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Talk:Terri Schiavo case/Archive 19

Introduction Section, Short or Long?
User Tropix has inserted a lot of stuff into the "intro" that is a lot of detail. Unfortunately, now the intro contains serious out-of-order problems, and brings up some hot-button issues without explaining them in detail or in complete context. Does wikipedia or the contributers here have any general sense of whether the intro should be a short summary of Terris life, or whether it should just info-dump as much as possible? FuelWagon 11:18, 11 Apr 2005 (UTC)

 * It's been pointed out that Tropix is very likely a Sock Puppet for an experienced wikipedia user. (I learn something new every day. For one, knuckleheads are usually the ones with way too much time on their hands.) I'm thinking everything inserted by Tropix should be dumped. Cause the more I look at Tropix's edits, the more work I see trying to bring them back to a neutral point of view. There was a blatant POV about Pearson saying Michael had a conflict of interest, but Tropix conveniently never mentioned that Pearson said the exact same thing about the Schindlers. I tried to fix it in the article, but every fix makes the intro that much longer. FuelWagon 11:59, 11 Apr 2005 (UTC)

 * Someone just cut the intro down to 1 paragraph and put the rest of the intro into a section called "timeline". I don't mind that, but I'm noticing that information is getting stated in multiple places. The structure of the entire article appears to need rework. Perhaps the whole article could use some benefit in being put into some sort of rough chronological order. There is just so much stuff that has no context around it. I'm feeling a bit burned out and overwhelmed. Maybe we could pull out the legislative stuff and put it into its own section? I dunno. FuelWagon 12:09, 11 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Please see my comments on this below, in Tropix the Sockpuppet.

Meanwhile, this is the recent version of the intro (slightly improved) that was there before FuelWagon removed it (after making it longer, but before complaining it was too long). I don't say it is perfect. I do say it is preferable to what is there now. Some discussion would be useful. Tropix 03:10, 2005 Apr 12 (UTC)

 * On February 25, 1990, Terri Schiavo suffered severe brain damage  caused by a cardiac arrest.  Apparently it was caused by a potassium     deficiency in her blood.  In turn, this may have been due to bulimia.

 * In 1992, she was awarded $1 millon in malpractice settlements and awards, to be used for her treatment, and her husband Michael Schiavo was awarded $300,000 for loss of consortium. Until 1994 she received experimental treatment, neurological testing and therapy.

 * In May of 1998, Michael Schiavo petitioned the Pasco-Pinellas Circuit Court for authority to remove her feeding tube. The court appointed a guardian ad litem, Pearse, who produced a report concluding that Terri Schiavo was in a Permanent Vegetative State (PVS), but that Michael had a financial conflict of interest since he would be the sole inheritor of her money. Pearse also stated that the Schindlers had stated that their hope was that they would be granted guardianship, Michael would divorce their daughter and they would become Terri's "heirs at law". Pearson noted "neither side is exempt from ... possible conflicts of interest." A trial was held.

 * On February 11, 2000 Circuit Court Judge George Greer ordered that Micheal Schaivo could discontinue Terri's life support. The Judge based this order on his findings that she was in a persistent vegetative state, and that before her illness she had made statements such as that she would not want to be kept alive "on a machine". This decision was upheld upon appeal by 19 separate judges.

 * Since Judge Greer was the "trier of fact," the other courts never reopened the issues of whether or not Terri was conscious, and whether or not she had actually expressed such wishes, and the Schindlers were not allowed to present new evidence to those courts to get those previous "facts" reexamined. They did present new evidence to Judge Greer, but he dismissed the new evidence out of hand, without meaningful consideration. NCdave 00:28, 14 Apr 2005 (UTC)

 * On March 18, 2005 her gastric feeding tube was removed on the order of Judge Greer. The Judge denied a motion to provide food and water by natural means. Terri Schiavo died of dehydration on March 31 at around 9:05 a.m. EST (13:05 UTC), after 13 days without the feeding tube or water.  An autopsy has been performed, but the results have not yet been released.

 * Michael Schiavo, her husband and legal guardian, contended that he carried out his wife's wishes not to keep her alive on life support. Mrs. Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, and her brother and sister, disputed Mr. Schiavo's contention that she would not have wished to be kept alive and claim that Schiavo was not in a persistent vegetative state. Her parents vigorously appealed the judicial decisions, leading to the reinsertion of the feeding tube on two separate occasions. The courts all ruled in favor of Mr. Schiavo, and the feeding tube was removed a third and final time.

Splitting controversy section
I think we should think seriously about splitting the "controversy" section into Terri Schiavo controversy as long as we maintain and preserve the key points of each subsection (Michael Schiavo, Bone scan, Schindler family, and 2003 petition). See also Article_size for some issues related to this task. I think it's important to focus on Terri Schiavo, and if people want more information about these other issues, they should be able to find it easily. --Viriditas | Talk 10:00, 11 Apr 2005 (UTC)

That would get it under the recommended size limit. Maybe we could get rid of the NPOV tag on the main page and just have it on the "controversy" page. Is there anything about Terri Schiavo that isn't controversial? I mean if NCdave says Michael murdered Terri for the money, and if we really have to pay attention to that sort of witchhunt mentality, then splitting it up will get the size down, but won't get an article that is free of the POV tag. If we have to get agreement from every moron with a conspiracy theory, it will always be disputed. And to me, one possible big advantage of splitting it up would be getting a chunk of stuff that people could agree on. I don't know. I know wikipedia has size recommendations, but if you take everything under controversy, you lose the "medical opinion" stuff, and then the whole history of Terri seems out of context. Unless we could agree that the "medical opinion" stuff is Neutral and save the video diagnosis and other voodoo for the controversy page. FuelWagon 11:28, 11 Apr 2005 (UTC)

 * I am suspicious that after a weekend of editing adding material with a pro-Michael Schiavo POV and deleting material with a pro-Schindler POV, the concern is now on size. Not certain but suspicious.  Was there an official wiki determination that the pro-Michael Schiavo POV is the neutral POV?  patsw 14:03, 11 Apr 2005 (UTC)

 * What Proto said. The truth is never POV. If you dispute the truth, tough. An article on the Holocaust isn't going to be NPOV by including "pro-Holocaust" or holocaust-denier related material. If the truth tends to fall on Michael Schiavo's side, then that's just the way it is. Professor Ninja 15:22, Apr 11, 2005 (UTC)

I thought there was supposed to be no POV ... as far as I can tell the article is finally fairly neutral, unless stating empirical truth can be construed as being pro-Michael Schiavo. Proto 14:33, 11 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Relevance Test
What are the neutral and objective guidelines that one can apply to understand what's relevant in the Terri Schiavo article and what's not? I don't want to waste time or have anyone for that matter waste time researching and adding material only to have it deleted because it failed to pass another editor's relevance test. In the general case, a wiki article doesn't have a finely calibrated test for relevance merely factual accuracy. If the article has to be long because there are two or more sides to disputed claims, so be it. A one-sided presentation doesn't serve the user community. If this article is to have a netural POV, then its test for relevance ought to be neutrally stated rather that arbitrarily imposed ex post facto. patsw 14:03, 11 Apr 2005 (UTC)

URL Test
What are the neutral and objective guidelines that one can apply to understand what material will require a URL to support it and what will not? If anyone can declare that material not having a URL to support it can be deleted, the editing of this article will plunge into chaos.

For example, in many cases there are only newspaper and wire service reports of what was in exhibits, statements, motions, depositions, or court orders. Does that constitute support or does such material for which there is no primary online source and yet no dispute regarding its existence (1) fail to meet the URL test and (2) can be immediately deleted? patsw 14:03, 11 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * Cite your work as best you can, really. I generally try to follow a rule of thumb that if it's a second hand source, I cite try to cite two such sources to give independent confirmation of one another. I tend to ignore this little rule for more reputable sites like CNN or the BBC or whatnot, as they're generally accurate (a good 99% of the time.) Rags and whatnot, online or not, aren't even worth citing, and material that originates from such places (unless they're op-eds which you're quoting pieces from) aren't worth placing in the article at all. Most important is that people just want to see that you're not making it up whole cloth, or pulling "facts" from blogs, rags, or op-eds. Professor Ninja 16:50, Apr 11, 2005 (UTC)

 * Thanks. I would have written a similar test myself.  To take this to something that is bound to be a point of contention, I have never seen a primary source of the February 25 1990 police report or the admitting report for Humana Northside, is there one?  I have seen only secondary accounts which in part contradict the absence of trauma now in the article.  If these secondary accounts of what is in the reports indicate a stiff or rigid neck, then how can that be reflected in the article without introducing POV?  Rather than focusing on this one issue, how are conflicts among the secondary accounts resolved, when there is no online primary source, in a manner that does not introduce POV? patsw 17:58, 11 Apr 2005 (UTC)

 * That might be tricky to find; medical reports are confidential, and generally police reports are public. I don't know what florida law is in respect to police responding to a medical emergency, but if those too are public you may be able to get a copy of it. If secondary accounts reflect that the initial report genuinely reflect something, than it's not necessarily POV. If the secondary report is genuinely reputable (ie: they don't have a liberal/conservative/pro-life/pro-euthanasia axe to grind) and can get confirmation from other sources, then putting in something along the lines of "On x day/199x/200x CNN/MSNBC/Fox News/BBC/ABC/Local Newspaper reported that Schiavo was displaying symptoms of rigidity in her neck [cites]". It doesn't speculate as to what caused it, and it gives sources. I think most people would consider this sufficient to be reported on. I wouldn't report it as a definitive fact (make a point that is was reported) and I wouldn't speculate on what that means/could imply. Also, I wouldn't cite a source that doesn't provide examples from the report, or makes general paraphrases or draws conclusions from it. (In other words, count NewsMax out). Remember most importantly that if something is true, it supercedes it being POV. For example, alot of what's got most of this discussion page ragging on NCdave is that he disputes things that are undoubtedly factually accurate as being POV, and attempts to make it "NPOV" by countering facts with speculation. None of the editors have a problem with anything that's factually accurate (well, maybe some do, I've had certain edits reverted for having a "hypercritical mentality") as long as you don't make it up, speculate as to what it means, draw irrelevant conclusions. Rule of thumb: let common sense be your guide. Professor Ninja 22:25, Apr 11, 2005 (UTC)
 * Stiff neck and other odd physical characteristics.
 * Symptoms of Bulemia and/or Anorexia
 * Eating uncontrollably (Bulemia only), purging, strict dieting, fasting, vigorous exercise
 * Vomiting or abusing laxatives or diuretics in an attempt to lose weight.
 * Vomiting blood
 * Using the bathroom frequently after meals.
 * Preoccupation with body weight
 * Depression or mood swings. Feeling out of control.
 * [b]Swollen glands in neck and face[/b]
 * Heartburn, bloating, indigestion, constipation
 * Irregular periods
 * Dental problems, sore throat
 * Weakness, exhaustion bloodshot eyes
 * From the link http://www.mamashealth.com/bulimia.asp. Please note that dental problems (loss of calcium) could also explain the joint and leg problems.

 * I have done a little more research on why primary sources do not exist and we must go with the characterizations of them we have in testimony: Michael Schiavo has sealed the medical records of Terri Schiavo. So if we read in testimony by Drs. Bamkbakidis and Hammesfahr information regarding the 1990 admission report and that testimony was not challenged, it is as close as we are going to get to the 1990 admission report, unless Michael Schiavo decides to release the medical records.  So is the sworn testimony of two doctors -- for which I have a URL, considered to be POV or NPOV?  For the sake of balance, is there an online source other than Bamkbakidis and Hammesfahr for what is contained in the hospital admission report? patsw 02:55, 12 Apr 2005 (UTC)

 * It may help to see it in context to determine whether or not it's POV. If you have sworn testimony from two doctors, it's testimony, regardless of its credibility. We can insert critiques of the doctors if need be. What you can always do is format it and put it up here on the talk page for an ad hoc peer review before patching it into the article. Professor Ninja 12:06, Apr 12, 2005 (UTC)

User Tropix a possible sock puppet -- No.
Tropix started contributions to wikipedia two days ago. he's quite a fast learner because he just posted a change with a field. Very savvy. Either that, or he's a sock puppet to avoid a 3 revert rule. Does wikipedia do anything about sock puppets or do you have to put up with that sort of crap? FuelWagon 23:43, 11 Apr 2005 (UTC)

 * Not sure why Tropix's post didn't show up here, but here it is in  form: FuelWagon 00:42, 12 Apr 2005 (UTC)

FuelWagon has made a ridiculous assertion (except for the compliments, which are well-taken, but just barely). I have just one account 'Tropix', and I log in like just like everyone here is supposed to do. If I am a fast learner it is just because I am trying to do this right.

I have been trying to communicate in a useful way with FuelWagon on his talk page with, unfortunately, no productive results. Then I come here and see the above. A nice introduction.

Specifically, Mr FuelWagon removed what I considered a clear introductory summary from the Terri Schiavo article today and replaced it with an older garbled version. I thought it was reasonable to go to his talk page to discuss it with him. That apparently led him to start talking "sockpuppet" and "crap" here in public. I am not here to waste my time on such nonsense.

I want this article to be non-biased and factual, and that is why I am here. Specifically, I think an incoming reader will have a better introduction to this article with the following events to define the structure:

1 - 1990 Terri Schiavo's heart attack and brain damage 2 - 1992 The malpractice awards and settlements 3 - To 1994 Her therapy 4 - 1998 Micheal's petition to end her life 5 - 2000 The court order that authorized Micheal to end life support 6 - 2000-2005 The mass of appeals (summarized together) 7 - 2005 Her death and the general circumstances Given that, the reader can move on to the details. It can be done in just a few short paragraphs. Is this reasonable? Tropix 00:22, 2005 Apr 12 (UTC)

 * Actually, Terri's therapy ended in 1992, not 1994. Her family had run out of money to pay for it.  When the malpractice money was awarded, in January 1993, a 3/4 $million medical trust fund was created for Terri's care and rehabilitative therapy.  The Schindlers wanted it to be used for that purpose (as Michael Schiavo had promised the court in November, 1992), but Michael Schiavo refused to permit her therapy to resume.  The result was a big family argument on February 14, 1993. NCdave 07:01, 12 Apr 2005 (UTC)

I perhaps had bad information. My source was a site at the University of Miami which read "July 19, 1991 - Terri Schiavo is transferred to Sable Palms skilled care facility where she receives continuing neurological testing, and regular and aggressive speech/occupational therapy through 1994." I did think that was oddly late for the end of therapy. Tropix 07:22, 2005 Apr 12 (UTC)

 * The assertion I made was that you're a possible sock puppet. It seems qualified sufficiently with the word "possible" that it holds up to scrutiny. The "crap" of which I spoke was sock puppets in general since I could find nothing on wikipedia that said they actually do anything about sock puppets. As for your list, I note you've already changed your version from what you put on my talk page. So, perhaps there were some productive results after all. And I still think the core of this issue (Terri Schiavo, not you) is the legal battles between Michael and Terri's parents, which is represented well in the intro as it is. If you had to describe this story in one sentence, it would be the fight between michael to fulfill his wife's wishes versus the parents stated intent to keep her alive even if Terri had told them she would want the plug pulled. That's the crux of the story. The rest of it is narrative to put everything into context. FuelWagon 00:52, 12 Apr 2005 (UTC)

 * It could be worse, Tropix. If FuelWagon suspected you of being a Christian, he'd really dis you.  This is what he thinks of Christians. NCdave 07:01, 12 Apr 2005 (UTC)

 * Once again, NCdave, the words I wrote, and the words you report me to have said, are in complete misalignment. I said Cheshire is biased because he writes opinion papers that espouse the conservative christian viewpoint. No disrespect to christians or christianity. It's just that Cheshire is biased, which means that if he gives an "expert medical opinion" on some issue like abortion, stem cell research, or right-to-die issues, his OPINION will lean one way. You had argued that his religious beliefs should be removed from the article, that it wasn't relevant. I said it is completely relevant, because he is weighing in as an "expert medical opinion", and the bias of his opinion needs to be noted. It's a conflict of interest that needs to be kept in context with his opinion. I'm not dis'ing him for his beliefs, nor am I dis'ing christianity. On the other hand, I have absolutely no respect for you, and it has nothing to do with your christian beliefs and everything to do with you continously putting words in my mouth and misrepresenting what I say (like this situation), and I end up having to waste my time defending my character from your libel and defamation. I never "dis"ed anyone.

Paranoia reigns supreme here. My list above was just typed from my mind while I was on this page. The text on your page was typed from my mind while I was there. No cut-and-paste. You can average the two if you wish, there is no special significance. Use either version you like, but I think it would improve the intro (if POV is neutral). That is what was there before you moved it out. I suggest bringing it back, leaving the copies you place in the sections, even though that is slightly redundant.

Why do I think the current intro is sloppy? Here is an example: it goes directly from her collapse in 1990 to a statement about the trial court, without a URL, and without even mentioning that the trial was in 2000, ten years later. That is sloppy by any standards. The trial is extremely significant because it is the predicate for everthing that happened afterwards, even in your view of this story. It can not be shuffled off into a muddle. I improved the intro by adding and dating three significant intervening steps plus the trial date, taking hardly any space. Other aspects were added by other editors and I did not object.

Indeed, I would describe the story differently. You think this is the story of Micheal vs the Schindlers. I think this is the story of Terri, the remarkable tragedy of her brain damage, and her life in the complete control of others. The article, after all, is "Terri Schiavo", not "Micheal vs The Schindlers".

Please stop hassling me, as with the sock puppet that has been placed on my talk page. That is childish witchhunting, and no way to get my respect. Tropix 02:52, 2005 Apr 12 (UTC)

 * If it makes you feel any better, even if he was a sock puppet, he's clearly not NCdave's sock puppet. Professor Ninja 04:01, Apr 12, 2005 (UTC)

 * For once, I agree with Professor Ninja: I am not Tropix. NCdave 07:01, 12 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Perry Fine quote removed, review
I just removed this from the main article. Any objections?

 * Perry G. Fine, the vice president of medical affairs at the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, was quoted in the Los Angeles Times as saying: "What my patients have told me over the last 25 years is that when they stop eating and drinking, there's nothing unpleasant about it. In fact, it can be quite blissful and euphoric... the word 'starve' is so emotionally loaded. People equate that with the hunger pains they feel or the thirst they feel after a long, hot day of hiking. To jump from that to a person who has an end-stage illness is a gigantic leap."

It seems a bit off topic since he's talking about end-stage illness rather than PVS patient. Also "blissful and euphoric" doesn't apply to PVS patients since they do not feel or register those kinds of experiences. Anyone demand it be put back in? It's a lot of text that isn't quite on topic, so I thought I'd trim it. FuelWagon 00:14, 12 Apr 2005 (UTC)

 * It's somewhat appropriate. It's clearly in the context of Schiavo, so it's relevant. What he's saying isn't that PVS patients feel pain. He's saying that even if, for the sake of argument, Terri Schiavo was capable of feeling pain, she would not be feeling pain due to starvation. You could always give it a little trim and put it in context, such as putting it after an area where people contend starving Terri to death is painful. You put, "However, Perry Fine said that even if Terri Schiavo was capable of feeling, that there is "nothing unpleasant about [not eating or drinking]" and that "it can be quite blissful and euphoric". Professor Ninja 03:59, Apr 12, 2005 (UTC)

 * Well, in the first place, Terri was not in a PVS, so the argument about whether death by starvation or hydration is pleasant or unpleasant is relevant. But Professor Ninja is correct that there's a big difference between end-stage terminal illness and non-terminal patients like Terri. End-stage terminal patients often cease to experience hunger, but for a non-terminal patient death by starvation and dehydration is said to be ghastly:
 * "Dr. William Burke, a neurologist in St. Louis, was quoted by medical ethicist Wesley Smith as describing the agonizing process: “A conscious person would feel it (dehydration) just as you and I would. They will go into seizures. Their skin cracks, their tongue cracks, their lips crack. They may have nosebleeds because of the drying of the mucous membranes, and heaving and vomiting might ensue because of the drying out of the stomach lining. They feel the pangs of hunger and thirst. Imagine going one day without a glass of water. Death by dehydration takes ten to fourteen days. It is an extremely agonizing death.”
 * However, Terri received analgesics (apparently including occasional morphine), to control her pain. NCdave 07:11, 12 Apr 2005 (UTC)

 * What the hell are you talking about? I never even said that. I never even said anything remotely similar to that. And we've gone over this morphine administration thing ad nauseum; administration of morphine is protocol/formality/standard practice, however you want to term it. If she was in pain then why did Mr. Schindler describe his daughter as looking peaceful or calm, or whatever term it was that he used? Aha! "Proof" to the contrary. Professor Ninja 15:06, Apr 12, 2005 (UTC)

 * Sorry, it wasn't peaceful or calm. For somebody in the throws of the agony, desperately in need of morphine to control the crippling pain of being starved to death by a vast left-wing conspiracy of jockeying profiteer husbands, pet judges bound by a leash to Michael Schiavo's Satanic pentagram nipple clamps and supported by his barking partisans, she apparently, after nearly two weeks was doing darn good. Hmm... need to reconcile, need to reconcile. Michael Schiavo probably constructed an elaborate sock puppet or papier mache marionette to bamboozle Clinton-loving communist "journalists" as to why Mr. Schindler "was pleasantly surprised by what [he] saw" and how he was sure his daughter was "doing darn good under the circumstances.". Check. Your move. Professor Ninja 15:28, Apr 12, 2005 (UTC)

 * Never said what? I was quoting from an article, not from you.  I included the link to the article at the end.

 * Also, administration of morphine (or other analgesics) to unconscious patients is definitely not protocol/formality/standard practice, simply because unconscious patients cannot feel pain or react to pain. For example, see  which is a reference to a study of the use of analgesics and sedatives in terminal patients from whom life support has been withdrawn.  The abstract notes that, "Patients who did not receive medication were comatose and considered incapable of benefiting from sedation and analgesia."  In fact, sedation to unconsciousness is commonly used instead of analgesics, to give peace to patients who cannot be made comfortable with analgesics.

 * For most of 15 years Terri Schiavo had a standing order for analgesics to relieve menstrual pain. There's no way that her caregivers believed that she did not experience pain.  She behaved as if she experienced pain, which is all, existentially speaking, we know for certain about anyone else's experience of pain.  When someone behaves as if they are experiencing pain, the only rational conclusion is that they are experiencing pain, even though you can't prove it in an absolute sense.

 * Also, take at look at the www.infowarscom/articles/life/schiavo_terris_exit_protocol.htm Exit Protocol] that her hospice doctor wrote up for her in 2001.  Take special note of the instructions to use analgesics for symptoms of pain and discomfort: "Monitor symptoms of pain/discomfort. If noted, medicate with Naproxen rectal suppository 375 mg. Q8 prn."  Plainly, he thought she could experience pain.  A patient who is unconscious does not react to pain stimulus, and so there are no "symptoms of pain/discomfort," and therefore no analgesics can be given in response to such symptoms. NCdave 20:03, 13 Apr 2005 (UTC)

 * "But Professor Ninja is correct that there's a big difference between end-stage terminal illness and non-terminal patients like Terri." Really? So there's a periodical out there called "Professor Ninja"? Hell of a coincidence, NCdave. Also, patients who are unconscious can and do react to pain stimulus. Reaction to adverse stimuli does not require a brain, or, for that matter, a nervous system. It doesn't require anything more than a single cell, as amoeba demonstrate in 10th grade biology classes. Also, take note of the fact that he uses the word if, not when. Indefinite vs. definite. She might or she will. World of difference. If she does feel pain (more than likely not, unless a miracle occured in which the nerves began communicating with nothing successfully, a medical impossibility) then medicate. Despite what you might think, that does not prove somebody can feel pain. If an inmate escapes, then you may open fire does not imply that all inmates are escapees or will require being shot. If your car's oil leaks, then you should take it in for repairs does not imply that all cars are lemons or will require repairs. If she feels pain, then medicate as necessary does not imply that she was capable of feeling pain or not in a PVS. You may (though you won't) note that the PubMed retrieved document is a study, not a document of protocol. Note Consecutive 1-year sample of 22 patients from whom life support was withheld or withdrawn in one intensive care unit at a county hospital and a random sample of 22 similar patients in the intensive care unit in the university hospital over the same period. -- So a 1 year study of a university hospital and a county hospital in California are proof of standard practice in Florida? No. RESULTS--Drugs were given to 75% of patients during withholding and withdrawal of life support. Patients who did not receive medication were comatose and considered incapable of benefiting from sedation and analgesia. The median time until death following the initiation of the withholding or withdrawal of life support was 3.5 hours in the patients who received drugs and 1.3 hours in those patients who did not (P, not significant). Physicians ordered drugs to decrease pain in 88% of patients, to decrease anxiety in 85%, to decrease air hunger in 76%, to comfort families in 82%, and to hasten death in 39% Curious, if NCdave is correct then Terri should have been receiving analgesics up until the time of her death, which NCdave previously asserted she was not. If he denies this (I'd say 70% chance he does) I'll wade through the archives and quote him directly on that. Otherwise, I can't be bothered. Furthermore one should note that 82% of the time doctors ordered drugs to comfort the family. So if the Schindlers are harping that their daughter isn't PVS (they were) then there is an 82% change, according to this very study, that Terri would have received drugs. Professor Ninja 22:22, Apr 13, 2005 (UTC)

 * Not that we needed it, but here's some more proof NCdave's a liar: In this very pdf which he has offered as proof multiple times, on page 2 of 7, you will see "There are many behaviors typical for patients in PVS that someone without neurological training could easily mistake as voluntary. The non-neurologist seldom has experience in observing how the brainstem and basal ganglia behave when deprived of input from the cerebral cortex where consciousness is believed to reside. It is quite common for dedicated and caring family members, hoping desperately for a sign from their loved one, to misinterpret these reflexes as evidence of communication. Such behaviors can include involuntary arousal, eye opening, random eye movements (nystagmus and horizontal scanning, brief eye contact, reflexive withdrawal from noxious stimulus, movement of the lips or mouth or turning of the head in response to oral stimulation (suck and rooting reflexes which also occur in newborn infants), spontaneous grimmacing or smiling or displays of emotion (affective release, usually a momentary gesture), and certain other nonsustained behaviors usually not seen in healthy adults. Some of the video clips of Terri Schiavo that have been presented in the media display such involuntary behaviors." Okay, forget all the time NCdave's advanced that these very indications support the fact that Terri wasn't PVS, and look at the italicized part about noxious stimulus. As in, medicate for symptoms of pain. For Pete's sake man, what is wrong with you? You backpedal so much. Cheshire's right, Cheshire's wrong, which will it be now dave? Right or wrong in this pdf? Or right when you want him to be and wrong when you want him to be, as usual. Professor Ninja 07:54, Apr 14, 2005 (UTC)

Professor, I'm not averse to a shortened version being put back in. I'm not in favor of it enough to do it myself though. If you want to take the time to trim it, go for it. Otherwise it doesn't look like anyone else is missing it, and we can archive this section of talk. FuelWagon 00:03, 13 Apr 2005 (UTC)

title: Talk:Terri Schiavo case/Archive 19


text:
South Seas Mandate

The South Seas Mandate, officially the Mandate for the German Possessions in the Pacific Ocean Lying North of the Equator, was a League of Nations mandate in the "South Seas" given to the Empire of Japan by the League of Nations following World War I. The mandate consisted of islands in the north Pacific Ocean that had been part of German New Guinea within the German colonial empire until they were occupied by Japan during World War I. Japan governed the islands under the mandate as part of the Japanese colonial empire until World War II, when the United States captured the islands. The islands then became the United Nations–established Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands governed by the United States. The islands are now part of Palau, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Marshall Islands. In Japan, the territory is known as "Japanese Mandate for the Governance of the South Seas Islands" (委任統治地域南洋群島) and was governed by the Nan'yō Government (南洋廳).

Origin
Japanese interest in what it called the "South Seas" (南洋) began in the 19th century, prior to its imperial expansion into Korea and China. By 1875, ships from the newly established Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) began to hold training missions in the area. Shiga Shigetaka, a writer who accompanied a Navy cruise to the region in 1886, published his Current State of Affairs in the South Seas (南洋時事) in 1887, marking the first time a Japanese civilian published a firsthand account of Micronesia. Three years later, Shiga advocated for annexation of the area by claiming that doing so would "excite an expeditionary spirit in the demoralized Japanese race." Despite the appeal imperialism had for the Japanese public at the time, neither the Meiji government nor the Navy seized any pretexts to fulfill this popular aspiration. It was through the commercial operations of fisherman and traders that the Japanese first began to make a wider presence in the region, which continued to grow despite challenges from competing German commercial interests. Although the Japanese public's enthusiasm for southward expansion had abated by the turn of the century, a number of important intellectuals, businessmen, and military officials continued to advocate for it. Among them were Admiral Satō Tetsutarō and Diet member Takekoshi Yosaburō. The latter declared that the future of Japan "lies not in the north, but in the south, not on the continent, but on the ocean" and that its "great task" was to "turn the Pacific into a Japanese lake."

By the outbreak of World War I the empire included Taiwan, Korea, the Ryukyu Islands, the southern half of Sakhalin island (Karafuto Prefecture), the Kuril Islands, and Port Arthur (Kwantung Leased Territory). The policy of Nanshin-ron ("Southern Expansion Doctrine"), popular with the IJN, held that Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands were the area of greatest potential value to the Japanese Empire for economic and territorial expansion.

The Anglo-Japanese Alliance of 1902 had been signed primarily to serve Britain's and Japan's common interest of opposing Russian expansion. Amongst other provisions the treaty called on each party to support the other in a war against more than one power, although it did not require a signatory state to go to war to aid the other. Within hours of Britain's declaration of war on Germany in 1914, Japan invoked the treaty and offered to declare war on the German Empire if it could take German territories in China and the South Pacific. The British government officially asked Japan for assistance in destroying the raiders from the Imperial German Navy in and around Chinese waters, and Japan sent Germany an ultimatum demanding that it vacate China and the Marshall, Marianas and Caroline Islands. The ultimatum went unanswered and Japan formally declared war on Germany on 23 August 1914.

Japan participated in a joint operation with British forces in autumn 1914 in the Siege of Tsingtao (Qingdao) to capture the Kiautschou Bay Leased Territory in China's Shandong Province. The Japanese Navy was tasked with pursuing and destroying the German East Asia Squadron and protection of the shipping lanes for Allied commerce in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. During the course of this operation, the Japanese Navy seized the German possessions in the Marianas, Carolines, Marshall Islands and Palau groups by October 1914.

After the end of World War I, the protectorate of German New Guinea was divided amongst the war's victors by the Treaty of Versailles. The southern part of the protectorate was mandated to come under Australian administration as the Territory of New Guinea, consisting of Kaiser-Wilhelmsland (the German territory on the island of New Guinea) and the German-controlled islands south of the equator. Meanwhile, Japanese occupation of the northern part of the protectorate, consisting of the Micronesian islands north of the equator, was formally recognized by the treaty. Japan was given a League of Nations Class C mandate to govern them, the C Class being assigned because the Mandates Commission regarded the islands as having "low cultural, economic and political development". The terms of the Mandate specified that the islands should be demilitarized and Japan should not extend its influence further into the Pacific. The Mandate was initially subject to yearly scrutiny by the Permanent Mandates Commission of the League of Nations in Geneva, though by the late 1920s Tokyo was rejecting requests for official visitation or international inspection. In 1933 Japan gave notice of withdrawal from the League of Nations, the withdrawal becoming effective two years later.

Administration
Following the initial Japanese occupation of the islands, a policy of secrecy was adopted. Japan made it plain that it did not welcome the entry of foreign ships into Micronesian waters, even those of its wartime allies. During the first five years that Japan occupied the islands, it consolidated its presence and the islands became a virtual Japanese colony. The IJN divided the territory into five naval districts in Palau, Saipan, Truk, Ponape and Jaluit Atoll, all reporting to a rear admiral at the naval headquarters at Truk.

A proposal at the Versailles Conference to allow trade and migration between those islands to be administered by Japan and those to be administered by Australia and New Zealand was rejected. Japan was able to continue administering the islands as if they were colonial possessions, keeping their waters off-limits to foreigners. When the islands became legally a League of Nations Mandate, their Class C status gave Japan direct control over their domestic legal system. Japan administered them as Japanese territory and as part of the Japanese Empire. This situation continued even after Japan withdrew from the League of Nations in 1935 and lost its legal claim to administer the islands.

Militarily and economically, Saipan, in the Marianas archipelago, was the most important island in the South Seas Mandate and became the center of subsequent Japanese settlement. The towns of Garapan (on Saipan), Koror (on Palau) and Colony (on Ponape) were developed to resemble small towns in Japan, with cinemas, restaurants, beauty parlors and geisha houses. Another important island was Truk in the Carolines archipelago, which was fortified into a major navy base by the IJN.

Between 1914 and 1920 the islands began the slow transition from naval to civilian administration. By 1920 all authority had been transferred from the Naval Defense Force to the Civil Affairs Bureau which was directly responsible to the Navy Ministry. Initially based in Truk, the Civil Affairs Bureau was moved to Koror in the Palau islands in 1921. The naval garrisons were disbanded to comply with the terms of the Mandate. In April 1922 a civilian government was established in each of the six administrative districts (Saipan, Palau, Yap, Truk, Ponape and Jaluit) in the form of a civil administration department which still reported to the local naval garrison commander. At the same time a post of Governor of the South Seas Mandate was created. Governors were mostly admirals or vice-admirals as the administration was initially still the responsibility of the IJN. The Governor reported directly to the Prime Minister of Japan. After the establishment of the Ministry of Colonial Affairs in June 1929, the Governor reported to the Minister of Colonial Affairs instead. The establishment of the "South Seas Government" or "Nan'yō-chō" in March 1932 finally put the government of the islands under a purely civilian administration. When the Ministry of Colonial Affairs was absorbed into the Ministry of Greater East Asia in November 1942, the primacy of the IJN was again recognized by the appointment of an admiral as the Governor. Furthermore, the six administrative districts were reduced to three in November 1943: North, East, and West.

Significance
The population of the South Seas Mandate was too small to provide significant markets and the indigenous people had very limited financial resources for the purchase of imported goods. The major significance of the territory to the Empire of Japan was its strategic location, which dominated sea lanes across the Pacific Ocean and provided convenient provisioning locations for sailing vessels in need of water, fresh fruit, vegetables and meat.

As a signatory of the 1922 Washington Naval Treaty, Japan agreed not to build new naval and air stations on the islands and it did not begin direct military preparations in the Mandate until the late 1930s. Nevertheless, the territory provided important coaling stations for steam-powered vessels and its possession gave an impetus to the Nanshin-ron doctrine of "southward advance".

Population
The population of the islands increased during the period of the mandate as a result of Japanese settlement in Micronesia. Settlers were initially drawn from Okinawa Island and the other Ryukyu Islands, but immigrants subsequently came from other parts of Japan, particularly the economically deprived Tōhoku region. Agricultural workers were followed by shopkeepers, restaurant, geisha house and brothel-keepers, expanding former German settlements into Japanese boom towns. The initial population figures (1919–1920) for the mandated territories included around 50,000 islanders, made up from the indigenous peoples of Oceania. Japanese immigration led to the population growing from under 4,000 in 1920 to 70,000 inhabitants in 1930, and more than 80,000 in 1933. By 1935 the Japanese population alone was more than 50,000. By 1937 almost 90 percent of the population on Saipan was Japanese (42,547 out of 46,748). In the census of December 1939, the total population was 129,104, of which 77,257 were Japanese (including ethnic Chinese and Koreans), 51,723 indigenous islanders and 124 foreigners. While the settler population was growing, the indigenous Micronesian population in some areas was declining. The rights and status of the indigenous population differed from those of Japanese imperial subjects. Employment prospects for Micronesians were more restricted, with unequal labor conditions and pay.

The government of the Mandate built and maintained hospitals and schools, and free education was provided for Micronesian children aged 8–15. However, Micronesian children attended separate schools from those used by Japanese children, and the schooling provided in them was more limited and of shorter duration. Micronesian children often attended boarding schools where compulsory schooling was used to promote Japanese state religion and Shinto rituals. A Shinto shrine known as the Nan'yō Shrine was established on Koror in 1940. Christian mission schools were prohibited from taking Micronesian pupils where government schools existed.

Economy
Japanese economic involvement in Micronesia began in the late 19th century. Before the establishment of the Mandate, small groups of Japanese entrepreneurs established commercial ventures in German Micronesia and came to control a significant proportion of the trade. However, the economic development of the area was hampered by the distances separating the islands, their small land areas and their small market sizes. The mandate was initially a financial liability for the Japanese government, requiring an annual subsidy from Tokyo. The cash crop of the islands was copra, which was used in many commercial products at the time. During the 1920s and 1930s, the Japanese government pursued a policy of encouraging monopolies that paired private initiative with government capital. This strategy was intended to maximize the number of Japanese colonists. Until the late 1930s, the development of the islands was undertaken primarily to assist the Japanese civilian economy. Sugar cane had become increasingly sought-after in Japan, and Japanese trading companies led the development of the industry in the islands. The Japanese entrepreneur Haruji Matsue arrived on Saipan in 1920 and formed the South Seas Development Company, which became the largest commercial enterprise in Micronesia. He significantly expanded the quantities of sugar cane produced in the islands, with over 3000 ha under cultivation by 1925. By the early 1930s the sugar-related industries accounted for more than 60% of the mandate's revenues. At its peak the company maintained over 11,000 ha of sugar plantations using tenant farmers, as well as operating sugar mills on Saipan, Tinian and Rota. Bananas, pineapples, taro, coconuts, manioc, coffee and other tropical farming products were also grown, putting the islands on a par with Taiwan. The islands also provided bases for the Japanese fishing fleet which was centred at Koror. Fishing formed one of the most profitable industries in the islands. Large fleets of boats were used and fish processing plants were set up on many islands. Harbor improvement works were undertaken at Tanaha (棚葉) in Saipan and Malakal Island in Palau in the late 1920s. By the end of the 1920s the mandate became self-sufficient, no longer needing subsidy and financially contributing to the Japanese Empire.

The phosphate resources of the islands were exploited by Japanese mining companies, which took over the German phosphate mines on Angaur island and expanded them. Smaller phosphate mines on neighboring islands were also opened. Total exports to Japan eventually reached around 200,000 tonnes per year. Angaur island alone produced some 60,000 tonnes per year. The phosphates were used for farming. Bauxite was another mineral product of the colonial economic structure, although the mineral was only present in the Palau group. In 1937 the mother-of-pearl industry became lucrative and large quantities of pearls, both natural and cultured, were extracted from the islands.

The South Seas Trading Company had an exclusive contract from 1915 with the IJN to provide freight, passenger, and mail services to the Empire as well as between the islands. The route between the Empire and the islands was subsequently taken over by the Japanese Mail Steamship Company (Nippon Yusen Kaisha), the largest steamship line in the Empire. The luxurious amenities offered on board some of the company's vessels brought about the beginning of Japanese tourism to the islands.

The flying boat was the principal type of aircraft used for commercial aviation due to the shortage of flat land available for airfields. Imperial Japanese Airways began some commercial flights in 1935 using the long-range Kawanishi H6K2-L seaplane. Regular commercial flights were begun in 1940 and a regular service commenced in 1941. Commercial services ceased shortly after the start of Pacific War, but the widespread network of seaplane bases continued to be used during wartime.

Pacific War

The terms of the mandate required Japan not to fortify the islands. However, these terms were ambiguous and poorly-defined, specifying only that Japan should not build "fortifications" or construct "military or naval bases". From 1921 the Japanese military began making surveys and plans so that rapid military deployment to the islands would be possible in case of war.

During the 1930s, the IJN began construction of airfields, fortifications, ports, and other military projects in the islands controlled under the mandate, viewing the islands as "unsinkable aircraft carriers" with a critical role to play in the defense of the Japanese home islands against potential US invasion. These became important staging grounds for Japanese air and naval offensives in the Pacific War.

 * Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands was a major base supporting the attack on Pearl Harbor and the Battle of Wake Island.
 * Palau was used to support the invasion of the Philippines by Japan.
 * Saipan in the Mariana Islands supported the Battle of Guam.
 * Truk in the Caroline Islands became the base for amphibious landings on Tarawa and Makin in the Gilberts during Japanese occupation of the Gilbert Islands, as well as Rabaul in the Australian mandate Territory of New Guinea.
 * Kosrae was used to relocate Ocean Island workers evacuated
 * Majuro in the Marshall Islands was used in air strikes against Howland Island.
 * Jaluit Atoll, also in the Marshall Islands, was the base from which the IJN seized Nauru and Ocean Island (now known as Banaba Island).

The Imperial Japanese Army also utilized the islands to support air and land detachments.

In order to capture the islands from Japan, the United States military employed a "leapfrogging" strategy which involved conducting amphibious assaults on selected Japanese island fortresses, subjecting some to air attack only and entirely skipping over others. This strategy caused the Japanese Empire to lose control of its Pacific possessions between 1943 and 1945.

The League of Nations mandate was formally revoked by the United Nations on 18 July 1947 pursuant to Security Council Resolution 21, making the United States responsible for administration of the islands under the terms of a United Nations trusteeship agreement which established the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. Most of the islands subsequently became part of independent states.

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

title: South Seas Mandate


text:
Khazar language

Khazar, also known as Khazaric, was a Turkic dialect group spoken by the Khazars, a group of semi-nomadic Turkic peoples originating from Central Asia. There are few written records of the language and its features and characteristics are unknown.

There is a dispute among Turkic linguists and historians as to which branch of the Turkic language family it belongs to. One consideration believes it belongs to the Oghur ("lir") branch of the Turkic language family, while another consideration is that it belongs to the Common Turkic branch. As the extant corpus of Khazar is extremely limited, consisting of two nouns, a conjugated verb, and a few proper names, its exact genealogical position within the Turkic phylum remains unresolved.

Classification

There are many problems with exact classification of the Khazar language. One of the basic issues is the vague nature of the name Khazar itself. It has not yet been determined whether it refers to a specific Turkic tribe, or if it had a political and geographical origin that was not ethnolinguistic. The Khazar realm was a polyglot (multilingual) and polyethnic (multicultural) state, with Iranian, Finnic, Ugric, Slavic, and North Caucasian languages. According to anthropological data, it was ruled by Inner Asian Mongoloid (with some Europoid somatic elements) core tribes that accompanied the dynasty. The Turkic tribes probably spoke a number of Turkic languages. Scholars considered it a possibility that the term Khazar denoted one or even several languages; however, the sources cannot determine the extent of its use.

Chronicles of the time are unclear on Khazar's linguistic affiliation. The tenth century Al-Istakhri wrote two conflicting notices: "the language of the Khazars is different than the language of the Turks and the Persians, nor does a tongue of (any) group of humanity have anything in common with it, and the language of the Bulgars is like the language of the Khazars but the Burtas have another language." Al-Istakhri mentioned that population of Darband spoke Khazar along with other languages of their mountains. Al-Masudi  (896 – 956) listed Khazars among types of the Turks, and noted they are called Sabir in Turkic and Xazar in Persian. Al-Biruni (973 – 1050), while discussing the Volga Bulgars and Sawars (Sabirs), noted their language was a "mixture of Turkic and Khazar." Al-Muqaddasi ( c.  945/946 – 991) described the Khazar language as "very incomprehensible." Ibn Hawqal, who travelled during the years 943 to 969 AD, wrote that "the Bulgar language resembles that of the Khazars".

Compared to the uniformity of Common Turkic, which Al-Istakhri mentioned "as for the Turks, all of them, from the Toquz Oghuz, Qirgiz, Kimek, Oguz, Qarluq, their language is one. They understand one another". Even if Khazar belonged or was similar to Oghuro-Bulgaric languages, it was distinctly different.

Vocabulary
The linguistic data on Khazar consists mostly of proper names such as titles (Beg, Bolušči, Ishad, Il-teber/El-teber, Qağan, Kündü Qağan, Jâwšîġr, Tarxan, Tudun, Yabgu, Yilig/Yelig), anthroponyms (Itaq), and toponyms (Sarkel/Šarkil, Sarığšın/Sarığčın), mostly of Turkic origin. The interpretations do not indicate whether these are Common Turkic or Oghuric.

Just two common nouns have been attested. The Arab historian Ibn A'tham al-Kufi records the name of a type of tent as alǰdāḏ, whose first part is probably a cognate of eastern Old Turkic alaču 'tent'. A word for 'funeral feast' is recorded by the Byzantine historian Theophanes in several forms: δοχήν dokhḗn, δογήν dogḗn, δογῆν dogên, δουγήν dougén, comparable with eastern Old Turkic yog (as well as with a term recorded by Menandros as δογια dogia). Other nouns have been proposed to be reflected in Khazar proper names, such as *bulan 'elk', *ït 'dog' in the personal names Bulan and Itakh.

Khazar was stated by the 1986 Guinness Book of Records (following a claim by the Great Soviet Encyclopedia) to have the "smallest literature" of any language, allegedly comprising only one attested word, oqurüm, "I have read" (from the Kievan Letter).

title: Khazar language


text:
Investiture of the Gods

The Investiture of the Gods, also known by its Chinese names Fengshen Yanyi and Fengshen Bang (封神榜), is a 16th-century Chinese novel and one of the major vernacular Chinese works in the gods and demons (shenmo) genre written during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). Consisting of 100 chapters, it was first published in book form between 1567 and 1619. Another source claims it was published in a finalized edition in 1605. The work combines elements of history, folklore, mythology, legends and fantasy.

The story is set in the era of the decline of the Shang dynasty (1600–1046 BC) and the rise of the Zhou dynasty (1046–256 BC). It intertwines numerous elements of Chinese mythology, Chinese folk religion, Chinese Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism, including deities, demons, immortals and spirits. The authorship is attributed to Xu Zhonglin.

Plot
The novel is a romanticised retelling of the overthrow of King Zhou, the last ruler of the Shang dynasty, by Ji Fa, who would establish the Zhou dynasty in its place. The story integrates oral and written tales of many Chinese mythological figures who are involved in the struggle as well. These figures include human heroes, immortals, and various spirits (usually represented in avatar form, such as vixens and pheasants, and occasionally as inanimate objects such as a pipa).

Bewitched by his concubine Daji, who is actually a vixen spirit disguised as a beautiful woman, King Zhou of Shang oppresses his people and persecutes those who oppose him, including those who dare to speak up to him. Ji Fa (King Wu of Zhou), assisted by his strategist Jiang Ziya, rallies an army to overthrow the tyrant and restore peace and order. Throughout the story, battles are waged between the kingdoms of Shang and Zhou, with both sides calling upon various supernatural beings – deities, immortals, demons, spirits, and humans with magical abilities – to aid them in the war. Yuanshi Tianzun ("Primeval Lord of Heaven") bestows upon Jiang Ziya the Fengshen bang, a list that empowers him to invest the gods of Heaven. The heroes of Zhou and some of their fallen enemies from Shang are eventually endowed with heavenly ranking and essentially elevated as gods, hence the title of the novel.

Some anecdotes
The novel features many stories in which various supernatural beings enter the human realm and change the fates of mortals and the course of history with their magical powers. The following are some of the better-known of its component anecdotes.

Nüwa and King Zhou
King Zhou visits the temple of the ancient Chinese goddess Nüwa to offer incense and pray. As he was doing so, there came a gust of wind which blew up the cover on Nüwa’s statue. He notices that the statue of the goddess is very attractive. The lewd king spouts blasphemy before the statue, "It'd be good if I could marry Her". He writes poems on the walls to express his lust for the goddess. He has offended Nüwa unknowingly and Nüwa foresees that King Zhou is destined to be the last ruler of the Shang dynasty. She sends the thousand year old vixen spirit, nine-headed pheasant spirit and jade pipa spirit to torture King Zhou, because the goddess was very angry when she saw that King Zhou could enjoy himself for 28 years. The king becomes obsessed with the spirits, who disguise themselves as beautiful women, and starts to neglect state affairs and rule with cruelty. The people suffer under his tyranny and eventually join Ji Fa to rise up and overthrow him.

Daji and Bo Yikao
King Zhou places Ji Chang, the Western Duke, under house arrest in Youli (羑里) for almost seven years. Ji Chang's eldest son Bo Yikao comes to Zhaoge (present-day Hebi, Henan) to plead with King Zhou to release his father. Daji falls in love with Bo Yikao and requests the king to permit Bo Yikao to teach her how to play the guqin. Daji attempts to seduce Bo Yikao but he rejects and ridicules her. The irate Daji complains to King Zhou that Bo Yikao molested her and insulted the king through his music. The king is furious and he has Bo Yikao executed, minced into pieces and made into meat pies, and served to his father. Ji Chang knows divination and has already foreseen his son's fate. He suppresses his sorrow and consumes the meat cakes. After that incident, King Zhou lowers his guard against Ji Chang and allows the latter to return home. Ji Chang builds up his forces and plans to avenge his son.

Ji Chang and Jiang Ziya
Jiang Ziya is an apprentice of master of the Kunlun Mountains Yuanshi Tianzun. He leaves his master at the age of 72. He only uses a straight fishhook without bait, three feet above the water, for angling. His neighbours are puzzled by his odd method of fishing. They ask him out of curiosity. Jiang replies, "What I'm angling is not a single fish, but the king and the great many vassals. Only those who really wish to go on the hook will be fished by me." Jiang Ziya means that he is waiting for a wise ruler who recognises his talent and needs him. Some people tell Ji Chang about Jiang and Ji Chang becomes interested in him. One day, Ji Chang pays a visit to Jiang Ziya. Jiang demands that the duke helps him pull his cart. Ji Chang does so and stops pulling after he has moved 800 steps forwards. Jiang Ziya tells the duke that his future kingdom (the Zhou dynasty) will exist for 800 years. Ji Chang wishes to pull the cart for a few more steps but he is too exhausted to move forward. Jiang Ziya becomes the chancellor of Zhou afterwards and assists Ji Chang in building his kingdom.

Bi Gan loses his heart
From the prophecy revealed by the oracle bones, Jiang Ziya predicts that King Zhou's loyal and benevolent courtier, Bi Gan, will die soon. He gives a charm to Bi Gan. One night, during a banquet hosted by King Zhou, several "immortals" appear and the king is delighted to see them. The "immortals" are actually Daji's fellow fox spirits in disguise, and Bi Gan, who is also present at the banquet, senses something amiss. Bi Gan's suspicions are confirmed when the fox spirits reveal their tails unknowingly after getting drunk. Bi Gan gathers a group of soldiers and they track the fox spirits back to their den and kill all of them. Bi Gan uses the foxes' hides to make a cloak and presents it to King Zhou. Daji is horrified and saddened when she sees the cloak, and she secretly plots vengeance on Bi Gan.

Not long later, Daji tells King Zhou that she has a heart attack and only a "delicate seven-aperture heart" (七巧玲瓏心) can relieve her agony. No one in the palace has that type of heart except Bi Gan, who is revered as a saint. Bi Gan swallows the charm given by Jiang Ziya, grabs his heart, pulls it out of his body, and presents it to King Zhou. Bi Gan does not die immediately nor sheds a single drop of blood. Instead, he walks out of the palace and follows Jiang Ziya's instructions to go straight home without looking back.

When he is only a few steps away from home, a female huckster yells from behind, "Hey! Cheap cabbages without stems (hearts)!" (The "heart" rhetorically refers to the stem of the plant.) Bi Gan turns around, then asks the huckster in curiosity, "How can there be cabbages without stems?" The woman puts on an evil grin and replies, "You're right, sir. Cabbages cannot live without stems just as men cannot live without hearts." Bi Gan shouts, collapses, and dies. The huckster is actually the jade pipa spirit in disguise.

The Foursome of Nine Dragon Island
The Foursome of Nine Dragon Island (九龙岛四圣) are a set of four fictional characters. These four individuals are Wang Mo, Yang Sen, Gao Youqian, and Li Xingba; each of them are renowned as superior men. These four superior men would later be personally recruited by Grand Old Master Wen Zhong in an attempt to put an end to the threat of King Wu.

Creations of Daji
This is a list of the variety of projects created by Daji throughout the novel Fengshen Yanyi by Xu Zhonglin and Lu Xixing.

The Bronze Toaster
The Bronze Toaster, intended as a torture and execution device, was first suggested by Daji. It is a bronze cylindrical device that is over twenty feet tall and eight feet wide. It has two wheels on each side so it can be moved around. There are three layers of charcoal over three layers of burning fire inside the device. The victims were stripped naked and tied before being placed into the pit. The pit was used to execute Grand Counselor Mei Bo. Big fans were used to intensify the fire during the execution of Mei Bo.

The Bronze Toaster was only mentioned in Chapter 6.

The Snake Pit
The Snake Pit, another torture device, was first introduced in Chapter 17. The 25-feet wide snake pit was dug beneath the Star-Picking Belvedere. Venomous spiders and exceedingly venomous snakes were put into the pit. Once this pit was finally constructed, seventy-two unfortunate maidens, with their hair shaved and clothes stripped, were tied and thrown into the pit to feed the snakes.

This torturing device was mentioned multiple times after Chapter 17.

The Wine Pool and Meat Forest
The Wine Pool and Meat Forest were introduced in Chapter 17. The Wine Pool was located on the left side of the Snake Pit, while the Meat Forest was on the right, thus forming a small park before the Star-Picking Belvedere. Fifty maidens and fifty eunuchs were chosen and tied together to form 50 pairs. Each individual pair would then get thrown into the pool and would be asked to drink the pool's wine while performing swimming tricks. Once each pair is readily drunk, they would be put into the Meat Forest to enjoy an abundance of cooked duck, roasted pig, etc. By sunset a few pairs would then be beaten to a bloody pulp and secretly fed to Daji to ease her need for human flesh.

This method of torture, created by Daji, was first mentioned in Chapter 17, as well as multiple times afterward.

The Deer Gallery
The Deer Gallery is also mentioned in Chapter 17. Daji had chosen this Deer Gallery as an ensured way to put an end to Jiang Ziya, who had been entrusted to complete the impossible mission of creating the Deer Gallery itself. This large tower-like structure was forty-nine feet in height (double the size of the Star-Picking Belvedere), fully equipped with columns of jade, floors of marble, roofs and ceilings of legendary jewels, and railings of great pearls and sea corals.

Criticism
Although the novel is now seen as one of the great vernacular epic novels of Chinese literature, it has received some criticism from literary critics of the past. In comparing the work to other major Chinese novels, Lu Xun remarked in his 1924 book A Brief History of Chinese Fiction that Fengshen Yanyi "lacks the realism of Water Margin and the imaginative brilliance of Journey to the West."

Translations

 * This is an abridged translation containing only the first 46 chapters out of 100.
 * This is an abridged translation containing only the first 46 chapters out of 100.

The book was also translated to Dutch as Feng Shen: De Verheffing tot Goden by Nio Joe Lan (Jakarta, 1940).

Adaptations
The novel has a significant impact on Chinese and Japanese popular culture. It has been adapted in various forms, including television series, manhua, manga, and video games. Some of the more notable adaptations are listed below:

 * Unabridged 1970 Pingshu radio program by Yuan Kuocheng, consisting of the entire Fēngshén Yǎnyì in 200 episodes.
 * The Story of Chinese Gods, a 1976 hand-drawn animated film.
 * God's Parade, a 1981 TVB TV series which has a song performed by Adam Cheng.
 * The Founding of the Zhou Dynasty, the first story arc of the Hong Kong manhua series Legend of Emperors by Wong Yuk-long.
 * Hoshin Engi, a Japanese manga series by Ryu Fujisaki based on the translation by Tsutomu Ano of the novel.
 * Gods of Honour, a 2001 Hong Kong television series produced by TVB as attributed to God's Parade.
 * Mystic Heroes (バトル封神), a 2002 video game by Koei loosely based on the book.
 * The Legend and the Hero, a 2007 Chinese television series. It was followed by a 2009 sequel, The Legend and the Hero 2.
 * Warriors Orochi, a video game series produced by Koei. It features three characters from the novel – Daji (called Da Ji in the game), Nezha, and Jiang Ziya (called Taigong Wang in the game) – as playable characters.
 * The Investiture of the Gods, a 2014 Chinese live action series produced by Shandong Television and starring Sammul Chan and Viann Zhang.
 * League of Gods, a 2016 3D Chinese movie produced by China Star Entertainment Group, starring Jacky Heung as the main character Lei Zhenzi, Jet Li as Jiang Ziya, Tony Leung Ka-fai as King Zhou of Shang, Louis Koo as Mahamayuri, Huang Xiaoming as Erlang Shen, Angelababy as the mermaid, Fan Bingbing as Daji, and Wen Zhang as Nezha.
 * Chronicles of the God's Order, an ongoing Hong Kong manhua.
 * Ne Zha, a 2019 Chinese 3D animation film.
 * Investiture of the Gods, a 2019 Chinese live action series produced by Mango Studio and starring Wang Likun, Luo Jin, Zhang Bo, Yu Hewei, Deng Lun, and Collin Chou.
 * Jiang Ziya, a 2020 Chinese 3D animation film.
 * New Gods: Nezha Reborn, a 2021 Chinese 3D animation film.
 * New Gods: Yang Jian, a 2022 Chinese 3D animation film.
 * Creation of the Gods, 2023

title: Investiture of the Gods


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Bakum

Bakum is a municipality in the district of Vechta, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the Vechta district in western Lower Saxony. Bakum lies on the A1 freeway between Bremen and Osnabrück.

title: Bakum