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Talk:Brave New World/Archive 1

Zamyatin
I believe it's dishonest to cite only 1984 as a similar novel. You seem to forget that Zamyatin's "We" came in 1920's and was taken as the base by Huxley and Orwell. If Orwell openly admitted this in his comments to 1984, Huxley never said about such connection. But it's evident that he read "We", they are very similar in many facets and I believe "We" is actually more complex than "Brave New World".

Ford
We need a consensus on which Henry Ford the book refers to. The first that comes to mind, Henry Ford, is often mentioned here, but the book refers to "Our Ford's 'My Life And Work'", a book written by Henry Jones Ford. If anyone thinks there is a separate mention of Henry Ford the automaker, say so now. Otherwise, I'll be forced to remove any mention of the automaker.Deltabeignet 23:12, 13 Mar 2005 (UTC)

---

There are several references to Henry Ford: the first Year of Our Ford is the date when the Model-T was first produced. The Ford worshipped in the story is an amalgamation of Henry Ford, Henry Jones Ford, and Sigmund Freud. All three are explicitly referenced: Henry Ford's mass production, Henry Jones Ford's writings and Freud's oedipal theories.

-Dan

---

It appears that A Brave New World is a better depiction of the future than anything Orwellian, if it isn't much scarier. Leon Kass, of Yale, has been working his heart out, with a New Republic essay and a new book, on getting Huxley's all-too-accurate "drug me, love me" future into the minds of people still considered with the still-all-too-possible dystopia of Nineteen Eighty-Four.

The problem is that while we actively seek out threats to our liberties, PATRIOT II for example, we readily accept benefits to our well being, i e medicine. I plan to review Kass' work as well as Francis Fukuyama's and add a good bit to the entry, though hopefully someone will beat me to it as I am a bit of a snail on promises.

[http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Ry_R. Ry R.]

Short of the genetic engineering, its already here. Seriously. The end of the book, with the reporters harassing Savage was too close to reality for me.

--Alan D

In a BBC Radio 4 documentary in the past week, it was stated that dispite the book's dystopian view Huxley was actually an advocate of eugenics. Andy G 19:29 24 Jun 2003 (UTC)

I feel that Brave New World was about Huxleys opposition to philosophy as he saw it, namely utilitarianism or some political theory such as marx and the rest, and tried to paint a world where everyone had equal happiness. There are several clues of this, the biggest being that all the characters last names where based on philosophers which presumably he controllers had chosen due to their respect towards them.

Maybe someone can add something about this to the main page? I don't feel comfortable enough to do it myself :)

-Anon

This is exactly the thesis of the essay I'm writing.. the question is: what devices did he use to voice his opposition?

-Smkatz 22:34, 14 Jan 2004 (UTC)

The following paragraph doesn't sit quite right with me.
 * The title of the book is a quotation from Miranda in Act V of Shakespeare's The Tempest, when she is joyfully reunited with her family. In Brave New World, the "savage", John, is a keen Shakespeare fan, which sets him further aside from the vast majority of humanity in Huxley's dystopia, as most of them are illiterate, and Shakespeare's works are banned and unknown in this society to everyone but the World Controllers.

I'm removing the comment about most of the population being illiterate. Huxley doesn't give us detailed census figures, so we can't tell whether the Epsilons comprise a numerical majority of the population. If we look at the castes which we know are literate—i.e., from Delta to Alpha—we miss Huxley's message if we attribute their lack of comprehension to "practical" issues, like the rarity of Shakespeare's works. The dialogue between Mustapha Mond and John Savage makes clear that, even if antique art "like Othello" were available, the Brave New World's superb conditioning would make sure that no one understood them.

On a slightly different tack, does anyone else get the feeling that Brave New World describes an ideal Objectivist state? Perhaps I'm missing a key point in Ayn Rand's theory of sex, but I can certainly see that the "horror scenario" its detractors imagine looks pretty much like the world Huxley describes: dissolution of families; free and unlimited coupling; heck, everything except prostitution—and only because it isn't necessary. . ..

One of my friends described the hard-core Objectivists in our circles as "pre-Nash, pre-Keynes economists who don't want to change their theories, so they change reality to fit the theories instead." Funny that—sounds exactly like what the World Hatcheries do: developmentally modify human beings so that they become perfect participants in laissez-faire capitalism. The only activity we see the World Controllers conducting is the suppression of scientific research; most of everything else seems to be taken care of, hypnopaedically. For example, the lower classes are conditioned to "consume transport", through the simple expident of making country vacations psychologically compulsory. Biological regulation renders governmental regulation obsolete.

And soma is the perfect tool for handling Rand's issues with Christianity. . ..

I see some problems with the article, based on my recent reading of the book. In particular, I would disagree with a couple of paragraphs. Firstly:

"The protagonist, named John, is the son of two citizens of the Brave New World (he is the result of an accidental contraception failure). His parents were visiting a "savage reservation" when his mother got lost; she was stranded inside the reservation and gave birth to him there. He grew up with the lifestyle of the Zuni Native American tribe and a religion that is a blend of Zuni and Christian beliefs. The culture shock which results when the "savage" is brought into regimented society provides the vehicle by which Huxley points out that society's flaws."

Firstly, I believe it is incorrect to describe John as the protaganist. Bernard Marx is an equally important character. Indeed John doesn't even appear until half-way through the book.

Secondly (and related to the above point), I don't agree that John is the only vehicle which Huxley uses to point out the flaws of the society. Surely, the character of Bernard Marx is also such a vehicle. The character of Bernard, and to a lesser extent Helmholtz Watson too, shows both the rigidity of the society (unable to change) and its inability to entertain differences in individual behaviour. Indeed, it is Bernard's inability to "fit in" (and the subsequent threat by the Director of Hatcheries and Conditioning to exile him to Iceland) that spurs him to take "the Savage" back to England with him.

Thirdly, I believe that the culture shock experienced by "the Savage" is not primarily a device to point out the flaws of the society. Many of those flaws have already been shown through Bernard's experiences. This brings me the following parapraph in the article:

"The key moral point of the book revolves around the problem that the people in the society appear, and state that they are, generally happy. John Savage, however, considers this happiness to be artificial and "soulless". In a pivotal scene he argues with another character, world controller Mustapha Mond, that pain and anguish are as necessary a part of life as is joy, and that without the former to provide context and perspective, "joy" becomes meaningless."

The happiness of the population is NOT the problem. The problem is that in order to ensure continuous and (near) universal happiness, society has to be manipulated, freedom of choice and expression curtailed, intellectual pursuits and emotional expression inhibited.

My reading of the dialogue between John and Mustapha Mond (and indeed John's subsequent self-imposed isolation and suicide) was that the moral messages in the book are more complex than stated above; indeed, I would say that Huxley was presenting too opposing extremes (on the one hand universal happiness which is nevertheless "soulless" and unfulfilling, and on the other hand a world of "noble" virtues such as heroism, love and faith which can only exist side-by-side with suffering and pain). In the end, there appears to be no middle way between Lenina's innocent drug-dependent joy and John's noble and rather pointless despair. Unless, it is to be found in the island exile which Bernard and Helmholtz choose.

So, actually, we have two problems. The second is the opposite of the first: freedom of choice and expression (witness the experimental Alpha society in Cyprus), the recognition of (or rather the inhibition of) emotional expression (witness John's self-torture and suicide) and the pursuit of intellectual ideas, result in an absence of happiness.

During the dialogue Mustapha Mond brings a couple of religious treatises out of his safe, and demonstrates point-by-point how religion is incompatible with and unnecessary in a society where everyone is happy, free from disease, strife and suffering, and able to fully and freely enjoy hedonistic pleasures until the very point of death. Surely the moral point of the book, is to present a number of questions: what is the relative value which society attaches to happiness? Is a "meaningful" or fulfilling life compatible with a happy one? Is it moral for an elite to impose values on the rest of society which lead to reduced happiness? Scott Moore 14:13, 15 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Satire of 1930s society
I tried to clean up the "satire of 1930s society" section, so that it flows a little more smoothly and uses fewer ampersands. In the process, I toned down a couple statements (some Americans do understand what "the Crown" can be a reference to) and removed the line that most of Huxley's references are overlooked nowadays. I certainly picked up on the Marxes, the Trotskys and the Rothschilds, when I was a not-very-remarkable teenager reading the book for the first time. (Overall, I'd say the capitalists are a touch more obscure than their counterparts—Alfred Mond versus Vladimir Lenin—but this is only an argument from my own ignorance.)

I also deleted the paragraph about Huxley's use of the word "pneumatic". Not out of prudery, I assure you; it just read like an unnecessary elaboration. Firstly, when we encountre the word, say when Bernard and Lenina are flying through the night—

 * "Everyone says I'm awfully pneumatic," said Lenina reflectively, patting her own legs.

—Huxley makes the meaning pretty clear through the context. Second, I've seen it plenty of other places, as far away as Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! Huxley wasn't even the first to use "pneumatic" to describe a woman's figure; the OED gives a 1919 example from T. S. Eliot's Whispers of Immortality in Poems:

Grishkin is nice. . . Uncorseted, her friendly bust Gives promise of pneumatic bliss.

I would also suggest that Helmholtz Watson is an allusion to Hermann von Helmholtz, a German physicist who co-discovered the conservation of energy. Helmholtz was very interested in the physics and physiology of sensory perception, and did major work on both color vision and the nature of hearing. His notions of materialism and his conception of psychology as an empirical science distinct from philosophy seem in keeping with the psychology practiced in Huxley's dystopia.

Anville 14:50, 18 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Merging sections -- Lenina and Bernard, The Reservation and the Savage, and Resolution into Synopsis
I'm attempting to merge these sections into the synopsis because as it stands now the article appears to cover the same ground in 4 different sections. Any suggestions, help, or criticism would be greatly appreciated. Beepbeep 19:43, 30 January 2006 (UTC)

 * Done. Beepbeep 03:26, 5 February 2006 (UTC)

Alpha Double-Plus
A bit of nit-picking, I know, but it is important in an encyclopedia: 'In addition, a subgroup dubbed "Alpha Double-Plus" appears once, of which Helmholtz Watson is a member.' Where is it indicated that Helmholtz is a Double-Plus? He is always described as an Alpha Plus, the most extreme description saying that he was "every centimetre an Alpha Plus". Double-Pluses are only mentioned twice in the entire book: once was the Alpha Double Plus classroom at Eton, and the second was the Savage asking "Why don't you make every one an Alpha Double Plus while you're about it?"
 * Indeed. Fixed. --Astronouth7303 04:26, 24 October 2005 (UTC)

Charting the castes?
I started reading this book, and I was wondering if maybe it would appropriate for someone to produce a chart: each caste by Greek letter, what color they wear, and which characters belong in each caste. Many thanks. Dan40 01:48, 26 November 2005 (UTC)

Response from an English Teacher: My students and I have been wrestling with this question because there seemed to be some inconsistencies throughout the novel. I used an online version of the novel and used Explorer's "find" feature to verify exactly what colors each caste wears. This is what I came up with based on my knowledge of the novel and my search results:

Alphas wear grey, Betas bottle green, Beta minuses mulberry, Gammas leaf green, Deltas khaki, and Epsilons black.

Helmholtz and Bernard are Alpha pluses (mentioned explicitly in chapter 4).

Lenina is a Beta and all her outfits are described as green, especially in chapter 3 where she is described as wearing "bottle green acetate". Presumably her friend Fanny is a Beta as well, though her caste is not explicitly mentioned. Linda (on the reservation) is/was also a Beta. My classes wondered, where are the Alpha females?

The Alpha gray and Gamma green, and Delta Khaki are confirmed by the sleep teaching voice in chapter 2. "Alpha children wear grey.  They work much harder than we do, because they're so frightfully clever. I'm really awfuly glad I'm a Beta, because I don't work so hard. And then we are much better than the Gammas and Deltas. Gammas are stupid. They all wear green, and Delta children wear khaki. Oh no, I don't want to play with Delta children. And Epsilons are still worse. They're too stupid to be able ..."

See how weird that is? If Betas wear green too, shouldn't the sleep teaching voice be explicit about which color green is which?

That Beta minus wears mulberry, epsilons black and leaf green for gammas is suggested in only one place I could find:  “Like aphides and ants, the leaf-green Gamma girls, the black Semi-Morons swarmed round the entrances, or stood in queues to take their places in the monorail tram-cars. Mulberry-coloured Beta-Minuses came and went among the crowd. The roof of the main building was alive with the alighting and departure of helicopters.” (Chapter 4)

Confirmation of Gamma green and Delta khaki comes from a mention in chapter 4 of what the castes read: "In the basement and on the low floors were the presses and offices of the three great London newspapers--The Hourly Radio, an upper-caste sheet, the pale green Gamma Gazette, and, on khaki paper and in words exclusively of one syllable,The Delta Mirror." (Here Huxley doesn't mention the color of the upper caste sheet and the Epsilons don't read. It is odd, however, that there should even be a paper for the Deltas, since they are conditioned to hate books.)

My conclusion is that Huxley wanted the castes to be identifiable by color, but he wasn't very concerned that the reader be able to remember which color goes with which caste. Otherwise I imagine he would have been more explicit or make further mentions. On the other hand, maybe he was sloppy in creating that element of the story, since he was more concerned with the biology and social implications.User:Tchr98 22:58, 1 January 2006 (UTC)

Place of exile?
I changed the reference in the article from Iceland to the Falkland Islands. In all the editions of the novel I've read (all US printings) that's the location. Do other language editions or printings elsewhere contain any variations on this, or was "Iceland" a mistake? Ellsworth 19:14, 10 December 2005 (UTC)

 * You're correct in it being the Falkland Islands. I don't know why Iceland was there, but my only guess is that there were mentions of potential exile to Iceland before, but nobody that we see is ever actually sent there. Masterzora 02:48, 23 December 2005 (UTC)

 * I'm sure that it's Helmholtz Watson who goes to the Falklands (out of choice), and that Bernard is forcefully exiled to Iceland by Mustapha Mond. I can't find my copy of the book at the moment, but can someone check this? Rusty2005 19:42, 28 January 2006 (UTC)

 * The Director of Hatcheries and Conditioning does explicitly tell Bernard that he is in danger of being transferred to a "Sub-Centre--preferably to Iceland." in Chapter 6 Part 2. The text seems to indicate that this is a possible demotion and not exile. In Chapter 18 Part 1 Bernard and Helmholtz come to visit John  to say goodbye, stating that they are "off to-morrow," indictating that they are going together, presumably to the same place. Beepbeep 01:22, 29 January 2006 (UTC)

 * Ok, thanks for checking! So I guess Iceland is not one of the reservations and is part of the World State. I'll change that in the World State article :-)  Rusty2005 14:22, 29 January 2006 (UTC)

Actually while we're on the subject, could someone change The World State page. When you type in "world state" into the search box, you get redirected to the world government page. Can someone fix this so it directs to The World State please? I would do it but I don't know how! Rusty2005 14:26, 29 January 2006 (UTC)
 * I'm still trying to figure that one out myself. I'll give it a shot. Beepbeep 19:50, 30 January 2006 (UTC)

Henry Ford
How did Henry Ford react to the book? (Conidering Huxley's later, if somewhat forceless, claims that Henry Ford wasn't the Ford of the book, were there legal threats?) --Bonalaw 09:25, 12 December 2005 (UTC)

Delisted GA
I'm delisting this article from GA status because it doesn't state its references, a requirement for GA status.

About stuff inspired in Brave New World
What about this stuff being inspired in Brave New World?

 * Future Boy Conan: It seems inspired in Brave New World, specially the stuff about Industry, the extreme meritocracy society (remember the point and extremelly ordered social hierarchy) and Conan being some kind of "savage".
 * Beneath a Steel Sky: "The society of the city is a cross between many futuristic, 'dystopian' stories, including George Orwell's 1984, Aldous Huxley's Brave New World and Ridley Scott's Blade Runner." http://www.classicdosgames.com/adventure.html "A point-and-click adventure set in a dystopian future with a hero whose life has obvious parallels to John from Brave New World. As Robert Foster, you are the son of citizens of the city, but you have been raised by a tribe that lives in the wilderness."

 * I'm not sure about that, but I'm pretty sure that The Island contains several allusions to the book, most notably the use of phonetics to designate the line of the 'products', the use of white, grey and black to differentiate the population, and the trance states during 'growing'.
 * I would add such things myself, but I've not read the novel.
 * -- Sasuke Sarutobi 16:21, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

 * Could people double check all the inspired items; for instance just as a song is called or mentions soma doesn't mean it is linked to the book. Check out the soma (disambiguation) page to see how many things are named Soma. Surely things should only be linked where the title or reference is extended enough to be a certainty, or is actually referenced somewhere. --Neo 14:45, 10 March 2006 (UTC)

Resolution (Chapters 16-18)
John DOES NOT kill Lenina at the end, rather another woman in the crowd whom he transfers his love/hatred onto. Lenina is referred to repeatedly as having "Gamma Green" eyes (despite being a Beta), yet the girl that John kills has blue eyes chrisboote 12:57, 23 February 2006 (UTC)

Racism and the male Alpha
Despite the article's claim that racism no longer exists, I suggest that it does. There are many mentions of anti-black racism within the book. My memory is fuzzy, sorry, but take into consideration a comment that "Africans are more fertile," the fact that the Epsilon in the elevator is a subservient, midget black man, and that all Epsilons wear black. I don't think the black is an accident in alluding to the black race. They are described as "ants" in a black swarm. In addition, the savages are described as bronze-skinned. I don't think this is an accident, and Huxley probably wanted to show that racial equality is an illusion, even with advanced technology and happiness for all individuals, racism as a discriminatory mechanism is still relevant to humanity.

Also, since there are no mention of female alphas, one can call this a male-dominated society. Females are subordinated while males hold all of the true power behind the society. While race can be interpreted in many different ways, the male alpha can be nothing but a metaphor for male subjugation of woman.

—The preceding unsigned comment was added by Blusafe (talk • contribs).

 * This is really interesting interpretation. I definitely picked up on the "Africans are more fertile" comment when I read the book. I wondered whether some of the seemingly latent racism was just a remnant of the racism extant in the larger socity when Huxley was writing.
 * Unfortunately, though, Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, so this probably can't be incorporated into the article unless we can find a critic who said this sort of thing (we can then say, "So and so argued that... etc.").
 * Hbackman 22:23, 15 March 2006 (UTC)

 * You should also keep in mind that the "antagonist" of the Three Weeks in a Helicopter feely was a black man. John is later reminded that Othello "was like the hero of Three Weeks in a Helicopter-a black man." In Shakespeare's play, Othello commits suicide. The comparison of the black man in the feely and a suicidal character in another book may have been done on purpose.
 * TheGhostChild 04:11, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

 * Race is not central to the book, which is mainly about social class and the tendency to categorise people by the work they do and their level of income (the A to E classification mirrors that used in market research). Huxley lived in an all-white, mainly male society and of course this is reflected in the novel. And even the most "liberal" thinkers (such as HG Wells) of those time wrote stuff we'd consider racist today. Not sure there's much to be gained by reading every novel or play of the last 500 years and throwing it on the bonfire if it contains a possibly racist remark or attitude.

Exile 15:33, 12 October 2006 (UTC)

"Fanny Crowne is a split needs no explanation"
In the section on people's names, "Fanny" is piped to Vagina. Actually, it might need a bit of explanation. In colloquial American English, "fanny" means "buttocks". Is it slang for "vagina" in British English? Ellsworth 17:27, 1 April 2006 (UTC)
 * Yeah, it's different over there. like they think it's quite strange when american tourists refer to "fanny packs".  and "pants", for instance, means "underwear", not pants.  A sibling was working at a clothing store in london for a while, the customers used to get rather flustered when she continually offered to help them with finding "pants" . . . --He:ah? 00:26, 3 April 2006 (UTC)

Fanny Crowne is a split that needs no explanation. Removed this, since it needs explanation. Peter Grey 14:05, 6 June 2006 (UTC)

"Utopian" novel?!
The "Structure" section of this article seems to imply in a couple of places that BNW is a utopian novel. Isn't it rather a dystopian novel? Hbackman 22:17, 2 April 2006 (UTC)

 * I've never found myself falling firmly into the dystopian or utopian camps re: BNW. I think arguments could be made either way, especially depending on which social class you envision yourself being a member of. But aren't most Wikipedians at least Alpha Plusses? (Well, except for the delta-minus vandals, of course.) :Atlant

Taxi for Atlant. Thunder Cat 20:02, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

 * It satirises the idea of the utopia by examining what it would actually be like to live in a society in which everyone was happy, poverty and war had been abolished and everyone was doing a job to which they were eminently suited.

 * Exile 15:38, 12 October 2006 (UTC)

 * Yes, it's kind of a "Utopia, but who wants to live in Utopia?" sort of novel. Applejuicefool 20:54, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

Original research
Wikipedia policy is to cite the work of other authorities rather than doing original research. In this article the sections on "Fordism and society", "Possible symbolism", and "Comparison with Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four" all appear (in the absence of references) to be the original work of Wikipedia editors. Please supply the missing citations for the assertions in these sections. --Blainster 18:48, 22 April 2006 (UTC)

Horrible Bias
Isn't it not NPOV to claim this is a bad book, as is done in the entirety of the structure section?
 * Indeed. I propose a rebuilding of the section, from the bottom up. Whoever wrote the structure section was, for lack of a better word, childish and immature.--64.231.189.118 04:35, 11 May 2006 (UTC)
 * That was vandalism and is now fixed. -- he  ah  04:47, 11 May 2006 (UTC)

Periphery
"some 85% of the population" (I quote from 1984 is NOT "the periphery". Hence I removed a paragraph which purported to compare 1984 and Brave New World in this manner. 216.39.182.234 13:28, 17 May 2006 (UTC)

Dystopian
Are we sure the novel was dystopian - is there a verifiable quote somewhere to support this?--Hontogaichiban 15:36, 27 May 2006 (UTC)

I've answer this question myself, there a video of Aldous linked at the bottom of the site where he does say it is dystopian.

History and Context: rise of Nazism, especially Nazi Youth?
Might Huxley have been reacting in part to events in Germany as well? I do not claim they were his primary focus, but might have been a contributing current event-type issues that impacted his writing. How far did he have to look to see budding attempts at utopias that believed in splitting children from their families? The Soviet Union, Nazi Germany, the vast changes brought about by industrialization... I wonder if Huxley might have also been reacting to or commenting on the fast-growing Nazi Youth Movement’s attempts at replacing family with the state, in order to help create the Nazi "utopia?" During the period just prior to the publication of "Brave New World" Hitler Youth was growing at a phenomenal pace: "at the end of 1932 ... it was at 107,956, and at the end of 1933, the Hitler Youth held a membership of 2,300,000." (from the Wiki entry on Hitler Youth). I found the following quote on the web but do not have a copy of Brave New World in front of me: "A really efficient totalitarian state would be one in which the all-powerful executive of political bosses and their army of managers control a population of slaves who do not have to be coerced because they love their servitude...." Aldous Huxley, Brave New World.

The joyous belief in the state and blind following of the Nazi German population, along with their indoctrination of children being in large part raised by their "youth movement," reminds me quite strongly of the situation in Brave New World, though the latter has access to greatly "advanced" abilities (like completely avoiding the biological family).

I'm tossing this out there in case someone knows more. Bigdoglover 17:31, 13 June 2006 (UTC)

1984 Outsiders
In the paragraph below it is suggested that in 1984 there is no independant territory outside the three powers;

<>

As I remember 1984 in between the major powers there are strips of land. Although these are poor they are still inhabited, yet independant of the big three. Am I alright to delete this paragraph?

End of 22:01, 5 July 2006 (UTC)

Those strips of land in 1984 are not independent. They do not officially belong to any of the big three, but their whole territory is constantly under control of the superpowers' armies, serving as the main theatres of war and as sources of raw materials and enslaved labour. If you would like to check the source of this information, see 1984, Part II, Chapter IX, the parts quoted from Goldstein's Book. (In my Finnish translation, ISBN 951-0-10755-7, I found the information from pages 206 - 208, but I'm afraid that will not help you.) --82.181.111.213 (Jippe) 11:07, 26 August 2006 (UTC)

self-contradictory categories?
I noticed that this article appears in both category:utopian novels and category:dystopian novels. Is this intentional? --Ixfd64 02:08, 18 July 2006 (UTC)

Why not? Both utopian and dystopian worlds are unbearable to live in. Huxley referred to this novel as "negative utopia". ellol 08:39, 18 July 2006 (UTC)

the whole point is about asking "would we recognize dystopic conditions if we lived under them?": people think they live in an ideal society ('utopia'), while their condition looks extremely dystopic only to outsiders. The categories are fully justified. dab (ᛏ) 22:09, 7 August 2006 (UTC)

then wouldnt all books that are considred utopian also be considred dystopian? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 69.76.80.162 (talk • contribs).

 * There's nothing inherently dystopian about a utopian setting. The problem gets to be that not everyone's utopian ideal is the same.  When a group attempts to impose its idea of utopia on those who find it objectionable, utopia becomes dystopia. But so long as all members of a society honestly agree that it is ideal, then it can truly be utopian. Applejuicefool 21:26, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

Eugenics
While the society of Brave New World is often associated with eugenics there's nothing in the novel that actually falls under the eugenic category. I couldn't find any mention of selective breeding nor genetic modification. All modifications are biological and environmental. Though genetic manipulation was a science field developed after the book was written, selective breeding wasn't, which actually was quite the topic in that time.

What I wonder is if there is a proper/better term for altering humans radically by means of poisoning, oxygen starvation, etc. --Zero g 14:36, 18 October 2006 (UTC)

 * I think there's clear implication, though, that (say) an Alpha isn't going to breed with a Delta or Gamma.

 * Atlant 16:19, 18 October 2006 (UTC)

 * I was under the impression that the Alpha's delivered the genetic material, and that depending on the treatment the embryo would develop into a Delta, Gamma, or Alpha. ALso, there's no traditional breeding to begin with. --Zero g 16:24, 18 October 2006 (UTC)

external review
Please see External peer review/The Chronicle of Higher Education October 2006 for the comments of a professor who graded this article as B-. Thanks, BanyanTree 15:45, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

Cut scene abuse
It's worth noting in the 'structure' section that .. well, I'm up to the third chapter at present and every paragraph is a cut-scene to one of two threads which, when reading online in a bulk of text, is ambiguous, confusing and quite horrific as far as writing styles go. I find it to be a major negative to the point where the novel is almost unreadable, but I'll press on. But yeah, it REALLY should be mentioned as a criticism. 211.30.71.59 03:46, 5 November 2006 (UTC)

Brave New World and Demolition Man
I recently watched the film Demolition Man with Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes - there are many references to Brave New World in this film. I was wondering if it would be worth adding this in something like a trivia section within the article. The name of one of the characters - Lenina Huxley is one such reference, and the whole world in which the film is set is also quite similar to that of the novel. Maybe it's worth taking a look at Demolition Man (film). Xtrememachineuk 01:45, 6 November 2006 (UTC)

Template
I made a template of Brave New World after reading the book. I'm not the greatest at making templates, but I think the red looks pretty sweet compared to the blue. I don't know, you can change it if you think it's ugly. Just letting you all know that there's a template, so feel free to edit.

That's the template by the way.-- aviper2k7 04:30, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

title: Talk:Brave New World/Archive 1


text: Talk:New England Yearly Meeting

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

title: Talk:New England Yearly Meeting


text:
Longtail (rat)

On the Isle of Man, longtail is a euphemism used to denote a rat, as a relatively modern superstition has arisen that it is considered bad luck to mention this word. The origins of this superstition date to sea-taboos, where certain words and practices were not mentioned aboard ship, for fear of attracting bad luck (or bad weather).

The Manx Gaelic author Edward Faragher (also known by his Manx nickname 'Ned Beg Hom Ruy') recorded in his work 'Skeealyn 'sy Ghailck' that during his time working on fishing boats in the 19th century "It was forbidden to name a hare on board, or a rabbit, or a rat or a cat. The hare was 'the big-eared fellow', and the rabbit ‘pomet’, and the rat ‘sacote’, and the cat ‘scratcher'". In the modern superstition, the taboo only applies to the rat, and the term 'sacote' is no longer used. Although this particular sea-taboo was one amongst many and was not held to apply on land, it has become a popular modern belief that the word is somehow unlucky and the taboo has been adopted by some as a typical Manx practice, despite the fact that the old Manx had no qualms in using the word, or its Manx equivalent, "roddan". In modern times, many non-local and unsuperstitious people will refrain from using the word "rat" where its acceptability is in doubt.

Local socially acceptable alternatives for the superstitious also include joey, ringie, queerfella, iron fella and roddan. Recently young people have also begun saying r-a-t, owing to the influence of English immigrants.

Similar taboos can be found as far north as Shetland. Other sea taboos included pigs, cats, and knives. There is a comparable and apparently also relatively modern taboo against uttering the word 'rabbit' on the Isle of Portland.

title: Longtail (rat)


text:
Chow test

The Chow test, proposed by econometrician Gregory Chow in 1960, is a test of whether the true coefficients in two linear regressions on different data sets are equal. In econometrics, it is most commonly used in time series analysis to test for the presence of a structural break at a period which can be assumed to be known a priori (for instance, a major historical event such as a war). In program evaluation, the Chow test is often used to determine whether the independent variables have different impacts on different subgroups of the population.

First Chow Test
Suppose that we model our data as

y_t=a+bx_{1t} + cx_{2t} + \varepsilon.\, $$

If we split our data into two groups, then we have

y_t=a_1+b_1x_{1t} + c_1x_{2t} + \varepsilon \,$$

and

y_t=a_2+b_2x_{1t} + c_2x_{2t} + \varepsilon. \, $$

The null hypothesis of the Chow test asserts that $$a_1=a_2$$, $$b_1=b_2$$, and $$c_1=c_2$$, and there is the assumption that the model errors $$ \varepsilon $$ are independent and identically distributed from a normal distribution with unknown variance.

Let $$S_C$$ be the sum of squared residuals from the combined data, $$S_1$$ be the sum of squared residuals from the first group, and $$S_2$$ be the sum of squared residuals from the second group. $$N_1$$ and $$N_2$$ are the number of observations in each group and $$k$$ is the total number of parameters (in this case 3, i.e. 2 independent variables coefficients + intercept). Then the Chow test statistic is

\frac{(S_C -(S_1+S_2))/k}{(S_1+S_2)/(N_1+N_2-2k)}. $$

The test statistic follows the F-distribution with $$k$$ and $$N_1+N_2-2k$$ degrees of freedom.

The same result can be achieved via dummy variables.

Consider the two data sets which are being compared. Firstly there is the 'primary' data set i={1,...,$$ n_1 $$} and the 'secondary' data set i={$$ n_1 $$+1,...,n}. Then there is the union of these two sets: i={1,...,n}. If there is no structural change between the primary and secondary data sets a regression can be run over the union without the issue of biased estimators arising.

Consider the regression:

$$ y_t=\beta_0+\beta_1x_{1t} + \beta_2x_{2t} + ... + \beta_kx_{kt} + \gamma_0D_t + \sum_{i=1}^k\gamma_ix_{it}D_t + \varepsilon_t.\, $$

Which is run over i={1,...,n}.

D is a dummy variable taking a value of 1 for i={$$ n_1 $$+1,...,n} and 0 otherwise.

If both data sets can be explained fully by $$ (\beta_0,\beta_1,...,\beta_k) $$ then there is no use in the dummy variable as the data set is explained fully by the restricted equation. That is, under the assumption of no structural change we have a null and alternative hypothesis of:

$$ H_0: \gamma_0=0,\gamma_1=0,...,\gamma_k=0 $$

$$ H_1: \text{otherwise} $$

The null hypothesis of joint insignificance of D can be run as an F-test with $$n-2(k+1)$$ degrees of freedom (DoF). That is: $$ F=\frac{(RSS^R-RSS^U)/(k+1)}{RSS^U/DoF} $$.

Remarks

 * The global sum of squares (SSE) is often called the Restricted Sum of Squares (RSSM) as we basically test a constrained model where we have $$2k$$ assumptions (with $$k$$ the number of regressors).
 * Some software like SAS will use a predictive Chow test when the size of a subsample is less than the number of regressors.

title: Chow test


text:
Portal:Trains/Anniversaries/October 11/More

19th century

 * 1887 – Cotton Belt Railroad predecessor Paragould and Buffalo Island Railway, in Arkansas, is incorporated.
 * 1887 – The New York and Northern Railway (a predecessor name for the New York and Putnam Railroad) emerges from reorganization after foreclosure the previous July.
 * 1897 – The Chicago 'L' begins using the downtown loop.

20th century

 * 1933 – London, Midland and Scottish Railway 4-6-0 Royal Scot number 6152 (of the LMS Royal Scot Class locomotives) departs the Century of Progress Exhibition in Chicago, bound for Vancouver, British Columbia.
 * 1962 – Colorado and Southern Railway 2-8-0 number 641 pulls the last steam locomotive-operated regular daily service revenue train on a standard gauge railroad in the United States when it pulls a train from Leadville to Climax, Colorado.
 * 1987 – Soo Line Railroad sells 2002 mi of track to the newly formed Wisconsin Central.

21st century

 * 2002 – The prototype AVE Class 102 train (later used by track authority ADIF as test train Class 330) reaches speeds of 362 km/h during test runs.
 * 2014 – The Shiraz Metro in Iran is officially opened with the first 10.5 km section that includes eight stations connecting Ehsan to Namazi.


text:
Mishael

Mishael (מישאל, "who is what is God") or Misael may refer to:

Biblical figures

 * Mishael (son of Uzziel), cousin of Moses, Aaron, and Miriam
 * Original Hebrew name of Meshach

Misael

 * Misael (footballer, born 1987), full name Misael Silva Jansen, Brazilian football forward
 * Misael (footballer, born 1994), full name Misael Bueno, Brazilian football midfielder
 * Misael (footballer, born 2002), full name Misael Messias Nunes Xavier, Brazilian football midfielder

Mishael

 * Mishael Abbott (born 1981), American racing driver
 * Mishael Dahan (1920–1997), Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Beersheva
 * Mishael Cheshin (1936–2015), Israeli Supreme Court justice
 * Mishael Morgan (born 1986), Trinidadian-Canadian actress
 * Mishael Kiza(born 2005)

title: Mishael


text:
Wikipedia:Arbitration Committee Elections January 2006/Candidate statements/James F.

As one of the original members of the Arbitration Committee, helping to formulate and pursue the Arbitration Policy, I would like to think that my actions and decisions over the past [two] year[s] speak for themselves, but I will try to distil my thoughts about it:

Naturally, the duty of serving on the Committee is a great one, both to Jimbo for the responsibility delegated to us, and to the Community, in representing its beliefs. Over the [three] years that I have held an account on Wikipedia, I have become very much attached to the community, and this focuses my mind when considering whether we can discard people like so much chaff.

I strongly believe that the Committee's real purpose is to prevent further damage to the project by taking measures as we see fit, not to mete out some form of 'justice' as punishment of those deemed to have done wrong. Where I have considered banning people, it is not because I think that they "deserve" it in some way, but more that I regretfully doubt that their continued presence is not damaging to the project. Of course, 'damage' is in the eye of the beholder, and so I hope that my decisions have reflected well the overall opinion of our Community.

With this in mind, I would like to ask if you think me a suitable candidate to continue to represent us all in this most vital task of protecting the project from ourselves in our attempts to enlighten the world.

Yours,

James F. (talk) 22:07, 14 Nov 2004 (UTC)

[Addendum: Further to this, my statement of last year, I would like to note that the Committee's pace has slowed even more so towards the end of this year than that of the last, and I hope that, whether or not I am elected to remain on, that at least a good number of dedicated candidates are successful.]

[Updated: James F. (talk) 14:50, 11 October 2005 (UTC)]

Some questions being asked of all the candidates by jguk
''Q: How old are you and what do you do? (If student, please state what subjects you are studying.)''

A: I am 22 years old; I have just finished studying an MEng in Computer Science, and may well take up futher educational study, in Computer Science but possibly also in Law.

Q: How many hours a month do you think you will need to be a good Arbitrator and are you really willing to put in the time?

A: Currently I spend perhaps 20-30 hours a month or so on Arbitration duties, and I think that this is sufficient. I am happy to continue putting in said time.

''Q: If chosen, you will need to arbitrate on disputes arising from the creation or revision of articles. Experience of creating and revising articles yourself, particularly where it has involved collaboration, is very valuable in understanding the mindset of disputants who come to arbitration. With reference to your own edits in the main article namespace, please demonstrate why you think you have the right experience to be a good arbitrator.''

A: I'm not entirely sure that this is aimed at me; I think my actions speak for themselves. If my experience as an Arbitrator does not convince people that I am able to continue to do so, then I don't think they should in all conscience support me.

Q: Please list out what other Wikipedia usernames you have edited under.

A: None, beyond a few that I have created to prevent inappropriate posing as me and have edited merely to say that they are mine.

James F. (talk) 17:01, 20 October 2005 (UTC)

Question from Snowspinner
As a current arbitrator, you're particularly well-suited to know the current problems with the arbcom. In your mind, what is the biggest problem with the arbcom, and what what will you do differently if reelected to help fix it? Snowspinner 19:03, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

 * I think the biggest problem is finding people suitable for the role who are both able and willing to dedicate the required amount of time to helping out. There's not really much that can be done about that, though. :-(
 * James F. (talk) 17:01, 20 October 2005 (UTC)

Question from Sjakkalle
I'm a bit curious about this vote regarding a forced username change. I would like to again ask the question which followed your vote. Where is the community policy which you referred to? Also, did you think there was a consensus at that RFC to change the username away from "Trollderella"? Sjakkalle (Check!)  07:07, 19 October 2005 (UTC)

 * I do not think that the RfC had "consensus" of those who turned up to change the name. But this is irrelevent. Whether or not the RfC had consensus, there was outstanding unwritten policy (which, it should be pointed out, has evidently been rescinded, because there is no longer consensus support for it) behind the name change.
 * I am puzzled that you wish to "ask again", given that you never asked me a question in the first place. :-) I hope, however, that I have answered sufficiently for you.
 * James F. (talk) 17:01, 20 October 2005 (UTC)

Form question by Snowspinner
Being an arbitrator requires a finely tuned bullshit detector. What in your life has prepared you to detect bullshit with ease? Phil Sandifer 21:22, 27 November 2005 (UTC)

 * Difficult one. I suppose I've muddled through so far, and would continue to do so were I re-appointed. I do rather love politics, though, so... :-)
 * James F. (talk) 19:48, 4 December 2005 (UTC)

Form Question from karmafist
Many policies contradict and overlap with each other, and then WP:IAR makes things even more complicated while making them paradoxically more flexible. When two or more policies apply and conflict, what do you do? karmafist 18:40, 1 December 2005 (UTC)

 * That is a good question. Essentially, I have used my common sense combined with historical perspective of how and why our policies have come about, and so what purpose they are actually intended to serve in our community. I hope that that suffices.
 * James F. (talk) 19:48, 4 December 2005 (UTC)

Questions from User:-Ril-

 * The following questions are for each candidate, and do not specifically target you

''Do you hold any strong political or religious opinions (e.g. concerning George Bush, Islam, or on which end you should break a boiled egg)? If so, would you recuse yourself from cases centred on these?''

How willing are you to contest the decisions of other arbitrators rather than just "go with the flow"?

Do you view all requests to re-address cases, particularly requests made by those most penalised, as being automatically without merit?

''In the case against Yuber, it was decided by the arbitration committee that it is the duty of arbitrators to investigate, and rule on the behaviour of not only one party involved, but all of them. Do you support this decision? [if current arbitrator] Does your visible behaviour on recent cases reflect this decision?''

--Victim of signature fascism 16:45, 3 December 2005 (UTC)

 * In order:
 * Political and religious opinions
 * Yes, quite a few, but this is irrelvent to the work of an Arbitrator. Our job is to examine behaviour, not content, so personal opinions are not important. Of course, if someone ever managed to be so detestable to me that I would be unable to judge impartially (or, of course, if I were unable to be seen to be judging impartially), then I would recuse; I have not yet, in two years of serving on the Committee, had cause to do so, however.
 * What if the case involved behaviour by an editor which indicated they were (whether justifiably or not) acting in a manner strongly opposed to your political and religious opinions? Would you still refuse to recuse yourself, or would you do so?--Victim of signature fascism 19:16, 10 December 2005 (UTC)
 * Contesting other Arbitrators' thoughts
 * As can be seen publically, and to much the same extent privately (on the private mailing list and IRC channel), I probably object and/or discuss possible changes to more items than the other Arbitrators (though this is likely an artefact of working on more cases than many). I would continue this if re-appointed.
 * Requests for re-opening being without merit
 * Certainly not. We Arbitrators are human, and busy ones at that - it is absolutely imperative that we take the time to consider whether decisions we have made were in the project's best interests, and correct them if so.
 * Duty to investigate all users
 * Yes, I do stand by our decision, and again, yes, I feel that my actions in subsequent cases has reflected this (though see my above comment about flawed individuals).
 * James F. (talk) 19:48, 4 December 2005 (UTC)

 * Could you therefore explain why you considered the case against me to be closed with all matters dealt with, when only a few days previously this very question had been raised and you failed to answer it, or indeed question in any way the editors opposing me that I had highlighted as having dubious behaviour leading to the conflict? --Victim of signature fascism 19:16, 10 December 2005 (UTC)

 * I'm sorry, what? I agreed with your leading sub-text question that not "all requests to re-address cases [...] are [...] without merit". I didn't agree that all requests to re-address cases are not without merit, however. They are rather different propositions.
 * James F. (talk) 23:01, 17 December 2005 (UTC)
 * The point I am referring to is "duty to investigate all users" where you reply that you agree that there is one, and that your actions in subsequent cases reflect this. Therefore, if your actions reflect this in subsequent cases, could you explain why you closed the case against me without (a) responding to the very same point that I made in the workshop (b) appearing to have investigated any user other than me. --Victim of signature fascism 01:36, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Question from Marsden
Many people have noted that Wikipedia's original communitarian structure is no longer functioning very well. One editor has suggested that ArbCom is "about getting the trains to run on time," which is a reference to a fulfulled promise of Mussolini's fascist government. Do you agree that Wikipedia needs to become more orderly, and if so, do you think there are any options other than a move toward a more centrally controlled authoritarian system? Do you think that the spirit of cooperation in Wikipedia would survive such a change? Marsden 15:56, 6 December 2005 (UTC)

 * In order:
 * Does the Wikipedia community need to become more orderly?
 * Not particularly.
 * Can the Wikipedia community become more orderly without a central system?
 * Probably not, indeed, but... see above.
 * Would Wikipedia's spirit survive such a change?
 * Possibly. No, actually, almost certainly. The "spirit" is about working together to make something better for the world. If people can't do that because the feel the need to "stick it to the man" or whatever other clap-trap and nonsense, it may not necessarily be in Wikipedia's best interests (if it is felt that such "ordering" is required) for them to remain therewithin. But, again, I'm not entirely convinced, shall we say, that this is in fact the case.
 * I hope this helps you.
 * James F. (talk) 23:06, 17 December 2005 (UTC)

Question from Ted Wilkes
Do you support the creation of a Arbitration Committee Code of Conduct as I have just now suggested at User talk:Jimbo Wales? - Ted Wilkes 18:36, 10 December 2005 (UTC)

 * As I said on my talk page to you when you asked this question of me, I consider it unnecessary instruction creep, and feel that it goes nothing like far enough in what I hold as expectations of the behaviour of members of the Committee.
 * James F. (talk) 23:09, 17 December 2005 (UTC)

Questions to many candidates by PurplePlatypus

 * 1) How do you view the role (and relative importance) of WP:Civility in the process of building a factually accurate encyclopedia? How do you view editors who are normally correct in article namespace, but who may be perceived as rude – including to longtime, popular editors and admins – on Talk pages and the like?
 * 2) Do you have an academic background of any kind, and if so, in what field? How do you handle critiques from your peers and professors (assuming those aren’t one and the same), which may be sharply worded or otherwise skirt the edges of WP:Civility even if they are correct? Considering those professors who have recently had you as a student, what would they tell me if I asked them the same question about you?
 * 3) What are your views on the proposed policy Arbitration Committee Code of Conduct? Whether you think it should be a formal policy or not, do you believe you would generally act in accordance with it? What aspects of it do you think should not be there, or to put it another way, are there any proposals there which you can think of good reasons to ignore on a regular basis? (Please date any replies to this question as the proposal may well change over time.)

PurplePlatypus 09:18, 20 December 2005 (UTC)

 * Civility is absolutely vital to the creation of community - it is the basis by which we can collaborate rather than merely argue, to create instead of destroy. It underpins every element of communication on Wikipedia. It cannot be overstated. And yes, this does ultimately mean that we will value the well-mannered over the 'expert'. Rudeness must be strongly discouraged at all times (though there are levels of it; mild curtness is not brilliant behaviour, but certainly isn't grounds for permanent banning :-)).
 * Academically, I have just finished an undergraduate degree (MEng) in Computer Science. I am considering doing another degree, perhaps more. My parents are heavily involved in national and international education policy, and my uncle is an Oxbridge don. I suppose that that doesn't exactly count as an "academic background", but... Criticism, when constructive and not merely divisve, is of course always welcome to me - the lengthy road to perfection, which perhaps we can all say we seek to travel, is a narrow one, and any help towards that is absolutely great and, I would like to think, well-received. As to whether my betters would say the same of me, that's not really something I could judge; sorry.
 * As I have said before, at length, the proposed "code of conduct" is inappropriate, as it both sets the bar far too lowly in places, and also removes the ability of the system to react flexibly, as well as being inappropriate or just plain daft in others. In particular, it is written in a highly wannabe-legalistic manner, and is apt only for those who wish to "wiki-lawyer" their way out of the disrepute they so often manage to find themselves in. Certainly, yes, I do not think that it should be formally expressed as a written policy document. In terms of particular issues with the document, suggesting that Arbitrator may not "present evidence to the case themselves" - where, exactly, are CheckUser findings meant to come from, then? - nor point out to interested parties that a case is going on are notable issues that I managed to find with just a cursory glance at the current version of one section alone.
 * James F. (talk) 22:18, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

Support Wikipedia:User Bill of Rights?
Do you support User Bill of Rights? (SEWilco 05:36, 21 December 2005 (UTC))

 * In it's current form (22:21, 8 January 2006 (UTC)) there's nothing to "support"; they are statements of fact. In its earlier forms it was yet another pointless attempt to try to codify the uncodifiable.
 * James F. (talk) 22:21, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

Questions being asked by Titoxd to all candidates
Tito xd (?!? - help us) 06:43, 24 December 2005 (UTC)
 * How much of your Wikipedia time do you plan to spend on ArbCom business?
 * If you were elected and had to spend most of your time in ArbCom delibations, which projects would you consider to be the most negatively affected by your absence?
 * To what extent would those projects be affected?

 * I currently spend pretty much all of my Wikipedia (as opposed to Wikimedia) time on Arbitration business, though I include in that keeping up with policy changes and current events inside the bubble. I would envisage this continuing were I to be re-appointed by Jimbo following this election proceedure.
 * As to projects, well, it's been over two years since I've not been an Arbitrator; I don't think there are any projects left (-)) that need my attention over anyone else's; I am, after all, merely a small cog in a very great machine.
 * James F. (talk) 22:24, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

Neutrality question and Censuring questions from -Ril-
(Being asked of all candidates)

Do you believe that regardless of Jimbo Wales' own views on the matter, the community should be able to strip arbitrators of their position under certain circumstances, and if so, what circumstances?

As a corollory:Do you believe, regardless of Jimbo Wales' view on the matter, that a large number of signatories (e.g. 150 requesting censure against 50 supporting the arbitrator) to an RFC against an arbitrator is enough that the arbitrator should be judged as having been rejected by the community in light of their actions, and consequently for them to be forcibly stripped of their post?

''wikipedia has a policy of NPOV. Excepting straw men, have you ever introduced a substantial opinion or fact that contradicts your own political or religious viewpoint into an article on a topic of which you have strong opinions, and if you have, how frequently do you do so compared to your other substatial edits to articles?''

--Victim of signature fascism 01:33, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Recusal, Code of Conduct, Expansion
I am asking these questions of all candidates:

1. Do you pledge to abide by the proposed recusal guidelines at Arbitration Committee Code of Conduct?

2. Are there any parts of Arbitration Committee Code of Conduct that you do not agree with? If so, please describe in detail how you would improve them.

3. Will you please pledge to support expanding the number of seats on the Arbitration Committee? If not, how would you propose alleviating the present arbitration backlog?

4. Have you voted over at Arbitration Committee Elections January 2006/Proposed modifications to rules? If not, why not? If so, please summarize your votes.

Thank you for your kind consideration of and answers to these questions. —James S. 06:33, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Form question from Simetrical
What's your opinion on desysopping as an ArbCom penalty? —Simetrical (talk • contribs) 01:51, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

 * De-sysoping is a preventative measure that the Committee can and does use as it sees fit. My personal opinion of de-sysoping is perhaps a little complicated: that being a sysop is "no big thing" creates an asymetric relation with its removal - if it's no major point to be sufficiently trusted to have the delete and block privs, then to be actively disbarred from having them is a major wrist-slapping exercise on the soon-to-be-former sysop. As such, I consider it a significant move, but certainly not an unimaginable one - as seen by my voting in favour of such application before.
 * I do not agree with some of my colleagues on the Committee who suggest that sysop and editor actions are wholly distinct, and specific abuse of the former, regardless of the actions within the scope of the later, is necessary before de-sysoping can be justified. For example, were a sysop to go around violting NPA and AGF all the time, and genereally being a nuisance, and doing so despite repeated requests for them to cease such behaviour, then de-sysoping could well be appropriate (having lost the support and trust of the community to continue to carry out one's functions as a syop), despite (quite possibly) never having actually used the particular powers thereso entrusted.
 * James F. (talk) 11:31, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Question from AndriyK
I liked very much your statement. Especially the following
 * "I strongly believe that the Committee's real purpose is to prevent further damage to the project by taking measures as we see fit, not to mete out some form of 'justice' as punishment of those deemed to have done wrong. Where I have considered banning people, it is not because I think that they "deserve" it in some way, but more that I regretfully doubt that their continued presence is not damaging to the project."

On the other hand, you voted for banning me for one month "for creating irreversible page moves". Putting aside the question whether and how much the "irreversible page moves" disrupt Wikipedia, I promiced do not do it anymore. How and in which way the one-month-ban would "prevent further damage to the project"? Would not just saying "Do not do it any more!" do the same job? Is there no contradiction between your statement and your vote?--AndriyK 17:05, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

 * It would be inappropriate for me as an Arbitrator to publically comment on on-going cases, and I won't insult you by commenting in generis when you have asked me a specific question.
 * James F. (talk) 11:12, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

 * Commenting in generis is OK with me. It will not  insult me.
 * I wonder, how much your vote in a specific case can be far from your general statements.;)--AndriyK 12:09, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Concerns over personal attack templates
User:Improv, who is also a candidate for the arbitration committee, has placed the following statement on Village pump (policy):

 * I am concerned about |recent templates surviving AfD that appear to contrast with established policy. In particular, I feel that these templates are Poisoning the well when it comes for how we treat our fellow wikipedians. There are circumstances where knowing too much about one's neighbours politicises how one deals with them. This is, to an extent, unavoidable in society, but wearing signs of hate as badges on our shoulders takes what is a small problem that we can usually deal with into the realm of being damaging to the community. Already, there have been signs of people refusing to help each other because they are on different ends of a political spectrum -- this seems likely to get worse if this trend continues. Some people cry that this is an attack on their first amendment rights (if they're American, anyhow), but that doesn't apply here because Wikipedia is not the U.S. government -- it is a community that has always self-regulated, and more importantly it is an encyclopedia with a goal of producing encyclopedic content. We have a tradition of respecting a certain amount of autonomy on userpages, but never absolute autonomy. We might imagine, for example, templates with little swastikas saying "this user hates jews". I am not saying that such a thing would be morally equivalent to this template against scientology, but rather that we should aim to minimise that aspect of ourselves, at least on Wikipedia, so we can make a better encyclopedia. The spirit of NPOV does not mean that we cannot have strong views and still be wikipedians, but rather that we should not wear signs of our views like badges, strive not to have our views be immediately obvious in what we edit and how we argue, and fully express ourselves in other places (Myspace? Personal webpage?) where it is more appropriate and less divisive.

I am inviting all candidates, including Improv, to expand on this theme on their questions pages. Do you agree that this is a cause for concern as we move into 2006? How do you see the role of the arbitration committee in interpreting the interpretation of Wikipedia policy in the light of this concern? --Tony Sidaway|Talk 20:41, 12 January 2006 (UTC)


text:
Dragan Vasiljković

Dragan Vasiljković (Драган Васиљковић; born 12 December 1954), nicknamed Captain Dragan (Капетан Драган) is a convicted war criminal and former commander of a Serb paramilitary unit called the Kninjas during the Yugoslav Wars. In 2005, prosecutors in Croatia accused him of committing war crimes during the wars. A warrant for his arrest was subsequently issued by Interpol.

He was arrested in Australia in January 2006, and ordered to prison by the High Court of Australia in anticipation for extradition to Croatia to face prosecution for his alleged crimes. He was extradited to Croatia on 8 July 2015 after losing his thirteenth appeal and sentenced to 15 years in prison on 26 September 2017 by the County Court in the city of Split. Dragan was released from prison in March 2020 after serving his sentence.

Early life
Dragan Vasiljković was born on 12 December 1954 in a Serbian Orthodox family in Belgrade. His father Živorad died in a motorcycle accident while Dragan was still young. At the age of 3, his mother moved to Australia with her two children from a previous marriage, and Vasiljković ended up in an orphanage and later a foster home. At the age of thirteen he joined his mother and two siblings in Australia under the name Daniel Snedden.

As a juvenile, he ended up in trouble with the law several times. He was accused of robbery and selling stolen goods and later was charged with forcing women into prostitution. At the suggestion of a judge, he joined the army. He spent 4 years in the Australian Army's reserve unit 4th/19th Prince of Wales's Light Horse. After his military service, he served as a weapons instructor in Africa and South America. He was sailing around the world and stayed in Serbia in 1988 where he set up a boat and airplane charter business. He was convicted of criminal charges in relation to brothel ownership in Elsternwick, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia during the 1980s. He also worked as a golf instructor in Australia.

War in Croatia
He returned to Belgrade in May 1990, as Croatia held its first parliamentary elections. In Belgrade, Vasiljković met Saša Medaković, one of the leaders of the barricades in Krajina following the Log Revolution in August.

Medaković was a friend of Knin chief of police Milan Martić, and was an employee of Krajina state security. Vasiljković visited Krajina in the autumn 1990. There, he met Martić and claimed that the defence of Krajina appeared "very disorganised". He thus decided to help organise the Krajina defence. On his return to Belgrade, he attempted to gather support for his effort, and became a member of the opposition Serbian Renewal Movement. He then returned to the United States to complete his aviator training.

During the March 1991 Belgrade upheaval when the Serbian Renewal Movement's challenge to the government was met with tanks in the streets, Vasiljković was compelled to return there. Srba Milovanov introduced him to several Serbian State Security personnel, among them Franko Simatović. Simatović told him of his Krajina-related activities that if his bosses were to learn about it, he would probably be arrested and dismissed. On 4 April, Vasiljković went to Krajina to work for Martić. On 25 June 1991, Croatia proclaimed its independence; soon after, war broke out in Croatia. He served during the Croatian War of Independence under the newly created Republic of Serbian Krajina as a volunteer. International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia prosecutors claim that this service took place under Serbian police auspices, and media even reported that he claimed this during his testimony at the trial of Slobodan Milošević in 2003.

He commanded special units known as Red Berets. He trained units at Krajina's Golubić training camp for which he was allegedly paid by the State Security Service of Serbia; he denied this at the Milosevic trial, despite his role as a prosecution witness. He added that the only time that the Serbian State Security paid him was for a 28-day stint in 1997 "to monitor exercises"; his fee was 2,200 dinars. He was allied with Interior Minister Milan Martić in his power struggle with president Milan Babić, whom he described as "dishonest, a man who was not of his word." Martić, in contrast, he considered to be "a man of honour and a man of his word."

In November 1991, Babić called Vojislav Šešelj to Knin to help him thwart what he believed to be a coup attempt being planned by Vasiljković himself. According to Šešelj, "Captain Dragan interfered and started a rebellion among the army ranks", and organised a rally of military personnel. The rally, Šešelj said, proved a failure and Babic remained in power. Šešelj also testified at the Milosevic trial that Vasiljković had a training camp in Golubic. During the war, he founded the Kapetan Dragan Fund aimed at helping victims of war.

Life in Serbia
After the end of combat in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Vasiljković returned to Serbia where he lived for several years. Vasiljković was involved in the Serbian Renewal Movement. He maintained his friendship with Franko Simatović, and in 2001 stated that he would defend him in court if necessary. Simatović was arrested during by the Serbian Police and transferred to the ICTY in 2003. Vasiljković reemerged in the spotlight after he testified against Slobodan Milošević in 2004 at the ICTY, and subsequently moved back to Perth, Western Australia.

Allegation
In September 2005, an article in The Australian newspaper accused Vasiljković of war crimes as a Serbian paramilitary commander between 1991 and 1994. Vasiljković made a short return to Serbia and held a press conference in Belgrade before returning to Australia. He lodged a public defamation case against the publishing company Nationwide News for the article, but in December 2009 the court ruled against Vasiljković, and ordered him to pay them $1.2 million.

Vasiljković was arrested on the basis of a Croatian warrant in January. He is accused by the Republic of Croatia of being responsible for soldiers under his command allegedly torturing, beating and killing captured members of Croatian Army and Police between June and July 1991 in a prison on the fortress in Knin, and also for making plans to attack and take over the Glina Police station, a near city village Jukince and the villages Gornji and Donji Viduševac in February 1993 at Benkovac in agreement with the commander of the tank unit JNA. It is alleged that during that, in violation of the Geneva convention, civil buildings were damaged and ruined, Croatian citizens' property was robbed and civilians were wounded and killed, including a German journalist, Egon Scotland. Those accusations were made public after the newspaper The Australian reported a story about him.

Vasiljković gave evidence during Milosević's trial at the Hague in 2003 without immunity. The ICTY named Vasiljković as a "participant in a joint criminal enterprise" against Croats and other non-Serbs in the judgement against Martić, but did not request his arrest. All of the others named are either already on trial at the Hague or at large. In 2005, ICTY spokesperson Florence Hartmann announced that Vasiljković had been under investigation, but that it had stopped due to the mandate on the tribunal to finish its work. Dragan subsequently sued The Australian for defamation. In July 2007, the Supreme Court held that 6 out of 10 imputations in that article were defamatory. However, in December 2009, a judge ruled that Vasiljković "committed torture and rape" and that The Australian article from 2005 proved that Vasiljković participated and committed the allegations against him.

Extradition hearing in Australia
In December 2006, Vasiljković's bid to prevent his extradition hearing from going ahead failed in the Sydney Magistrates Court. His grounds of defense were that as a Serbian Captain, he believed that he would be facing a biased Croatian Court and that no evidence of the allegations are required under the Extradition Act 1988, for an Australian citizen to be extradited.

On 12 April 2007, authorities in Sydney granted Croatia's extradition request, with Vasiljković being held pending appeal at Parklea Correctional Centre in its maximum security section on protection. By April 2007, the Serbian community of Australia had spent over $500,000 on Vasiljković's defence. An application for bail pending an appeal to the Federal Court of Australia was dismissed.

On 3 February 2009, Vasiljković appeal against extradition to Croatia was rejected by the Federal Court. , Among those coming to the defence of Vasiljković was the Serbian Orthodox bishop of Australia and New Zealand, Irinej Dobrijević. On 2 September 2009, Federal Court of Australia ruled that "there was a substantial or real chance of prejudice" if he was extradited to Croatia, ordering release, pending appeal. He subsequently walked free from Parklea prison in Sydney's west on 4 September 2009. The Australian government appealed the ruling, and in March 2010, the High Court of Australia overturned the Federal Court decision and ruled that Vasiljković should be extradited to Croatia. After the ruling, Vasiljković was nowhere to be found, prompting the Australian Federal Police to launch a nationwide manhunt.

Final arrest and appeals
Vasiljković was captured by federal police in New South Wales on 12 May 2010, 43 days after his disappearance. On 19 May, the Australian Court rejected Vasiljković's defence that Croatian courts would not give him a fair trial and that claims that Croatian courts had been more lenient towards Croats were "scanty" and "feeble".

On 16 November 2012, the Australian Government decided to extradite Vasiljković to Croatia. Vasiljković challenged the decision to the Federal Court but was unsuccessful. Vasiljković appealed to the Full Court of the Federal Court, but on 12 December 2014 the Full Court rejected the appeal, clearing him for extradition to Croatia. On 15 May 2015, the High Court of Australia refused Vasiljković leave to appeal the December 2014 Federal Court ruling due to the unlikelihood of a successful outcome for him. Following this decision, he had no remaining legal avenue to challenge his extradition.

Extradition
On the morning of 8 July 2015, Australia surrendered Vasiljković to Croatian police officers at Sydney Airport, his thirteen separate legal challenges against the extradition process having failed. Upon arrival at Zagreb International Airport the following day, he was transferred by a high-security police motorcade to an isolated wing of a jail in Split.

Trial in Croatia
At his first interview with prosecutors, he stated that he did not feel guilty of the war crimes that they allege he committed, and dismissed his state-appointed attorney. In July 2016, he entered a formal plea of not guilty to unspecified war crimes, and the trial commenced on 20 September 2016. In September 2017, Vasiljković received a 15-year sentence by the Croatian court in Split. Upon completion of his sentence, which included the time spent in detention in Australia, he was released from prison on 28 March 2020.

title: Dragan Vasiljković


text:
US Grosseto 1912

Unione Sportiva Grosseto 1912 is an Italian association football club, based in the city of Grosseto, Tuscany. The club was founded in 1912 as Unione Ginnico Sportiva Grossetana. The team's most associated nickname is grifone, after its logo, depicting a griffon. Its colours are red and white, and it currently plays in Serie D, the fourth level of Italian football.

The club's most recent success consists of 6 consecutive participations in Serie B between 2007 and 2013, notably reaching the play-off semifinals in 2008-09. It was most recently refounded in 2017.

History
The club was founded in 1912 as Football Club Grosseto, and made its debut in a match played and lost in Orbetello. The club joined the Italian Football Federation only nine years later, in 1921, being admitted in the Promozione division. In 1927, the club changes its official colours from black/white to the current white/red. Since its foundation, Grosseto played extensively from Serie C to the amateur leagues. In 1995 the club was cancelled by the football federation because of financial troubles, thus losing the right to participate in the Serie C2 after having won Serie D the same year. Following these events, Grosseto joined Eccellenza, ending it in fifteenth place being therefore relegated to Promozione. However, two consecutive promotions from 1997 to 1999 brought Grosseto back to Serie D.

The Camilli Era (2000-2015)
In 2000, Piero Camilli purchased the club with the aim to bring Grosseto back into the pros. In the 2001–2002 season, Grosseto ended as Serie D (Round F) runners-up but were later admitted to Serie C2 to fill a league vacancy. The club successively won Serie C2 in 2004, being thus promoted to Serie C1. In 2005, Grosseto qualified for the promotion playoffs, losing the semifinal to Pavia; one year later, Grosseto gained again a spot in the playoffs, where they defeated Sassari Torres in the semi-finals, but lost to Frosinone in the finals, missing the opportunity to be promoted to Serie B for its first time in history. However, in the 2006–2007 season, under head coach Antonello Cuccureddu, who replaced Massimiliano Allegri after the ninth matchday, Grosseto finally managed to win Serie C1/A following a 1–0 away win at Padova in the final matchday with a goal by Carl Valeri, thus gaining a historical spot in the Serie B 2007-08. Cuccureddu left Grosseto by mutual consent with the club a few days following the triumphal win, and Giorgio Roselli was appointed to replace him for the 2007–08 Serie B club campaign.

The club started their historical first Serie B campaign with three disappointing consecutive defeats which led, on 11 September 2007, to the dismissal of Roselli and his replacement with former Parma boss Stefano Pioli, who led the team to a mid-table finish.

The 2008–09 season started with higher expectations under new head coach Elio Gustinetti; the team started its season showing a very impressive form, but then a result crisis led Grosseto out of the promotion playoff zone, causing the dismissal of Gustinetti and his replacement with Ezio Rossi. The subsequent return of Gustinetti led the team to finish in 6th place and Grosseto acceded to the play-off. The maremmani won the first match against Livorno (2–0), but they lost the second match being surpassed by the rivals (1–4), in a scandal game where Grosseto finished with 7 players and failed the promotion to Serie A.

The 2009–10 season was a relatively good season for the club, which finished in 7th place only a few points off the play-off zone. It was still a memorable season for Grosseto, thanks to their top striker Mauricio Pinilla who scored 24 goals in 24 matches and was transferred to US Palermo, in the Serie A, during the 2010 summer transfer market.

On 10 August 2012, Grosseto was provisionally, not yet enforceable, relegated, by the Disciplinary Commission set up for Scommessopoli scandal investigations, to Lega Pro Prima Divisione because of their involvement in the Scommessopoli scandal. Furthermore, the president of Grosseto has been suspended from all football activities for five years. But on 22 August 2012, Grosseto and its president are absolved by the Court of justice, eliminating the verdict of the first instance and so readmitted to Serie B.

The club suffered relegation at the end of the 2012-13 season, bringing 6 consecutive years in Serie B to an end. This was followed by two years of competing in the third division of Italian football. In the summer of 2015, owner Piero Camilli ended his 15-year tenure at the club.

FC Grosseto (2015-2017)
A new club, F.C. Grosseto S.S.D. successfully applied as a successor on 6 August 2015. However, the club folded after a relegation to Eccellenza Tuscany in 2017.

Ceri ownership: the return of US Grosseto 1912
On 18 July 2017, local entrepreneurs Mario and Simone Ceri, owners of Associazione Calcio Roselle (a local football club from the city suburb of Roselle) competing in Eccellenza Toscana, came on the scene. Following an agreement with former owner Piero Camilli and leveraging the league status, Ceri renamed the club to Associazione Sportiva Dilettantistica Unione Sportiva Grosseto 1912, thus inheriting the sporting tradition of the city.

The 2017–18 season ended with a third place in Eccellenza Tuscany, followed by a first place and promotion to Serie D the following season. The 2019–20 season marked the return of the club to the fourth level of Italian football and a second consecutive promotion to the Serie C for the 2020–2021 season.

Lamioni ownership: 2022...
In November 2022, famous local entrepreneur Giovanni Lamioni bought the franchise from previous owner Salvatore Guida. Lamioni gave the presidency role to Antonio Fiorini and called back Filippo Vetrini for the general sporting director place. The city welcomed the negotiation very positively and regained a vanished enthusiasm for the disappointing results of the previous season. Lamioni has announced that he will set up a team that will compete to return to Serie C in 2023–24.

Achievements

 * Serie C1
 * Winners (1): 2006–07
 * Supercoppa di Lega Serie C1
 * Winners (1): 2007
 * Serie C2
 * Winners (1): 2003–04
 * Serie D
 * Winners (4): 1960–61, 1972–73, 1994–95, 2019-20
 * Runners-up (1): 2001–02
 * Eccellenza Tuscany
 * Runners-up (1): 1997–98
 * Winners (1): 2018-2019
 * Promozione Tuscany
 * Winners (1): 1996–97

title: US Grosseto 1912


text:
The Sea (novel)

The Sea is a 2005 novel by John Banville. His fourteenth novel, it won the 2005 Booker Prize.

Plot summary
The story is told by Max Morden, a self-aware, retired art historian attempting to reconcile himself to the deaths of those he loved as a child and as an adult.

The novel is written as a reflective journal; the setting always in flux, wholly dependent upon the topic or theme Max feels inclined to write about. Despite the constant fluctuations, Max returns to three settings: his childhood memories of the Graces—a wealthy middle-class family living in a rented cottage home, the "Cedars"—during the summer holidays; the months leading up to the death of his wife, Anna; and his present stay at the Cedars cottage home in Ballyless—where he has retreated since Anna's death. These three settings are heavily diced and jumbled together for the novel's entire duration.

Max's final days with Anna were awkward; Max does not know how to act with his soon-to-be-dead wife. Scenes of Anna's dying days are more full of commentary than with actual details, as are most of the novel's settings. It's through these commentaries that we learn of Max's choice to return to the cottage of his childhood memories (after Anna's death), confirming that a room would be available for residence during a visit with his adult daughter, Claire.

We learn of the Cedars' current house-maid, Miss Vavasour, and her other tenant: a retired army Colonel, often described as a background character (even during his important role in the denouement). The Colonel is also seen, at the beginning of Max's stay, to have a crush on Miss Vavasour; Max suspects Miss Vavasour had entertained the Colonel's slight infatuation prior to Max's own arrival.

Despite the actual present day setting of the novel (everything is written by Max, after Anna's death, while he stays in the Cedars' house), the underlying motivation to Max's redaction of memories, the single setting which ties the novel together, are Max's childhood memories. With Max's unreliable, unorganised and omitted iteration of events, we gradually learn the names of the Graces: Chloe, the wild daughter; Myles, the mute brother; Connie, the mother; Carlo, the father; and finally the twins' nursemaid, Rose. After brief encounters, and fruitless moments of curiosity, Max becomes infatuated with Connie Grace upon first sight; seeing her lounging at the beach launches him to acquaint Chloe and Myles in, what Max stipulates to have been a conscious effort to get inside the Cedars, hence, closer to Mrs. Grace. He succeeds. Later, Max recounts being invited on a picnic—for what reasons or what specific time during the summer is never explicitly stated—where Max, in awe, catches an unkempt glance at her pelvic area. This day of "illicit invitation" climaxes when Max is pulled to the ground, and snuggled closely with Connie and Rose in a game of hide-and-seek.

The latter half of his summer memories (the relation of Max's memories in the second part of the novel), however, revolve around Max's awkward relationship with Chloe: a girl with a disabled personality and blunt demeanor whom Max describes as one who "[does] not play, on her own or otherwise". Chloe is shown as a volatile character: flagrantly kissing Max in a Cinema, rough-housing with her brother Myles, and what was hinted as hypersexuality earlier, is quite possibly confirmed as hypersexuality in the book's final moments.

We soon learn that Chloe and Myles like to tease Rose, who is young and timid enough to feel bullied. Max, another day, climbs a tree in the yard of the Cedars' house, and soon spots Rose crying not too far from him. Mrs. Grace soon emerges, comforting Rose. Max overhears (rather, Max remembers overhearing) key words from their conversation: "love him" and "Mr. Grace". Assuming this to mean Rose and Mr. Grace are having an affair, he tells Chloe and Myles. The ending of the book entwines the exact moment of Anna's death with Chloe and Myles drowning in the sea itself as Max and Rose look on. Max, done with his childhood memories, offers a final memory of a near-death episode while he was inebriated. The Colonel does not physically save Max, rather finds him knocked unconscious by a rock (from a drunken stumble). His daughter scolds him at the hospital, assumingly being told he nearly killed himself, and tells him to come home with her. It is revealed at this point that Miss Vavasour is Rose herself and she was in love with Mrs. Grace. Max finishes with a redaction of himself standing in the sea after Anna's death (an allegory is made between crashing waves and tumultuous periods of his life). We are to assume that he will leave the Cedars' home to be cared for by his daughter, Claire.

Development
Banville described the book as "a direct return to my childhood, to when I was ten or so. The book is set in a fictionalized Rosslare, the seaside village where we went every summer as children. Looking back now it seems idyllic, though I'm sure ninety-five percent of the experience was absolute, grinding boredom". The book also began in the third person—"Shroud was the latest in a series of novels of mine in the first person, all of them about men in trouble. I knew I had to find a new direction. So I started to write The Sea in the third person. It was going to be very short, seventy pages or so, and solely about childhood holidays at the seaside—very bare. I worked on it for about eighteen months, but I couldn't get it to work. And then, out of nowhere, the first-person narrative voice made itself heard again." The Sea was completed in September 2004.

Critical Reception
The book received generally positive among critics. On Metacritic, the book received a 73 out of 100 based on 25 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

The poet Michael Longley expressed admiration for The Sea, and described Banville as "a wonderful writer". During an interview conducted several years after the death of his friend Seamus Heaney, Longley recalled: "I remember Seamus saying when The Sea came out, he said to me, 'Isn't it wonderful to be part of a culture that produces prose as good as that?' I told Banville what Heaney had said. Do you know what Banville said to me? 'Did he really say that? Did he?!'" Longley munched upon a biscuit, and added: "We're all like schoolboys, really".

Awards and Lists
The book continued to receive acclaim among many critics lists after and during its time of release. According to The Greatest Books, a site that aggregates book lists, it is "The 2813th greatest book of all time".

Awards and nominations
The novel won the Booker Prize for 2005. The selection of The Sea for the Booker Prize was a satisfying victory for Banville, as his novel The Book of Evidence was shortlisted in 1989 but lost to The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro. Ishiguro was again on the shortlist in 2005 with his novel Never Let Me Go. In fact, it was reported in The Times that they had whittled the shortlist down to those two novels and it was only the chair John Sutherland's casting vote that decided the winner. The choice of Banville as winner of the award was not seen as a populist choice, causing Banville to ponder: "If they give me the bloody prize, why can't they say nice things about me?" Banville's surprise win was described by Boyd Tonkin as "possibly the most perverse decision in the history of the award", though others defended the choice, citing the lyrical, stylistic prose as making the book worthy of the award.

In his acceptance speech Banville expressed his pleasure at a work of art winning the prize, a statement that led to him being accused of arrogance. He later explained, "Whether The Sea is a successful work of art is not for me to say, but a work of art is what I set out to make. The kind of novels that I write very rarely win the Man Booker Prize [as it was then referred to], which in general promotes good, middlebrow fiction."

Rick Gekoski, one of the Booker judges who argued for The Sea, later wrote in its defence: "'It is a work of art, in the tradition of high modernism, and I'll bet it will still be read and admired in 75 years".

Adaptations
A film adaptation has been shot, with Banville having penned the script. It is directed by Stephen Brown and stars Ciarán Hinds (Max Morden), Rufus Sewell (Carlo Grace), Charlotte Rampling (Miss Vavasour), and Natascha McElhone (Connie Grace). It is produced by Luc Roeg and scored by Andrew Hewitt, with cinematography by John Conroy.

title: The Sea (novel)


text:
Glencullen, County Mayo

Glencullen or Glencullin is a rural area which spans two townlands in the parish of Kiltane in County Mayo, Ireland. It lies to the north of Bangor Erris, next to the parish of Kilcommon, Erris, and the Bangor to Kilcommon road runs through the area. The two constituent townlands, Glencullen Lower and Glencullen Upper, are located in an area of blanket bog and extend across approximately 2,125 acres and 2,780 acres respectively.

History
Glencullen (or Glencullin) Lower is not heavily populated, with just 12 residents as of the 2011 census. However, in the 19th century it contained about 40 houses within a 2 mi radius. In 1842, the road connecting Glencullen with Muingingaun was sanctioned and during the Public works for the Distress in 1847 the road from Glencullen to Bangor was laid, costing £150.

Glencullen (or Glencullin) Upper is a long, sheltered glen through which the Glencullen river flows down into Carrowmore Lake. At the top of the glen is Barnaglanna and Bouleyanlobane, usually called Buaile where in the past, "people from inside the Mullet came to graze their cattle in summer time".

Much of Glencullen was previously used as Buaile/booleying land. Glencullen was a meeting place of people from surrounding areas, and many Glencullen women married men from throughout Kilcommon parish.

A landslide disaster struck this townland on 22 February 1931 when Lough Boleynagee, a lake 516 ft above sea level and overlooking Glencullen Upper, slid down the hillside, pushing mountains of soft bog in front of it. The landslide came down the river carrying with it the Glencullen Bridge. Lough Bouleynagee, a well known resting and feeding place for overwintering brent geese, was drained of all its water and on its bottom lay little but dead trout.

Glencullen National School
The first mention of a hedge school in Glencullen was in 1826. Mary Shiels taught 22 pupils that year "in any available place" for a sum of £4 a year. The next mention of a school in Glencullen was in February 1862 when Friar Michael Munnelly applied for a teacher's salary and a supply of books for the newly built school, which was opened by him in November 1861. A few days after the request was made by Friar Michael Munnelly the school inspector, John Sweeney, reported: "There are 40 dwellings within half a mile of the school". This was enough to grant Friar Michael Munnelly the requested salary and books.

The building made of stone and mortar is thatched. The building is one big room of 34 ft by 18.5 ft and 6.5 ft high. It was never plastered in- nor outside. John Sweeney, the inspector, reported that the school's teacher was Thomas Mc Nulty (1843–?). Thomas Mc Nulty's teaching ability was poor according to records, but no better could be found. Further in the report John Sweeney mentions: "His (Thomas Mc Nulty) character is good and he governs the school well. His annual income is £4 by way of fees, some children are admitted by the teacher who cannot pay fees. There are no Protestants to be found within miles of the school. The people are farmers. They are poor. Of all the 37 pupils present today only 6 had been at school before. The school has been built about a quarter and a mile from any house along the roadside. The school will serve several villages. The district is populous. Unless the present school comes under the Board, many will be brought up without education, therefore I recommend the application. Owing to the untidy appearance of the place and the un-plastered state of the walls I recommend that the salary be granted on the condition that these defects be remedied before the 15th March." The School managed to fulfill these conditions and was accepted by the Board of Education. It was given Roll No. 8884. The total number of pupils on the roll in 1862 is listed 83, although average attendance was 22. Thomas McNulty received £17 a year for his efforts and local contribution to the school was £2.13.0. Glencullen's National School was furnished with 3 desks, 1 table, 1 writing desk, 1 book press and 1 blackboard. A few years later (probably 1865) the school was struck off the Roll. Friar Michael Munnelly managed to re-open the school in 1869 and this time it was given Roll no. 9803. The teacher from 1869 to 1874 was James Ruddy, an 18-year-old. For some unknown reason Roll no. 9803 was closed in 1874. After that, there is no mention again of Glencullen in the Board's records until 1887. In 1887 there is a grant of £185 for Glencullen for the building of a new school on the same site as the previous ones to accommodate 60 pupils. The new school gets Roll no. 13331 and is opened in 1888.

In 1902 the principal teacher, J. Collins, received an annual salary of £95.15.0. The total number of pupils on Roll no. 13331 for 1902 was 61, while average attendance was 37. Michael Henry is mentioned as a teacher here from 1909 to 1911. It was his first teacher's position. Michael Henry had attended St. Patrick's Training College in Drumcondra from 1907 to 1909. He received a salary of £72 per annum. Pupils had a slate with a white marking pencil, which they took home with them.

From 1903 to 1909 evening classes were taught. The class consisted of 22 men over 18 years that had to study two subjects. The annual teacher's grant for the evening class was £14.5.0. At the evening classes newspapers were read and discussed and letters were written to distant relatives.

The schoolhouse is now a holiday home.

title: Glencullen, County Mayo