Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Grave of the Fireflies

2008-12-16T15:55:00Z

DrSandstone: /* Synopsis */ Add spoiler warning

[[Image:Grave of the Fireflies.jpg|thumb|right|200px]]
'''Grave of the Fireflies''' (火垂るの墓 ''Hotaru no Haka'') is an animated film written and directed by [[Isao Takahata]], a colleague of [[Hayao Miyazaki]] at [[Studio Ghibli]] and produced by Toru Hara. It originally premiered on 16 April 1988, on a double-bill with [[My Neighbor Totoro]]. It was based on the semi-autobiographical novel of the same name, written by Akiyuki Nosaka, who described his work as "a personal apology to my sister."

It was later licensed by Central Park Media, with an English dub being released to widespread critical acclaim. To date, it remains the only anime title to feature on the Top 100 DVD Releases <ref>http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/listing/top100films.php</ref>. [[Roger Ebert]] has referred to it as "the most realistic animated film I've ever seen". <ref>http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20000319/REVIEWS08/3190301/1023</ref>

==Synopsis==
{{spoiler}}

As [[World War 2]] draws to a close, American forces begin fire bombing Japanese civilian targets in an attempt to reduce morale on the home front and thus hasten Japan's surrender. As a result of such an attack on the city of [[Kobe]], 12-year-old Seita and his little sister, Setsuko, lose both their home and their mother and have to rely firstly on the charity of relatives, and later on their own wits, during a time where society is becoming increasing more focused on survival and supporting those who work towards that goal. This is something that the two children cannot comprehend, leading to clashes with their relatives and resulting in Seita and Setsuko leaving, in order to go it alone.

At first Seita is confident they can survive on their own, but nobody could ever be prepared for the challenges of living in such uncertain times, especially those who are living outside the system. However, it is the two children's love for each other that provides shelter from the harsh reality that is closing in around them and is what makes this feature stand out.

With very few [[anime]] being set during World War 2 ([[Barefoot Gen]] and [[The Cockpit]] being other examples), ''Grave of the Fireflies'' is unique as it is made abundantly clear within the first five minutes of the film that neither of its two protagonists will survive until the end. Yet despite, this incredibly bleak premise, the film works for two main reasons.

Firstly, as with many Ghibli films, it does not chose sides, but concentrates simply on the story at hand. The American bombers are not portrayed as bad, nor are the Japanese portrayed as being good - everybody is simply doing what they must within the confines of the war.

Secondly, the film works because of the relationship between Seita and Setsuko. It is more about how they react and adapt to their hardships, rather than the hardships themselves. It is about how they remain together, until the tragic climax. We watch Seita performing acrobatic tricks to entertain and distract Setsuko, even though their mother lies dying in the makeshift hospital nearby; they play in the sea, despite their desperate circumstances and when they are reduced to living in an abandoned air raid shelter, they try to make it as comfortable as they can.

At the end of the day, Grave of the Fireflies is more about the bond between brother and sister, than war, and that bond is expressed so beautifully, that it makes the eventual tragedy all the more moving and meaningful.

==Symbolism==

It is interesting that the author chose the kanji 火垂る, instead of 蛍, which denotes a firefly (''hotaru''). The former, which translates as "dangling fire" can symbolise not only fireflies, but also family (dangling fire being a type of sparkler firework that families play with together) and possibly even the falling incendiary bombs used by the attacking forces.

==Cast==

* Seita - Tsutomu Tatsumi (Japanese); J. Robert Spencer (English)
* Setsuko - Ayano Shiraishi (Japanese); Rhoda Chrosite (English)

In a departure from usual methods, where adult ''seiyuu'' (声優), or voice actors, are used to portray children, the original Japanese dub used Ayano Shiraishi, who was only five years old, and Tsutomu Tatsumi, himself still in his early teens, at the time of recording. This adds a haunting realism to their performances, when you realise you are actually listening to children, instead of adults pretending to be children.

However, in order to make allowances for the foibles of a five year-old, her lines were recorded prior to filming and the animators had to make allowance for the fact that they would be dubbed in at a later stage. As they were not quite sure how to deal with this, Setsuko's mouth is rarely shown when she speaks.

To date, "Grave of the Fireflies" remains the only film credit for both Tatsumi and Shiraishi.<ref>http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0851302</ref><ref>http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0794186</ref>

==Soundtrack==

* Musical Score: Michio Mamiya
* Opening theme: "Setsuko and Seita" by Michio Mamiya
* Ending theme: "Futari" by Michio Mamiya

==External Links==
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095327/ IMDB] entry for Grave of the Fireflies

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[category:Anime]]
[[Category:Movies]]

Grave of the Fireflies

2008-12-16T15:54:08Z

DrSandstone: Undo revision 588214 by DrSandstone (Talk)

[[Image:Grave of the Fireflies.jpg|thumb|right|200px]]
'''Grave of the Fireflies''' (火垂るの墓 ''Hotaru no Haka'') is an animated film written and directed by [[Isao Takahata]], a colleague of [[Hayao Miyazaki]] at [[Studio Ghibli]] and produced by Toru Hara. It originally premiered on 16 April 1988, on a double-bill with [[My Neighbor Totoro]]. It was based on the semi-autobiographical novel of the same name, written by Akiyuki Nosaka, who described his work as "a personal apology to my sister."

It was later licensed by Central Park Media, with an English dub being released to widespread critical acclaim. To date, it remains the only anime title to feature on the Top 100 DVD Releases <ref>http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/listing/top100films.php</ref>. [[Roger Ebert]] has referred to it as "the most realistic animated film I've ever seen". <ref>http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20000319/REVIEWS08/3190301/1023</ref>

==Synopsis==
As [[World War 2]] draws to a close, American forces begin fire bombing Japanese civilian targets in an attempt to reduce morale on the home front and thus hasten Japan's surrender. As a result of such an attack on the city of [[Kobe]], 12-year-old Seita and his little sister, Setsuko, lose both their home and their mother and have to rely firstly on the charity of relatives, and later on their own wits, during a time where society is becoming increasing more focused on survival and supporting those who work towards that goal. This is something that the two children cannot comprehend, leading to clashes with their relatives and resulting in Seita and Setsuko leaving, in order to go it alone.

At first Seita is confident they can survive on their own, but nobody could ever be prepared for the challenges of living in such uncertain times, especially those who are living outside the system. However, it is the two children's love for each other that provides shelter from the harsh reality that is closing in around them and is what makes this feature stand out.

With very few [[anime]] being set during World War 2 ([[Barefoot Gen]] and [[The Cockpit]] being other examples), ''Grave of the Fireflies'' is unique as it is made abundantly clear within the first five minutes of the film that neither of its two protagonists will survive until the end. Yet despite, this incredibly bleak premise, the film works for two main reasons.

Firstly, as with many Ghibli films, it does not chose sides, but concentrates simply on the story at hand. The American bombers are not portrayed as bad, nor are the Japanese portrayed as being good - everybody is simply doing what they must within the confines of the war.

Secondly, the film works because of the relationship between Seita and Setsuko. It is more about how they react and adapt to their hardships, rather than the hardships themselves. It is about how they remain together, until the tragic climax. We watch Seita performing acrobatic tricks to entertain and distract Setsuko, even though their mother lies dying in the makeshift hospital nearby; they play in the sea, despite their desperate circumstances and when they are reduced to living in an abandoned air raid shelter, they try to make it as comfortable as they can.

At the end of the day, Grave of the Fireflies is more about the bond between brother and sister, than war, and that bond is expressed so beautifully, that it makes the eventual tragedy all the more moving and meaningful.

==Symbolism==

It is interesting that the author chose the kanji 火垂る, instead of 蛍, which denotes a firefly (''hotaru''). The former, which translates as "dangling fire" can symbolise not only fireflies, but also family (dangling fire being a type of sparkler firework that families play with together) and possibly even the falling incendiary bombs used by the attacking forces.

==Cast==

* Seita - Tsutomu Tatsumi (Japanese); J. Robert Spencer (English)
* Setsuko - Ayano Shiraishi (Japanese); Rhoda Chrosite (English)

In a departure from usual methods, where adult ''seiyuu'' (声優), or voice actors, are used to portray children, the original Japanese dub used Ayano Shiraishi, who was only five years old, and Tsutomu Tatsumi, himself still in his early teens, at the time of recording. This adds a haunting realism to their performances, when you realise you are actually listening to children, instead of adults pretending to be children.

However, in order to make allowances for the foibles of a five year-old, her lines were recorded prior to filming and the animators had to make allowance for the fact that they would be dubbed in at a later stage. As they were not quite sure how to deal with this, Setsuko's mouth is rarely shown when she speaks.

To date, "Grave of the Fireflies" remains the only film credit for both Tatsumi and Shiraishi.<ref>http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0851302</ref><ref>http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0794186</ref>

==Soundtrack==

* Musical Score: Michio Mamiya
* Opening theme: "Setsuko and Seita" by Michio Mamiya
* Ending theme: "Futari" by Michio Mamiya

==External Links==
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095327/ IMDB] entry for Grave of the Fireflies

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[category:Anime]]
[[Category:Movies]]

Grave of the Fireflies

2008-12-16T15:53:48Z

DrSandstone:

[[Image:Grave of the Fireflies.jpg|thumb|right|200px]]
'''Grave of the Fireflies''' (火垂るの墓 ''Hotaru no Haka'') is an animated film written and directed by [[Isao Takahata]], a colleague of [[Hayao Miyazaki]] at [[Studio Ghibli]] and produced by Toru Hara. It originally premiered on 16 April 1988, on a double-bill with [[My Neighbor Totoro]]. It was based on the semi-autobiographical novel of the same name, written by Akiyuki Nosaka, who described his work as "a personal apology to my sister."

It was later licensed by Central Park Media, with an English dub being released to widespread critical acclaim. To date, it remains the only anime title to feature on the Top 100 DVD Releases <ref>http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/listing/top100films.php</ref>. [[Roger Ebert]] has referred to it as "the most realistic animated film I've ever seen". <ref>http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20000319/REVIEWS08/3190301/1023</ref>

{{spolier}}
==Synopsis==
As [[World War 2]] draws to a close, American forces begin fire bombing Japanese civilian targets in an attempt to reduce morale on the home front and thus hasten Japan's surrender. As a result of such an attack on the city of [[Kobe]], 12-year-old Seita and his little sister, Setsuko, lose both their home and their mother and have to rely firstly on the charity of relatives, and later on their own wits, during a time where society is becoming increasing more focused on survival and supporting those who work towards that goal. This is something that the two children cannot comprehend, leading to clashes with their relatives and resulting in Seita and Setsuko leaving, in order to go it alone.

At first Seita is confident they can survive on their own, but nobody could ever be prepared for the challenges of living in such uncertain times, especially those who are living outside the system. However, it is the two children's love for each other that provides shelter from the harsh reality that is closing in around them and is what makes this feature stand out.

With very few [[anime]] being set during World War 2 ([[Barefoot Gen]] and [[The Cockpit]] being other examples), ''Grave of the Fireflies'' is unique as it is made abundantly clear within the first five minutes of the film that neither of its two protagonists will survive until the end. Yet despite, this incredibly bleak premise, the film works for two main reasons.

Firstly, as with many Ghibli films, it does not chose sides, but concentrates simply on the story at hand. The American bombers are not portrayed as bad, nor are the Japanese portrayed as being good - everybody is simply doing what they must within the confines of the war.

Secondly, the film works because of the relationship between Seita and Setsuko. It is more about how they react and adapt to their hardships, rather than the hardships themselves. It is about how they remain together, until the tragic climax. We watch Seita performing acrobatic tricks to entertain and distract Setsuko, even though their mother lies dying in the makeshift hospital nearby; they play in the sea, despite their desperate circumstances and when they are reduced to living in an abandoned air raid shelter, they try to make it as comfortable as they can.

At the end of the day, Grave of the Fireflies is more about the bond between brother and sister, than war, and that bond is expressed so beautifully, that it makes the eventual tragedy all the more moving and meaningful.

==Symbolism==

It is interesting that the author chose the kanji 火垂る, instead of 蛍, which denotes a firefly (''hotaru''). The former, which translates as "dangling fire" can symbolise not only fireflies, but also family (dangling fire being a type of sparkler firework that families play with together) and possibly even the falling incendiary bombs used by the attacking forces.

==Cast==

* Seita - Tsutomu Tatsumi (Japanese); J. Robert Spencer (English)
* Setsuko - Ayano Shiraishi (Japanese); Rhoda Chrosite (English)

In a departure from usual methods, where adult ''seiyuu'' (声優), or voice actors, are used to portray children, the original Japanese dub used Ayano Shiraishi, who was only five years old, and Tsutomu Tatsumi, himself still in his early teens, at the time of recording. This adds a haunting realism to their performances, when you realise you are actually listening to children, instead of adults pretending to be children.

However, in order to make allowances for the foibles of a five year-old, her lines were recorded prior to filming and the animators had to make allowance for the fact that they would be dubbed in at a later stage. As they were not quite sure how to deal with this, Setsuko's mouth is rarely shown when she speaks.

To date, "Grave of the Fireflies" remains the only film credit for both Tatsumi and Shiraishi.<ref>http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0851302</ref><ref>http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0794186</ref>

==Soundtrack==

* Musical Score: Michio Mamiya
* Opening theme: "Setsuko and Seita" by Michio Mamiya
* Ending theme: "Futari" by Michio Mamiya

==External Links==
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095327/ IMDB] entry for Grave of the Fireflies

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[category:Anime]]
[[Category:Movies]]

Boar

2008-12-11T21:02:46Z

DrSandstone:

A '''Boar''' is a male [[pig]] which is part of the breeding herd for raising [[pork|feeder pigs]].

[[Category:Even-toed ungulates]]
[[Category:Agriculture]]

Tokyo

2008-12-11T20:53:01Z

DrSandstone:

[[Image:Tokyo 2.jpg|thumb|Tokyo by night]]
'''Tokyo''' (東京, “eastern capital”) is the capital of and the biggest city in [[Japan]]. This port city is located in the middle of [[Honshu]] Island's east coast (Honshu is the largest of the four main islands of the Japanese [[archipelago]]).

The Tokyo Area, including Chiba, Kanagawa, and Saitama, is the most populous metropolitan area in the world with a population of over 35 million people. Tokyo is also the most expensive city in the world.

The United States Army Japan is stationed at Camp Zama, 25 miles southwest of Tokyo.

[[Image:Tokyo.jpg]]

== See also ==
*[[Yokohama]]
*[[Nara]]
*[[Kamakura]]

== External links ==

*[http://www.asianinfo.org/asianinfo/tokyo/tokyo.htm Tokyo]
*[http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761559711/tokyo.html Tokyo]
*[http://www.usarj.army.mil/ United States Army Japan]

[[Category:Japanese Cities and Towns]]
[[Category:Capital Cities]]

Game animal

2008-12-11T20:51:15Z

DrSandstone:

'''Game animals''' are [[animal]]s [[hunting|hunted]] for sport. Common game animals include [[deer]], [[bear]], [[rabbit]], [[turkey]], [[pheasant]], [[grouse]], [[quail]], and [[duck]]. Many states have limits as to when game animals may be hunted as well limits as to the quantity of the animals that may be killed.

==See Also==

*[[Hunting]]
*[[Bowhunting]]
*[[Gun hunting]]

[[Category:Sports]]

Talk:Politics of personal destruction

2008-12-11T16:26:24Z

DrSandstone:

==Inappropriate Image==

The use of the "Looney Left" image on this page is childish, and inappropriate for an encyclopedia. Unless it can be justified, it will be removed. --[[User:DinsdaleP|DinsdaleP]] 11:09, 11 December 2008 (EST)

*And in your humble opinion, Dinsdale, just who are you to threaten removal of anything? Do you dispute the ''fact'' that the radical (looney) left practices the politics of personal destruction, as documented by hundreds of media sources and political observers? I will ignore your harsh and threatening incivility this once. --[[User:TK|'''₮K''']][[User_Talk:TK|/Talk!]] 11:24, 11 December 2008 (EST)

::Is the image meant to be ironic? -[[User:DrSandstone|DrSandstone]] 11:26, 11 December 2008 (EST)

Carlsbad Caverns National Park

2008-12-04T15:47:43Z

DrSandstone:

[[Image:Carlsbad Caverns entrance.jpg|right|thumb|Historic natural entrance to Carlsbad Caverns.|300px]]
'''Carlsbad Caverns National Park''' is located in [[Southeastern]] [[New Mexico]]. As you pass through the [[Chihuahuan Desert]] and [[Guadalupe Mountains]] of southeastern New Mexico and west [[Texas]]—filled with [[prickly pear]], [[cholla]]s, [[sotol]]s and [[agave]]s—you might never guess there are more than 300 known [[cave]]s beneath the surface. The park contains 113 of these caves, formed when [[sulfuric acid]] dissolved the surrounding [[limestone]], creating some of the largest caves in [[North America]].

[[Image:Carlsbad Caverns map.jpg|right|thumb|Map of Carlsbad Caverns.|400px]]

==External Links==
*[http://www.nps.gov/cave/ National Park Service Official website]
*[http://3dparks.wr.usgs.gov/carlsbad/html2/cc105.htm Virtual Tour of Carlsbad Caverns National Park]

[[category:National Park Service]]
[[Category:New Mexico]]
[[Category:Texas]]
[[Category:Caves]]

Cavern

2008-12-04T15:46:39Z

DrSandstone:

[[Image:Cavern_near_Naples_-_Joseph_Wright.jpg|thumb|250px|Cavern near Naples, painted by Joseph Wright, 1774]]A '''cavern''' is a large cave. From this we get the adjective ''cavernous'' meaning a large enclosed space.

'''The Cavern Club''' was a basement music club in [[Liverpool]] where many pop-groups of the "Merseybeat"-era (early 1960s) first performed before going on to achieve international success. The most notable of these was [[The Beatles]].

[[Category:Geology]]
[[Category:Pop Music]]
[[Category:Caves]]

Oregon Caves National Monument

2008-12-04T15:45:59Z

DrSandstone:

[[Image:Oregon Caves.jpg|right|thumb|Cave formations inside Oregon Caves]]
'''Oregon Caves National Monument''' is located at an elevation of 4,000 feet (1,220 meters) on the wooded slopes of the [[Siskiyou Mountains]], part of the coastal [[mountain]] range of [[Oregon]] and [[California]].

Oregon [[Cave]]s [[National Monument]] offers [[family]] focused opportunities to explore a [[marble]] cave, visit a [[National Historic Landmark]] (the Oregon Caves [[Chateau]]), hike [[trail]]s through ancient [[forest]]s, and earn a [[Junior Ranger Badge]].

==External Links==
http://www.nps.gov/crla/ National Park Service Official website

[[category:National Park Service]]
[[Category:Oregon]]
[[Category:California]]
[[Category:Caves]]

Cave

2008-12-04T15:43:38Z

DrSandstone:

A '''cave''' is an air- or water- filled void beneath the ground, where there is insufficient rock to prevent human access.

They can be formed by

*[[acid rain|acidic rainwater]], eroding away large of rocks such as [[limestone]].
*[[lava]] cooling and solidifying - either in bubbles, or when the crust of a lava flow solidifies, while the still-liquid lava underneath moves on.
*[[waves]] - on coasts, waves can pound out caves in cliffs.
*[[erosion]] from wind or water

== External links ==
*[http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v9/i4/caves.asp Limestone caves: A Result of Noah’s Flood?]

*[http://www.enchantedlearning.com/geography/glossary/ Glossary]
[[Category:Geography]]
[[Category:Caves]]

Long-eared Jerboa

2008-12-04T15:39:30Z

DrSandstone:

{{Taxonomy
|name=Long-eared Jerboa
|superkingdom=
|kingdom=Animalia
|phylum=Chordata
|class=Mammalia
|order=Rodentia
|family=Dipodidae
|subfamily=Euchoreutinae
|genus=Euchoreutes
|species=E. naso
|binomialname=Euchoreutes naso
}}
The '''long-eared jerboa''', like the regular [[jerboa]], is a small rodent with long hind legs and a tufted tail. As the name implies, the long-eared Jerboa has exceptionally large ears - a third larger than its head.

==Conservation==
Aside from appearance, little is known about this species, but it has been classified as evolutionary distinct and endangered: It is listed as "Endangered" on the ''2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species'' and is in the Top 10 "Focal Species" list of the [[EDGE project]].

==External Links==
*Baillie, J. 1996: [http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/details.php/8162/summ Euchoreutes naso] In: 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
*EDGE Project: [http://www.edgeofexistence.org/conservation/mammal_focal_species.php Focal Species]
*EDGE Project: [http://www.edgeofexistence.org/mammals/species_info.php?id=81 Long-eared jerboa]

[[Category:Rodents]]

Debate:Favorite old time radio show

2008-12-04T15:37:33Z

DrSandstone:

{{debate}}

What is your favorite old time radio show, let's debate this topic

My favorite thing about old time radio is that it proves that entertainment does not need to be dirty to be funny, (but to be honest it was sometimes a little racist).

For those new to old time radio, you can find huge amounts on the Internet Archive[http://www.archive.org/details/oldtimeradio].

My Personal favorite is the [[Dean Martin|Martin]] & [[Jerry Lewis|Lewis]] show[http://www.archive.org/details/MartinAndLewis_OldTimeRadio]. What's yours? [[User:DLerner|DLerner]] 22:39, 4 March 2008 (EST)

== Kick to the head! ==

Do any of y'all remember [[Ed Gruberman]]? Oh man, he'd just sit there and kick people in the head. Sometimes they deserved it, sometimes they didn't - but it was always good stuff. --[[User:DrHubertJNugz|DrHubertJNugz]] 22:07, 18 August 2008 (EDT)

User:Lukecorlando/Contest

2008-12-04T15:34:27Z

DrSandstone:

[[User:Lukecorlando|Lukecorlando's]] Contest Stats

==Monday, November 12==

New Articles:

[[Toxic]]- Most Wanted- 7 points

[[Ammunition]]- Most Wanted- 7 points

[[Mud]]- Most Wanted- 7 points

[[NARAL]]- Most Wanted- 7 points

[[Psychosis]]- Most Wanted- 7 points

[[Virtue]]- Most Wanted- 7 points

[[Damage]]- Most Wanted- 7 points

[[Commercial Crimes]]-4

[[Apogee]]-4

[[Capital Crime]]-4

Minor Edits: 2 points

[[Toxin]]

[[Jose de San Martin]]

[[Ramadan]]

[[Progressive]]

[[Private law]]

[[Mount Olympus]]

Total: 73

==Tuesday, November 13==

3 quality photos-12 points

33 minor edits- 66 points

Total:78

==Wednesday, November 14==

==Thursday, November 15==

==Friday, November 16==

==Saturday, November 17==

==Sunday, November 18==

Talk:Trail of Tears

2008-12-04T15:31:21Z

DrSandstone: /* Genocide */

==Genocide==

The Trail of Tears should be considered genocide based on the references in Conservapedia's own [[Genocide|article]] on the subject. The conditions of the Trail of Tears clearly meets the conditions of items 2 and three in Article 2 of the Geneva Convention, as cited in the article. --[[User:DinsdaleP|DinsdaleP]] 12:43, 3 December 2008 (EST)

:I support this only on the condition that you help us identify the mega-cases of genocide by regimes that have nothing to do with America, such as the [[Soviet]]s and [[Red China]]. Do not call excessive attention to (relatively) small violations of [[human rights]]. This would violate our [[undue weight]] provision, if we had one. --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] [[User talk:Ed Poor|Talk]] 13:00, 3 December 2008 (EST)

There was the [[Holocaust]]. There were the [[Stalin]]ist labour camps. There were the killling fields in Cambodia. [[User:RubyG|RubyG]] 13:04, 3 December 2008 (EST)

:Don't forget all the people murdered by [[Mao]], estimated at 20 million (current Chinese gov't admission) to 60 million (source needed). --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] [[User talk:Ed Poor|Talk]] 13:08, 3 December 2008 (EST)

::I'm not out to be un-American by making the point above. The death of thousands is not a "(relatively) small violations of human rights", it's a tragedy we need to learn from regardless of who committed it. If I made a factual error in my statement then please correct me, because that's what Talk pages are for.

::Are you stating that in order for Conservapedia to acknowledge an act of wrongdoing that occurred in the history of the U.S.A. an equal or greater number of similar wrongdoings elsewhere must be acknowledged first? The CP article on [[genocide]] lists some of those examples, to which i could add the Rwandan genocide of 1994. The deaths of millions in China during the "Great Leap Froward" was wrong to the point of being evil, but I'd have to say it's not genocide, however. Those deaths (mostly from starvation) were the result of criminal mismanagement of resources, suppression of bad news from the leadership, and a blind adherence to communist party authority by Chinese leaders the watched their fellow countrymen die. I don't think it could properly be called genocide, though, because these were not caused with the intent of one group to eliminate another. I could be wrong, though. --[[User:DinsdaleP|DinsdaleP]] 13:16, 3 December 2008 (EST)

:::The U.S. Government certainly engaged in a campaign of genocide against the American aboriginals, and the Trail of Tears was a part of that. Denying it or diminishing it by comparing it to more "successful" genocide campaigns denigrates the people whose lives were lost. -[[User:DrSandstone|DrSandstone]] 13:26, 3 December 2008 (EST)
::::Given that the population of Native Americans prior to European "discovery" was in the 50-100 millions, and that within 100 years it was down to less than 1 million, I'd hardly say the genocide was "unsuccessful". If you look at all Indian nations as "one people", at least in a numbers way, then it is surly one of the largest genocides in history. Does genocide have to be small, specific acts done over a limited period of time, or can it include generations who all share a mindset that "X People are savages and best killed off".--[[User:JeanJacques|JeanJacques]] 15:28, 3 December 2008 (EST)
:::::Infectious disease is the reason that the numbers are ''so'' staggering. Policies like Indian Removal in the 1830s were undoubtedly acts of genocide. You could probably add the killing off of the American bison insofar as this was done to deliberately deprive Plains tribes of their means of subsistence. (The overhunting was done for profit, but the government condoned it as a means of destroying the Indians.) But referring to broad demographic trends as genocide is probably a misuse of the term, since no one was deliberately pursuing the extinction of an ethnic group for 400 solid years. [[User:Fishal|Fishal]] 15:57, 3 December 2008 (EST)
::::::I agree, early European contact with North American aborigines had a hugely detrimental impact on the aborigines, but it wasn't until sometime later that actual government policy promoted the eradication of these people. I don't consider accidental spread of disease genocide, even if the people spreading the disease didn't consider those getting infected as fully human. But there was a definite period in the history of the U.S. where extermination was, though maybe controversially so, enforced by law and policy. -[[User:DrSandstone|DrSandstone]] 16:20, 3 December 2008 (EST)
::::::Oh and yes, my use the term "successful" earlier was sarcasm. -[[User:DrSandstone|DrSandstone]] 16:26, 3 December 2008 (EST)
::::::: I think we should take this into consideration. Whether we like the UN or not, I think this is actually a decent list from the post WWII definitions.
::::::::::(a) Killing members of the group;
::::::::::(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
::::::::::(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
::::::::::(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
::::::::::(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
::::::: I-personally- think it probably meets the definition as a genocidal act. [[User:PeytonJ|PeytonJ]] 17:16, 3 December 2008 (EST)

::::::::The UN position has been brought up before and generally been discarded as far too watered down. The Palestinians claim genocide from the Israelis under the same definition. Does this equate to what occurred in World War II? If the Israelis wanted to wipe out the Palestinians, they have the force to do so and could show the difference between the adopted definition and real genocide. [[User:Learn together|Learn together]] 17:23, 3 December 2008 (EST)
:::::::::I think there's a significant difference between israel's right to protect its sovereignty and US policy dictating nativerelocation and discrimination just because they're natives. [[User:PeytonJ|PeytonJ]] 17:32, 3 December 2008 (EST)
::::::::::Not the U.N. definition. Weren't the Palestinians forced to relocate? Don't they suffer mental harm? Isn't the forced crowding a way to make it difficult for them to have children? The problem with the U.N. situation is that it has been written so broadly that it encompasses many situations that we would not generally think of as genocide. In that respect, it detracts from those actions that are universally acknowledged to have been a methodical, forced efforts to wipe out another population. [[User:Learn together|Learn together]] 17:47, 3 December 2008 (EST)

We generally take genocide to be the forced killing of a religious or ethnic group soley because of their religious or ethnic makeup. This would include either direct killing or conditions that are meant to lead to extermination. The Trail of Tears was a horrible event, but there is no evidence that extermination was sought. We also consider scope. The atrocities that we usually tie-in to genocide have a tendency to be far reaching more than isolated instances. [[User:Learn together|Learn together]] 17:17, 3 December 2008 (EST)
:Scope is not a qualifier, and this is one of a number of instances in a government pogrom against American aborigines because they were seen as an inferior race, or ''ethnicity''. One attack on a village does not qualify as genocide, perhaps, but a government putting into policy the decimation of another people is genocide. Especially if you take into effect government programs to "de-Indian" these people as well. To do otherwise is revisionism. -[[User:DrSandstone|DrSandstone]] 17:40, 3 December 2008 (EST)
::So now we have adopted "cultural genocide"? That would pretty much encompass the bulk of human history across all continents and time periods. Should we make mention of the genocide of the Hittites in that the quick downfall of their empire led to the end of their culture? Treating people poorly is wrong, but it's not genocide. Trying to kill them en masse is. I would recommend that with you knowledge that you help fill out the article. There is nothing on the Supreme Court Decision and Jackson's words when he decided to ignore it. That is certainly a huge part of the story. [[User:Learn together|Learn together]] 17:57, 3 December 2008 (EST)
:::You must have missed the "as well". The behavior I mentioned was ''in addition'' to killing these people, and belies the attitude the U.S. government had towards them at the time. You seem to be in denial, I guess I can't really help you see this. -[[User:DrSandstone|DrSandstone]] 10:31, 4 December 2008 (EST)
: From the Conservapedia definition of genocide: "Genocide involves the calculated targeting and killing of a specific ethnic group, '''or any huge deliberate killing of civilians carried out as a consequence of government policy.'''" How does this not meet the standard that this site already agrees upon? --[[User:BStowe|BStowe]] 17:50, 3 December 2008 (EST)

Talk:Trail of Tears

2008-12-03T22:40:58Z

DrSandstone: /* Genocide */ Sp

==Genocide==

The Trail of Tears should be considered genocide based on the references in Conservapedia's own [[Genocide|article]] on the subject. The conditions of the Trail of Tears clearly meets the conditions of items 2 and three in Article 2 of the Geneva Convention, as cited in the article. --[[User:DinsdaleP|DinsdaleP]] 12:43, 3 December 2008 (EST)

:I support this only on the condition that you help us identify the mega-cases of genocide by regimes that have nothing to do with America, such as the [[Soviet]]s and [[Red China]]. Do not call excessive attention to (relatively) small violations of [[human rights]]. This would violate our [[undue weight]] provision, if we had one. --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] [[User talk:Ed Poor|Talk]] 13:00, 3 December 2008 (EST)

There was the [[Holocaust]]. There were the [[Stalin]]ist labour camps. There were the killling fields in Cambodia. [[User:RubyG|RubyG]] 13:04, 3 December 2008 (EST)

:Don't forget all the people murdered by [[Mao]], estimated at 20 million (current Chinese gov't admission) to 60 million (source needed). --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] [[User talk:Ed Poor|Talk]] 13:08, 3 December 2008 (EST)

::I'm not out to be un-American by making the point above. The death of thousands is not a "(relatively) small violations of human rights", it's a tragedy we need to learn from regardless of who committed it. If I made a factual error in my statement then please correct me, because that's what Talk pages are for.

::Are you stating that in order for Conservapedia to acknowledge an act of wrongdoing that occurred in the history of the U.S.A. an equal or greater number of similar wrongdoings elsewhere must be acknowledged first? The CP article on [[genocide]] lists some of those examples, to which i could add the Rwandan genocide of 1994. The deaths of millions in China during the "Great Leap Froward" was wrong to the point of being evil, but I'd have to say it's not genocide, however. Those deaths (mostly from starvation) were the result of criminal mismanagement of resources, suppression of bad news from the leadership, and a blind adherence to communist party authority by Chinese leaders the watched their fellow countrymen die. I don't think it could properly be called genocide, though, because these were not caused with the intent of one group to eliminate another. I could be wrong, though. --[[User:DinsdaleP|DinsdaleP]] 13:16, 3 December 2008 (EST)

:::The U.S. Government certainly engaged in a campaign of genocide against the American aboriginals, and the Trail of Tears was a part of that. Denying it or diminishing it by comparing it to more "successful" genocide campaigns denigrates the people whose lives were lost. -[[User:DrSandstone|DrSandstone]] 13:26, 3 December 2008 (EST)
::::Given that the population of Native Americans prior to European "discovery" was in the 50-100 millions, and that within 100 years it was down to less than 1 million, I'd hardly say the genocide was "unsuccessful". If you look at all Indian nations as "one people", at least in a numbers way, then it is surly one of the largest genocides in history. Does genocide have to be small, specific acts done over a limited period of time, or can it include generations who all share a mindset that "X People are savages and best killed off".--[[User:JeanJacques|JeanJacques]] 15:28, 3 December 2008 (EST)
:::::Infectious disease is the reason that the numbers are ''so'' staggering. Policies like Indian Removal in the 1830s were undoubtedly acts of genocide. You could probably add the killing off of the American bison insofar as this was done to deliberately deprive Plains tribes of their means of subsistence. (The overhunting was done for profit, but the government condoned it as a means of destroying the Indians.) But referring to broad demographic trends as genocide is probably a misuse of the term, since no one was deliberately pursuing the extinction of an ethnic group for 400 solid years. [[User:Fishal|Fishal]] 15:57, 3 December 2008 (EST)
::::::I agree, early European contact with North American aborigines had a hugely detrimental impact on the aborigines, but it wasn't until sometime later that actual government policy promoted the eradication of these people. I don't consider accidental spread of disease genocide, even if the people spreading the disease didn't consider those getting infected as fully human. But there was a definite period in the history of the U.S. where extermination was, though maybe controversially so, enforced by law and policy. -[[User:DrSandstone|DrSandstone]] 16:20, 3 December 2008 (EST)
::::::Oh and yes, my use the term "successful" earlier was sarcasm. -[[User:DrSandstone|DrSandstone]] 16:26, 3 December 2008 (EST)
::::::: I think we should take this into consideration. Whether we like the UN or not, I think this is actually a decent list from the post WWII definitions.
::::::::::(a) Killing members of the group;
::::::::::(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
::::::::::(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
::::::::::(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
::::::::::(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
::::::: I-personally- think it probably meets the definition as a genocidal act. [[User:PeytonJ|PeytonJ]] 17:16, 3 December 2008 (EST)

::::::::The UN position has been brought up before and generally been discarded as far too watered down. The Palestinians claim genocide from the Israelis under the same definition. Does this equate to what occurred in World War II? If the Israelis wanted to wipe out the Palestinians, they have the force to do so and could show the difference between the adopted definition and real genocide. [[User:Learn together|Learn together]] 17:23, 3 December 2008 (EST)
:::::::::I think there's a significant difference between israel's right to protect its sovereignty and US policy dictating nativerelocation and discrimination just because they're natives. [[User:PeytonJ|PeytonJ]] 17:32, 3 December 2008 (EST)

We generally take genocide to be the forced killing of a religious or ethnic group soley because of their religious or ethnic makeup. This would include either direct killing or conditions that are meant to lead to extermination. The Trail of Tears was a horrible event, but there is no evidence that extermination was sought. We also consider scope. The atrocities that we usually tie-in to genocide have a tendency to be far reaching more than isolated instances. [[User:Learn together|Learn together]] 17:17, 3 December 2008 (EST)
:Scope is not a qualifier, and this is one of a number of instances in a government pogrom against American aborigines because they were seen as an inferior race, or ''ethnicity''. One attack on a village does not qualify as genocide, perhaps, but a government putting into policy the decimation of another people is genocide. Especially if you take into effect government programs to "de-Indian" these people as well. To do otherwise is revisionism. -[[User:DrSandstone|DrSandstone]] 17:40, 3 December 2008 (EST)

Talk:Trail of Tears

2008-12-03T22:40:15Z

DrSandstone: /* Genocide */

==Genocide==

The Trail of Tears should be considered genocide based on the references in Conservapedia's own [[Genocide|article]] on the subject. The conditions of the Trail of Tears clearly meets the conditions of items 2 and three in Article 2 of the Geneva Convention, as cited in the article. --[[User:DinsdaleP|DinsdaleP]] 12:43, 3 December 2008 (EST)

:I support this only on the condition that you help us identify the mega-cases of genocide by regimes that have nothing to do with America, such as the [[Soviet]]s and [[Red China]]. Do not call excessive attention to (relatively) small violations of [[human rights]]. This would violate our [[undue weight]] provision, if we had one. --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] [[User talk:Ed Poor|Talk]] 13:00, 3 December 2008 (EST)

There was the [[Holocaust]]. There were the [[Stalin]]ist labour camps. There were the killling fields in Cambodia. [[User:RubyG|RubyG]] 13:04, 3 December 2008 (EST)

:Don't forget all the people murdered by [[Mao]], estimated at 20 million (current Chinese gov't admission) to 60 million (source needed). --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] [[User talk:Ed Poor|Talk]] 13:08, 3 December 2008 (EST)

::I'm not out to be un-American by making the point above. The death of thousands is not a "(relatively) small violations of human rights", it's a tragedy we need to learn from regardless of who committed it. If I made a factual error in my statement then please correct me, because that's what Talk pages are for.

::Are you stating that in order for Conservapedia to acknowledge an act of wrongdoing that occurred in the history of the U.S.A. an equal or greater number of similar wrongdoings elsewhere must be acknowledged first? The CP article on [[genocide]] lists some of those examples, to which i could add the Rwandan genocide of 1994. The deaths of millions in China during the "Great Leap Froward" was wrong to the point of being evil, but I'd have to say it's not genocide, however. Those deaths (mostly from starvation) were the result of criminal mismanagement of resources, suppression of bad news from the leadership, and a blind adherence to communist party authority by Chinese leaders the watched their fellow countrymen die. I don't think it could properly be called genocide, though, because these were not caused with the intent of one group to eliminate another. I could be wrong, though. --[[User:DinsdaleP|DinsdaleP]] 13:16, 3 December 2008 (EST)

:::The U.S. Government certainly engaged in a campaign of genocide against the American aboriginals, and the Trail of Tears was a part of that. Denying it or diminishing it by comparing it to more "successful" genocide campaigns denigrates the people whose lives were lost. -[[User:DrSandstone|DrSandstone]] 13:26, 3 December 2008 (EST)
::::Given that the population of Native Americans prior to European "discovery" was in the 50-100 millions, and that within 100 years it was down to less than 1 million, I'd hardly say the genocide was "unsuccessful". If you look at all Indian nations as "one people", at least in a numbers way, then it is surly one of the largest genocides in history. Does genocide have to be small, specific acts done over a limited period of time, or can it include generations who all share a mindset that "X People are savages and best killed off".--[[User:JeanJacques|JeanJacques]] 15:28, 3 December 2008 (EST)
:::::Infectious disease is the reason that the numbers are ''so'' staggering. Policies like Indian Removal in the 1830s were undoubtedly acts of genocide. You could probably add the killing off of the American bison insofar as this was done to deliberately deprive Plains tribes of their means of subsistence. (The overhunting was done for profit, but the government condoned it as a means of destroying the Indians.) But referring to broad demographic trends as genocide is probably a misuse of the term, since no one was deliberately pursuing the extinction of an ethnic group for 400 solid years. [[User:Fishal|Fishal]] 15:57, 3 December 2008 (EST)
::::::I agree, early European contact with North American aborigines had a hugely detrimental impact on the aborigines, but it wasn't until sometime later that actual government policy promoted the eradication of these people. I don't consider accidental spread of disease genocide, even if the people spreading the disease didn't consider those getting infected as fully human. But there was a definite period in the history of the U.S. where extermination was, though maybe controversially so, enforced by law and policy. -[[User:DrSandstone|DrSandstone]] 16:20, 3 December 2008 (EST)
::::::Oh and yes, my use the term "successful" earlier was sarcasm. -[[User:DrSandstone|DrSandstone]] 16:26, 3 December 2008 (EST)
::::::: I think we should take this into consideration. Whether we like the UN or not, I think this is actually a decent list from the post WWII definitions.
::::::::::(a) Killing members of the group;
::::::::::(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
::::::::::(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
::::::::::(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
::::::::::(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
::::::: I-personally- think it probably meets the definition as a genocidal act. [[User:PeytonJ|PeytonJ]] 17:16, 3 December 2008 (EST)

::::::::The UN position has been brought up before and generally been discarded as far too watered down. The Palestinians claim genocide from the Israelis under the same definition. Does this equate to what occurred in World War II? If the Israelis wanted to wipe out the Palestinians, they have the force to do so and could show the difference between the adopted definition and real genocide. [[User:Learn together|Learn together]] 17:23, 3 December 2008 (EST)
:::::::::I think there's a significant difference between israel's right to protect its sovereignty and US policy dictating nativerelocation and discrimination just because they're natives. [[User:PeytonJ|PeytonJ]] 17:32, 3 December 2008 (EST)

We generally take genocide to be the forced killing of a religious or ethnic group soley because of their religious or ethnic makeup. This would include either direct killing or conditions that are meant to lead to extermination. The Trail of Tears was a horrible event, but there is no evidence that extermination was sought. We also consider scope. The atrocities that we usually tie-in to genocide have a tendency to be far reaching more than isolated instances. [[User:Learn together|Learn together]] 17:17, 3 December 2008 (EST)
:Scope is not a qualifier, and this is one of a number of instances in a government pogrom against American aborigines because they were seen as an inferior race, or ''ethnicity''. One attack on a village does not qualify as genocide, perhaps, but a government putting into policy the decimation of another people is genocide. Especially if you take into effect government programs to "de-Indian" these people as well. Do do otherwise is revisionism. -[[User:DrSandstone|DrSandstone]] 17:40, 3 December 2008 (EST)

Talk:Trail of Tears

2008-12-03T21:26:10Z

DrSandstone: /* Genocide */

Talk:Trail of Tears

2008-12-03T21:20:44Z

DrSandstone: /* Genocide */

Talk:Trail of Tears

2008-12-03T18:26:37Z

DrSandstone: /* Genocide */

Edward M. Kennedy

2008-12-03T16:42:36Z

DrSandstone:

{{move|Edward Moore Kennedy}}
[[Image:Tedkennedy.jpg|right|thumb]]
'''Edward Moore ("Ted" or "Teddy") Kennedy''' (b. 1932) is the second longest-serving [[United States|U.S.]] [[Senator]], a [[Democrat]] from [[Massachusetts]]. His family has been a major part of the Democratic Party for almost 50 years, beginning with his older brothers President [[John F. Kennedy]] (assassinated in 1963) and [[Robert F. Kennedy]] (assassinated in 1968). Ted Kennedy was long assumed to become the Democratic nominee for president himself, but the [[Chappaquiddick]] scandal in 1969 caused him to delay his candidacy until 1980, when he was unable to overcome the power of incumbency enjoyed by Democratic President [[Jimmy Carter]]. Kennedy is sometimes referred to as the [[Chappaquiddick|Hero of Chappaquiddick]]<ref>http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1453846/posts</ref>

Ted Kennedy has always represented the most [[liberal]] side of the Democratic Party, from support for taxpayer-funded [[abortion]] to [[same-sex marriage]]. Senator [[Robert Byrd]] defeated him for a leadership position (Majority Whip) in the Senate in 1971 and Kennedy has never served as Majority Leader.<ref>http://www.notablebiographies.com/Jo-Ki/Kennedy-Edward.html</ref> His political power behind the scenes is undisputed.

After being expelled from Harvard for cheating on exam, he served two years in the [[United States Army]] and subsequently graduated from Harvard in 1956.<ref>http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/kennedys/timeline/timeline2.html</ref> He graduated from the University of Virginia law school in 1959. He is the father of Congressman [[Patrick J. Kennedy]].

==Chappaquiddick Scandal==
On July 18, 1969, Senator Kennedy drove away from a party on the island of Martha's Vineyard with an attractive young woman named Mary Jo Kopechne. In what he later described as an accident, Kennedy made an unusual turn and then drove his vehicle off a bridge connecting [[Chappaquiddick]] Island to Martha's Vineyard. The car landed in a pond, where Kopechne then drowned. Kennedy did not report the incident to the police until the next morning, and his statement then was implausible to many Americans.

This death became a national scandal and hurt Kennedy's image. He entered a plea of guilty to a charge of leaving the scene of an accident after causing injury, but did not serve any time in jail in a sentence criticized for its leniency towards a member of a prominent family. In an additional criticized decision, no autopsy was performed on Kopechne despite the presence of illegality and unanswered questions about her death.

==Presidential Campaign==
Kennedy was frequently mentioned as a possible Democratic presidential candidate in 1972 and 1976. However, he chose not to run due to his controversial past and claimed to have family concerns after his two brothers were assassinated. But in 1980 he decided to challenge incumbent President [[Jimmy Carter]] for the Democratic nomination. Though Carter was unpopular, Kennedy failed in his effort to supplant him as the party's nominee.<ref>http://www.politicalbase.com/people/ted-kennedy/2888/</ref>

==U.S. Senate==
Kennedy has gained a reputation as a very [[liberal]] Senator, even further to the left than most Democrats. He has a [[pro-choice]] voting record.<ref>http://www.ontheissues.org/Social/Ted_Kennedy_Abortion.htm</ref> He voted against confirming [[Samuel Alito]] to the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] and was in the minority of his own party to vote against confirming [[John Roberts]] to the Court. On [[immigration]] Kennedy has been a strong supporter of amnesty for [[illegal aliens]].<ref>http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2007/1/25/131758.shtml</ref> He voted against the war in [[Iraq]]<ref>http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8I0G3JG0&show_article=1</ref> and is also one of only five Senators who say they support same-sex marriage<ref>http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/05/06/democrats_platform_shouldnt_back_gay_marriage_kerry_says/</ref>.

In addition to many other bills, Kennedy played a key role in the crafting the language in the [[No Child Left Behind]] Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-110), a massive [[education]] bill signed into law by Republican President [[George W. Bush]].<ref>http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/02/bill-clinton-bl.html</ref>

He is currently Chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions,<ref>http://help.senate.gov/About.html</ref> where the first bill he pushed through was an increase in the minimum wage by $2.10, to $7.25.<ref>http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20070525/news_1n25minwage.html</ref>

Kennedy and [[John McCain]] collaborated in writing much of the 2007 immigration bill, which failed by two votes for [[cloture]] despite support by President [[George W. Bush]]. <ref>http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/02/28/kennedy_mccain_try_again_on_immigration/</ref>

On May 20, 2008, Kennedy was diagnosed with a brain tumor, which has since been operated upon, and which will receive chemotherapy and radiation treatments in the future.<ref>http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/05/20/kennedy.tumor/index.html</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External link==
*[http://foia.fbi.gov/foiaindex/chappaquiddick.htm FBI FOIA Investigation on Chappaquiddick]

{{liberalism}}
{{DEFAULTSORT: Kennedy, Ted}}
[[Category:United States Senators]]
[[Category:Democratic Party]]
[[Category: Liberals]]
[[Category: 110th United States Congress]]

Talk:Placebo effect

2008-12-02T22:45:22Z

DrSandstone:

"A placebo is inactive and therefore
it is not from any physical effect of the placebo that it works."

Okay, but what does this mean? --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] [[User talk:Ed Poor|Talk]] 14:21, 2 December 2008 (EST)

:It is essential that the placebo does not have any physical effects, whether "direct" or "indirect". The effect of a placebo is due to the patient "knowing" they are receiving a treatment. For example, if you had a headache and I slipped you a placebo without you knowing it, it would not have an effect. This is because a placebo does not have any direct or indirect physical effects. The placebo itself it completely inactive, inert, what have you. If it did have an effect, it wouldn't be a placebo. It would be a headache reliever![[User:DavidJohnson|DavidJohnson]] 14:24, 2 December 2008 (EST)

::I already understood about "slipping". I'm wondering about the indirect physical effect, in a [[mind/body]] sense. My coworker told me last month, after I brewed a pot of coffee, that he already felt perked up - even before he went to fill his cup. And [[Pavlov]]'s dogs certainly did salivate (a physical effect) after hearing the bell. I'd call that an indirect physical effect. --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] [[User talk:Ed Poor|Talk]] 14:27, 2 December 2008 (EST)

:::As I understand it, the placebo does not cause any physical effects ''itself'', but can have psychological effects which manifest physical effects. Also, I think there are distinctions made when a placebo is used for studying psychology, and when they are used as controls in drug trials. -[[User:DrSandstone|DrSandstone]] 14:34, 2 December 2008 (EST)

:::(EC with the Dr.)I would call those direct physical effects. The smell of coffee and the ringing of the bell have direct effects on the brain of the people who hear them. Placebos do not have direct effects on the brains of the people who take them. '''Knowing''' or '''believing''' that they are taking a treatment has an effect. Again, the placebo itself does not.
:::Being physically or chemically inert is part of the '''meaning''' of 'placebo'. If you have philosophical questions about what this means in light of the mind/body debate, that's great. But the article should still be clear about what a placebo is. [[User:DavidJohnson|DavidJohnson]] 14:34, 2 December 2008 (EST)

:::(ECx2) Ed as you illustrated above there is a psychological component to how we are able to control our own bodies. That's really how a lot of these liberal new-age talking or touching therapies work (also a good old-fashioned mom's "let me kiss it better"). Because people often feel better fom getting personal attention rather than being palmed of with a couple of apsirin. I guess it's because we all need to be loved and I suspect this is why Christians can withstand greater apparent suffering because they know they are loved by God and Jesus. Placebos tend to work well for things like pain control but are generally ineffective against serious infectious diseases like polio or tetanus, however they can affect how a patient perceives the disease so when testing the efficacy of a new drug placebos are used to establish a baseline against which to measure the effectiveness of the drug. Interestingly when people are told that the placebo is more expensive (obviously they don't know it's a placebo) then it is found to have an even greater effect. Of course, Hollywood stars require incredibly expensive placebos! [[User:BrianCo|BrianCo]] 14:58, 2 December 2008 (EST)

::::This is also why brand name drugs are perceived by many people to work better, even though the active ingredients are exactly the same as a generic medication. -[[User:DrSandstone|DrSandstone]] 15:31, 2 December 2008 (EST)

So, one of the reasons a placebo might work is [[classical conditioning]]? We should mention that in the article, along with any other theories that doctors have come up with. --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] [[User talk:Ed Poor|Talk]] 16:52, 2 December 2008 (EST)

== No citation ==

"It is well known to medical researchers that merely assuring someone that a treatment will be successful, greatly increases the chance of the treatment actually working" This is the line I could not find a citation for yet. If narrowed to pain management it would be ok. Would a general cite on patient faith affecting outcomes be relevant ? [[User:Markr|Markr]] 16:08, 2 December 2008 (EST)
:Not sure this fits exactly, but it speaks to the basic concept. Can you help me restructure the section to reflect this accurately? [http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2000/100_heal.html] -[[User:DrSandstone|DrSandstone]] 16:21, 2 December 2008 (EST)

== "Nonsense" ==
It is not nonsense that a placebo is defined as a substance that has no effect on human beings. The [[placebo effect]] is a phenomenon that deserves its own entry, but can be considered separately from the issue of the definition of placebo. Someone who is administered an active agent like epinepherine or insulin will show physiological effects even if they are unaware of the administration; the same is not true for placebos, which cause no physiological changes if the subject is unaware of the administration. To claim that a placebo is not inert because the placebo effect exists ignores the defining characteristic of a placebo.

:I inserted the definition from the CDC mainly because the only reference at that point in the article was to the definition, yet the definition (which was the only mention of "placebo" on the cited page) was nowhere in the article. It was a choice of either ditch the reference or use the definition, and as there were no other references I went with the latter. Please try to be kinder in your edit comments - we are all doing our little bit to improve the article, even if it's not perfect. (Also - I'm glad to see there are now references - medical articles with no references (or with only a reference to a definition) scare me.) --[[User:Hsmom|Hsmom]] 16:58, 2 December 2008 (EST)

The Atlanta CDC used to be highly respectable, but during the AIDS furor, they became politicizied. Here's your reference, but I have no idea why you'd want it in the article:

*The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Vaccines and Immunizations Glossary defines a '''placebo''' as "A substance or treatment that has no effect on human beings." <ref>US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Vaccines and Immunizations Glossary, entry for "placebo" [http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/about/terms/glossary.htm#p]</ref>

If it has no effect, then why would anybody be talking about the 'placebo effect'? --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] [[User talk:Ed Poor|Talk]] 17:13, 2 December 2008 (EST)
:There's no active ingredient in a placebo, so any effect is either psychological or a mistaken perception. In other words, the placebo itself does nothing, it's the subject doing all the work or seeing a change when there really wasn't any. Additionally the "placebo effect" is different than a "placebo". [[User:LiamG|LiamG]] 17:29, 2 December 2008 (EST)

:Classical conditioning is a trained physical or psychological response over time. You hit me every time I say a "potty word" I learn to either stop saying the bad word, or I learn to expect being hit. Placebos, on the other hand, do not require the person to have any prior experience with medication at all, much less this particular medication. It is the power of the mind to "cure" (put in quotes, cause it's not really a cure, but a distraction) minor things such as pain. When a child in a doctor's office is about to get a shot, the doctor may do something silly to make the child giggle; may pinch (gently) the child's nose; or may have a nurse slam a door... the distraction makes the child less aware of the pain. Prayer and Meditation can also have a placebo like effect. (I don't mean the actual curative side of God intervening, by the way). a patient may pray or meditate to focus on something other than a headache, and the headache "goes away".--[[User:JeanJacques|JeanJacques]] 17:43, 2 December 2008 (EST)

::(EC)It's like in Dumbo. Dumbo "couldn't" fly, because he didn't have the confidence in himself to do it. But when he was given a "magic" feather that he was told would make him able to, he believed he could and did. There isn't any inherent power in the feather (or the placebo). Being convinced by a perceived authority figure that something has "magical" properties can have a profound affect on people, and has been manipulated by people for a very long time. -[[User:DrSandstone|DrSandstone]] 17:45, 2 December 2008 (EST)

----


<references />

Talk:Placebo effect

2008-12-02T21:21:35Z

DrSandstone: /* No citation */

Talk:Escape From Intimacy

2008-12-02T20:41:47Z

DrSandstone:

== Copied material ==

The stuff I removed was copied word for word from the first page Scheaf's book, formatted to look different and without proper citing. I thought it better to remove this straight away since it is essentially plagiarism. I have reinserted the material as a direct quote.--[[User:JohnD|JohnD]] 15:18, 2 December 2008 (EST)

:Thanks. On my edit summary, an accidental ! showed up, not sure why. I didn't disagree with you, just thought it should be discussed at the talk page before that much of the article was deleted. This looks great, thanks for your work on it. -[[User:DrSandstone|DrSandstone]] 15:41, 2 December 2008 (EST)

Talk:Placebo effect

2008-12-02T20:31:16Z

DrSandstone:

Escape From Intimacy

2008-12-02T20:14:28Z

DrSandstone: Undo revision 575603 by JohnD (Talk) This should probably be discussed first!?

'''Escape From Intimacy''' is a book by [[Anne Wilson Schaef]]
about [[sexual obsession]], which she equates with [[sexual addiction]] because:
#Addiction is a more accurate definition of sexual behaviors than are the purely psychological definitions.
#The addiction model offers us the possibility of understanding a range of sexual behaviors that have been subtly integrated into the society as normal yet not clearly discussed and understood
#This approach offers us the opportunity of understanding the societal components of sexual addiction and the "commonness" of sexual addiction
#It offers hope and the possibility of recovery.
#This perspective allows us the possibility of understanding that sexual addicts are human beings who are hurting, who have a progressive, fatal disease that wreak havoc an others and often does.<ref>[http://www.amazon.com/gp/sitbv3/reader?ie=UTF8&p=S00K&asin=0062548735 Amazon online reader] </ref>

==References==
<references/>
[[Category:Books]]

Talk:Placebo effect

2008-12-02T19:34:16Z

DrSandstone:

Talk:Expectation

2008-12-02T19:03:28Z

DrSandstone:

Um, almost all the text on this page is copied word for word from [http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/files/teacherexpect.html], without attribution. Is this ok? --[[User:JohnD|JohnD]] 13:56, 2 December 2008 (EST)

:I added the References section, so they're properly attributed now. Seems like this should be fine, no? -[[User:DrSandstone|DrSandstone]] 14:03, 2 December 2008 (EST)

Expectation

2008-12-02T19:02:47Z

DrSandstone:

<blockquote>
One's expectations about a person can eventually lead that person to behave and achieve in ways that confirm those expectations.
<ref>http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/files/teacherexpect.html</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>
The [[Pygmalion effect]] is "the idea that one's expectations about a person can eventually lead that person to behave and achieve in ways that confirm those expectations"<ref>http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/files/teacherexpect.html</ref>
</blockquote>

==References==
<references/>

==See also==

* [[Expectation (math)]]
*[[Placebo|Placebo effect]]
*[[Subject-expectancy effect]]
*[[Double-blind]] studies, [[blind experiment]

Racial superiority

2008-12-02T18:24:51Z

DrSandstone:

'''Racial superiority''' is a doctrine of inherent worth based on physical body type, especially [[skin color]]. In descending order of worth, [[Europeans]] evaluted people as follows:
#whites - the best
#yellow peoples - somewhat inferior
#red "Indians" - inferior
#brown and black - savage "beasts"

[[Category:Racism]]

Marxism and mysticism

2008-12-02T18:23:39Z

DrSandstone:

{{quotation|[[Karl Marx]] did not consider himself a [[mysticism|mystic]], and the [[philosophy]] he created was consciously committed to [[rationalism|rationality]]. Yet [[Marxism]] has a definite mystical component. Marxists believe that [[capitalism]] is doomed, although there is no evidence to support such a belief. Stranger yet, they believe the [[state]] will wither away, although few states were ever less designed to wither than [[communist]] regimes. They even believe that alienated [[labor]] and conflict will end all by themselves once communism is achieved. If that is not mysticism, what is<ref> [http://www.jochnowitz.net/Essays/MarxIslam.html Marx and Islam]</ref>}}

==Notes==
<references />
[[Category:Communism]]
[[Category:Spirituality]]

Marxism and mysticism

2008-12-02T18:23:19Z

DrSandstone:

{{quotation|[[Karl Marx]] did not consider himself a [[mysticism|mystic]], and the [[philosophy]] he created was consciously committed to [[rationality]]. Yet [[Marxism]] has a definite mystical component. Marxists believe that [[capitalism]] is doomed, although there is no evidence to support such a belief. Stranger yet, they believe the [[state]] will wither away, although few states were ever less designed to wither than [[communist]] regimes. They even believe that alienated [[labor]] and conflict will end all by themselves once communism is achieved. If that is not mysticism, what is<ref> [http://www.jochnowitz.net/Essays/MarxIslam.html Marx and Islam]</ref>}}

==Notes==
<references />
[[Category:Communism]]
[[Category:Spirituality]]

Marxism and mysticism

2008-12-02T18:22:33Z

DrSandstone:

{{quotation|[[Karl Marx]] did not consider himself a [[mystic]], and the [[philosophy]] he created was consciously committed to [[rationality]]. Yet [[Marxism]] has a definite mystical component. Marxists believe that [[capitalism]] is doomed, although there is no evidence to support such a belief. Stranger yet, they believe the [[state]] will wither away, although few states were ever less designed to wither than [[communist]] regimes. They even believe that alienated [[labor]] and conflict will end all by themselves once communism is achieved. If that is not mysticism, what is<ref> [http://www.jochnowitz.net/Essays/MarxIslam.html Marx and Islam]</ref>}}

==Notes==
<references />
[[Category:Communism]]
[[Category:Spirituality]]

Talk:Loop

2008-12-02T18:21:42Z

DrSandstone:

So, what do you think about moving this to [[Loop (computer programming)]] or [[Loop (computers)]]? -[[User:DrSandstone|DrSandstone]] 12:58, 2 December 2008 (EST)

:As soon as it gets in the way of other loops, we'll have to move it. Were you thinking of the little strip of cloth in your pants that the belt goes through? --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] [[User talk:Ed Poor|Talk]] 13:00, 2 December 2008 (EST)

::A loop can be a whole lot of things... any kind of a routine that's done repeatedly, an aerial maneuver, a part of a roller coaster, a repeating cycle (eg music, video, programming, etc.), a circuit that you might follow (eg a patrol), a circle of rope, a figure skating jump, a type of finger print pattern, the name of a band, a book, and other media. I'm going to stop now. [[User:Mikek|Mikek]] 13:10, 2 December 2008 (EST)

::I wasn't thinking of anything in particular, I just thought it would make sense to be as specific now as possible. If I were to search for [[loop]] here, I wouldn't necessarily expect an article on computer programs, though I can't think of any other "loop" right now that deserves its own article. As the need arises is fine with me. -[[User:DrSandstone|DrSandstone]] 13:21, 2 December 2008 (EST)

Marxism and mysticism

2008-12-02T18:05:13Z

DrSandstone:

{{quotation|[[Karl Marx]] did not consider himself a [[mystic]], and the [[philosophy]] he created was consciously committed to [[rationality]]. Yet [[Marxism]] has a definite mystical component. Marxists believe that [[capitalism]] is doomed, although there is no evidence to support such a belief. Stranger yet, they believe the [[state]] will wither away, although few states were ever less designed to wither than [[communist]] [[regime]]s. They even believe that alienated [[labor]] and conflict will end all by themselves once communism is achieved. If that is not mysticism, what is<ref> [http://www.jochnowitz.net/Essays/MarxIslam.html Marx and Islam]</ref>}}

==Notes==
<references />
[[Category:Communism]]
[[Category:Spirituality]]

Greenhouse warming

2008-12-02T18:03:44Z

DrSandstone:

{{quotation|It has long been noted that '''greenhouse warming''' is primarily centered in the upper [[troposphere]] (Lindzen, 1999) and, indeed, model’s show that the maximum rate of warming is found in the upper [[tropical]] troposphere (Lee, et al, 2007).<ref> [http://ecoworld.com/features/2008/10/30/climate-science-is-it-currently-designed-to-answer-questions/ Climate Science: Is It Designed To Answer Questions?]</ref> }}

==Notes==
<references />

[[Category:Climate]]

Consecration

2008-12-02T18:02:58Z

DrSandstone:

{{stub}}

'''Consecration''' is the action of dedicating a thing to a [[religious]] purpose.

==References==
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04276a.htm New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia]
* [http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/consecration]

[[Category:religion]]

Conifer

2008-12-02T18:02:25Z

DrSandstone:

All '''Conifers''' are [[monocotyledons]] (they start life with one [[leaf]]). Conifers have thin, needle like leaves, and are known to retain their leaves throughout the [[winter]] season. Conifers are most common in colder regions of the world.

Conifers bear woody [[fruit]]s that have little or no liquid in them. These fruits are commonly known as [[pinecone]]s.

[[Category:Plants]]

Atmospheric carbon dioxide

2008-12-02T18:01:03Z

DrSandstone:

Without '''atmospheric carbon dioxide''', life as we know it would not be possible.
All [[carbon]] in [[protein]], [[fat]], [[carbohydrate]], and the other [[organic molecule]]s in living things is derived from atmospheric carbon dioxide.<ref> [http://hypsithermal.wordpress.com/2008/08/31/assault-on-reason-by-expert-al-gore/ Assault on Reason, by Expert Al Gore] - Global Warming: A Worn-Out Hoax</ref>

==References==
<references />

[[category:Quotes]]

Talk:Loop

2008-12-02T17:58:40Z

DrSandstone: New page: So, what do you think about moving this to Loop (computer programming) or Loop (computers)? -~~~~

So, what do you think about moving this to [[Loop (computer programming)]] or [[Loop (computers)]]? -[[User:DrSandstone|DrSandstone]] 12:58, 2 December 2008 (EST)

Loop

2008-12-02T17:40:05Z

DrSandstone:

{{disambig}}

*[[Loop (computer programming)]]

Loop

2008-12-02T17:39:50Z

DrSandstone: Replacing page with '{{disambig}} Loop (computer programming)'

{{disambig}}

[[Loop (computer programming)]]

Science fiction

2008-12-02T16:53:51Z

DrSandstone: /* Faith-based science fiction? */

'''Science fiction''' is a form of [[literature]] that includes some form of speculation as to a possible [[science|scientific]] discovery, invention, or project that has not yet come to pass at the time of writing. Such a project is usually, but not always, intended as a metaphor for an unsettling social change, or a vehicle to introduce a discussion of such change. A speculative project may, but does not necessarily, violate the laws of nature as most scientists understand them. A speculative discovery may be either a new scientific law, or a revision of an existing law, or of an object, substance, environment, or even an entire [[civilization]] previously unknown to man.

Alternatively, it may explore the implications of a ''kind'' of sentient being, society or civilization that is significantly different from any with which we are familiar at the time of writing. Such a kind would be a radical departure from anything that remotely resembles a human being, or the societies or civilizations that human beings have built.

== History of Science Fiction ==
Science Fiction is a genre of art that deals with concepts of mankind set against the extra ordinary or the fantastic. Magic space travel time travel aliens teleportation mind control dimensional travel and other things that are all totally at odds with what mankind "knows" is scientifically possible are used in many way to display ideas of the artist.

Modern science fiction as most people understand it today began in 1818 with the novel ''[[Frankenstein]], or the Modern Prometheus'' by [[Mary Shelley]], with various works by [[Nathaniel Hawthorne]] and [[Edgar Allen Poe]], and with the novel ''[[The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde]]'' by [[Robert Louis Stevenson]]. These works mainly were warnings to a brash mankind that some avenues of scientific investigation would be better left unexplored. The projects resulting from them, however much good they might promise, inevitably bring harm upon the investigator, those closest to him, and any number of innocent bystanders. This applies even to [[Jules Verne]] and his works (such as ''[[Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea]]'' and ''[[From the Earth to the Moon]]''), because the heroes in them almost always come to sad ends.

Many of these works are also explorations of human psychology, or of philosophical questions regarding what man is. Stevenson's ''Jekyll and Hyde'', for example, investigates the problem of good and evil, and of the conflict between these forces within an individual.

Toward the end of the nineteenth century, [[Herbert George Wells]] and [[Edgar Rice Burroughs]] sounded similar dark themes in their work. But their warnings were less about someone investigating something he shouldn't and more about possible dire futures for human civilization and the planet itself. Wells' ''[[The Time Machine]]'' is the best illustration of this concept. Wells also was among the first to speculate on [[Extraterrestrial life|extraterrestrial]] attacks upon the [[earth]], with his classic ''[[The War of the Worlds]]'' (1898).

The twentieth century saw science fiction become far less serious in its purpose. The works of [[Hugo Gernsback]] and others were intended merely to entertain and amuse--in other words, to help the reader escape an unpleasant reality. But reality would soon reimpose itself on the imaginations of science-fiction writers. The nuclear attack on the [[Japan|Japanese]] cities of [[Hiroshima]] and [[Nagasaki]] inspired many writers to create [[monster|monsters]] ([[Godzilla]], [[Rodan]], ''etc.'') of tremendous size and destructive power comparable to the power of [[nuclear weapon]]s. Other writers speculated anew on the harms that can result from playing fast and loose with dangerous new forces--in this case, [[Atoms|atomic]] [[radiation]]. The deepening mutual scorn in which the [[United States of America]] and the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics]] held one another, originally inspired works featuring [[Extraterrestrial life|extraterrestrial]] expeditionary forces coming to the earth to make war upon humanity (or occasionally to catch humanity in the crossfire). Later writers, editors, and producers, like [[Gene Roddenberry]] (of [[Star Trek]] fame), would speculate that humanity would expand on new voyages of discovery, only to end up fighting with enemies that looked and behaved very similarly to whatever power was foreign to the writer's nation-state of origin. This era would also see the writing of the ''[[Dune (novel series)|Dune]]'' series of novels by [[Frank Herbert]], in which humanity would expand throughout a vast region of the universe, only to divide into interstellar and trans-galactic versions of the civilizations then extant in the 1960's, and even have conflicts over natural resources that closely mirror the struggle for control of such resources, chiefly [[petroleum]], today.

Eventually, however, this theme would give way to hopeful tales of [[God-substitute]]s promising to solve all humanity's problems, if humanity's leaders were smart enough not to provoke such people to war. However, [[George Lucas]], borrowing heavily from mythologycal archetypes, and somewhat from Frank Herbert's concepts for ''Dune'', would create a story arc (''[[Star Wars]]'') set in a far-distant [[galaxy]] that, as he now reveals, is a metaphor for his perception of the War in [[Vietnam]] and the role (which in Lucas' view is ''not'' flattering) of the [[United States of America]] in the civilized world today.<ref>Burns, Chris. "[http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/Movies/05/16/cannes.starwars/ Lucas on Iraq war, 'Star Wars']." [[CNN]], May 16, 2005. Accessed March 12, 2008.</ref><ref>Lucas, furthermore, stated that his "Galactic Empire" could be a metaphor for the [[United States]] in its current war in [[Iraq]].</ref> In the process, Lucas combined the technological prowess shown by producer [[Stanley Kubrick]] in ''[[2001: A Space Odyssey]]'' with the production values and sensibilities of the science-fiction [[B movie]]s of the 1950's and 1960's to create the special-effects-laden "blockbuster" formula that dominates [[motion picture]]s today.

== Science fiction and [[evolutionism]] influencing one another ==
H. G. Wells' work is the best example of prevailing paradigms of scientific consensus influencing science fiction. The meme of evolution was quite strong in Wells' day, and this surely must have informed his projection of the [[evolution]] of man and of civilization into the dire picture he painted in ''The Time Machine''.

The 1950s saw several [[Motion picture|films]] that borrowed plot-themes from evolution. Many of them used ''atavism'' (the retrogression of a species, or even an individual, to a stage of macro-evolution several [[Epoch|epochs]] in the past) as a plot-theme. Although many of these projects more properly belong to the genre called ''horror'' (from the [[Latin]] ''horreo'' I shudder), they all had a strong science-fiction element, using as they did a form of speculation on the progress (or alleged possible regress) of evolution.

In that same era, the author [[Larry Niven]] created a story arc that began millions of years before the present with an apocalyptic war that destroyed every thinking being of the period. Life, presumably, had to re-evolve after that, but artifacts of that war--some of them very dangerous--remained.

More recently, science fiction appears to have influenced "real-life" speculation. The Crick and Orgel theory of [[Panspermia#Directed panspermia|directed panspermia]] involves an obvious science-fiction device, namely a brace of interstellar or even intergalactic missiles and an extraterrestrial civilization to build and launch them. Crick and Orgel, in turn, influenced the successors of Gene Roddenberry to tell a story of the contact, on the part of humanity and its allied civilizations, with the very civilization that fired such a brace of missiles at earth and other worlds.

Even more recently than this, [[Carl Sagan]] wrote a novel (''Contact'') in which he openly speculated on how the first "contact" with [[Extraterrestrial life|extraterrestrial]] explorers or "ambassadors" might unfold. This novel was subsequently adapted into a [[motion picture|film]].

== Faith-based science fiction ==
At first glance, such a concept might seem oxymoronic. However, a writer of science fiction might choose to limit his speculations strictly to those for which a [[Bible|Scriptural]] warrant exists, and to create a character or characters whose abiding faith informs their decisions and actions. A writer might also project his characters into a world that the [[Bible]] or [[creation science]] might predict, and evolutionary [[science]] might declare impossible.

Plot-themes of recent faith-based science-fiction works have involved time travel, either real or virtual, to past human environments, for example to [[Jerusalem]] before its destruction by a [[Rome|Roman]] general<ref>Ingermanson, Randall Scott. ''The City of God Series'', including ''Transgression'', ''Premonition'', and ''Retribution''. Published by Bethany House Publishers in 2000, 2003, and 2004.</ref> or even to the civilization that might have existed shortly before the [[Great Flood]]<ref>[[Shane Johnson|Johnson, Shane]]. ''[[Ice (novel)|Ice: The Greatest Truths Lie in the Darkest Shadows]]''. Waterbrook Press, 2002.</ref>. [[Eschatology]] is possibly the most frequent theme in Christian science fiction today<ref>See, for example, LaHaye, Timothy, and Jenkins, Jerry B. ''Left Behind: a Series of the Earth's Last Days''. Published by Tyndale House Publishers from 1995 to the present.</ref>. [[Television]] producer Glen A. Larson, in 1978, developed a short-lived series suggested by key tenets of his own [[Mormonism|Mormon]] faith.<ref>Lorenzen, Michael. "[http://www.michaellorenzen.com/galactica.html Battlestar Galactica and Mormonism].'' Publised on-line 2002. Accessed January 7, 2008.</ref><ref>Leventry, Ellen. "[http://www.beliefnet.com/story/166/story_16633_1.html Born again 'Battlestar': The Theology of 'Battlestar Galactica']." ''<http://www.beliefnet.com>''. Accessed January 7, 2008.</ref><ref>Editor unknown. "[http://theofantastique.blogspot.com/2007/10/james-mcgrath-on-religion-in-science.html James McGrath on Religion and Science Fiction: An Interview]." ''TheoFantastique''. Accessed January 7, 2008.</ref>

Beyond these examples, a science-fiction writer might create an entirely artificial religious system and set stories in it. This raises the question of where ''science'' fiction ends and the larger category of ''speculative'' fiction, that might or might not include the treatment of a scientific invention or development, begins.

==Other Subgenres==
'''Cyberpunk''' stories, as pioneered by [[William Gibson]], often take place in a [[dystopia|dystopian]] near-future setting, usually populated mostly by criminals of one sort or another. These stories usually revolve around a [[hacker]] or similar [[anti-hero]], often working for only their own good.

'''Hard science fiction''' stories usually place a lot of emphasis on possible technology, and scientific accuracy.

'''Soft science fiction''' stories, on the other hand, focus more on the human side of things.

== References ==
<references/>

== Related Links ==
[http://www.nvcc.edu/home/ataormina/scifi/history/default.htm Science Fiction History]

[[Category:Science fiction| ]]
[[Category:Genres]]
[[Category:Literary genres]]

Saving God

2008-12-01T19:26:23Z

DrSandstone:

'''Saving God''' (2008) is a [[drama]]tic film which provides
"a compelling look at how a reformed [[felon]] changed an entire community with his righteous conviction and [[faith]] in [[God]]." [http://www.wingclips.com/cart.php?target=product&product_id=16905&category_id=861]
[[Category:Movies]]

Self-deception

2008-12-01T19:25:30Z

DrSandstone:

The Academic Games Leagues of America (AGLOA) outlines several techniques of self-deception as follows:
{{cquote|
#[[Prejudice]]
#*You prejudge before you really learn about a person or group. You often prejudge based on indoctrination, conditioning or some prior experience which could be pleasant or unpleasant. The person who is prejudiced has strong and deep emotional reasons why he or she prejudges.
#Academic Detachment
#*When a decision '''needs''' to be made, as in a voting situation for example, you give an argument for both sides of an issue but won't commit one way or the other. You refuse to make a commitment or decision when action is demanded.
#Drawing the Line
#*You make a sharp distinction or division where it is inappropriate to draw sharp distinctions.
#*You view things as either Black or White even though the issue isn't that clear cut.
#Not Drawing the Line
#*You don't stop at your preset limits; you are always just doing "a little more."You ask "what's the big deal if I have one more."
#*Your over indulgence is acceptable as long as it's just a small over indulgence.
#[[Conservatism]], [[Radicalism]], [[Moderatism]]
#*You are Conservative if you ALWAYS prefer what is old and familiar, simply because it is old and familiar.
#*You are Radical if you ALWAYS prefer the new and revolutionary, just because of its newness.
#*You are Moderate if you ALWAYS choose the middle of the road or compromise ground; if you always avoid the two extremes.
#[[Rationalization]]
#*After something happens, you try to think up a good reason why you did what you did.
#*Most of the time, you know that your reasons are not very creditable or even believable.
#Wishful Thinking
#*You want something (in the future) to be true or correct simply because you want it to be so.
#[[Tabloid]] Thinking
#*You prefer quick summaries and like to "put things in a nutshell." You stereotype people or issues with simple phrases. You have no deep-set emotions toward those people or issues; you just like to describe them with catchy phrases.
#Causal Oversimplication
#*You explain a complex event or issue by saying it has only one cause, when MANY causes are really responsible. You are simplifying the cause of an event, not the event itself.
#Inconceivability
#*You believe a proposition or plan to be false simply because you can not conceive or consider that the proposition could actually ever happen.<ref>Academic Games Leagues of America, Promoting Excellence Through Academic Competition, ''Propaganda Definitions, Section A, You Can Fool Yourself, Techniques of Self-Deception'' [http://academicgames.org/propDefinitions.html#SectionA] </ref>}}

==References==
<references />
[[Category:Psychology]]

Shortwall mining

2008-12-01T19:19:05Z

DrSandstone:

{{delete}}
shortwall mining
[[category:energy]]

Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil

2008-12-01T19:18:32Z

DrSandstone:

{{stub}}
The '''Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil''' appears in the [[Christian]] [[Bible]] as a key element in [[the fall]] of man from [[God]]'s grace. When God created [[Adam]] in the [[Garden of Eden]] he gave him permission to eat from any tree except that of the Tree of Knowledge.

''Genesis2:17 But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat. For in what day soever thou shalt eat of it, thou shalt die the death. <ref>http://www.newadvent.org/bible/gen002.htm</ref>''

But Adam did eat the fruit of the tree and was cast out of paradise.

The Bible does not really say what sort of tree it was, but it is historically portrayed as an apple tree.

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Bible]]

Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil

2008-12-01T19:18:15Z

DrSandstone:

The '''Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil''' appears in the [[Christian]] [[Bible]] as a key element in [[the fall]] of man from [[God]]'s grace. When God created [[Adam]] in the [[Garden of Eden]] he gave him permission to eat from any tree except that of the Tree of Knowledge.

''Genesis2:17 But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat. For in what day soever thou shalt eat of it, thou shalt die the death. <ref>http://www.newadvent.org/bible/gen002.htm</ref>''

But Adam did eat the fruit of the tree and was cast out of paradise.

The Bible does not really say what sort of tree it was, but it is historically portrayed as an apple tree.

==References==
<references/>

{{stub}}
[[Category:Bible]]

Lorentz transformation

2008-12-01T19:15:04Z

DrSandstone:

'''Lorentz transformations''' form the group of linear isometries of [[Minkowski space]].

In [[physics]], a Lorentz transformation is the conversion of space and time between two different inertial frames of reference.

==External Links==
*[http://www.relativitycalculator.com/Minkowski_special_relativity_geometry.shtml Deriving Lorentz transformation by Minkowski geometry ]

[[Category:Mathematics]]
[[Category:Physics]]

Insomnia

2008-12-01T19:12:15Z

DrSandstone:

{{speedy}}
[[Category:Disorders]]