Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Recursiveness

2013-02-26T08:28:29Z

DMorrow:

'''Recursiveness''' is the quality of being defined in terms which include the whole. For example, in symbolic logic a well-formed formula (WFF) can be either:
#a predicate
#the negation of a WFF
#the combination of two WFF's with a binary operator

The LISP programming language uses a recursive data structure.

A fascination with recursive definitions in the software development community ([[free software]] in particular) led to the invention of several recursive acronyms:
*[[PHP]] (originally Personal Home Page) => PHP Hypertext Pre-processor
*[[GNU]] (GNU's Not Unix)
*[[WINE]] (Wine Is Not an Emulator)

==See also==

*[[Fractal]]
[[category:logic]]

Metric system

2013-02-10T08:02:34Z

DMorrow:

The [[metric system]] is a system of measurement developed during the [[French Revolution's]] anti-religious [[The Cult of Reason|Cult of Reason]]<ref>However, according to researcher Pat Norton, the system was described a century earlier by Englishman John Wilkins. [http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/07/15/1978802.htm Australian Broadcasting Corporation], 15 July 2007 (retrieved 15 July 2007.)</ref> and based on permanent natural standards rather than on royal decrees. [[Joseph-Louis Lagrange]] headed the Revolutionary weights-and-measures committee that developed it and set its initial definitions.

Traditional systems of measurement all used standard lengths of parts of the human body, or standard distances that a human might walk. The metric system, by contrast, initially used the [[Earth]] itself as the ultimate standard.

In 1878 the [[United States]] signed the treaty called the ''Convention du Mètre.'' Since then, ''both'' the metric system and the [[United States customary units]] (miles, inches, pounds, etc.) have had legal status in the US. US Customary units are in fact defined by reference to metric units; that is, legally, an inch is ''defined'' to be exactly 25.4 millimeters.

In international scientific usage, the ''Convention du Mètre'' is superseded by the conventions of the [[International System of Units]]. However, many of the conventions of the metric system survive, including definitions of units that are not, strictly speaking, SI.

== Definitions ==
All measurement systems must start with one basic unit. For the metric system, this unit is the ''meter''. Every other named unit of the metric system had a definition that depended upon it.

=== Prefixes ===
All base units of the metric system have ''prefixes'' that multiply, or divide, the unit by various factors of ten (or alternatively, a thousand). They are:<ref>Wile, Dr. Jay L. ''Exploring Creation With Chemistry''. Apologia Educational Ministries, Inc. 1998</ref><ref>[http://lamar.colostate.edu/~hillger/common.html Common metric prefixes]</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! The prefix:
! Abbreviated:
! Multiplies the unit by:
|-
| atto-
| a
| 10-18
|-
| femto-
| f
| 10-15
|-
| pico-
| p
| 10-12
|-
| nano-
| n
| 10-9
|-
| micro- ([[Greek language|Greek]] ''small'')
| μ
| 10-6
|-
| milli- ([[Latin]] ''one thousand'')
| m
| 10-3
|-
| centi- (Latin ''one hundred'')
| c
| 10-2
|-
| deci- (Latin ''ten'')
| d
| 10-1
|-
| deka- (Greek ''ten'')
| da
| 101
|-
| hecto- (Greek ''one hundred'')
| H
| 102
|-
| kilo- (Greek ''one thousand'')
| k
| 103
|-
| mega- (Greek ''large'')
| M
| 106
|-
| giga- (Latin ''gigantic'')
| G
| 109
|-
| tera- (Greek ''wonder'')
| T
| 1012
|}

Other, related systems (see below) use the same prefixes to multiply their units.

=== Length ===
The base unit of length, and originally the unit from which all other definitions flowed, is the [[meter]]. The original definition was "one ten-millionth the distance from the equator to the north pole." Lagrange's surveyors computed this distance (probably using a variation on Eratosthenes' tropical-shadow experiment) and inscribed it on a metal bar that they kept at the weights-and-measures headquarters building in Sèvres, [[France]].

But this artifact, being made of metal, tended to expand and contract. Centuries later, when the scientific community realized what had happened, the task of re-standardizing all meter sticks to the equator-to-pole-times-10-7 definition was judged too onerous. Therefore the meter was redefined. At first it was defined as 1,650,763.73 wavelengths of the orange-red line in the excitation spectrum of [[krypton]]-86. Today it is defined as 1⁄299,792,458th of a light-second.

The meter in all its multiples replaces all other units of measurement, long and short. Long distance is measured in the meter multiplied by a thousand--the kilometer. Short distances are measured in centimeters--or millimeters, or micrometers, or however small one needs to measure them.

=== Volume ===
The base unit of volume is derived from the meter: it's the ''cubic meter'' [m3]. Traditionally, the ''liter''<ref>http://www.bipm.org/en/si/si_brochure/chapter4/table6.html</ref> is used. 1 liter is defined as 10-3 m3 = 1 dm3. '''Capacity''', traditionally measured in liters, refers to the volume occupied by a liquid. Today, one liter is defined as the volume of one kilogram of water at four degrees [[Celsius]].

=== Mass ===
The base unit of mass is the ''gram''. Originally a gram was the mass of one cubic centimeter (see above), then called a ''milliliter'', of [[water]]. The Lagrange committee fashioned an artifact exactly one thousand times as heavy as this--the volume, in short, of one liter of water--and stored this permanently at Sèvres.

[[Joseph Lagrange|Lagrange]]'s committee also proposed a unit of mass called the ''grave'', to be equal to one thousand grams. But the [[French Revolution|Revolutionary]] government rejected this name as sounding too much like the [[German]] word ''graf'', translated as ''comte'' or [[count]] in French. Therefore, the artifact at Sèvres would be called a kilogram instead--and that artifact has that name to this day.

Mass never changes. But in addition to the prototype meter changing its length over time, scientists later realized that water has different densities at different [[temperature|temperatures]].

Today, the standard [[kilogram]] is kept at the International Bureau of Standards headquarters in Sèvres. It remains today the only generally accepted unit of measurement based on an artifact.

== Relation to other systems of measurement ==
The [[International System of Units]] borrows some definitions and concepts from the metric system--most notably the meter and the kilogram--and adds other definitions of other quantities, most notably [[time]], [[force]], [[amount of substance]], plane [[angle]], solid angle, and [[luminous intensity]]. The liter ''is not'' the unit of volume in that system, however, but liter is accepted for use with the SI.

In addition to the International System (or in French, ''Système International'', or SI for short), scientists have invented other systems of measurement that include units of time, force, [[energy]], and electric charge. The most popular are the meter-kilogram-second and centimeter-gram-second systems.

Various governing authorities have established conversion ratios to assist people in converting between the metric system and other, more traditional units of measurement. The definitions of US Customary units in the United States is an example of this.

The metric system is more efficient and easier to learn, as units are based on powers of 10 and are better related to each other than with the imperial system.

==Usage worldwide==
According to [[CIA]]'s World Factbook<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/appendix/appendix-g.html CIA World Factbook, Appendix G]</ref>, the SI system has been officially adopted in all countries of the world, with an exception of [[Burma]], [[Liberia]] and [[the United States of America]].

== References ==
<references/>

== See Also ==
* [http://creationwiki.org/Metric_system Metric system] by [[CreationWiki]]
* [http://www.essex1.com/people/speer/metric.html Metric system] by Essex1.com
* [http://lamar.colostate.edu/~hillger/ The United States Metric Association]

[[Category:Units of Measurement]]

Liberapedia

2013-02-09T19:04:30Z

DMorrow:

'''Liberapedia''' is a [[wiki]] project which describes itself as a "wiki that tries to give truthful and accurate information about [[liberal]] beliefs, which have been proved better... than other points of view", yet, in its content, turns out to be just a [[parody]] wiki based off of liberal views.

==General information==
Liberapedia is significantly smaller than [[Conservapedia]], only containing about 2,500 articles. Most articles on the website are poorly-written, and some of them are incredibly short, containing only up to 500 characters written by a single editor.

The articles themselves contain little factual content and mostly consist of poorly-explained subjective opinions (which have little to do on an encyclopedia) and "jokes" of questionable quality -- the presence of which is often explained in the beginning of the article. Quite often, the articles just refer to [[Wikipedia]] or another wiki for factual information.

==Liberapedia on Conservapedia==

"Conservapedia sucks because they have stupid fundy religious ideas and right-wing crap. They hate everything that is in the left-wing spectrum and they think that they are trust-worthy."

The website constantly accuses [[Conservapedia]], as well as anything labeled by them as "conservative", of being incorrect or ignorant. For example, the conservatives are called hypocrites, poorly educated, racist, and many other names without an explanation or evidence.

==Liberapedia on liberals==

Liberapedia has referred to itself as quote "a thriving source of the truth on the internet" while giving no information on why it is the "truth".

"Liberal men are by far better in bed and tend to be in better physical, mental, social, psychological, and spiritual health than conservative men. In contrast, conservative men tend to be obese, inhibited, abusive, and they'd rather view porn than please their wives." They provided no evidence of this, and this information can be contradicted very easily.

==External links==
* [http://liberapedia.wikia.com Liberapedia]

Liberapedia

2013-02-09T18:55:13Z

DMorrow: Well, at least this article is now written better than the half of those at Liberapedia.

'''Liberapedia''' is a [[wiki]] project which describes itself as a "wiki that tries to give truthful and accurate information about [[liberal]] beliefs, which have been proved better... than other points of view", yet, in its content, often turns out to be just a [[parody]] wiki based off of liberal views.

==General information==
Liberapedia is significantly smaller than [[Conservapedia]], only containing about 2,500 articles. Most articles on the website are poorly-written, and some of them are incredibly short, containing only up to 500 characters written by a single editor.

The articles themselves contain little factual content and mostly consist of poorly-explained subjective opinions (which have little to do on an encyclopedia) and "jokes" of questionable quality -- the presence of which is often explained in the beginning of the article. Quite often, the articles just refer to [[Wikipedia]] or another wiki for factual information.

==Liberapedia on Conservapedia==

"Conservapedia sucks because they have stupid fundy religious ideas and right-wing crap. They hate everything that is in the left-wing spectrum and they think that they are trust-worthy."

The website constantly accuses [[Conservapedia]], as well as anything labeled by them as "conservative", of being incorrect or ignorant. For example, the conservatives are called hypocrites, poorly educated, racist, and many other names without an explanation or evidence.

==Liberapedia on liberals==

Liberapedia has referred to itself as quote "a thriving source of the truth on the internet" while giving no information on why it is the "truth".

"Liberal men are by far better in bed and tend to be in better physical, mental, social, psychological, and spiritual health than conservative men. In contrast, conservative men tend to be obese, inhibited, abusive, and they'd rather view porn than please their wives." They provided no evidence of this, and this information can be contradicted very easily.

==External links==
* [http://liberapedia.wikia.com Liberapedia]

GNU project

2013-02-09T16:26:17Z

DMorrow:

The '''GNU project''' is an effort to create an entirely [[open-source]] [[Unix]]-like [[operating system]], and is still considered to be in active development, although the first version of the [[kernel]], GNU Hurd, has yet to be released.
The GNU project has lent its name to a variety of open-source licenses designed for use by the project, the most famous of which is, perhaps, the [[GNU Public License]].

'''GNU''' is a [[recursive backronym]] for the phrase "GNU's Not Unix".

==GNU/Linux==
As GNU's kernel is yet to receive a stable release, the GNU tools are mostly used with the [[Linux]] kernel, resulting in a [[GNU/Linux]] operating system. Nearly all well-known Linux distributions are GNU/Linux OSes, though exceptions exist (for example, [[Debian]] has a GNU/k[[FreeBSD]] version, while [[Android]] uses the Linux kernel with [[BSD]] tools).

==External links==
* [http://gnu.org The GNU operating system]

[[Category:Computer Science]]

Debian

2013-02-09T16:23:58Z

DMorrow:

'''Debian''' is an extraordinarily popular Linux distribution. It was developed originally by Ian Murdock and his wife, Debra Murdock. Debian is quite strict with adherence to the philosophies of Unix and free software as well as using collaborative software development and testing processes. It forms the basis of many other linux distributions such as [[Ubuntu]], [[Linux Mint]], [[Android]], and others. It is focused on stability and security, and is therefore very popular on niche devices such as network storage drives, servers, mainframe computers and other critical systems. Unlike many other popular distributions, Debian is not supported by the private sector, and is completely built by the [[open source]] community.

==Software==
Debian is composed of nearly 2 billion lines of code, supporting up to 11 different computer architectures. Debian is also one of the first distributions to use packages, the APT package, developed for the system. One of the most redeeming points of Debian is it's powerful, robust package handling, which has resulted in a glut of available software developed for it.

The default repository, called "stable" is very conservative, keeping old software versions for as long as possible and updating them only when the new distro release comes (about once per 1,5-2 years). Instead of updating the software to fix bugs, old versions are [[patch|patched]] to ensure stability. This has led to a degree of criticism among some, but, thanks to the flexible package management system Debian provides, it is possible to use a more active repository for the whole system or even separate packages.

The repository is also divided in several categories according to the software's licensing status. The "free" category, the only one accessible by default, only includes software classified as [[free software]] which can be used by itself. The "contrib" category includes free software that may require [[proprietary]] resources to work, while the "non-free" category includes some proprietary software that may be required for work.

==See Also==
*[[Linux]]
*[[Ubuntu]]

[[Category:Free Software]] [[Category:Linux]] [[Category:Operation System]]

User:DMorrow

2013-02-09T16:07:00Z

DMorrow:

Hello. I'm a software developer from Portland, [[Oregon]], mostly specializing in free and open source software.

==The reason I joined Conservapedia==
I am a person, who, as most of you probably are, is very tired from all the bias the mainstream media pours into the population's brain. I decided to join this website to help everyone here in fighting against the deceitful media which, instead of delivering the truth, only twist it to further their political agenda. What matters to me is the truth, not the liberal (or conservative) agenda.

Talk:Liberalpedia

2013-02-09T16:01:58Z

DMorrow: Created page with "==Maybe Liberapedia?== I tried to look up some of the quotes, and it seems that the wiki doing that is called Liberapedia, not "Liberalpedia". Shouldn't this article be renam..."

==Maybe Liberapedia?==
I tried to look up some of the quotes, and it seems that the wiki doing that is called [[Liberapedia]], not "Liberalpedia". Shouldn't this article be renamed? [[User:DMorrow|Dave Morrow]] ([[User talk:DMorrow|talk]]) 11:01, 9 February 2013 (EST)

GNU project

2013-02-09T15:55:40Z

DMorrow:

The '''GNU project''' is an effort to create an entirely [[open-source]] [[Unix]]-like [[operating system]], and is still considered to be in active development, although the first version of the [[kernel]], GNU Hurd, has yet to be released.
The GNU project has lent its name to a variety of open-source licenses designed for use by the project, the most famous of which is, perhaps, the [[GNU Public License]].

'''GNU''' is a [[recursive backronym]] for the phrase "GNU's Not Unix".

==GNU/Linux==
As GNU's kernel is yet to receive a stable release, the GNU tools are mostly used with the [[Linux]] kernel, resulting in a "GNU/Linux" operating system. Nearly all well-known Linux distributions are GNU/Linux OSes, though exceptions exist (for example, [[Debian]] has a GNU/k[[FreeBSD]] version, while [[Android]] uses the Linux kernel with [[BSD]] tools).

==External links==
* [http://gnu.org The GNU operating system]

[[Category:Computer Science]]

OpenOffice.org

2013-02-09T15:48:28Z

DMorrow: Updated.

'''OpenOffice.org''' is an [[open source|open-source]] office software suite, similarly to [[Microsoft Office]], available for [[Windows]], [[Mac]], and [[Linux]]. It was originally named simply "OpenOffice", however, the ".org" was appended as the result of a copyright dispute. It is compatible with Microsoft Office document formats, however it provides its own format as well, called OpenDocument.

It contains:
* Writer: A word processor
* Calc: A spreadsheet program
* Impress: A presentation editor
* Draw: A drawing program which allows to edit vector images to be used in other components; unlike MS Office, this is a separate program.
* Base: A database program
* Math: An equation editor which allows to display and edit equations; unlike MS Office's equation editor, this is a separate program.

Writer supports many legacy document formats better than [[Microsoft Word]] does.

==LibreOffice==
After [[Sun Microsystems]] was purchased by [[Oracle]], concerns appeared that the development of OpenOffice.org might stop completely. To ensure the office suite's continued development, in September 2010, The Document Foundation was founded by OpenOffice.org community members, and the project was forked as LibreOffice. The project quickly attracted most of the original developers. Unsurprisingly, the expectations of Oracle stopping the development turned out to be true, as, in April 2011, Oracle transferred the development to the [[Apache]] Foundation, where development slowed down to a crawl.

Currently, as both projects are being actively developed, LibreOffice stands as the more functional one, while Apache OpenOffice.org is considered more stable.

==External Links==
*[http://openoffice.org OpenOffice.org]
*[http://libreoffice.org LibreOffice]

[[category:Software]]

LibreOffice

2013-02-09T15:33:22Z

DMorrow: Redirected page to OpenOffice.org

#REDIRECT:[[OpenOffice.org]]

Ubuntu

2013-02-09T15:32:08Z

DMorrow: Wow, this article is old.

Ubuntu is a community-developed, free, [[Linux]]-based operating system. The name, which comes from an [[African]] [[philosophy]], means '[[Humanity]] to others', or 'I am what I am because of who we all are'. It is supported by the company, Canonical, is released for free, every 6 months, with a long-term support (LTS) version being released every 2 years. The distribution is largely based on [[Debian]], but is increasingly deviating from it every new release.
[[Image:Gnomesword large.png|right|thumb|150px|Screenshot of Ubuntu 7.04LTS Edition with a few Christian programs running.]]

==Features==
Ubuntu is based on the [[free software|free]] [[Linux]] [[kernel]] and a snapshot of the Debian program tree. It focuses on ease of use.

Ubuntu comes by default with many useful programs, including [[LibreOffice]], [[Mozilla Firefox]], and (new in version 9.10) [[Ubuntu One]], a free online data backup service. Ubuntu also offers users the Ubuntu Software Center, which allows them to easily download many free programs, ranging from [[solitaire]] games to [[Integrated Development Environments]]. It has an increasing number of device drivers which allow it to run on most computers.
While installing Ubuntu has traditionally required burning the program image to a [[CD-ROM]], a program called [http://wubi-installer.org Wubi] allows people to install it from inside their current operating system, just like a normal program.

Since the release of version 11.04 (April 2011), Ubuntu has been using Canonical's unique Unity desktop environment, which was designed to be usable on different devices. It was met with criticism among power users for being non-customizable and prone to bugs, but great improvements have been made since then.

Since [[Microsoft Windows]] has the dominant market share, most [[computer virus|computer viruses]] are written for Windows. Therefore, users of [[Linux]] operating systems like Ubuntu have less need for [[antivirus]] software.

==History==
Ubuntu is written by Canonical Ltd., a company owned by [[Mark Shuttleworth]], a South African entrepreneur. The first version, called Warty Warthog<ref>https://wiki.ubuntu.com/WartyWarthog</ref>, was released in October 2004. Since then, Canonical has released a new version of Ubuntu every six months. The current version, Precise Pangolin, can be downloaded for free from the Ubuntu website<ref>http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download</ref>.

It is difficult to measure how many people use Ubuntu, because anyone can freely redistribute copies. However, it has become very popular for low-cost [[netbook]] computers.

==Ubuntu Specialized Edition==
Ubuntu also offers many other variants of its primary operating system, the most popular being Edubuntu, a version specifically designed for educational use, Lubuntu, a lightweight version for low power computers, such as notebooks, and the other GUI versions, like Kubuntu (KDE), and Xubuntu (Xfce). A phone version of the OS, based on [[Android]]'s version of the Linux kernel, is in works currently.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External Links==
* [http://www.ubuntu.com/ Official Site]
* [http://ubuntuce.com/ Ubuntu Christian Edition]
* [http://wubi-installer.org/ Wubi installer]

[[Category:Computer Science]] [[Category:Operating Systems]]

Income elasticity of demand

2013-02-09T07:03:43Z

DMorrow:

'''Income elasticity of demand''' is the percentage change in quantity of a good demanded divided by the percentage change in average income. It tells how the demand for a good reacts to changes in the average income. [[Normal good]]s have a positive income elasticity, while [[inferior good]]s have a negative income elasticity.

Among goods with positive income elasticity, [[Necessities]] and more essential goods have the level of elasticity at less than 1, while luxury goods have very large elasticity.

[[Category:Economics]]

Debate:Is Conservapedia a 'Trustworthy Encyclopedia'?

2013-02-09T06:58:59Z

DMorrow: /* FOR */

Opinions please, both for and against:

== FOR ==
conservapedia has thousands of trustworthy articles. 50something, you base this on your experiences with ONE article([[Adultery]]), right? look at some others.[[User:Bohdan|Bohdan]]

50something thousand trustworthy articles? conservapedia's main page says it only has 16000 pages.

ITs Called Conservapedia, since it has part of the word "Conservtive" in it you know it will represent a fair and balanced point of view, well I guess it depends how you look at it. -RG :]
:This is not exactly a compelling argument. [[User:Underscoreb|Underscoreb]] 22:53, 11 November 2007 (EST)

Yes, I have found Conservapedia constantly improving with filling out information and removing imbedded vandalism from its early days when there wasn't as much checking. I read a comment from many months ago complaining that there were no internal links between articles - now, that's largely a complaint of the past. While some areas are sparse, the information presented is accurate. It also gives a conservative view that is often not allowed in other forums and as such provides an important source for information that could be difficult to find otherwise. [[User:Learn together|Learn together]] 11:48, 14 August 2007 (EDT)

I think that, while Conservapedia is far from being trustworthy on all subjects, it certainly provides information that the majority of Americans would trust more. So yes, it is way more trustworthy than other wikis. [[User:DMorrow|DMorrow]] 01:58, 9 February 2013 (EST)

== AGAINST ==

I have to say, I keep up with Conservapedia daily, mostly because I don't agree with the views of the website. I do have to point out something. Conservapedia constantly points out smears against conservatives and false articles on Wikipedia, but I haven't yet found a smear against Conservapedia itself. Why not lay off the smearing of other sites when they aren't smearing you in the first place? From Steven, Digitamer81

Of course not, not yet. the entire goal is to eliminate bias, add facts, and eventually make it reliable. --[[User:Hojimachong|'''Hojimachong''']][[User_Talk:Hojimachong|talk]] 20:20, 7 May 2007 (EDT)

No. it is an encyclopedia that tells consevitives what they want to hear and forces conservitive ideals upon others.{{unsigned|1718}}

:Oh, be reasonable. It doesn't force ideals on anyone. No one is required to be here. [[User:Bohdan|Bohdan]] 15:47, 14 July 2007 (EDT)
::Agreed, but there's obviously some sort of agenda here which favours loaded language and non-encyclopedic coverage (most notably, denigratory comments and value judgements in the entry for [[liberal]]). Ultimately this makes for a less objective, reliable source. Sorry guys. [[User:Underscoreb|Underscoreb]] 23:06, 11 November 2007 (EST)

No. An 'Encyclopedia' is generally considered to be authoritative, i.e. contains opinions considered 'generally true', which would mean that more than one person would maintain that opinion. Sysops lock articles having written them to suit their own purposes. References are utterly abused, contain editorial instead of simply being links to the reference quoted, and are manipulated to misquote reference. For example, see the article on [[Adultery]], where two references which suggest that adultery is gender-neutral are listed in an editorialsed refernce link which refers to adultery as being caused solely by the woman.
::adultery is one out of what, 9000 articles? what other examples do you have?[[User:Bohdan|Bohdan]]
::Hahhaha. Where do I begin?[[User:50something|50something]]
:::Bohdan, look at [[Special:Popularpages]]. Most of them, well, suck. --[[User:Hojimachong|'''Hojimachong''']][[User_Talk:Hojimachong|talk]] 20:28, 7 May 2007 (EDT)
:::::do we speak of the quality of those articles or their truthfulness?[[User:Bohdan|Bohdan]]
::::::Both. Most of them are filled with mined quotes, and outright non-factual info, not to mention unbelievably blatant censorship. --[[User:Hojimachong|'''Hojimachong''']][[User_Talk:Hojimachong|talk]] 20:34, 7 May 2007 (EDT)
::::::::I guess, but i dont think that they represent the majority of articles here. I have found that many of the non-controversial articles are reliable.[[User:Bohdan|Bohdan]]
:::::::This site also isn't trustworthy because it doesn't have enough articles to make it a reliable source of information.--[[User:FredK|FredK]] 20:36, 7 May 2007 (EDT)
::::::::Thats what i am trying to change.[[User:Bohdan|Bohdan]]
:::::::::Bohdan, if you are trying to change it into a trustworthy encyclopedia that means it isn't trustworthy right now. --[[User:FredK|FredK]] 20:43, 7 May 2007 (EDT)
::::::::::Hey, enough with the Jedi mind tricks.[[User:JoyousOne|JoyousOne]] 20:44, 7 May 2007 (EDT)
:::::::::::MY mistake, i meant that i was trying to give it more articles, to make it MORE reliable.[[User:Bohdan|Bohdan]]
:Bohdan, I'd love to see a few examples of "encyclopedic" entries. I'm trying to do my part, as I am sure you are. I know Hoji has done a lot.[[User:JoyousOne|JoyousOne]] 20:39, 7 May 2007 (EDT)

'''WHY''' does everyone begin comments to me with my name? [[User:Bohdan|Bohdan]]

:So that you know someone is addressing you?[[User:JoyousOne|JoyousOne]] 20:42, 7 May 2007 (EDT)
::I'm not stupid, I can figure it out. And I am not saying that all the articles are perfect.[[User:Bohdan|Bohdan]]
There is no article on either of the human biological organs required to produce the Life which you all apparently consider so sacrosanct. Every article is riven with opinion, and most of the crucial debates are locked and are pet stomping grounds of bigots and closed-minded individuals. [[User:50something|50something]]
:where is the opinion in the [[Lindisfarne]] article? [[User:Bohdan|Bohdan]]
::"Lindisfarne also has a small but imposing castle." Saying that it is small is someone's opinion. I could say that it is rather large because it is bigger than me. --[[User:FredK|FredK]] 20:51, 7 May 2007 (EDT)
:::And this is how we judge if its trustworthy?[[User:Bohdan|Bohdan]]
::::No, you were wondering where the opinion was in the article so I showed you. I base trustworthy on how reliable it as a whole and because it is rather small and doesn't much information(mainly stub for articles) I would say that it is not trustworthy. --[[User:FredK|FredK]] 20:56, 7 May 2007 (EDT)
::::Yes. Also, the article lists only one reference, the town's own website. And the article doens't even mention the folk-rock group of the same name. [[User:50something|50something]]

It's not much good to say that parts of it are reliable if you have no way of know ''which'' parts those are. It is a perfect example of a "curate's egg:" "Oh dear, did you get a spoiled egg, Mr. Jones?" And the curate replies "Well, some parts of it are excellent!" [[User:Dpbsmith|Dpbsmith]] 20:58, 7 May 2007 (EDT)

For me the 'Encyclopedia' part fails with the very premise of the entire site. Putting my own politics or opinions aside for a moment (although I am a divorced mid-50's evangelical Christian Republican mother), the very idea that knowledge can be made to fit to an 'agenda' means that this could never be a 'Trustworthy Encyclopedia' - after all, the creators of this site WANT it to have a particular slant, a particular agenda, a particular view. Facts do not fit with a Viewpoint, they simply ARE. [[User:50something|50something]]

Oh, also - sysops - [[User:Conservative|Conservative]], for example - are guilty of 'editing the record'. In the case of the sysop quoted, you will see how often he removes comments from his own User:Talk page. Changing the record of history is one of the most dangerous sins against knowledge, and was popularly used by [[Stalin]] among others. [[User:50something|50something]]

OK, another suggestion, in support of being reasonable. I would have no debate with you or your project WHATSOEVER, if you would simply change the main page and stop claiming you are an Encyclopedia. Why not call yourself 'Conservapedia - a Young Earth Creationist Database', or something similar? [[User:50something|50something]]

///It should be noted that not even Wikipedia is viable as a scholarly source. I.E. it should never cited in any kind of research. With that said I think a good rule is to not even CONSIDER using conservapedia as any kind of factual outlet.

Commandment 13: "We do not require contributing editors to have to explain themselves constantly and justify every single edit to prove that it conforms to an exacting set of rules which are designed to suppress original thought, new ideas and penetrating insights."

No, that's really interesting... Editors don't have to justify their statements. That's good, I mean it's only the process by which actual factual encyclopedia's are rigorously put through. Why should you do it here?///

Depends on how you classify trustworthy. Obviously some materials are going to offend people who are more to a liberal side. Come on-it is biased-check the main page about Obama if you don't believe me.--[[User:Faizaguo|Faizaguo]] 07:58, 15 July 2008 (EDT)

Well, to be fair (fallacious idiom), Conservapedia is a bit more biased than Wikipedia. Bias is unavoidable, since "We see colors, but not wavelengths..." (C.G. Jung). There is an inherent bias when we perceive, because our perceptions are based on their effects on the mind. Even if a computer wrote an article it would be biased, because a human, who would have been biased, programmed it. Even if a computer programmed another computer, the progenitor-computer would have been programmed by a human, who would have been biased. Bias is unavoidable; it just seems more ''blatant'' on conservapedia.
[[Category:Debates about Conservapedia]]

Richard Stallman

2013-02-09T06:46:07Z

DMorrow: Actually, he claims to be a liberal -- but he even criticizes Obama for not being liberal enough!

'''Richard M. Stallman''' ('''RMS''') is the founder of the [[GNU]] project and the [[Free Software Foundation]]. He is the brains behind the [[GNU]] General Public License (GPL). The GNU GPL is used in the [[GNU/Linux]] operating system, and in other popular software. Stallman was part of MIT's [[Artificial Intelligence Laboratory]] in the 1970s, where he did a lot of creative computer programming (which he and his friends called "[[hacking]]").

He conceived of a notion of "[[free software]]" where the software is free as in "free speech", as opposed to "free beer", as he explains it. It is formally licensed as an alternative to the [[public domain]] and to other free licenses. He as actively promoted forming a worldwide community of programmers and software users who can all equally share the benefits of new and improved software donated to the community, a sort of [[communism]] of software development, enforced through a subversive use of "[[Open source#Copyleft|copyleft]]" copyright licenses.

== Stallman's political and religious views ==
Stallman is also an [[atheist]], and his website espouses a number of radical [[liberal]] political viewpoints; while he refers to himself as "Liberal", some, in fact, suspect that he is a [[communist]], as he even criticized [[Barack Obama]] for being too [[conservative]]<ref>[http://stallman.org/archives/2009-sep-dec.html#10%20December%202009%20%28Obama%20is%20no%20Liberal%29 "Obama is no Liberal"]</ref>. He has also dealt with the communist governments of [[Cuba]] and [[Venezuela]], seeking to convince them to utilize open source software.

== Blasphemy ==
Stallman sees fit to blaspheme the Lord and His Church, claiming to be a saint, Saint IGNUcius, in his mock Church of Emacs.<ref>http://stallman.org/saint.html</ref>

== External links ==
[http://www.stallman.org Stallman's website]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stallman, Richard}}

[[Category:Computer Science]]
[[category:Atheists]]

== References ==
<references/>

Open source (software)

2013-02-09T06:32:43Z

DMorrow: added info on open source and patents...

[[Image:Opensource.svg.png|right|100px|thumb|OSI logo]]
'''Open Source''' is a software development model being promoted by the non-profit '''Open Source Initiative (OSI)''' corporation and other organizations.
==Open Source==
Open Source refers to software where the [[source code]] is available for anyone to modify. There are many different licenses under which open source software is available<ref>http://www.opensource.org/licenses/alphabetical</ref>, all varying slightly to the degree on the conditions under which the software can be modified and redistributed.

Although the development model for open source software may seem counterintuitive, for many projects it has been shown to be very successful. Generally, open source software is distributed with the underlying source code available for anyone to freely modify and redistribute. This development model is very similar to university research and the '[[Best of the public|best of the public]]' model, where discoveries and research are published in [[peer review|peer reviewed]] journals or other venues, which are then built upon by other researchers and contributors spawning further ideas and discoveries.

There is a common misconception that open source software must be given away for free, but this is incorrect.<ref>http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#DoesTheGPLAllowDownloadFee</ref> Although most open source software is indeed available for free, with the authors usually charging for consulting and other services, there is no obligation for them to do so.

Open source software is also known as "free software". However, its advocates acknowledge that name is misleading in that it sounds, at first hearing, as if the software costs nothing. "Free", in this context, means users are free to modify the software for their own purposes. As its advocates like to say, it means "free speech, not free beer" (see also [[free software movement]]).

==Examples==
Examples of well known open source software:
*[http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/MediaWiki MediaWiki] - Wiki software used for sites such as Conservapedia and Wikipedia.
*[http://httpd.apache.org/ Apache] - Apache web server, the most popular web server in the world.<ref>http://news.netcraft.com/</ref>
*[http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/ Firefox] - [[Firefox]] web browser developed by the [http://www.mozilla.org/foundation/ Mozilla Foundation].
*[http://www.php.net/ PHP] - PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor, a scripting language used to create dynamic web sites such as Conservapedia.
*[[Linux]] - Operating system kernel used to create distributions such as the one running the server on which Conservapedia runs<ref>http://toolbar.netcraft.com/site_report?url=http://www.conservapedia.com</ref>

==Copyleft==
A related concept is one espoused by [[Richard M. Stallman]] and his followers: copyleft. Copyleft subverts copyright law to create a class of software code and art that only allows for redistribution of code as long as those using the code also allow it to be redistributed. That way, software is developed from each according to ability and used according to need.<ref>http://blog.lab49.com/archives/659</ref> Through copyleft, Stallman and other atheist radicals have been able to introduce communist ideas into the likes of even International Business Machines and Oracle. Stallman hopes to use copylefted software to begin a "world revolution" against capitalism and people of faith.

Copyleft as a mechanism requires that any software which uses code from copylefted software to be licensed under the same terms -- making it copylefted as well. In the long run, this will lead to more and more software being licensed under copyleft terms. Not only that, but, due to the nature of copyleft, a lot less diversity in licenses is possible -- in fact, the most popular copyleft license, the GNU General Public License (GPL), is used for the majority of copylefted software. If this tendency will not be stopped, all open source software is soon to be licensed under one license.

==Permissive licenses==
The other kind of licenses, permissive licenses, allows usage of code without having to relicense it under the same conditions original code uses, thus allowing for more liberties for both programmers and users. The most known permissive license is the BSD license, but lots of other licenses are used in practice. Many businesses prefer using permissively-licensed code, as the licensing terms are more comfortable in their cases.

==Open source software and patents==
As open source software is available for everyone to use and distribute free of charge (even if the owner requires to pay to access the code, it can freely be redistributed after that), it is nearly impossible for open source software developers to use any [[patent]] agreements requiring to add a fixed price to every copy. In fact, the 3rd version of Stallman's GPL explicitly forbids to use any patents not owned by the developers at all. While this shows quite a problem with the current patent law, it leads to an even bigger problem.

[[Microsoft]] has claimed several times that the [[Linux]] kernel, as well as basic programs from most versions of Linux distributions, violates a number of patents Microsoft owns. While MS didn't disclose the actual patents violated, several companies who distribute [[Android]] or Linux-based devices decided to enter the patent agreement.

==External links==
*[http://www.opensource.org/ Open Source Initiative]

==References==
<references />
[[category: information technology]]

Hannover 96

2013-01-14T04:26:39Z

DMorrow: Added a references tag.

'''Hannover 96''' is a [[German]] [[soccer]] team currently playing in the [[Bundesliga]]. Founded in 1896 (as referenced by the club name), the club plays in Hannover. The current manager is Dieter Hecking<ref>http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=http://www.hannover96.de/&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=1&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dhannover%2B96%26hl%3Den</ref> and the current sponsor is TUI.

==Roster==
===Goalkeepers===
*1 Robert Enke
*27 Florian Fromlowitz
*30 Morten Jensen

===Defenders===
*2 Vinicius Bergantin
*6 Steven Cherundolo
*22 Frank Fahrenhorst
*18 Michael Tarnat
*4 Valérien Ismaël
*5 Mario Eggimann
*28 Leon Balogun
*31 Tim Hofmann
*34 Konstantin Rausch
*36 Hendrik Hahne

===Midfielders===
*14 Hanno Balitsch
*10 Arnold Bruggink
*11 Szabolcs Huszti
*17 Gaetan Krebs
*8 Altin Lala
*7 Sergio Pinto
*26 Jan Rosenthal
*19 Christian Schulz
*23 Chavdar Yankov
*15 Salvatore Zizzo
*35 Bastian Schulz

===Strikers===
*9 Mike Hanke
*24 Jiri Stajner
*13 Jan Schlaudraff
*32 Mikael Forssell

==Notable Former Players==
*GK [[Frank Jurić]]

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:German Soccer]]
[[Category:Bundesliga 1 teams]]

Vladimir Putin

2013-01-08T13:37:45Z

DMorrow: Aren't abortions already legal there? The WP article says they are.

[[Image:Vladtheimpaler.jpg|right|thumb|Vladimir Putin]]
'''Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin''' ([[Russian language|Russian]]: Владимир Владимирович Путин) (born October 7, 1952) was reelected president of the [[Russian Federation]] in 2012, after serving as prime minister since May 8, 2008, and previously serving as [[president]] since December 31, 1999, the day [[Boris Yeltsin]] resigned from the presidency.<ref>Putin was later elected president by 54% of the electorate on March 26, 2000.</ref> Putin governs a nation that is rapidly becoming more [[Christian]] and more [[conservative]], and his snubbing of [[Obama]] in May 2012 suggests that Putin is well aware of how conservative his country is becoming.

Putin is mainly backed by the [[United Russia]] (''Единая Россия'') party, which currently holds a majority in the lower chamber of the Russian parliament, known as the ''Duma''. The party usually reflects the political views of Putin, which are that of moderate conservatism and nationalism. On March 14, 2004, he was elected to a second term as president with 71% of the vote. Barred from a third consecutive term by the Russian constitution, Putin ceded the presidency to [[Dmitry Medvedev]] on May 7, 2008 and became Prime Minister, at the time sharing power with the more moderate Medvedev. Medvedev did not run for a second term, and, as a result, Putin was re-elected in 2012.

In terms of achievements, Putin stabilized the Russian economy and restored Russia's national pride, largely by politically exploiting the financial windfall of Europe's need for Russian oil and gas. Russians were enthusiastic that he ended the social chaos that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the subsequent pell-mell privatization of the state-owned economy. Many Russians have been mesmerized by the new glitter of Moscow and the restored glamor of St. Petersburg. Russia's revived self-pride follows the humiliation of the chaos after 1991 and the incompetence of his predecessor [[Boris Yeltsin]]. Russians have a long history of authoritarian governments and a strong diastase for anarchy. They have little experience with freedom. The Russian mafia, which is more sophisticated than its counterparts elsewhere, controls more than 40 percent of the total economy. Their control is thought to be even greater in certain areas, such as banking, real estate, and consumer markets.<ref>[http://www.worldbank.org/html/prddr/trans/janfeb97/art4.htm Louise I. Shelley, ''The Price Tag of Russia's Organized Crime'']</ref>

Putin has ruled Russia harshly in the style of the Czars—albeit not in the style of the Soviets. He gains popularity every time he challenges the U.S. or Europe, or sends troops to harass Georgia. Putin's Russia is an authoritarian system, with restricted capitalism, a rubber stamp parliament, pliant media, imprisoned or exiled oligarchs, harassed NGOs, marginalized pro-Western, democratic parties, and a foreign policy based on bullying and military strength, all based on money from oil and gas.

==Background==
Putin was born in [[Leningrad]] on [[October]] 7, 1952 and was baptized as an Orthodox Christian and continue to be a member to this day. He was educated in law and economics at Leningrad State University before being assigned to work in the [[GRU]].<ref>[http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htmurph/articles/20090821.aspx Killing The KGB Myth],
August 21, 2009.</ref> After five years in [[East Germany]], he took up various political positions before becoming [[prime minister]] in 1999.

He is married to Lyudmila Putina since July 28, 1983 (former airline stewardess). They have two daughters.

==Escalating tensions==
[[File:Putin07.jpg|thumb|300px|Canadian news magazine tells it like it is--Sept. 03, 2007]]
Putin is seen as an antagonist by [[liberal]]s in the West, who are angry about their inability to push the [[homosexual agenda]] and other liberal policies on Russia. t is possible that his hostility to NATO and the U.S., his demand for a voice in the affairs of ex-Soviet nations, his rigged election system, nationalized oil, protection of Iran, and threats to Georgia have heightened tensions. The decline of [[human rights]] in Russia has been dramatic; for example, Russian riot police beat a number of protesters and journalists at an anti-Putin rally at Pushkin Square in Moscow, <ref>''The Economist'', April 21, 2007</ref> and Putin rigged national elections for his party <ref>http://www.reuters.com/article/homepageCrisis/idUSL03585550._CH_.2400</ref>

Putin has even exercised power over the Russian supreme court. Justice Vladimir Yaroslavtsev was forced to resign after warning that Russian security agencies now control the country as they did in Soviet times and expressing alarm over their lack of accountability. Justice Anatoly Kononov was likewise forced out after defending Yaroslavtsev.<ref>[http://www.robertamsterdam.com/2009/12/are_you_an_independent_russian_judge_youre_fired.htm ''Are You An Independent Russian Judge? You're Fired'', RobertAmsterdam.com]</ref>

A further cause of alarm is a quick moving bill moving through the Russian parliament which is said to have Putin's support, and which would make it illegal to discuss religion without a Kremlin-issued permit. Putin has also promoted a KGB operative into the position of pontiff of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Many who have reported or protested such things have found themselves being repressed - or killed.<ref>[http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/12/putins_own_worst_enemy.html Kim Zigfeld, ''Putin's Own Worst Enemy''] American Thinker, December 08, 2009</ref><ref>http://larussophobe.wordpress.com/2009/12/03/editorial-another-russian-journalist-takes-the-putin-plunge</ref> Journalist [[Anna Politkovskaya]], an outspoken critic of Putin, was assassinated in 2006 <ref>http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article1819666.ece</ref>, and it is widely believed that the Russian government had some involvement in this death. There were 13 journalists killed in contract-style slayings during Vladimir Putin's eight-year presidency. <ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,438381,00.html Russian Lawyer in Slain Journalist Case Says She, Family Poisoned] AP, October 15, 2008</ref>

Despite these negatives—or perhaps because of the strong hand they reveal—Putin remains popular in Russia<ref>http://www.levada.ru/prezident.html Putin's Approval Ratings</ref>. Since coming to power, Putin has expanded Russia's economy and reduced inflation. The majority of Russians are relatively uninterested in politics outside of issues affecting their personal prosperity, <ref>''The Economist'', April 21, 2007</ref> and journalist Anna Politkovskaya argued that the Russian people, as a whole, have been willing to tolerate violence in the name of "comfort and peace and quiet".<ref>Politkovskaya, Anna. Putin's Russia. London: Harvill Press, 2004</ref>

==Relations with U.S.==
President Obama's decision in August 2009 to cancel an antimissile defense system in [[Central Europe]] (the [[Czech Republic]], [[Poland]] and [[Lithuania]]) earned a strong welcome from Putin. Now, the question is whether Russia will do more to help prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Putin, who had repeatedly assailed the antimissile system as a grave danger to Russia's security, called Obama's decision ''correct and brave.'' President Dmitri A. Medvedev hinted that Russia would respond favorably to the decision to replace former President George W. Bush's plan with a missile shield seen as less threatening to Moscow.

==See also==
* [[Dmitri Medvedev]]
* [[Russian Federation]]

==Further reading==
* Baker, Peter, and Susan Glasser. ''Kremlin Rising: Vladimir Putin's Russia and the End of Revolution'' (2nd ed. 2007); [http://www.amazon.com/Kremlin-Rising-Vladimir-Revolution-Updated/dp/1597971227/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256923460&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Goldman, Marshall I. ''Petrostate: Putin, Power, and the New Russia'' (2008) [http://www.amazon.com/Petrostate-Putin-Power-New-Russia/dp/0195340736/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256915128&sr=1-2 excerpt and text search]
* Lucas, Edward. ''The New Cold War: Putin's Russia and the Threat to the West'' (2009) [http://www.amazon.com/New-Cold-War-Putins-Russia/dp/0230614345/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256915128&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Stuermer, Michael. ''Putin and the Rise of Russia'' (2009)
* Wegren, Stephen K., and Dale R. Herspring, eds. ''After Putin's Russia: Past Imperfect, Future Uncertain'' (4th ed. 2009) [http://www.amazon.com/After-Putins-Russia-Imperfect-Uncertain/dp/0742557855/ref=tmm_pap_title_0 excerpt and text search]

==References==
<references/>

==Links==
[http://www.kremlin.ru/articles/V_Putin.shtml Official Putin Biography]
{{DEFAULTSORT: Putin, Vladimir}}

[[Category:Heads of State]]
[[Category:Russian People]]
[[Category:Russian Political People]]

Dactylic

2013-01-06T13:56:43Z

DMorrow: If it's A,b,c,A,b,c,..., shouldn't just "Christ" be stressed, as opposed to the whole "Christmas"?

A metrical foot that consists of two stressed syllables followed by an unstressed syllable. An example from Phillip Brooks's poem, "Christmas Everywhere", is a good example:
{{cquote|'''Every'''where, '''every'''where, '''Christ'''mas to'''night'''. '''Christmas''' in the '''lands''' of the '''fir-tree''' and '''pines.'''}}

1 and a 2 and a 3 and a 4

In a way, it is the reverse of the [[anapestic]] (a metrical foot that is two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed.)

[[Category:Poetry]]

Quotient rule

2013-01-06T13:31:28Z

DMorrow: Oops, mixed the positions up (not critical, but makes it harder to memorize).

{{Template:Math-h}}

The '''Quotient Rule''' is a rule in [[calculus]] pertaining to the [[derivative]] of a variable or function divided by another. It can be written as follows:

<math>\frac{d}{dx} \left(\frac{u}{v}\right) = \frac{v \left(\frac{du}{dx}\right) - u \left(\frac{dv}{dx}\right)}{v^2}</math>

Alternatively, in prime notation, it can be written as:

<math>\left(\frac{u}{v}\right)' = \frac{u'v - v'u}{v^2}</math>

It is easily remembered by the rhyme "Low 'D' High minus High 'D' Low, draw the line, and square below" (the denominator times the derivative of the numerator minus the numerator times the derivative of the denominator all over the denominator squared).

[[Category:Calculus]]
[[Category:Mathematics]]

Quotient rule

2013-01-06T13:30:01Z

DMorrow:

{{Template:Math-h}}

The '''Quotient Rule''' is a rule in [[calculus]] pertaining to the [[derivative]] of a variable or function divided by another. It can be written as follows:

<math>\frac{d}{dx} \left(\frac{u}{v}\right) = \frac{v \left(\frac{du}{dx}\right) - u \left(\frac{dv}{dx}\right)}{v^2}</math>

Alternatively, in prime notation, it can be written as:

<math>\left(\frac{u}{v}\right)' = \frac{v u' - u v'}{v^2}</math>

It is easily remembered by the rhyme "Low 'D' High minus High 'D' Low, draw the line, and square below" (the denominator times the derivative of the numerator minus the numerator times the derivative of the denominator all over the denominator squared).

[[Category:Calculus]]
[[Category:Mathematics]]

Vladimir Putin

2013-01-05T18:10:47Z

DMorrow: This bit seemed a little bit misleading. I don't know that much about Putin, but even I got that this was a bit wrong.

[[Image:Vladtheimpaler.jpg|right|thumb|Vladimir Putin]]
'''Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin''' ([[Russian language|Russian]]: Владимир Владимирович Путин) (born October 7, 1952) was reelected president of the [[Russian Federation]] in 2012, after serving as prime minister since May 8, 2008, and previously serving as [[president]] since December 31, 1999, the day [[Boris Yeltsin]] resigned from the presidency.<ref>Putin was later elected president by 54% of the electorate on March 26, 2000.</ref> Putin governs a nation that is rapidly becoming more [[Christian]] and more [[conservative]], and his snubbing of [[Obama]] in May 2012 suggests that Putin is well aware of how conservative his country is becoming.

Putin is mainly backed by the [[United Russia]] (''Единая Россия'') party, which currently holds a majority in the lower chamber of the Russian parliament, known as the ''Duma''. The party usually reflects the political views of Putin, which are that of moderate conservatism and nationalism. On March 14, 2004, he was elected to a second term as president with 71% of the vote. Barred from a third consecutive term by the Russian constitution, Putin ceded the presidency to [[Dmitry Medvedev]] on May 7, 2008 and became Prime Minister, at the time sharing power with the more moderate Medvedev. Medvedev did not run for a second term, and, as a result, Putin was re-elected in 2012.

In terms of achievements, Putin stabilized the Russian economy and restored Russia's national pride, largely by politically exploiting the financial windfall of Europe's need for Russian oil and gas. Russians were enthusiastic that he ended the social chaos that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the subsequent pell-mell privatization of the state-owned economy. Many Russians have been mesmerized by the new glitter of Moscow and the restored glamor of St. Petersburg. Russia's revived self-pride follows the humiliation of the chaos after 1991 and the incompetence of his predecessor [[Boris Yeltsin]]. Russians have a long history of authoritarian governments and a strong diastase for anarchy. They have little experience with freedom. The Russian mafia, which is more sophisticated than its counterparts elsewhere, controls more than 40 percent of the total economy. Their control is thought to be even greater in certain areas, such as banking, real estate, and consumer markets.<ref>[http://www.worldbank.org/html/prddr/trans/janfeb97/art4.htm Louise I. Shelley, ''The Price Tag of Russia's Organized Crime'']</ref>

Putin has ruled Russia harshly in the style of the Czars—albeit not in the style of the Soviets. He gains popularity every time he challenges the U.S. or Europe, or sends troops to harass Georgia. Putin's Russia is an authoritarian system, with restricted capitalism, a rubber stamp parliament, pliant media, imprisoned or exiled oligarchs, harassed NGOs, marginalized pro-Western, democratic parties, and a foreign policy based on bullying and military strength, all based on money from oil and gas.

==Background==
Putin was born in [[Leningrad]] on [[October]] 7, 1952 and was baptized as an Orthodox Christian and continue to be a member to this day. He was educated in law and economics at Leningrad State University before being assigned to work in the [[GRU]].<ref>[http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htmurph/articles/20090821.aspx Killing The KGB Myth],
August 21, 2009.</ref> After five years in [[East Germany]], he took up various political positions before becoming [[prime minister]] in 1999.

He is married to Lyudmila Putina since July 28, 1983 (former airline stewardess). They have two daughters.

==Escalating tensions==
[[File:Putin07.jpg|thumb|300px|Canadian news magazine tells it like it is--Sept. 03, 2007]]
Putin is seen as an antagonist to the West; his presidency has become increasingly authoritarian and opponents are murdered. It is possible that his hostility to NATO and the U.S., his demand for a voice in the affairs of ex-Soviet nations, his rigged election system, nationalized oil, protection of Iran, and threats to Georgia have heightened tensions. The decline of [[human rights]] in Russia has been dramatic; for example, Russian riot police beat a number of protesters and journalists at an anti-Putin rally at Pushkin Square in Moscow, <ref>''The Economist'', April 21, 2007</ref> and Putin rigged national elections for his party <ref>http://www.reuters.com/article/homepageCrisis/idUSL03585550._CH_.2400</ref>

Putin has even exercised power over the Russian supreme court. Justice Vladimir Yaroslavtsev was forced to resign after warning that Russian security agencies now control the country as they did in Soviet times and expressing alarm over their lack of accountability. Justice Anatoly Kononov was likewise forced out after defending Yaroslavtsev.<ref>[http://www.robertamsterdam.com/2009/12/are_you_an_independent_russian_judge_youre_fired.htm ''Are You An Independent Russian Judge? You're Fired'', RobertAmsterdam.com]</ref>

A further cause of alarm is a quick moving bill moving through the Russian parliament which is said to have Putin's support, and which would make it illegal to discuss religion without a Kremlin-issued permit. Putin has also promoted a KGB operative into the position of pontiff of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Many who have reported or protested such things have found themselves being repressed - or killed.<ref>[http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/12/putins_own_worst_enemy.html Kim Zigfeld, ''Putin's Own Worst Enemy''] American Thinker, December 08, 2009</ref><ref>http://larussophobe.wordpress.com/2009/12/03/editorial-another-russian-journalist-takes-the-putin-plunge</ref> Journalist [[Anna Politkovskaya]], an outspoken critic of Putin, was assassinated in 2006 <ref>http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article1819666.ece</ref>, and it is widely believed that the Russian government had some involvement in this death. There were 13 journalists killed in contract-style slayings during Vladimir Putin's eight-year presidency. <ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,438381,00.html Russian Lawyer in Slain Journalist Case Says She, Family Poisoned] AP, October 15, 2008</ref>

Despite these negatives—or perhaps because of the strong hand they reveal—Putin remains popular in Russia<ref>http://www.levada.ru/prezident.html Putin's Approval Ratings</ref>. Since coming to power, Putin has expanded Russia's economy and reduced inflation. The majority of Russians are relatively uninterested in politics outside of issues affecting their personal prosperity, <ref>''The Economist'', April 21, 2007</ref> and journalist Anna Politkovskaya argued that the Russian people, as a whole, have been willing to tolerate violence in the name of "comfort and peace and quiet".<ref>Politkovskaya, Anna. Putin's Russia. London: Harvill Press, 2004</ref>

==Relations with U.S.==
President Obama's decision in August 2009 to cancel an antimissile defense system in Eastern Europe earned a strong welcome from Putin. Now, the question is whether Russia will do more to help prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Putin, who had repeatedly assailed the antimissile system as a grave danger to Russia's security, called Obama's decision ''correct and brave.'' President Dmitri A. Medvedev hinted that Russia would respond favorably to the decision to replace former President George W. Bush's plan with a missile shield seen as less threatening to Moscow.

==See also==
* [[Dmitri Medvedev]]
* [[Russian Federation]]

==Further reading==
* Baker, Peter, and Susan Glasser. ''Kremlin Rising: Vladimir Putin's Russia and the End of Revolution'' (2nd ed. 2007); [http://www.amazon.com/Kremlin-Rising-Vladimir-Revolution-Updated/dp/1597971227/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256923460&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Goldman, Marshall I. ''Petrostate: Putin, Power, and the New Russia'' (2008) [http://www.amazon.com/Petrostate-Putin-Power-New-Russia/dp/0195340736/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256915128&sr=1-2 excerpt and text search]
* Lucas, Edward. ''The New Cold War: Putin's Russia and the Threat to the West'' (2009) [http://www.amazon.com/New-Cold-War-Putins-Russia/dp/0230614345/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256915128&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Stuermer, Michael. ''Putin and the Rise of Russia'' (2009)
* Wegren, Stephen K., and Dale R. Herspring, eds. ''After Putin's Russia: Past Imperfect, Future Uncertain'' (4th ed. 2009) [http://www.amazon.com/After-Putins-Russia-Imperfect-Uncertain/dp/0742557855/ref=tmm_pap_title_0 excerpt and text search]

==References==
<references/>

==Links==
[http://www.kremlin.ru/articles/V_Putin.shtml Official Putin Biography]
{{DEFAULTSORT: Putin, Vladimir}}

[[Category:Heads of State]]
[[Category:Russian People]]
[[Category:Russian Political People]]

Open source (software)

2012-11-26T07:59:25Z

DMorrow:

[[Image:Opensource.svg.png|right|100px|thumb|OSI logo]]
'''Open Source''' is a software development model being promoted by the non-profit '''Open Source Initiative (OSI)''' corporation and other organizations.
==Open Source==
Open Source refers to software where the [[source code]] is available for anyone to modify. There are many different licenses under which open source software is available<ref>http://www.opensource.org/licenses/alphabetical</ref>, all varying slightly to the degree on the conditions under which the software can be modified and redistributed.

Although the development model for open source software may seem counterintuitive, for many projects it has been shown to be very successful. Generally, open source software is distributed with the underlying source code available for anyone to freely modify and redistribute. This development model is very similar to university research and the '[[Best of the public|best of the public]]' model, where discoveries and research are published in [[peer review|peer reviewed]] journals or other venues, which are then built upon by other researchers and contributors spawning further ideas and discoveries.

There is a common misconception that open source software must be given away for free, but this is incorrect.<ref>http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#DoesTheGPLAllowDownloadFee</ref> Although most open source software is indeed available for free, with the authors usually charging for consulting and other services, there is no obligation for them to do so.

Open source software is also known as "free software". However, its advocates acknowledge that name is misleading in that it sounds, at first hearing, as if the software costs nothing. "Free", in this context, means users are free to modify the software for their own purposes. As its advocates like to say, it means "free speech, not free beer" (see also [[free software movement]]).

==Examples==
Examples of well known open source software:
*[http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/MediaWiki MediaWiki] - Wiki software used for sites such as Conservapedia and Wikipedia.
*[http://httpd.apache.org/ Apache] - Apache web server, the most popular web server in the world.<ref>http://news.netcraft.com/</ref>
*[http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/ Firefox] - [[Firefox]] web browser developed by the [http://www.mozilla.org/foundation/ Mozilla Foundation].
*[http://www.php.net/ PHP] - PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor, a scripting language used to create dynamic web sites such as Conservapedia.
*[[Linux]] - Operating system kernel used to create distributions such as the one running the server on which Conservapedia runs<ref>http://toolbar.netcraft.com/site_report?url=http://www.conservapedia.com</ref>

==Copyleft==
A related concept is one espoused by [[Richard M. Stallman]] and his followers: copyleft. Copyleft subverts copyright law to create a communistic class of software and other intellectual property that is developed from each according to ability and used according to need.<ref>http://blog.lab49.com/archives/659</ref> Through copyleft, Stallman and other atheist radicals have been able to introduce communist ideas into the likes of even International Business Machines and Oracle. Stallman hopes to use copylefted software to begin a "world revolution" against capitalism and people of faith.

Copyleft as a mechanism requires that any software which uses code from copylefted software to be licensed under the same terms -- making it copylefted as well. In the long run, this will lead to more and more software being licensed under copyleft terms. Not only that, but, due to the nature of copyleft, a lot less diversity in licenses is possible -- in fact, the most popular copyleft license, the GNU General Public License (GPL), is used for the majority of copylefted software. If this tendency will not be stopped, all open source software is soon to be licensed under one license.

==Permissive licenses==
The other kind of licenses, permissive licenses, allows usage of code without having to relicense it under the same conditions original code uses, thus allowing for more liberties for both programmers and users. The most known permissive license is the BSD license, but lots of other licenses are used in practice. Many businesses prefer using permissively-licensed code, as the licensing terms are more comfortable in their cases.

==External links==
*[http://www.opensource.org/ Open Source Initiative]

==References==
<references />
[[category: information technology]]

Open source (software)

2012-11-26T07:25:24Z

DMorrow: /* Copyleft */

[[Image:Opensource.svg.png|right|100px|thumb|OSI logo]]
'''Open Source''' is a software development model being promoted by the non-profit '''Open Source Initiative (OSI)''' corporation and other organizations.
==Open Source==
Open Source refers to software where the [[source code]] is available for anyone to modify. There are many different licenses under which open source software is available<ref>http://www.opensource.org/licenses/alphabetical</ref>, all varying slightly to the degree on the conditions under which the software can be modified and redistributed.

Although the development model for open source software may seem counterintuitive, for many projects it has been shown to be very successful. Generally, open source software is distributed with the underlying source code available for anyone to freely modify and redistribute. This development model is very similar to university research and the '[[Best of the public|best of the public]]' model, where discoveries and research are published in [[peer review|peer reviewed]] journals or other venues, which are then built upon by other researchers and contributors spawning further ideas and discoveries.

There is a common misconception that open source software must be given away for free, but this is incorrect.<ref>http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#DoesTheGPLAllowDownloadFee</ref> Although most open source software is indeed available for free, with the authors usually charging for consulting and other services, there is no obligation for them to do so.

Open source software is also known as "free software". However, its advocates acknowledge that name is misleading in that it sounds, at first hearing, as if the software costs nothing. "Free", in this context, means users are free to modify the software for their own purposes. As its advocates like to say, it means "free speech, not free beer" (see also [[free software movement]]).

==Examples==
Examples of well known open source software:
*[http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/MediaWiki MediaWiki] - Wiki software used for sites such as Conservapedia and Wikipedia.
*[http://httpd.apache.org/ Apache] - Apache web server, the most popular web server in the world.<ref>http://news.netcraft.com/</ref>
*[http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/ Firefox] - [[Firefox]] web browser developed by the [http://www.mozilla.org/foundation/ Mozilla Foundation].
*[http://www.php.net/ PHP] - PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor, a scripting language used to create dynamic web sites such as Conservapedia.
*[[Linux]] - Operating system kernel used to create distributions such as the one running the server on which Conservapedia runs<ref>http://toolbar.netcraft.com/site_report?url=http://www.conservapedia.com</ref>

==Copyleft==
A related concept is one espoused by [[Richard M. Stallman]] and his followers: copyleft. Copyleft subverts copyright law to create a communistic class of software and other intellectual property that is developed from each according to ability and used according to need.<ref>http://blog.lab49.com/archives/659</ref> Through copyleft, Stallman and other atheist radicals have been able to introduce communist ideas into the likes of even International Business Machines and Oracle. Stallman hopes to use copylefted software to begin a "world revolution" against capitalism and people of faith.

Copyleft as a mechanism requires that any software which uses code from copylefted software to be licensed under the same terms -- making it copylefted as well. In the long run, this will lead to more and more software being licensed under copyleft terms. Not only that, but, due to the nature of copyleft, a lot less diversity in licenses is possible -- in fact, the most popular copyleft license, the GNU General Public License (GPL), is used for the majority of copylefted software. If this tendency will not be stopped, all open source software is soon to be licensed under one license.

==External links==
*[http://www.opensource.org/ Open Source Initiative]

==References==
<references />
[[category: information technology]]

Social Democracy

2012-11-24T15:35:41Z

DMorrow:

'''Social democracy''' is an ideology of the political Left that emerged from [[socialism]] in the earlier part of the [[twentieth century]]. Unlike its cousin [[Communism]], which seeks to destroy [[capitalism]] by (violent) revolution and replace it with a different social and economic system, social democracy seeks to regulate capitalism and gives the government a role intervening in order to remedy its alleged deficiencies.

==History==
It is generally considered that the international Left split into two distinct camps after the [[Russian Revolution]] of 1917. Members of the more extreme factions around the world, which sought to achieve radical societal change through revolution, became known as ''[[communists]]'', while members of the less extreme factions, which sought to pursue gradual change through the democratic system, became known as ''social democrats''. The roots of these divisions, in fact, long preceded 1917: [[Marxist]]s, for example, had called for violent revolution in the nineteenth century, while more moderate parties such as the [[British]] [[Labour Party]] had never espoused such ideas. Austrian economist [[Friedrich Hayek]] writing in 1945 observed, "To many who have watched the transition from socialism to [[fascism]] at close quarters the connection between the two systems has become increasingly obvious, but in the democracies the majority of people still believe that socialism and [[freedom]] can be combined. They do not realize that democratic socialism, the great [[utopia]] of the last few generations, is not only unachievable, but that to strive for it produces something utterly different – the very destruction of freedom itself. <ref>[http://www.iea.org.uk/files/upld-publication43pdf?.pdf ''Road to Serfdom'',] Friedrich A. Hayek, Reader's Digest Condensed Version, April 1945, pg. 36.</ref>

==Social Democracy in Practice==
The economic policies of many European countries have been influenced by social democratic principles (the most notable being [[Denmark]], [[Finland]], [[Norway]] and [[Sweden]]). While such countries are often touted as having the highest living standards in the world, they also share very high tax rates and slower growth rates as compared to rest of the world (with the exception of Sweden).

==External Links==
[http://www.socialdemocraticpartyofamerica.org Social Democratic Party of America]

==References==
<references/>
[[Category:Political Terms]]

User:DMorrow

2012-11-24T13:40:01Z

DMorrow: Created page with "I am a person, who, as most of you probably are, is very tired from all the bias the mainstream media pours into the population's brain. I decided to join this website to help ev..."

I am a person, who, as most of you probably are, is very tired from all the bias the mainstream media pours into the population's brain. I decided to join this website to help everyone here in fighting against the deceit-filled websites which, instead of delivering the truth, only twist it to further their political agenda.