although it may be added in a colloquial manner for emphasis (Macht ihr das!, "You [guys] do it!"). By contrast, the addressee-specific formal imperative requires the addition of the pronoun Sie (as in Machen Sie das!, "Do it, [sir/ma'am]!") to avoid confusion with the otherwise morphologically identical infinitive, whereas the addressee-nonspecific or "neutral" formal imperative omits the pronoun and moves the verb to final position (as in Bitte nicht stören, "Please do not disturb"). On the other hand, the pronoun wir is always included in the first-person plural imperative (Machen wir das!, "Let's do it!"), with the verb appearing in first position to differentiate the imperative from the indicative mood, wherein the verb appears in second position (as in Wir machen das, "We're doing it").

Auxiliary languages
Many international auxiliary languages, while not officially pro-drop, permit pronoun omission with some regularity.

Interlingua
In Interlingua, pronoun omission is most common with the pronoun il, which means "it" when referring to part of a sentence or to nothing in particular. Examples of this word include
 * Il pluvia.
 * It's raining.
 * Il es ver que ille arriva deman.
 * It is true that he arrives tomorrow.

Il tends to be omitted whenever the contraction "it's" can be used in English. Thus, il may be omitted from the second sentence above: "Es ver que ille arriva deman". In addition, subject pronouns are sometimes omitted when they can be inferred from a previous sentence:

 * Illa audiva un crito. Curreva al porta. Aperiva lo.
 * She heard a cry. Ran to the door. Opened it.

Esperanto
Similarly, Esperanto sometimes exhibits pronoun deletion in casual use. This deletion is normally limited to subject pronouns, especially where the pronoun has been used just previously:

Ĉu vi vidas lin? Venas nun.

QUESTION-PARTICLE you see him? Comes now.

Do you see him? He is coming now.

In "official" use, however, Esperanto admits of null-subject sentences in two cases only:
 * (optional) in the 2nd person imperative (N.B. The Esperanto imperative is often named "volitive" instead, since it can be conjugated with a subject in any person, and also used in subordinate clauses)
 * Venu! Come!
 * Vi venu! You [there], come [with me]! (pronoun added for emphasis)
 * For "impersonal verbs" which have no semantic subject. In English or French, an "empty" subject is nevertheless required:
 * Pluvas. It is raining. FR: Il pleut.
 * Estas nun somero. It is summer now. FR: C ' est l'été à présent.
 * Estas vere, ke li alvenos morgaŭ. It is true that he will arrive tomorrow. FR: C ' est vrai qu'il arrivera demain.
 * (In this latter case, the sentence is not really no-subject, since "ke li alvenos morgaŭ" ("that he will arrive tomorrow") is the subject.)

Contrary to the Interlingua example above, and as in English, a repeated subject can normally be omitted only within a single sentence:
 * Ŝi aŭdis krion. Ŝi kuris al la pordo. Ŝi malfermis ĝin.
 * She heard a shout. She ran to the door. She opened it.
 * Ŝi aŭdis krion, kuris al la pordo kaj malfermis ĝin.
 * She heard a shout, ran to the door and opened it.

title: Null-subject language


text:
Dustin Nguyen

Dustin Nguyen (born Nguyễn Xuân Trí; September 17, 1962) is a Vietnamese-American actor and martial artist. He is best known for his roles as Harry Truman Ioki on 21 Jump Street and as Johnny Loh on VIP. Currently, he stars as Zing in the Cinemax/Max martial arts crime drama series Warrior. In film, he is known for starring in Little Fish, The Doom Generation and The Rebel.

Early life
Nguyen was born Nguyễn Xuân Trí in Saigon, South Vietnam and was one of two sons in his family. His mother, My Le, was an actress and dancer, and his father, Xuân Phát, was an actor, comedian, writer, and producer in Vietnam. The family left Vietnam in April 1975 during the Fall of Saigon.

In his teens, his family arrived in Guam as refugees, and then the family was moved to a refugee camp in Fort Chaffee, Arkansas. Finally with the assistance of a Methodist church they relocated to Des Peres, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. The 21 Jump Street season 2 episode "Christmas in Saigon", which first aired in December 1987, is based in his experiences escaping Vietnam and eventually arriving in the United States; Nguyen also served as a technical advisor in the episode.

Nguyen graduated from Garden Grove High School in Garden Grove, California, he attended Orange Coast College and majored in communications but later dropped out to pursue acting full time.

Nguyen practices several martial arts including Muay Thai, Tae Kwon Do, Eskrima, and Jeet Kune Do.

Career
He made his acting debut on Magnum, P.I., portraying a Cambodian freedom fighter in the episode "All For One." He was a series regular on both 21 Jump Street and VIP, and has guest-starred on a number of other series, including General Hospital, Highlander, and most notably seaQuest DSV, playing the role of Chief William Shan. Moreover, he had a cameo role in Charlie's Angels. Nguyen also auditioned for the role of Liu Kang in Mortal Kombat, but lost out to Robin Shou. In 1993 he played a Vietnamese man sent off to fight with the Viet Cong, in the film Heaven & Earth. In 2005, Nguyen starred as a former heroin addict opposite Academy Award-winner Cate Blanchett in the critically acclaimed Little Fish. He starred in the 2007 films The Rebel and Saigon Eclipse. In 2008 he starred in the Vietnamese martial art film Huyen Thoai Bat Tu (The Legend Is Alive, The Immortal Legend) where he plays a mentally disabled martial artist. Nguyen screened in 2009 the thriller The Gauntlet directed by Matt Eskandari; he stars with Chinese actress Bai Ling. He made a small cameo in 22 Jump Street as Vietnamese Jesus.

Nguyen continues to act and make films in Vietnam full-time. He made his feature directorial debut in the Vietnamese fantasy film Once Upon a Time in Vietnam, in which he also starred. He then starred in the Vietnamese film Gentle that premiered at the 2015 Busan International Film Festival where he received strong reception for his performance.

He was cast in Cinemax's Warrior in a recurring role before he officially joined the main cast in season two of the series.

Nguyen also was cast in The Accidental Getaway Driver which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.

Personal life
After a car accident late at night that occurred on September 3, 2001, on California's Interstate 5 Highway between San Francisco and Los Angeles during a Labor Day weekend which left his fiancée, Angela Rockwood, a quadriplegic, Nguyen and Rockwood became active in The Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Resource Center. The accident also claimed the life of Vietnamese actress Thuy Trang, a member of the original cast of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers as the original Yellow Ranger, Trini. He and Rockwood divorced in 2012.

Nguyen is based in Vietnam full-time. In 2012, he married Vietnamese actress-model Bebe Pham with whom he has two daughters, born in 2013 and 2015.

He is fluent in English and Vietnamese.

Producer

 * A Tourist's Guide to Love (2023)– Consulting Producer
 * The Amazing Race Vietnam 2012 (2012) – Himself
 * CinemAbility (2011) (filming) – Himself
 * 2007 AZN Asian Excellence Awards (2007) – Himself
 * The Slanted Screen (2006) – Himself
 * E! True Hollywood Story – Himself (1 episode, 2004)
 * Howard Stern – Himself (4 episodes, 1999)
 * The Howard Stern Radio Show – Himself (2 episodes, 1999)
 * Intimate Portrait – Himself (1 episode)

Awards
In March 2009, Nguyen won the Vietnamese Cánh Diều Vàng (Golden Kite Award) for best actor, for his starring role in the Phuoc Sang Films vehicle Huyền Thoại Bất Tử (The Legend Is Alive). For the same role, that year he won a Golden Lotus Award (Vietnam's Oscar) for Best Actor. He also won China's Golden Rooster Award for Best International Actor at China's Golden Rooster and Thousand Flowers International Film Festival 2009.

In 2015, at the Milan International Film Festival, Dustin won the Leonardo da Vinci Golden Horse Award for Best Supporting Actor in the Vietnamese film Gentle; an adaptation of Fyodor Dostoevsky's A Gentle Creature.

title: Dustin Nguyen


text:
Talk:Taut submanifold

Not speedy - this is a respectable stub. Charles Matthews 18:01, 20 Oct 2004 (UTC)

title: Talk:Taut submanifold


text:
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Koveo

Koveo was proposed for deletion. This page is an archive of the discussion about the proposed deletion. This page is no longer live. Further comments should be made on the article's talk page rather than here so that this page is preserved as an historic record. The result of the debate was DELETE. 8 votes to delete. Postdlf 21:06, 27 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Koveo
Fiction, by the same author as FLQ 2 (see above). Delete. —No-One Jones (m) 18:03, 20 Oct 2004 (UTC)

 * What a pity, I enjoyed this little article, more than I can say about all the rest. Delete with a small sigh. — Bill 18:41, 20 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete fictional fantasy fox. --Ianb 22:58, 20 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete: Not one of the 20th century foxes. Geogre 01:24, 21 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Only one (irrelevant) google hit for 'Koveo fox'. (No relevant hits for 'Koveo', either.) Sentences like "On the very rare occassion, whales will suck them in and blow them out of their air holes onto land" and "The Koveo is known to live for a maximum of twenty years at a time" give it away as patent nonsense. Delete and move to BJAODN. - Mike Rosoft 20:50, 21 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete. Hoax.   — Gwalla | Talk 23:07, 21 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete. This kind of stuff should be able to be handled by the Speedy Deletion... Kiand 23:34, 21 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete. Agree with Kiand.  Radman1 18:31, 25 Oct 2004 (UTC)

This page is now preserved as an archive of the debate and, like other '/delete' pages is no longer 'live'. Subsequent comments on the issue, the deletion or on the decision-making process should be placed on the relevant 'live' pages. Please do not edit this page.

title: Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Koveo


text:
File:Ballardnewstribunelogo.jpg

Summary
Ballard News-Tribune logo.

Licensing
. from http://www.robinsonnews.com/images/ballardNewslogo.jpg

title: File:Ballardnewstribunelogo.jpg


text:
File:Metroid Fusion box.jpg

Box of Metroid Fusion. Source:

Rationale
It is believed that the use of this image qualifies as fair use in the article Metroid Fusion because:

 * Nintendo has released no such images into the public domain, and a replacement image could not be created that would adequately provide the same information
 * The image is being used for no purpose other than to identify the subject of the article
 * The image resolution has been significantly decreased from the original, so copies made from it would be of inferior quality
 * The use of this image neither detracts from the game nor inhibits its salability in any way

title: File:Metroid Fusion box.jpg


text: User talk:65.79.79.226

title: User talk:65.79.79.226