Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Muhammad

2007-05-16T14:01:06Z

Erasmus: /* After Mohammed's Death */ missed sp during edit conflict

== Life of Muhammad==
Muhammad (A.D. 570-632) or Mohammed, was the founder of Islam. He began life as a wealthy tradesmen, one of the elite of his city of [[Mecca]]. He claimed to be privy to certain [[revelations]] in middle age, speaking of a need to abandon worship of the many gods who dominated Mecca's religion at the time, and worship the one God, [[Allah]].

These early revelations spoke of a need to return to the [[monotheism]] of [[Abraham]]; in this way, at an early age, Muhammad saw himself as reviving an ancient faith, a perceived correction to [[Christianity]] and [[Judaism]], and restoring his people to what he saw as their rightful position as the true founders and heirs of monotheism. In these revelations, submission to the will of God - [[Allah]] - was critical. Muhammad's fledgling religion continued to develop throughout his life, through periodic revelations often relating directly to events currently facing his new faith.

The faith caught on slowly, winning only a few converts in Mecca (the first being his wife). Under increased pressure and ostracism from elders in Mecca, Muhammad began the [[hijra]], an organized exodus of his followers from Mecca to the city of [[Medina]]. [[Muslims]] date the formation of their religion to the ''hijra'' itself, even beginning their dating system at this point.

At Medina, the new Muslims immediately adopted an aggressive stance, seeking to coexist with the [[Jews]] living in Medina on ''his'' terms. The encounter ended badly, though, with Muhammad dividing and conquering the Jewish groups in Medina, ordering the massacre of the [[Qurayza]] [[Jewish]] tribe, as they refused changing their [[religion]] to his submission, after (possibly) fabricating a cause to break what is called by modern historians the [[Compact of Medina]].<ref>Berkey, ''The Formation of Islam''</ref>

The tribes around the Muslims began to convert to Islam out of self-preservation. Those that didn’t were gradually defeated in battle in a pattern that became the blueprint for the successful establishment of Islam as a world religion. Typically, the enemy’s trust would be gained by non-intrusive measures in which the Muslims would insert themselves into the foreign community while professing their respect for local traditions and political structures. As they began to gain power, however, they would divide loyalties and exercise violence to acquire local hegemony.

This is demonstrated most plainly by the brutal conquest of the people of Khaybar, a peaceful farming community that was not at war with the Muslims. Muhammad marched against them anyway, taking them by surprise and easily defeating them. He had many of the men killed, simply for defending their town, and enslaved the women and children.

Muhammad's personal life became the picture of hedonism and excess, all justified by frequent “revelations.”

The man, who earlier in his career had justified his claims as a prophet by saying that he "asked for no reward" from others, reversed course and began to demand a fifth of all booty taken from conquered tribes. According to his biographers, he became fat from living off this enormous share of ill-gotten gain.

In the span of a dozen years, he married eleven women and had access to an array of sex slaves. When he wanted a woman, even if she were the wife of another man, his own daughter-in-law, or a child as young as 6, he was able to justify his lust and inevitable consummation with an appeal to Allah’s revealed will for his sex life - which was then preserved forever in the Qur'an, to be faithfully memorized by future generations for him whom it has no possible relevance.

(For the Muslim faithful, it must surely be a source of embarrassment that Allah evidently had more interest in Muhammad's personal sex life than he did about tolerance. There are also far more open-ended verses that advocate "fighting in the cause of Allah" than in showing love for all people. Allah encourages sex with slaves as well)

Muhammad also had personal critics executed, including poets. One of these was a mother of five children, who was stabbed to death by Muhammad's envoy after a suckling infant was removed from her breast. Other innocent people were killed merely because they were of a different religion).

The double standards of Islam that are so recognizable today were ingrained by the prophet of Islam during his lifetime. An example would be the death of Um Kirfa, a middle-aged woman who had the bad fortune to be the aunt of a tribal leader who raided one of Muhammad's caravans (in the same fashion that Muhammad raided others).

Missing the apparent irony, Muhammad did not take kindly to having done to him what he had been doing to non-Muslims. He had the woman's legs tied separately to two camels, then set the camels off in opposite directions, tearing the woman's body in two. He also killed her two young sons as well.

Today's Muslims inherent this legacy of self-interest and disregard for those outside the faith. They may or may not agree with terrorist attacks on non-Muslims, but they are nearly united in their belief that the victims have no right to strike back, even if it is in self-defense.

== After Muhammad's Death ==

Muhammad's death at an early age caused the splintering of his religion into new sects, over the question of succession. The groups called themselves the [[Sunnis]] and the [[Shiite|Shi'as]]. Many attribute this split to the high degree to which authority was centered in the powerful character of Muhammad himself: without his powerful personality, the movement could not survive intact.<ref>Bernard Lewis, ''What Went Wrong''</ref>

The failure or splintering of movements built around a charismatic leader is a recurring sociological problem, often studied by psychologists, and referred to as the problem of the [[routinization of charisma]]. [[Christianity]] faced the same problem, and many attribute the conquest of this problem to the leadership of the apostle [[Paul]].<ref>Maximillian Weber, ''Theory of Social and Economic Organization,'' in the chapter "The Nature of Charismatic Authority and its Routinization," see also Len Oakes, "Prophetic Charisma: The Psychology of Revolutionary Religious Personalities"</ref>.

==See Also==
*[[Islam]]
*[[Muhammad cartoons controversy]]

== References ==

<references/>
Robert Spencer, The Politically Incorrect Guide(tm) to Islam (and the Crusades)

== Notes ==

HIR | Muhammad's massacre of the Jewish tribe Banu Qurayzah [http://www.hirhome.com/islam/art.htm]

[[Category:Islam]]
[[Category:Religious people]]

Muhammad

2007-05-16T14:00:33Z

Erasmus: Removed speculation - Also can we have some references to back up the other recent edits

== Life of Muhammad==
Muhammad (A.D. 570-632) or Mohammed, was the founder of Islam. He began life as a wealthy tradesmen, one of the elite of his city of [[Mecca]]. He claimed to be privy to certain [[revelations]] in middle age, speaking of a need to abandon worship of the many gods who dominated Mecca's religion at the time, and worship the one God, [[Allah]].

These early revelations spoke of a need to return to the [[monotheism]] of [[Abraham]]; in this way, at an early age, Muhammad saw himself as reviving an ancient faith, a perceived correction to [[Christianity]] and [[Judaism]], and restoring his people to what he saw as their rightful position as the true founders and heirs of monotheism. In these revelations, submission to the will of God - [[Allah]] - was critical. Muhammad's fledgling religion continued to develop throughout his life, through periodic revelations often relating directly to events currently facing his new faith.

The faith caught on slowly, winning only a few converts in Mecca (the first being his wife). Under increased pressure and ostracism from elders in Mecca, Muhammad began the [[hijra]], an organized exodus of his followers from Mecca to the city of [[Medina]]. [[Muslims]] date the formation of their religion to the ''hijra'' itself, even beginning their dating system at this point.

At Medina, the new Muslims immediately adopted an aggressive stance, seeking to coexist with the [[Jews]] living in Medina on ''his'' terms. The encounter ended badly, though, with Muhammad dividing and conquering the Jewish groups in Medina, ordering the massacre of the [[Qurayza]] [[Jewish]] tribe, as they refused changing their [[religion]] to his submission, after (possibly) fabricating a cause to break what is called by modern historians the [[Compact of Medina]].<ref>Berkey, ''The Formation of Islam''</ref>

The tribes around the Muslims began to convert to Islam out of self-preservation. Those that didn’t were gradually defeated in battle in a pattern that became the blueprint for the successful establishment of Islam as a world religion. Typically, the enemy’s trust would be gained by non-intrusive measures in which the Muslims would insert themselves into the foreign community while professing their respect for local traditions and political structures. As they began to gain power, however, they would divide loyalties and exercise violence to acquire local hegemony.

This is demonstrated most plainly by the brutal conquest of the people of Khaybar, a peaceful farming community that was not at war with the Muslims. Muhammad marched against them anyway, taking them by surprise and easily defeating them. He had many of the men killed, simply for defending their town, and enslaved the women and children.

Muhammad's personal life became the picture of hedonism and excess, all justified by frequent “revelations.”

The man, who earlier in his career had justified his claims as a prophet by saying that he "asked for no reward" from others, reversed course and began to demand a fifth of all booty taken from conquered tribes. According to his biographers, he became fat from living off this enormous share of ill-gotten gain.

In the span of a dozen years, he married eleven women and had access to an array of sex slaves. When he wanted a woman, even if she were the wife of another man, his own daughter-in-law, or a child as young as 6, he was able to justify his lust and inevitable consummation with an appeal to Allah’s revealed will for his sex life - which was then preserved forever in the Qur'an, to be faithfully memorized by future generations for him whom it has no possible relevance.

(For the Muslim faithful, it must surely be a source of embarrassment that Allah evidently had more interest in Muhammad's personal sex life than he did about tolerance. There are also far more open-ended verses that advocate "fighting in the cause of Allah" than in showing love for all people. Allah encourages sex with slaves as well)

Muhammad also had personal critics executed, including poets. One of these was a mother of five children, who was stabbed to death by Muhammad's envoy after a suckling infant was removed from her breast. Other innocent people were killed merely because they were of a different religion).

The double standards of Islam that are so recognizable today were ingrained by the prophet of Islam during his lifetime. An example would be the death of Um Kirfa, a middle-aged woman who had the bad fortune to be the aunt of a tribal leader who raided one of Muhammad's caravans (in the same fashion that Muhammad raided others).

Missing the apparent irony, Muhammad did not take kindly to having done to him what he had been doing to non-Muslims. He had the woman's legs tied separately to two camels, then set the camels off in opposite directions, tearing the woman's body in two. He also killed her two young sons as well.

Today's Muslims inherent this legacy of self-interest and disregard for those outside the faith. They may or may not agree with terrorist attacks on non-Muslims, but they are nearly united in their belief that the victims have no right to strike back, even if it is in self-defense.

== After Mohammed's Death ==

Muhammad's death at an early age caused the splintering of his religion into new sects, over the question of succession. The groups called themselves the [[Sunnis]] and the [[Shiite|Shi'as]]. Many attribute this split to the high degree to which authority was centered in the powerful character of Muhammad himself: without his powerful personality, the movement could not survive intact.<ref>Bernard Lewis, ''What Went Wrong''</ref>

The failure or splintering of movements built around a charismatic leader is a recurring sociological problem, often studied by psychologists, and referred to as the problem of the [[routinization of charisma]]. [[Christianity]] faced the same problem, and many attribute the conquest of this problem to the leadership of the apostle [[Paul]].<ref>Maximillian Weber, ''Theory of Social and Economic Organization,'' in the chapter "The Nature of Charismatic Authority and its Routinization," see also Len Oakes, "Prophetic Charisma: The Psychology of Revolutionary Religious Personalities"</ref>.

==See Also==
*[[Islam]]
*[[Muhammad cartoons controversy]]

== References ==

<references/>
Robert Spencer, The Politically Incorrect Guide(tm) to Islam (and the Crusades)

== Notes ==

HIR | Muhammad's massacre of the Jewish tribe Banu Qurayzah [http://www.hirhome.com/islam/art.htm]

[[Category:Islam]]
[[Category:Religious people]]

Muhammad

2007-05-16T13:56:25Z

Erasmus: Standardized spelling in line with article title

== Life of Muhammad==
Muhammad (A.D. 570-632) or Mohammed, was the founder of Islam. He began life as a wealthy tradesmen, one of the elite of his city of [[Mecca]]. He claimed to be privy to certain [[revelations]] in middle age, speaking of a need to abandon worship of the many gods who dominated Mecca's religion at the time, and worship the one God, [[Allah]].

These early revelations spoke of a need to return to the [[monotheism]] of [[Abraham]]; in this way, at an early age, Muhammad saw himself as reviving an ancient faith, a perceived correction to [[Christianity]] and [[Judaism]], and restoring his people to what he saw as their rightful position as the true founders and heirs of monotheism. In these revelations, submission to the will of God - [[Allah]] - was critical. Muhammad's fledgling religion continued to develop throughout his life, through periodic revelations often relating directly to events currently facing his new faith.

The faith caught on slowly, winning only a few converts in Mecca (the first being his wife). Under increased pressure and ostracism from elders in Mecca, Muhammad began the [[hijra]], an organized exodus of his followers from Mecca to the city of [[Medina]]. [[Muslims]] date the formation of their religion to the ''hijra'' itself, even beginning their dating system at this point.

At Medina, the new Muslims immediately adopted an aggressive stance, seeking to coexist with the [[Jews]] living in Medina on ''his'' terms. The encounter ended badly, though, with Muhammad dividing and conquering the Jewish groups in Medina, ordering the massacre of the [[Qurayza]] [[Jewish]] tribe, as they refused changing their [[religion]] to his submission, after (possibly) fabricating a cause to break what is called by modern historians the [[Compact of Medina]].<ref>Berkey, ''The Formation of Islam''</ref>

The tribes around the Muslims began to convert to Islam out of self-preservation. Those that didn’t were gradually defeated in battle in a pattern that became the blueprint for the successful establishment of Islam as a world religion. Typically, the enemy’s trust would be gained by non-intrusive measures in which the Muslims would insert themselves into the foreign community while professing their respect for local traditions and political structures. As they began to gain power, however, they would divide loyalties and exercise violence to acquire local hegemony.

This is demonstrated most plainly by the brutal conquest of the people of Khaybar, a peaceful farming community that was not at war with the Muslims. Muhammad marched against them anyway, taking them by surprise and easily defeating them. He had many of the men killed, simply for defending their town, and enslaved the women and children.

Muhammad's personal life became the picture of hedonism and excess, all justified by frequent “revelations.”

The man, who earlier in his career had justified his claims as a prophet by saying that he "asked for no reward" from others, reversed course and began to demand a fifth of all booty taken from conquered tribes. According to his biographers, he became fat from living off this enormous share of ill-gotten gain.

In the span of a dozen years, he married eleven women and had access to an array of sex slaves. When he wanted a woman, even if she were the wife of another man, his own daughter-in-law, or a child as young as 6, he was able to justify his lust and inevitable consummation with an appeal to Allah’s revealed will for his sex life - which was then preserved forever in the Qur'an, to be faithfully memorized by future generations for him whom it has no possible relevance.

(For the Muslim faithful, it must surely be a source of embarrassment that Allah evidently had more interest in Muhammad's personal sex life than he did about tolerance. There are also far more open-ended verses that advocate "fighting in the cause of Allah" than in showing love for all people. Allah encourages sex with slaves as well)

Muhammad also had personal critics executed, including poets. One of these was a mother of five children, who was stabbed to death by Muhammad's envoy after a suckling infant was removed from her breast. Other innocent people were killed merely because they were of a different religion).

The double standards of Islam that are so recognizable today were ingrained by the prophet of Islam during his lifetime. An example would be the death of Um Kirfa, a middle-aged woman who had the bad fortune to be the aunt of a tribal leader who raided one of Muhammad's caravans (in the same fashion that Muhammad raided others).

Missing the apparent irony, Muhammad did not take kindly to having done to him what he had been doing to non-Muslims. He had the woman's legs tied separately to two camels, then set the camels off in opposite directions, tearing the woman's body in two. He also killed her two young sons - presumably in gruesome fashion - as well.

Today's Muslims inherent this legacy of self-interest and disregard for those outside the faith. They may or may not agree with terrorist attacks on non-Muslims, but they are nearly united in their belief that the victims have no right to strike back, even if it is in self-defense.

== After Mohammed's Death ==

Muhammad's death at an early age caused the splintering of his religion into new sects, over the question of succession. The groups called themselves the [[Sunnis]] and the [[Shiite|Shi'as]]. Many attribute this split to the high degree to which authority was centered in the powerful character of Muhammad himself: without his powerful personality, the movement could not survive intact.<ref>Bernard Lewis, ''What Went Wrong''</ref>

The failure or splintering of movements built around a charismatic leader is a recurring sociological problem, often studied by psychologists, and referred to as the problem of the [[routinization of charisma]]. [[Christianity]] faced the same problem, and many attribute the conquest of this problem to the leadership of the apostle [[Paul]].<ref>Maximillian Weber, ''Theory of Social and Economic Organization,'' in the chapter "The Nature of Charismatic Authority and its Routinization," see also Len Oakes, "Prophetic Charisma: The Psychology of Revolutionary Religious Personalities"</ref>.

==See Also==
*[[Islam]]
*[[Muhammad cartoons controversy]]

== References ==

<references/>
Robert Spencer, The Politically Incorrect Guide(tm) to Islam (and the Crusades)

== Notes ==

HIR | Muhammad's massacre of the Jewish tribe Banu Qurayzah [http://www.hirhome.com/islam/art.htm]

[[Category:Islam]]
[[Category:Religious people]]

Koran

2007-05-16T13:50:17Z

Erasmus: sp & link

The '''Koran''', also called the '''Qur'an''' (القرآن in [[Arabic]]) is the sacred scripture of [[Islam]]. It is analogous to the [[Bible]] for [[Christian|Christians]].

The Qur'ān [1] (Arabic: القرآن ‎al-Qur’ān, literally "the recitation"; also called القرآن الكريم ‎ al-Qur’ān al-Karīm "The Noble Qur'ān"; also transliterated as Quran, Koran, and Al-Quran) is the central religious text of Islam. Muslims believe the Qur'an to be the book of Divine guidance and direction for Mankind.

Muslims believe the Qur'ān, in its original Arabic, to be the literal word of God[2] that was revealed to [[Muhammad]] over a period of several years[3] until his death, and believe it to be God's final revelation to humanity[4][5]. Muslims regard the Qur'ān as a continuation of other divine messages that started with those revealed to Adam — the first prophet — and including the Suhuf-i-Ibrahim (Scrolls of Abraham/Ibrahim)[6], the Tawrat (Torah)[7][8], the Zabur (Psalms)[9][10], and the Injil (Gospel)[11][12][13], in between. The aforementioned books are recognized in the Qur'ān. [14][15]Muslims are directed to follow the Qurʾān — the last and final, completely untainted (with God promising to protect it: "Indeed : It is We Who have sent down the Dhikr [the Qur'ān] and surely, We will guard it [from corruption]" [16][17]) message from God.

The Qur'ānic verses were originally memorized by Muhammad's companions as Muhammad recited them, with some being written down by one or more companions on whatever was at hand, from stones to pieces of bark. The collection of the Qur'ān compilation took place under the Caliph Abu Bakr (less than 10 years after Muhammad's death), this task being led by Zayd ibn Thabit Al-Ansari. "The manuscript on which the Quran was collected, remained with Abu Bakr till he passed away, and then with 'Umar (the second Caliph) until he passed away, and finally it remained with Hafsa bint Umar (Umar's daughter)."

[[Category:Book of Worship]]
[[Category:Islam]]

Jihad

2007-05-16T13:48:23Z

Erasmus: link

'''Jihad''' is an [[Islam|Islamic]] term meaning "to exert utmost effort, to strive, struggle"; has many meanings to the [[Muslim]], both inward and outward; mainly used in the West to describe a "holy war" that some fundamentalist Muslims fight against non-Muslims or Muslims of other Islamic sects. The word "Jihad" is a transliteration of the [[Arabic]] word "جهاد".

Jihad as "struggle," is divided into two types, the greater Jihad and the lesser Jihad. The greater Jihad is the internal struggle against [[sin]] and temptation. The lesser Jihad is the physical war against those who threaten the Muslim way of life. Many followers of Islam do not condone the use of jihad as a manner of securing converts.

== Mention of Jihad in the [[Qur'an]] ==

Fight in the way of Allah against those who fight against you, but begin not hostilities. Lo! Allah loveth not aggressors.
Qur'an 2:190

To those against whom war is made, permission is given (to fight), because they are wronged;- and verily, Allah is most powerful for their aid.
Qur'an 22:39

Therefore if they withdraw from you but fight you not, and (instead) send you (Guarantees of) peace, then Allah Hath opened no way for you (to war against them).
Qur'an 4:90

But if the enemy incline towards peace, do thou (also) incline towards peace, and trust in Allah: for He is One that heareth and knoweth (all things).
Qur'an 8:61

In the Islamic faith you have "no guarantee of Paradise even if you do good works all your life," wrote Gabriel, "It all depends on what Allah decides." There is only one way a Muslim man can guarantee he will enter Paradise: Die fighting for Islam. "If you die in jihad," wrote Gabriel, "you don't even have to go to the grave and wait for judgment; you go directly to Paradise.

A suicide bombing is really an act of homicide. When Muslims in the West pretend that Islam is against such practices by pointing to the hadith that oppose killing oneself, such as Bukhari (23:446), they are being disingenuous. Muslims in the Arab world, who are less concerned about public relations, celebrate and revere suicide bombers, knowing that martyrdom in battle is glorified by their religion.

All Muslims are to spend time in hell for their sins. After paying for their sins in this fashion for a time determined by the crime, Muslims will then be allowed into paradise.

Muhammad made an exception for prophets (ie. himself) and for anyone dying in battle for the cause of Allah's religion.

Although Muslims are to face the Last Day, where their time in hell is to be determined (with sins weighed against good deeds) Muhammad laid down an exception for martyrs - those who are slain in the cause of Allah - at a time when he conveniently needed them. They get the fast track to Paradise where they wait on the rest (Sura (3:169-170)). A martyr doesn't necessarily have to have killed anyone, but a Muslim is required to join the battle (if able) and at least make an attempt to kill (Sura (9:39).

[[category:islam]]

Alfred Nobel

2007-05-16T11:56:48Z

Erasmus: /* Commercial Success */ formatting

'''Alfred Nobel''' (1833-1896) was a Swedish chemist, [[engineer]] and [[armaments]] manufacturer. He is noted for the invention of dynamite and the inauguration of the [[Nobel Prize|Nobel Prizes]] for achievements in the fields of [[chemistry]], [[physics]], [[literature]], [[medicine]] or [[physiology]], and [[peace]].

==Early Life==
Alfred Bernhard Nobel was born in [[Sweden]] on October 21, 1833. He was the third son of Immanuel Nobel, the inventor of modern [[plywood]]. At the age of 9 his family moved to [[St. Petersburg]] where his father founded a factory to make naval mines for use in the [[Crimean War]]. As a wealth and successful industrialist Immanuel was able to give his sons a first-class education by [[homeschooling|private tutors]]. In Russia, Alfred studied chemistry under Professor Nikolay Nikolaevich Zinin. He also achieved fluency in five languages; Swedish Russian, English French and German. Alfred had a wide variety of interests ranging from chemistry and physics to English literature and [[poetry]]. In order to widen his son's horizons, Immanuel Nobel sent Alfred abroad for further training in chemical engineering and in a two-year period he visited [[France]], [[Germany]], Sweden and the [[United States]]. [[Paris]] became his favorite city and whilst working in a private laboratory there he met Ascanio Sobrero, the inventor of the volatile and unpredictable, powerful explosive; [[nitroglycerine]]. Alfred took an interest in this unstable compound for which he saw great potential if it could be tamed.

==The Invention Of Dynamite==
Alfred was requested to return to Russia in 1852 in order help with the family business which was booming because of the munitions being delivered to the Russian Army. In [[Russia]] Alfred worked with his father to develop a stable version of nitroglycerine. However, with the end of the war Immanuel Nobel's business was forced into bankruptcy leaving the two eldest sons, Robert and Ludvig, to salvage the company. Returning to Sweden in 1863, Alfred continued his development of nitroglycerine. After several explosions, including one that killed hs brother Emil, the authorities prohibited his research within the Stockholm city limits and he moved to a barge anchored on Lake Mälaren. After starting commercial production of nitroglycerine in 1864 Nobel experimented with different additives. He discoverd that by mixing it with ''[[kieselguhr]]'' the volatile liquid became a realtively stable paste which could be shaped into cylinders for insertion into drilled holes. He patented this material in 1867 under the name '''[[dynamite]]'''. In order to produce an explosion from the stable compound he also invented the detonator or blasting cap, which could be triggered by the ignition of a fuse. The parallel invention of the diamond drilling crown meant that the costs of major civil engineerng works were drastically reduced.

==Commercial Success==
The market for Nobel's products grew rapidly and Alfred proved to be a skilful businessman as well as a scientist. By 1865 his factory in Germany was exporting nitroglycerine explosives throughout the world. Eventually he built 90 laboratories and factories in 20 different countries. While basing himself in [[Paris]], [[France]] he continued to travel widely and was described by [[Victor Hugo]] as "Europe's richest vagabond". Not content with developing explosives, Nobel registered 355 [[patent|patents]] including materials such as synthetic [[rubber]], [[leather]] and [[silk]].

[[Baku]] in [[Azerbaijan]] had long been famous for its [[oil]] seeps and in 1872, the Tsarist regime in Russia started to auction off sections of the oilfield. With his two older brothers, Robert and Ludvig, Alfred began the process to turn Baku into one the first large-scale commercial oil-fields in Europe. After visiting Baku in search of walnut wood to make rifle stocks for the family's armaments factory in St. Petersburg, Alfred ended up buying tracts of oil-bearing land. Bringing in six [[Pennsylvania|Pennsylvanian]] drillers, Nobel transformed Russian oil-field technology. However, the remoteness of Baku meant that transporting wooden barrels full of crude oil to the western markets was a difficult task. But by 1880 Nobel had constructed the first oil pipeline in Europe to deliver the oil to Baku and with the profits from their enterprise they not only launched the world's first oil tanker, the ''Zoroaster'', but also built the first continuous-process [[refinery]] as well as a [[railway]] to transport the crude to St. Petersburg. At one time a single well form the ''Apspheron'' oil-field could produced 4.5 million litres, far surpassing any well in the United States. It was only the quantity of oil from Baku that prevented [[John D. Rockefeller]]'s [[Standard Oil]] from establishing the same monopoly position in Europe that it had in the United States.

==Personal Life==
Alfred Nobel's dedication to his work and travel did not leave much room for family life. Feeling like an old man at the age of 43 he advertised in a newspaper - "Wealthy, highly-educated elderly gentleman seeks lady of mature age, versed in languages, as secretary and supervisor of household." The position was taken by the Austrian, Countess Bertha Kinsky. She worked a short time for Nobel but returned to Austria to marry Count Arthur von Suttner. Despite this, she and Alfred remained firm friends and corresponded with each other for many years.

==War And Peace==
Nobel became one of the first proponents of MAD ([[mutually-assured destruction]]) when he said :

"My dynamite will sooner lead to peace than a thousand world conventions. 
As soon as men will find that in one instant, 
whole armies can be utterly destroyed, 
they surely will abide by golden peace."

However, his friend Bertha von Suttner became increasingly critical of the arms race and wrote a seminal book, ''Lay Down Your Arms'' which undoubtedly influenced Nobel. When he died in [[San Remo]], [[Italy]] on December 10, 1895 his last will laid out the proposal that his estate be invested in a fund, the interest of which was to be distributed amongst five prizes. These were to be awarded for Physics, Chemistry, Literature, Physiology or Medicine, and Peace. The first prizes were not awarded until 1901. In 1905 the Peace Prize was awarded to Bertha von Suttner.

Alfred Nobel

2007-05-16T11:55:26Z

Erasmus: links

'''Alfred Nobel''' (1833-1896) was a Swedish chemist, [[engineer]] and [[armaments]] manufacturer. He is noted for the invention of dynamite and the inauguration of the [[Nobel Prize|Nobel Prizes]] for achievements in the fields of [[chemistry]], [[physics]], [[literature]], [[medicine]] or [[physiology]], and [[peace]].

==Early Life==
Alfred Bernhard Nobel was born in [[Sweden]] on October 21, 1833. He was the third son of Immanuel Nobel, the inventor of modern [[plywood]]. At the age of 9 his family moved to [[St. Petersburg]] where his father founded a factory to make naval mines for use in the [[Crimean War]]. As a wealth and successful industrialist Immanuel was able to give his sons a first-class education by [[homeschooling|private tutors]]. In Russia, Alfred studied chemistry under Professor Nikolay Nikolaevich Zinin. He also achieved fluency in five languages; Swedish Russian, English French and German. Alfred had a wide variety of interests ranging from chemistry and physics to English literature and [[poetry]]. In order to widen his son's horizons, Immanuel Nobel sent Alfred abroad for further training in chemical engineering and in a two-year period he visited [[France]], [[Germany]], Sweden and the [[United States]]. [[Paris]] became his favorite city and whilst working in a private laboratory there he met Ascanio Sobrero, the inventor of the volatile and unpredictable, powerful explosive; [[nitroglycerine]]. Alfred took an interest in this unstable compound for which he saw great potential if it could be tamed.

==The Invention Of Dynamite==
Alfred was requested to return to Russia in 1852 in order help with the family business which was booming because of the munitions being delivered to the Russian Army. In [[Russia]] Alfred worked with his father to develop a stable version of nitroglycerine. However, with the end of the war Immanuel Nobel's business was forced into bankruptcy leaving the two eldest sons, Robert and Ludvig, to salvage the company. Returning to Sweden in 1863, Alfred continued his development of nitroglycerine. After several explosions, including one that killed hs brother Emil, the authorities prohibited his research within the Stockholm city limits and he moved to a barge anchored on Lake Mälaren. After starting commercial production of nitroglycerine in 1864 Nobel experimented with different additives. He discoverd that by mixing it with ''[[kieselguhr]]'' the volatile liquid became a realtively stable paste which could be shaped into cylinders for insertion into drilled holes. He patented this material in 1867 under the name '''[[dynamite]]'''. In order to produce an explosion from the stable compound he also invented the detonator or blasting cap, which could be triggered by the ignition of a fuse. The parallel invention of the diamond drilling crown meant that the costs of major civil engineerng works were drastically reduced.

==Commercial Success==
The market for Nobel's products grew rapidly and Alfred proved to be a skilful businessman as well as a scientist. By 1865 his factory in Germany was exporting nitroglycerine explosives throughout the world. Eventually he built 90 laboratories and factories in 20 different countries. While basing himself in [[Paris]], [[France]] he continued to travel widely and was described by [[Victor Hugo]] as "Europe's richest vagabond". Not content with developing explosives, Nobel registered 355 [[patents ]]including materials such as synthetic [[rubber]], [[leather]] and [[silk]].

[[Baku]] in [[Azerbaijan]] had long been famous for its [[oil]] seeps and in 1872, the Tsarist regime in Russia started to auction off sections of the oilfield. With his two older brothers, Robert and Ludvig, Alfred began the process to turn Baku into one the first large-scale commercial oil-fields in Europe. After visiting Baku in search of walnut wood to make rifle stocks for the family's armaments factory in St. Petersburg, Alfred ended up buying tracts of oil-bearing land. Bringing in six [[Pennsylvania|Pennsylvanian]] drillers, Nobel transformed Russian oil-field technology. However, the remoteness of Baku meant that transporting wooden barrels full of crude oil to the western markets was a difficult task. But by 1880 Nobel had constructed the first oil pipeline in Europe to deliver the oil to Baku and with the profits from their enterprise they not only launched the world's first oil tanker, the ''Zoroaster'', but also built the first continuous-process [[refinery]] as well as a [[railway]] to transport the crude to St. Petersburg. At one time a single well form the ''Apspheron'' oil-field could produced 4.5 million litres, far surpassing any well in the United States. It was only the quantity of oil from Baku that prevented [[John D. Rockefeller]]'s [[Standard Oil]] from establishing the same monopoly position in Europe that it had in the United States.

==Personal Life==
Alfred Nobel's dedication to his work and travel did not leave much room for family life. Feeling like an old man at the age of 43 he advertised in a newspaper - "Wealthy, highly-educated elderly gentleman seeks lady of mature age, versed in languages, as secretary and supervisor of household." The position was taken by the Austrian, Countess Bertha Kinsky. She worked a short time for Nobel but returned to Austria to marry Count Arthur von Suttner. Despite this, she and Alfred remained firm friends and corresponded with each other for many years.

==War And Peace==
Nobel became one of the first proponents of MAD ([[mutually-assured destruction]]) when he said :

"My dynamite will sooner lead to peace than a thousand world conventions. 
As soon as men will find that in one instant, 
whole armies can be utterly destroyed, 
they surely will abide by golden peace."

However, his friend Bertha von Suttner became increasingly critical of the arms race and wrote a seminal book, ''Lay Down Your Arms'' which undoubtedly influenced Nobel. When he died in [[San Remo]], [[Italy]] on December 10, 1895 his last will laid out the proposal that his estate be invested in a fund, the interest of which was to be distributed amongst five prizes. These were to be awarded for Physics, Chemistry, Literature, Physiology or Medicine, and Peace. The first prizes were not awarded until 1901. In 1905 the Peace Prize was awarded to Bertha von Suttner.

Nobel Prize

2007-05-16T11:46:07Z

Erasmus: Added link

The '''Nobel Prize''' is a well-known award for achievements in [[physics]], [[chemistry]], [[medicine]] or [[physiology]], [[literature]], [[peace]] and [[economics]], though the latter is technically not a "real" Nobel Prize. With the exception of Economics, the Nobel Prizes were first given out in 1901. The award for [[economics]], the "Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of [[Alfred Nobel]]", had been added as a prize in 1969.<ref name="NobelHistory">The Nobel Foundation: [http://nobelprize.org/nobelfoundation/history/lemmel/index.html History]</ref>

==Nomination and Selection==
To nominate somebody for a Nobel Prize, the nominating party must meet the requirements outlined for the specific category or has to be invited.<ref name="NobelNomination">The Nobel Foundation: [http://nobelprize.org/nomination/nomination_facts.html Nomination Facts]</ref>

The Nobel Prizes are represented externally by the Nobel Foundation, a private institution entrusted with protecting the common interests of the Prize Awarding Institutions. However, the Nobel Foundation is not involved with the selection process itself. The Prize-Awarding Institutes are independent of government agencies and the Nobel Foundation itself.<ref name="NobelHistory"/>

== Omissions ==
Over the years, there have been cases in which some people felt that a person should have received a Nobel Prize for his or her work.

===Mahatma Gandhi===
Possibly the most well-known case had been [[Mahatma Gandhi]], who had been nominated 12 times for the Nobel Peace Prize without success.<ref name="NobelNomination"/> The Nobel Foundation has an information page detailing his nominations and the potential reasons for his lack of success.<ref>The Nobel Foundation: [http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/articles/gandhi/index.html Mahatma Gandhi, the Missing Laureate]</ref> Among other things, these statements can be found on the page:
{{QuoteBox|The omission has been publicly regretted by later members of the Nobel Committee; when the Dalai Lama was awarded the Peace Prize in 1989, the chairman of the committee said that this was "in part a tribute to the memory of Mahatma Gandhi".}}
{{QuoteBox|Up to 1960, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded almost exclusively to Europeans and Americans. In retrospect, the horizon of the Norwegian Nobel Committee may seem too narrow. Gandhi was very different from earlier Laureates. He was no real politician or proponent of international law, not primarily a humanitarian relief worker and not an organiser of international peace congresses. He would have belonged to a new breed of Laureates.}}

===Raymond Damadian===
A case in which a scientist openly voiced that he should have received a Nobel Prize was [[Raymond Damadian]]. In 2003, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine went to [[Paul Lauterbur]] and [[Peter Mansfield]] "for their discoveries concerning magnetic resonance imaging".<ref>The Nobel Foundation: [http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2003/index.html The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2003]</ref> Damadian, who had outlined the use of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance to detect tumors in 1971, protested against his omission from the Prize and said that his "life's work has been stricken". He then took out full-page ads in several newspapers, describing his omission as a "shameful wrong". The first wave of ads appeared in [[The Washington Post]], the [[Los Angeles Times]], Dagens Nyheter (daily newspaper in Stockholm), and [[The New York Times]].<ref>The Chronicle: [http://chronicle.com/free/v50/i11/11a01401.htm Prize Fight]</ref>

A possible explanation of Damadian's exclusion could be that, even though it was one of the pioneers of using magnetic resonance in medicine, his work did not lead to the magnetic resonance ''imaging'' the Nobel Prize was awarded for.<ref>The Why Files: [http://whyfiles.org/188nobel_mri/2.html Nobel Prizefight]</ref>

However, there are others who argue that he did not receive a Nobel Prize because of his views. Damadian is a [[Young Earth Creationism|Young Earth Creationist]], leading some to conclude that this influenced the selection process.<ref>Creation on the Web: [http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/978/ Super-scientist slams society’s spiritual sickness!]</ref>

{{stub2}}

==References==
<references/>

Alfred Nobel

2007-05-16T11:45:17Z

Erasmus: Fixed link

'''Alfred Nobel''' (1833-1896) was a Swedish chemist, engineer and armaments manufacturer. He is noted for the invention of dynamite and the inauguration of the [[Nobel Prize|Nobel Prizes]] for achievements in the fields of science, literature, medicine, economics and peace.

==Early Life==
Alfred Bernhard Nobel was born in Sweden on October 21, 1833. He was the third son of Immanuel Nobel, the inventor of modern plywood. At the age of 9 his family moved to St. Petersburg where his father founded a factory to make naval mines for use in the Crimean War. As a wealth and successful industrialist Immanuel was able to give his sons a first-class education by [[homeschooling|private tutors]]. In Russia, Alfred studied chemistry under Professor Nikolay Nikolaevich Zinin. He also achieved fluency in five languages; Swedish Russian, English French and German. Alfred had a wide variety of interests ranging from chemistry and physics to English literature and poetry. In order to widen his son's horizons, Immanuel Nobel sent Alfred abroad for further training in chemical engineering and in a two-year period he visited France, Germany, Sweden and the United States. Paris became his favorite city and whilst working in a private laboratory there he met Ascanio Sobrero, the inventor of the volatile and unpredictable, powerful explosive; nitroglycerine. Alfred took an interest in this unstable compound for which he saw great potential if it could be tamed.

==The Invention Of Dynamite==
Alfred was requested to return to Russia in 1852 in order help with the family business which was booming because of the munitions being delivered to the Russian Army. In Russia Alfred worked with his father to develop a stable version of nitroglycerine. However, with the end of the war Immanuel Nobel's business was forced into bankruptcy leaving the two eldest sons, Robert and Ludvig, to salvage the company. Returning to Sweden in 1863, Alfred continued his development of nitroglycerine. After several explosions, including one that killed hs brother Emil, the authorities prohibited his research within the Stockholm city limits and he moved to a barge anchored on Lake Mälaren. After starting commercial production of nitroglycerine in 1864 Nobel experimented with different additives. He discoverd that by mixing it with ''[[kieselguhr]]'' the volatile liquid became a realtively stable paste which could be shaped into cylinders for insertion into drilled holes. He patented this material in 1867 under the name '''[[dynamite]]'''. In order to produce an explosion from the stable compound he also invented the detonator or blasting cap, which could be triggered by the ignition of a fuse. The parallel invention of the diamond drilling crown meant that the costs of major civil engineerng works were drastically reduced.

==Commercial Success==
The market for Nobel's products grew rapidly and Alfred proved to be a skilful businessman as well as a scientist. By 1865 his factory in Germany was exporting nitroglycerine explosives throughout the world. Eventually he built 90 laboratories and factories in 20 different countries. While basing himself in Paris, France he continued to travel widely and was described by [[Victor Hugo]] as "Europe's richest vagabond". Not content with developing explosives, Nobel registered 355 patents including materials such as synthetic rubber, leather and silk.

Baku in Azerbaijan had long been famous for its oil seeps and in 1872, the Tsarist regime in Russia started to auction off sections of the oilfield. With his two older brothers, Robert and Ludvig, Alfred began the process to turn Baku into one the first large-scale commercial oil-fields in Europe. After visiting Baku in search of walnut wood to make rifle stocks for the family's armaments factory in St. Petersburg, Alfred ended up buying tracts of oil-bearing land. Bringing in six Pennsylvanian drillers, Nobel transformed Russian oil-field technology. However, the remoteness of Baku meant that transporting wooden barrels full of crude oil to the western markets was a difficult task. But by 1880 Nobel had constructed the first oil pipeline in Europe to deliver the oil to Baku and with the profits from their enterprise they not only launched the world's first oil tanker, the ''Zoroaster'', but also built the first continuous-process refinery as well as a railway to transport the crude to St. Petersburg. At one time a single well form the ''Apspheron'' oil-field could produced 4.5 million litres, far surpassing any well in the United States. It was only the quantity of oil from Baku that prevented [[John D. Rockefeller]]'s Standard Oil from establishing the same monopoly position in Europe that it had in the United States.

==Personal Life==
Alfred Nobel's dedication to his work and travel did not leave much room for family life. Feeling like an old man at the age of 43 he advertised in a newspaper - "Wealthy, highly-educated elderly gentleman seeks lady of mature age, versed in languages, as secretary and supervisor of household." The position was taken by the Austrian, Countess Bertha Kinsky. She worked a short time for Nobel but returned to Austria to marry Count Arthur von Suttner. Despite this, she and Alfred remained firm friends and corresponded with each other for many years.

==War And Peace==
Nobel became one of the first proponents of MAD (mutually-assured destruction) when he said :

"My dynamite will sooner lead to peace than a thousand world conventions. 
As soon as men will find that in one instant, 
whole armies can be utterly destroyed, 
they surely will abide by golden peace."

However, his friend Bertha von Suttner became increasingly critical of the arms race and wrote a seminal book, ''Lay Down Your Arms'' which undoubtedly influenced Nobel. When he died in [[San Remo]], [[Italy]] on December 10, 1895 his last will laid out the proposal that his estate be invested in a fund, the interest of which was to be distributed amongst five prizes. These were to be awarded for Physics, Chemistry, Literature, Physiology or Medicine, and Peace. The first prizes were not awarded until 1901. In 1905 the Peace Prize was awarded to Bertha von Suttner.

Portsmouth

2007-05-09T17:17:38Z

Erasmus: Grammar

Portsmouth is a port city in [[Hampshire]], on the South Coast of [[England]]. It has a long history as a Naval base which continues to this day. Famous ships which can be visited in Portsmouth include [[HMS Victory]], and [[The Mary Rose]]. Portsmouth has a Ferry Terminal with regular services to the [[Isle of Wight]] in the UK, [[Cherbourg]] and [[Caen]] in [[France]], and to [[Bilbao]] in [[Spain]].
[[Category:UK Towns and Cities]]

Heterosexuality

2007-05-03T22:00:19Z

Erasmus: /* Old Testament */ added emphasis

'''Heterosexuality''' is sexual activity with the opposite sex, that is, men with women.

== Biblical Views on Heterosexuality ==

The Bible gives some guidelines for heterosexuals.

=== Old Testament ===

:"Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that ''is'' thy neighbour's." (Exodus 20:17)

:"And if a man '''sell his daughter''' to be a maidservant, she shall not go out as the menservants do. If she please not her master, who hath betrothed her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a strange nation he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her. And if he have betrothed her unto his son, he shall deal with her after the manner of daughters. If he take him another ''wife''; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish." (Exodus 21:7-10)

:"And if a man entice a maid that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall surely endow her to be his wife. If her father utterly refuse to give her unto him, he shall pay money according to the dowry of virgins." (Exodus 22:16-17)

:"And whosoever lieth carnally with a woman, that ''is'' a bondmaid, betrothed to an husband, and not at all redeemed, nor freedom given her; she shall be scourged; they shall not be put to death, because she was not free." (Leviticus 19:20)

:"If a man find a damsel ''that is'' a virgin, which is not betrothed, and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found; Then the man that lay with her shall give unto the damsel's father fifty ''shekels'' of silver, and she shall be his wife; because he hath humbled her, he may not put her away all his days." (Deuteronomy 22:28-29)

=== New Testament ===
:"But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." (Matthew 5:28)

:"''It is'' good for a man not to touch a woman." (1 Corinthians 7:1)

:"I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works. Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety." (1 Timothy 2:8-15)

== See Also ==

*[[Bisexuality]]
*[[Homosexuality]]

== References ==
<references />
[[category:biology]]

Talk:Essay:Liberal Behavior on Conservapedia

2007-05-03T21:58:29Z

Erasmus: More deletions

What I really can't understand is why is there so much focus here on Conservapedia slamming liberals? This website is advertised as conservative - why not focus more on furthering your own arguments and agendas as opposed to ridiculing others? The [[Deceit]] article is a prime example of this. You present that article as if liberals are the only people capable of deceit. How is this socially responsible?

It would seem that [[Mockery]] is just as much a part of some Conservatives arsenals as it is the Liberals. As both a Christian and a Conservative, I despise deceit and mockery as being the tools of a weak mind. Opinion is just that but facts are golden. [[User:Trashbat|Trashbat]] 19:29, 1 May 2007 (EDT)

Granted, I'm sure you could point out websites where liberals in turn do the same things to conservatives. I am not trying to say conservatives are bad people. I just don't think you advance your point of view very effectively by slinging mud - bolster your own viewpoints instead. --[[User:Colest|Colest]] 19:27, 1 May 2007 (EDT)

:I agree, this site has a clear agenda to ridicule liberals. Perhaps you should rename this site to www.antiliberalpedia.com--[[User:Sm355|Sm355]] 19:31, 1 May 2007 (EDT)

Even as a sysop, I'm a little uncomfortable with implying that all liberals are deceitful, given that my mother is liberal. [[User:DanH|DanH]] 19:32, 1 May 2007 (EDT)

::Dan, I feel that you are far from alone in your concerns about the direction this site is taking. Your mother's liberalism notwithstanding, the unsourced, extreme and unnecessary criticisms of liberalism do seem to be a case of the lady protesting too much. I suggest that you resign your status until the owner and panel are more clear about what they want this place to '''be'''.--[[User:Olly|Olly]] 19:39, 1 May 2007 (EDT)

:I'm liberal, and I find it quite amusing, reminiscent of our old friend Richard. As for the second point brought up in this article; for commandment 3 to be enforced, we would have to delete [[Homosexuality]], [[Heterosexuality]], [[Procreation]], [[Fornication]], and [[Bisexuality]]. --[[User:Hojimachong|'''Hojimachong''']][[User_Talk:Hojimachong|talk]] 19:34, 1 May 2007 (EDT)

Looks like someone beat you to it to [[Bisexuality]] ; ) [[User:Trashbat|Trashbat]] 19:36, 1 May 2007 (EDT)
:That wasn't me, it was [[User:Ed Poor|Ed]] ;-). --[[User:Hojimachong|'''Hojimachong''']][[User_Talk:Hojimachong|talk]] 19:38, 1 May 2007 (EDT)

And there goes Fornication! Two down, three to go. [[User:Erasmus|Erasmus]] 17:58, 3 May 2007 (EDT)

Talk:Chip shop

2007-05-02T22:28:42Z

Erasmus: /* Merge article? */

How can you not mention the fact that in renowned glaswegian chippies they offer such delicacies as battered pizza, battered mars bars and battered ice cream?--[[User:CatWatcher|CatWatcher]] 03:24, 26 April 2007 (EDT)
see http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/12/1227_041227_deep_fried_mars_bars.html

[[Image:300px-Deep-fried mars bars.JPG | thumb | left]] Now doesn't that look delicious?
:Yes it does. Can you add the picture to the article? [[User:Dorpfeld|Dorpfeld]] 03:34, 26 April 2007 (EDT)
:Good point. We could have sections on the various differences in regional and national cuisine served in these establishments. [[User:Dorpfeld|Dorpfeld]] 03:27, 26 April 2007 (EDT)

::Will add it later if someone else hasn't done so by then.
--[[User:CatWatcher|CatWatcher]] 03:37, 26 April 2007 (EDT)

Re: merger. I don't think this should be merged. The chip shop (or 'chippie') is a very distinctive cultural, as well as culinary, institution specific to Britain and Ireland.

How can anyone talk of merging this article. It;s probably the best one on Conservapedia. I think we should go for [[irony|featured status]]. --[[User:Felix|Felix]] 06:53, 27 April 2007 (EDT)

"Fish Bits" are called "scraps" in Birmingham and Humberside. Also mayonnaise is offered in Birmingham chippies although I am unaware as to whether this has anything to do with Dutch or indeed Belgian immigrants. Not sure if any of this info is apposite. --[[User:Olly|Olly]] 07:29, 27 April 2007 (EDT)

We also refer to fish bits as scraps here in Yorkshire. [[User:Trashbat|Trashbat]] 07:44, 27 April 2007 (EDT)

== Merge article? ==

Absolutely not; the articles deal with two entirely different things.

Potato chips is the American term for what are properly called (in Great Britain, home of the English language) potato crisps.

Chip shops are purveyors of the much more substantial and wholesome British older relative of French Fries (which is a distant relative, at best). The importance of chips in British culture, and their incompatibility with French Fries (chips are always prepared from the finest locally-grown potatoes, and must be sliced on the spot, as opposed to being reconstituted, extruded and shaped in a factory like French Fries) makes it absolutely inappropiate to merge the articles. --[[User:Jeremiah4-22|Jeremiah4-22]] 09:05, 27 April 2007 (EDT)

I think the proposal to merge must have been made by someone unfamiliar with the use of the word chip in British English. As others have said before. Chip shops do not sell cold crisp thin slices of deep-fried potato (which are known in the UK as potato crisps), but rather piping hot finger-sized chunks of deep-fried potato.[[User:FriendOfDorothy|FriendOfDorothy]] 09:46, 27 April 2007 (EDT)

I am really convinced that these folks here at Conservapedia are really benefitting from finding out about the delicacies of British Haute Cuisine. --[[User:Felix|Felix]] 09:54, 27 April 2007 (EDT)

The chip shop is also culturally essential in addition to being of gastronomic import. Chip shop tradition is far greater than the sum of its peas, chips and fine, fine pickled eggs. And surely sharing of cultures and knowledge is the very essence of an encyclopedia. [[User:Trashbat|Trashbat]] 09:59, 27 April 2007 (EDT)

I agree absolutely with Trashbat. Chip shops have a strong cultural significance which alone justifies a separate article; but in any case, to cnflate the (completely different) UK and US chips would be absurd. [[User:Volpone|Volpone]] 18:32, 29 April 2007 (EDT)

Chip Shops merged with another subject? Go and wash your mouth out with carbolic, Poor Ed![[User:LateralQuercus|LateralQuercus]] 19:12, 29 April 2007 (EDT)

:Definitely don't merge, they're not even close to the same thing. [[User:Jrssr5|Jrssr5]] 09:54, 1 May 2007 (EDT)

What on earth has happened to this article? I am beginning to suspect an anti-British agenda. Chip-shops are a an integral part of British culture. [[User:MontyZuma|MontyZuma]] 18:58, 1 May 2007 (EDT)

Thank you MontyZuma, I have already tried to convince some of the administrators here about the importance of this topic and about the erosion of the British way of life. I'd rather the few British contributers not be driven away, particularly as some of us are good Christian Conservatives who wish to preserve our way of life too. [[User:Trashbat|Trashbat]] 19:04, 1 May 2007 (EDT)

If we merge these, we should merge barbeque sauce and ketchup. [[User:GodlessLiberal|GodlessLiberal]] 21:00, 1 May 2007 (EDT)
:No,you should merge Egypt and Israel.[[User:DDWatkinsIII|DDWatkinsIII]] 21:04, 1 May 2007 (EDT)
:::Now '''''that's''''' radical! Maybe you could get a job at the UN. [[User:MontyZuma|MontyZuma]] 18:18, 2 May 2007 (EDT)
::Fair enough. [[User:GodlessLiberal|GodlessLiberal]] 21:26, 1 May 2007 (EDT)

'''NEW PICS'''

I know the pics of deep fried mars bars were deleted, but here goes:

[[Image:mars1.jpg]]

[[Image:mars2.jpg]]

I also have found all these refs to [[Deep fried Mars Bars]]

http://www.recipezaar.com/43463

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4103415.stm

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/12/1227_041227_deep_fried_mars_bars.html
A report on a December 2004 study, reported in the British medical journal The Lancet gives the following interesting facts:

"The researchers found that Mars bars aren't Scotland's only deep-fried specialties, with chip shops also frying up ice-cream, pizza, pineapple rings, pickled eggs, Snicker bars, and bananas."

and the fact is the French are trying to steal the idea!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/654750.stm

I know that the article and pic of dfmb was deleted, but this article establishes that America IS interested: CBS News picked up the research-
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/12/17/world/main661751.shtml
quote:

"They decided to investigate after the treat was mentioned by television host Jay Leno on NBC's "Tonight Show."

Now, I think
(a) The original pic should be reinstated on the Chip Shop Page, and
(b) We should have an entire article reinstated about Deep Fried Mars bars as a cultural phenomenon and a helth food issue.

That's my opinion.

--[[User:Felix|Felix]] 05:16, 2 May 2007 (EDT)
::How did you get your pictures re-uploaded? I posted some pictures to illustrate my article on [[Pork scratchings]] and they were deleted by User:Aschlafly. Said we didn't need pictures of processed pork. (See my user page). [[User:Erasmus|Erasmus]] 18:28, 2 May 2007 (EDT)

I think that this is only of passing interest to the topic of Chip Shops but could certainly be expanded elsewhere. It has a lot to say about Scottish culture and cuisine. Maybe some Glaswegians could help out with this. [[User:MontyZuma|MontyZuma]] 18:15, 2 May 2007 (EDT)

Whisky

2007-05-02T22:06:30Z

Erasmus: sp

'''Whisky''' refers to a group of [[Alcoholic drinks|alcoholic beverage]]s (liquors) distilled from fermented cereal grains such as barley, rye, wheat or maize. The word derives from the Gaeilc ''uisge beatha'' - water of life. (c.f. ''eau de vie'' for French spirits, ''aqua vitae'' Italian, ''aquavit'' or ''akvavit'' Scandinavian, ''okovita'' [[vodka]] in Poland and Ukraine). The conventional spelling is '''whisky''' for spirits distilled in Scotland ([[Scotch]]), Wales, Japan and Canada while '''whiskey''' is used for spirits from Ireland and the USA.

==Scottish Whiskies==
Known as Scotch (the term only refers to the beverage, not the people) there are two main types [[Malt]] and [[Grain]]. Malt whisky is made from malted [[barley]] and distilled in a pot still. Malt whiskies may be [[single]] and come from one distillery (such as ''Glenfiddich'', ''Glenmorangie'' or ''Highland Park'') or [[vatted]] - a blend of malts from several distilleries (''Johnny Walker Blue Label''). Grain whiskies are made from unmalted cereals and fermented in a continuous distillation process. Generally grain whiskies are blended with unnamed malts to supply the cheaper end of the market (''Bells'', ''Teachers'', ''Famous Grouse'', ''Johnny Walker Red Label''). Malt whiskies are normally the choice of connoisseurs with different regions of Scotland producing notably different styles. Blended whiskies are often used in mixed drinks.
Connoisseurs of fine Scotch will drink their whisky either neat or diluted with up to an equal amount of still water. The addition of ice (Scotch on the rocks) is fowned upon as it destroys the flavor.

[[Category:Alcoholic beverages]]
[[category:Scottish Cuisine]]

Whisky

2007-05-02T22:05:51Z

Erasmus: Expanded article and added Scotch

'''Whisky''' refers to a group of [[Alcoholic drinks|alcoholic beverage]]s (liquors) distilled from fermented cereal grains such as barley, rye, wheat or maize. The word derives from the Gaeilc ''uisge beatha'' - water of life. (c.f. ''eau de vie'' for French spirits, ''aqua vitae'' Italian, ''aquavit'' or ''akvavit'' Scandinavian, ''okovita'' [[vodka]] in Poland and Ukraine). The conventional spelling is '''whisky''' for spirits distilled in Scotland [[Scotch]]), Wales, Japan and Canada while '''whiskey''' is used for spirits from Ireland and the USA.

==Scottish Whiskies==
Known as Scotch (the term only refers to the beverage, not the people) there are two main types [[Malt]] and [[Grain]]. Malt whisky is made from malted [[barley]] and distilled in a pot still. Malt whiskies may be [[single]] and come from one distillery (such as ''Glenfiddich'', ''Glenmorangie'' or ''Highland Park'') or [[vatted]] - a blend of malts from several distilleries (''Johnny Walker Blue Label''). Grain whiskies are made from unmalted cereals and fermented in a continuous distillation process. Generally grain whiskies are blended with unnamed malts to supply the cheaper end of the market (''Bells'', ''Teachers'', ''Famous Grouse'', ''Johnny Walker Red Label''). Malt whiskies are normally the choice of connoisseurs with different regions of Scotland producing notably different styles. Blended whiskies are often used in mixed drinks.
Connoisseurs of fine Scotch will drink their whisky either neat or diluted with up to an equal amount of still water. The addition of ice (Scotch on the rocks) is fowned upon as it destroys the flavor.

[[Category:Alcoholic beverages]]
[[category:Scottish Cuisine]]

Whisky

2007-05-02T21:41:13Z

Erasmus: Rephrased

Whiskey

2007-05-02T21:29:18Z

Erasmus: The original spelling is the Scottish way

#REDIRECT [[Whisky]]

Holocaust

2007-05-02T20:45:30Z

Erasmus: added emphasis

[[Image:Hgdye56.jpg|right|thumb|"Selection" of Hungarian Jews at the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp in May/June 1944. To be sent to the right meant slave labor; to the left, the gas chambers.]]
'''Holocaust''' means "completely burnt" and derives from the Greek word ''holokauston'' - (''holos'': completely, and ''kaustos'': a sacrificial or burnt offering to a god). The term was used to describe a catstrophe but was first used to describe Hitler's persecution of the Jews (and other undesirables like gypsies, communists and homosexuals) during [[World War II]] in 1942.

'''''The'' Holocaust''' has now evolved to refer specifically to the genocide of the European Jews by the [[Nazi]] regime of [[Germany]], which derived from [[Adolf Hitler]]'s widely held anti-Semitic sentiments. In addition to the genocide of 6 million Jews, several million other people were also murdered, which included Slavs, Jehovah's Witnesses, Roma, physically and mentally disabled people, common criminals, homosexuals, communists and other political opponents of National Socialism were also exterminated.

The records of the amount of people who were killed in The Holocaust were never fully uncovered, yet estimates have read anywhere from 11 to 12 million total victims.

The occurrence of the Holocaust is only in [[Holocaust denial|denial]] within small groups with anti-semitic leanings. The Germans kept accurate records of the massacres.

==External Links==
:[http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/ Holocaust Encyclopedia]
:[http://www.ushmm.org/ United States Holocaust Memorial Museum]
:[http://www.hmh.org/ Houston Holocaust Museum]
:[http://www.flholocaustmuseum.org/ Florida Holocaust Museum]
:[http://www.va-holocaust.com/ Virginia Holocaust Museum]
:[http://holocausteducationcenter.org/ Holocaust Awareness Museum & Educational Center of Philadelphia; America's First Holocaust Museum]
:[http://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/Nuremberg/Nuremberg.html#search Searchable list of 2300 victims from Nuremberg]
:[http://www.holocaustcentre.net/ Beth Shalom Holocaust Centre in Newark, England]
:[http://www.mhmc.ca/ Montreal Holocaust Memorial Center Museum]
:[http://www.holocaust-mahnmal.de/en German Government's Memorial To Jews Murdered During Holocaust]
:[http://www.amcha.org/ AMCHA: Israeli Association of Holocaust Survivors]

[[category:History]]
[[Category:World War II]]

Talk:Holocaust

2007-05-02T20:44:32Z

Erasmus: Reword denial & record-keeping

The "Criticism" section could be a major black eye if it's not carefully watched. --[[User:John|John]] 22:52, 7 March 2007 (EST)

== Reverts ==

You can revert back to the biased version if you insist, but you could at least have kept the correct spelling of "occurrence". [[User:AppliedFaith|AppliedFaith]] 16:13, 13 April 2007 (EDT)

== Evidence ==
I think (from a pedantic view of English grammar) that there is a small contradiction between the wording that the number of those killed is an estimate because incomplete records have been recovered and the fact the holocaust denial is unjustified because the Germans kept accurate records. Perhaps someone could reword this. [[User:Erasmus|Erasmus]] 16:44, 2 May 2007 (EDT)

Holocaust

2007-05-02T20:37:40Z

Erasmus: Reworded introduction

[[Image:Hgdye56.jpg|right|thumb|"Selection" of Hungarian Jews at the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp in May/June 1944. To be sent to the right meant slave labor; to the left, the gas chambers.]]
'''Holocaust''' means "completely burnt" and derives from the Greek word ''holokauston'' - (''holos'': completely, and ''kaustos'': a sacrificial or burnt offering to a god). The term was used to describe a catstrophe but was first used to describe Hitler's persecution of the Jews (and other undesirables like gypsies, communists and homosexuals) during [[World War II]] in 1942.

'''The Holocaust''' has now evolved to refer specifically to the genocide of the European Jews by the [[Nazi]] regime of [[Germany]], which derived from [[Adolf Hitler]]'s widely held anti-Semitic sentiments. In addition to the genocide of 6 million Jews, several million other people were also murdered, which included Slavs, Jehovah's Witnesses, Roma, physically and mentally disabled people, common criminals, homosexuals, communists and other political opponents of National Socialism were also exterminated.

The records of the amount of people who were killed in The Holocaust were never fully uncovered, yet estimates have read anywhere from 11 to 12 million total victims.

The occurrence of the Holocaust is only in [[Holocaust denial|denial]] within small groups with anti-semitic leanings. The Germans kept accurate records of the massacres.

==External Links==
:[http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/ Holocaust Encyclopedia]
:[http://www.ushmm.org/ United States Holocaust Memorial Museum]
:[http://www.hmh.org/ Houston Holocaust Museum]
:[http://www.flholocaustmuseum.org/ Florida Holocaust Museum]
:[http://www.va-holocaust.com/ Virginia Holocaust Museum]
:[http://holocausteducationcenter.org/ Holocaust Awareness Museum & Educational Center of Philadelphia; America's First Holocaust Museum]
:[http://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/Nuremberg/Nuremberg.html#search Searchable list of 2300 victims from Nuremberg]
:[http://www.holocaustcentre.net/ Beth Shalom Holocaust Centre in Newark, England]
:[http://www.mhmc.ca/ Montreal Holocaust Memorial Center Museum]
:[http://www.holocaust-mahnmal.de/en German Government's Memorial To Jews Murdered During Holocaust]
:[http://www.amcha.org/ AMCHA: Israeli Association of Holocaust Survivors]

[[category:History]]
[[Category:World War II]]

Haggis

2007-05-02T20:13:22Z

Erasmus: Added Burns night

'''Haggis''' is a traditional [[Scotland|Scottish]] dish. It is made with various ingredients including the [[sheep]]’s liver, heart and lungs, seasoned, and mixed with [[oats]], a cereal which Dr Johnson memorably described in his [[Dictionary]] as "a grain, which in [[England]] is generally given to horses, but in [[Scotland]] supports the people." The ingredients are cooked for about an hour in the sheep’s stomach. Portions of haggis are also frequently coated in batter, deep fried and served at [[chip shop]]s.

Scots like to tease tourists with the suggestion that a haggis is a small Scottish animal whose unique feature is having two legs shorter on one side of their body so that they can run round mountains. Unfortunately, the male and female haggises have the shorter legs in opposite sides so they go round in opposite directions. Don't be fooled.

The haggis has become an exalted component of [[Robert Burns|Burns]] Night where gastronomic banquets (known as Burns' Suppers) are held in honour of Scotland's national poet. The highlight of the evening is usually a recitation of the poem ''[[Address to a haggis]]''. Slices of haggis are then consumed accompanied by glases of whisky.

==External Links==
Many more recipes can be found below.
http://www.smart.net/~tak/haggis.html

[[Category:Meat]]
[[Category:Scottish Cuisine]]

Netherlands

2007-05-02T19:55:55Z

Erasmus: /* Queen's Day */ Spelling & grammar

[[Image:Netherlands_map.gif|right]]

The '''Netherlands''' (''Dutch: Nederland'') is a country in [[Europe]]. It is bordered by [[Belgium]] and [[Germany]], and has a total population of approximately 16 million (2007). The country is often referred to as "Holland", but this incorrect, as Holland is actually just one region of the Netherlands. Paradoxically, the national football team is known as Holland.

As its name implies, it is a very low-lying country. About a quarter of the land area, containing more than half of the population, is actually below sea level, and would flood if the sea were not held back by a system of dikes. The Dutch have a saying that "God created the earth, but the Dutch made Holland".

A major breach of the dikes occurred in 1953, killing 1800 people.
To avoid a repeat of the disaster the Dutch began construction of the "Delta Project" to protect the country from future inundations. Begun in 1953 and completed in 2002 the Delta Project is considered a modern wonder of civil engineering. After the Katrina disaster a delegation of American engineers was invited by the Dutch government to see the works and how the technology can be applied in the USA, for low-lying cities like New Orleans.

[[Amsterdam]], named for the Amstel river, is the largest city, and officially the capital (although the seat of government is actually in The Hague ). It is ringed by an extensive system of concentric canals.

[[Eindhoven]] is the location of the giant electronics corporation, Philips (full name: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.), with annual revenue equivalent to about $40 billion. (The U.S. corporation [[General Electric]] has revenues of about $150 billion, but much of it is from non-electronics businesses).

The Netherlands has long been famous for its production of flowers, and also for a related economic event, the "tulip mania" of 1636-1637. A classic example of a "bubble," [[tulip]]s were traded on stock exchanges, and bid up to fantastic prices by people who understood that the prices were crazy but hoped to sell at a profit to even crazier investors. Many people mortgaged their homes for a single tulip bulb and in one case an entire brewery was exchanged for few bulbs. As with all bubbles, when bidding began to lag people tried to sell and the bubble burst with disastrous consequences. Since then the Dutch have been renowned for their carefulness with money and have established a significant presence in the banking and financial sectors.

The Netherlands is also famous for its low-crime rate and [[liberal]] legislation. Examples are organized prostitution in designated areas of major cities, such as Amsterdam's Red Light District, the legal [[soft drugs]] sold in the country's many coffee shops, wide [[abortion]] rights, [[same-sex marriage]]s and [[euthanasia]]. Drug abuse is not a major problem in Netherlands, since people are not made to feel so guilty about using cannabis. The only problem is that many people come from abroad, who don't understand the liberal idea but only want to get high. Many also think hard drugs were legal, which is not true. It's all a matter of defining where the border between good and bad drugs goes. One should remember that every day many people are given opiates and heroin-replacements as medical treatment of various diseases of old age.

==Queen's Day==
April 30th is known as Queen's Day (''Koninginnedag'') - the national holiday to mark the official birthday of the monarch. This is actually the birthday of former Queen Juliana (Queen Beatrix's mother) but has been kept as the official birthday because of the better weather (Queen Beatrix's actual birthday is 31 January). Queen's Day is the one day of the year when ordinary Netherlanders are permitted to sell goods on the streets without a licence. Consequently the whole country is turned into a gigantic flea market (garage sale). The primary effect of this is that people buy goods they do not want or need, solely in order to sell them the following year. In an act of patriotism most of the populace wear orange colored clothing (the national color) to identify with the Royal House Of '''Orange'''-Nassau.

Those not involved with selling their surplus belongings celebrate the national holiday at outdoors parties in the cities or with fine weather, spend the free day on a terrace of a pub, or cycle in the national ''Fiesten op Dijken '' tour around the nation's dikes.

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:European Countries]]
[[Category:NATO members]]
[[Category:EU Members]]

Netherlands

2007-05-02T19:53:39Z

Erasmus: Expanded tulip mania

[[Image:Netherlands_map.gif|right]]

The '''Netherlands''' (''Dutch: Nederland'') is a country in [[Europe]]. It is bordered by [[Belgium]] and [[Germany]], and has a total population of approximately 16 million (2007). The country is often referred to as "Holland", but this incorrect, as Holland is actually just one region of the Netherlands. Paradoxically, the national football team is known as Holland.

As its name implies, it is a very low-lying country. About a quarter of the land area, containing more than half of the population, is actually below sea level, and would flood if the sea were not held back by a system of dikes. The Dutch have a saying that "God created the earth, but the Dutch made Holland".

A major breach of the dikes occurred in 1953, killing 1800 people.
To avoid a repeat of the disaster the Dutch began construction of the "Delta Project" to protect the country from future inundations. Begun in 1953 and completed in 2002 the Delta Project is considered a modern wonder of civil engineering. After the Katrina disaster a delegation of American engineers was invited by the Dutch government to see the works and how the technology can be applied in the USA, for low-lying cities like New Orleans.

[[Amsterdam]], named for the Amstel river, is the largest city, and officially the capital (although the seat of government is actually in The Hague ). It is ringed by an extensive system of concentric canals.

[[Eindhoven]] is the location of the giant electronics corporation, Philips (full name: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.), with annual revenue equivalent to about $40 billion. (The U.S. corporation [[General Electric]] has revenues of about $150 billion, but much of it is from non-electronics businesses).

The Netherlands has long been famous for its production of flowers, and also for a related economic event, the "tulip mania" of 1636-1637. A classic example of a "bubble," [[tulip]]s were traded on stock exchanges, and bid up to fantastic prices by people who understood that the prices were crazy but hoped to sell at a profit to even crazier investors. Many people mortgaged their homes for a single tulip bulb and in one case an entire brewery was exchanged for few bulbs. As with all bubbles, when bidding began to lag people tried to sell and the bubble burst with disastrous consequences. Since then the Dutch have been renowned for their carefulness with money and have established a significant presence in the banking and financial sectors.

The Netherlands is also famous for its low-crime rate and [[liberal]] legislation. Examples are organized prostitution in designated areas of major cities, such as Amsterdam's Red Light District, the legal [[soft drugs]] sold in the country's many coffee shops, wide [[abortion]] rights, [[same-sex marriage]]s and [[euthanasia]]. Drug abuse is not a major problem in Netherlands, since people are not made to feel so guilty about using cannabis. The only problem is that many people come from abroad, who don't understand the liberal idea but only want to get high. Many also think hard drugs were legal, which is not true. It's all a matter of defining where the border between good and bad drugs goes. One should remember that every day many people are given opiates and heroin-replacements as medical treatment of various diseases of old age.

==Queen's Day==
April 30th is known as Queen's Day (''Koninginnedag'') - the national holiday to mark the official birthday of the monarch. This is actually the birthday of former Queen Juliana (Queen Beatrix's mother) but has been kept as the official birthday because of the better weather (Queen Beatrix's actual birthday is 31 January). Queen's Day is the one day of the year when ordinary Netherlanders are permitted to sell goods on the streets without a licence. Consequently the whole country is turned into a gigantic flea market (garage sale). The primary effect of this is that people buy goods they do not want or need, solely in order to sell them the following year. In an act of patriotism most of the populace wear orange colored clothing (the national color) to identify with the Royal House Of '''Orange'''-Nassau.

Those not involved with selling their surplus belongings celebrate the national holiday at outdoors party’s in the city’s ore with fine weather, spend the free day on a terrace of a pub, or bicycling in the national ''Fiesten op Dijken '' tour around the nation's dikes.

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:European Countries]]
[[Category:NATO members]]
[[Category:EU Members]]

Netherlands

2007-05-02T19:47:54Z

Erasmus: Grammar and rephrasing

[[Image:Netherlands_map.gif|right]]

The '''Netherlands''' (''Dutch: Nederland'') is a country in [[Europe]]. It is bordered by [[Belgium]] and [[Germany]], and has a total population of approximately 16 million (2007). The country is often referred to as "Holland", but this incorrect, as Holland is actually just one region of the Netherlands. Paradoxically, the national football team is known as Holland.

As its name implies, it is a very low-lying country. About a quarter of the land area, containing more than half of the population, is actually below sea level, and would flood if the sea were not held back by a system of dikes. The Dutch have a saying that "God created the earth, but the Dutch made Holland".

A major breach of the dikes occurred in 1953, killing 1800 people.
To avoid a repeat of the disaster the Dutch began construction of the "Delta Project" to protect the country from future inundations. Begun in 1953 and completed in 2002 the Delta Project is considered a modern wonder of civil engineering. After the Katrina disaster a delegation of American engineers was invited by the Dutch government to see the works and how the technology can be applied in the USA, for low-lying cities like New Orleans.

[[Amsterdam]], named for the Amstel river, is the largest city, and officially the capital (although the seat of government is actually in The Hague ). It is ringed by an extensive system of concentric canals.

[[Eindhoven]] is the location of the giant electronics corporation, Philips (full name: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.), with annual revenue equivalent to about $40 billion. (The U.S. corporation [[General Electric]] has revenues of about $150 billion, but much of it is from non-electronics businesses).

The Netherlands has long been famous for its production of flowers, and also for a related economic event, the "tulip mania" of 1636-1637. A classic example of a "bubble," [[tulip]]s were traded on stock exchanges, and bid up to fantastic prices by people who understood that the prices were crazy but hoped to sell at a profit to even crazier investors. As with all bubbles, when bidding began to lag, people tried to sell and the bubble burst.

The Netherlands is also famous for its low-crime rate and [[liberal]] legislation. Examples are organized prostitution in designated areas of major cities, such as Amsterdam's Red Light District, the legal [[soft drugs]] sold in the country's many coffee shops, wide [[abortion]] rights, [[same-sex marriage]]s and [[euthanasia]]. Drug abuse is not a major problem in Netherlands, since people are not made to feel so guilty about using cannabis. The only problem is that many people come from abroad, who don't understand the liberal idea but only want to get high. Many also think hard drugs were legal, which is not true. It's all a matter of defining where the border between good and bad drugs goes. One should remember that every day many people are given opiates and heroin-replacements as medical treatment of various diseases of old age.

==Queen's Day==
April 30th is known as Queen's Day (''Koninginnedag'') - the national holiday to mark the official birthday of the monarch. This is actually the birthday of former Queen Juliana (Queen Beatrix's mother) but has been kept as the official birthday because of the better weather (Queen Beatrix's actual birthday is 31 January). Queen's Day is the one day of the year when ordinary Netherlanders are permitted to sell goods on the streets without a licence. Consequently the whole country is turned into a gigantic flea market (garage sale). The primary effect of this is that people buy goods they do not want or need, solely in order to sell them the following year. In an act of patriotism most of the populace wear orange colored clothing (the national color) to identify with the Royal House Of '''Orange'''-Nassau.

Those not involved with selling their surplus belongings celebrate the national holiday at outdoors party’s in the city’s ore with fine weather, spend the free day on a terrace of a pub, or bicycling in the national ''Fiesten op Dijken '' tour around the nation's dikes.

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:European Countries]]
[[Category:NATO members]]
[[Category:EU Members]]

Netherlands

2007-05-02T19:42:15Z

Erasmus: General revison of spelling and grammar

[[Image:Netherlands_map.gif|right]]

The '''Netherlands''' (''Dutch: Nederland'') is a country in [[Europe]]. It is bordered by [[Belgium]] and [[Germany]], and has a total population of approximately 16 million (2007). The country is often referred to as "Holland", but this incorrect, as Holland is actually just one region of the Netherlands. Paradoxically, the national football team is known as Holland.

As its name implies, it is a very low-lying country. About a quarter of the land area, containing more than half of the population, is actually below sea level, and would flood if the sea were not held back by a system of dikes. The Dutch have a saying that "God created the earth, but the Dutch made Holland".

A major breach of the dikes occurred in 1953, killing 1800 people.
To avoid a repeat of the disaster the Dutch began construction of the "Delta Project" to protect the country from future inundations. Begun in 1953 and completed in 2002 the Delta Project is considered a modern wonder of civil engineering. After the Katrina disaster a delegation of American engineers was invited by the Dutch government to see the works and how the technology can be applied in the USA, for low-lying cities like New Orleans.

[[Amsterdam]], named for the Amstel river, is the largest city, and officially the capital (although the seat of government is actually in The Hague ). It is ringed by an extensive system of concentric canals.

[[Eindhoven]] is the location of the giant electronics corporation, Philips (full name: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.), with annual revenue equivalent to about $40 billion. (The U.S. corporation [[General Electric]] has revenues of about $150 billion, but much of it is from non-electronics businesses).

The Netherlands has long been famous for its production of flowers, and also for a related economic event, the "tulip mania" of 1636-1637. A classic example of a "bubble," [[tulip]]s were traded on stock exchanges, and bid up to fantastic prices by people who understood that the prices were crazy but hoped to sell at a profit to even crazier investors. As with all bubbles, when bidding began to lag, people tried to sell and the bubble burst.

The Netherlands is also famous for its low-crime rate and [[liberal]] legislation. Examples are organized prostitution in designated areas of major cities, such as Amsterdam's Red Light District, the legal [[soft drugs]] sold in the country's many coffee shops, wide [[abortion]] rights, [[same-sex marriage]]s and [[euthanasia]]. Drug abuse is not a major problem in Netherlands, since people are not made to feel so guilty about using cannabis. The only problem is that many people come from abroad, who don't understand the liberal idea but only want to get high. Many also think hard drugs were legal, which is not true. It's all a matter of defining where the border between good and bad drugs goes. One should remember that every day many people are given opiates and heroin-replacements as medical treatment of various diseases of old age.

==Queen's Day==
April 30th is known as Queen's Day (''Koninginnedag'') - the national holiday to mark the official birthday of the monarch. This is actually the birthday of former Queen Juliana (Queen Beatrix's mother) but has been kept as the official birthday because of the better weather (Queen Beatrix's actual birthday is 31 January). Queen's Day is the one day of the year when ordinary Netherlanders are permitted to sell goods on the streets without a licence. Consequently the whole country is turned into a gigantic flea market (garage sale). The primary effect of this is that people buy goods they do not want or need, solely in order to sell them the following year. In an act of patriotism most of the populace wear orange colored clothing (the national color) to identify with the Royal House Of '''Orange'''-Nassau.

Those not involved with selling their surplus belongings celebrate the national holiday at outdoors party’s in the city’s ore with fine weather bicycling throw the country and spend the free day on a terrace of a pub.

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:European Countries]]
[[Category:NATO members]]
[[Category:EU Members]]

ABV

2007-05-02T17:06:31Z

Erasmus: Created page

'''ABV'''. An abbreviation for ''Alcohol By Volume'' to denote the strength of an alcholic beverage. Usually expressed in percentage terms.

Cider

2007-05-02T17:04:54Z

Erasmus: Added Magners phenomenon

'''Cider''' is a fermented alcoholic drink made from the juice and pulp of pressed [[apple]]s. Popular varieties of sparkling cider commonly sold in public houses are of a similar strength to [[lager]] or [[beer]]. These popular brands include Strongbow and Olde English although real cider enthusiasts would argue they bear little resemblance to traditional ciders.

Traditional ciders tend to be flat rather than sparkling and are thicker, often containing apple pulp. The alcohol content is much higher than sparkling ciders, often being above 7% abv. South-west [[England]] is famous for its cider (known as [[scrumpy]]), and many villages hold annual cider festivals. Good examples of scrumpy cider are "Old Rosie" made by Westons, "Shipman's Folly" from Ashford and "Biddendens" which weighs in at a hearty 10.4% [[ABV]]. One of the most popular English ciders is the renowned "Scrumpy Jack" which combines the flavors from 15 different apple varieties into an award winning drink. A recent marketing phenomenon has been the introduction of ''Magners Irish Cider'' which has gained considerable market share through "wannabe" television advertising and the heretofore unacceptable practice of serving cider on ice.

The apples used to make traditional cider differ from apples grown for eating and some are quite bitter in the raw form. Traditional cider apples include the Foxwhelp, Coxes, Throbert and Spatchcock varieties. These are mostly grown by small producers these days who make cider in small batches. It is worth noting that, unlike beer, cider is not brewed hence the use of producer rather than brewer.

If the drink is produced with pears rather than apples, it is known as perry. Perry is a lighter color and is traditionally sparkling. Perry is far less common in modern times than cider and the number of perry producers is in decline. [[Wales]] still produces some excellent perrys with Gwatkins "Thorn Perry", PB Jones' "Flossie's Hole" and WM Watkins "Traditional Perry" being particularly well renowned.

[[Category:Alcoholic beverages]]

Cider

2007-05-02T17:01:45Z

Erasmus: Spelling and link

'''Cider''' is a fermented alcoholic drink made from the juice and pulp of pressed [[apple]]s. Popular varieties of sparkling cider commonly sold in public houses are of a similar strength to [[lager]] or [[beer]]. These popular brands include Strongbow and Olde English although real cider enthusiasts would argue they bear little resemblance to traditional ciders.

Traditional ciders tend to be flat rather than sparkling and are thicker, often containing apple pulp. The alcohol content is much higher than sparkling ciders, often being above 7% abv. South-west [[England]] is famous for its cider (known as [[scrumpy]]), and many villages hold annual cider festivals. Good examples of scrumpy cider are "Old Rosie" made by Westons, "Shipman's Folly" from Ashford and "Biddendens" which weighs in at a hearty 10.4% [[ABV]]. One of the most popular English ciders is the renowned "Scrumpy Jack" which combines the flavors from 15 different apple varieties into an award winning drink.

The apples used to make traditional cider differ from apples grown for eating and some are quite bitter in the raw form. Traditional cider apples include the Foxwhelp, Coxes, Throbert and Spatchcock varieties. These are mostly grown by small producers these days who make cider in small batches. It is worth noting that, unlike beer, cider is not brewed hence the use of producer rather than brewer.

If the drink is produced with pears rather than apples, it is known as perry. Perry is a lighter color and is traditionally sparkling. Perry is far less common in modern times than cider and the number of perry producers is in decline. [[Wales]] still produces some excellent perrys with Gwatkins "Thorn Perry", PB Jones' "Flossie's Hole" and WM Watkins "Traditional Perry" being particularly well renowned.

[[Category:Alcoholic beverages]]

Pub

2007-05-02T17:00:02Z

Erasmus: Expanded keg-beers

The English '''Pub''' is a tavern where fine traditional ales are served in a friendly setting. The name is a contraction of "Public House" - an inn open to all, as opposed to a private club.

Pub's were traditionally run by a ''landlord'', often known as "mine host". Originally ales, porters and stouts would have been brewed on the premises but with the improvement in transport connections during in Victorian times, large breweries that supplied many pubs were developed. In the cities this created the hey-day of Victorian public houses with ornate woodwork and glass, often referred to as "gin-palaces". To ensure that a pub would continue to purchase from a particular brewery the brewery owners started buying up pubs and enforcing their own poor standards and restricting choice. This lead to the introduction of so-called "keg"-beers (the most notorious of which was ''Watney's Red Barrel'') and the nadir for British pubs. A group of beer enthusiasts formed the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) to re-educated the general public to the delights of traditional beer and to fight the closure of small breweries and independent inns. Largely as a result of their efforts pubs are now obliged to offer ''guest beers'' from other brewers.

During the summer, pubs also offer chilled refreshing drinks like [[cider]] (alcoholic) and [[shandy]]. Modern pubs also now supply ice-cubes at no additional charge.

In olden times an inn would have offered food and lodgings as well as wines, beers and spirits. However, the custom declined so that most pubs only offered crisps (''U.S. potato chips''), salted peanuts and [[pork scratchings]]. Since the glorious revolution of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, pubs were allowed to sell proper food again and out of this has developed the gastro-pub where unique regional comestibles are offered to complement the ales.

[[Category:Buildings]]

Hemorrhoids

2007-05-02T16:37:30Z

Erasmus: added alternative spelling

'''Hemorrhoids''' (''UK sp. haemorrhoids'') are a condition in which the veins around the anus or lower rectum become swollen and inflamed, typically causing extreme discomfort. Hemorrhoids are often caused by straining to move stool, or sometimes by [[pregnancy]], aging, chronic constipation or [[diarrhea]], and anal intercourse.

Despite their discomfort, replica hemorrhoids have sometimes been used as lucky gold charms known as ormerods.

== Hemorrhoids in the Bible ==

The Israelites are threatened with hemorrhoids, as a curse for disobedience,
<blockquote>
''The LORD will smite thee with the botch of Egypt, and with the emerods, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed.'' Deuteronomy 28:27 (KJV)
</blockquote>
and a plague of hemorrhoids is inflicted upon the [[Philistines]] after their capture of the [[Ark of the Covenant]]. (1 Samuel, 5-6)

[[Category:Health]]

Haemorrhoids

2007-05-02T16:35:49Z

Erasmus: British spelling redirect

#redirect [[Hemorrhoids]]

History of rugby

2007-05-02T16:30:06Z

Erasmus: Added touch rugby

[[Image:Boston College Rugby Running With Ball.jpg|right|thumb|300px|A Rugby match at Boston College.]]
'''Rugby Football''', or more commonly "Rugby", is a team ball game that originated at the English public school of the same name. It was invented during a game of Association Football (soccer) when one of the pupils foresook the laws of the game and picked up the ball and ran. The laws of the game were later codified by the Rugby Football Union so that a team comprised 15 players and games were played over two halves of 40 minutes. An alternative version with 13 players per team was developed by the Rugby League. Historically, Rugby Union was played at southern English public (private) schools and the senior teams comprised strictly amateur players. Rugby League was mainly played in working class areas of northern England and used professional players.

Rugby League was popularized on Brtish television by northern commentator Eddie Waring with catchphrases such as "Its an up and under", and "it looks like he's having an early bath" when a player was sent off before the end of the game.

Despite its English origins, rugby gained popularity amongst the smaller British nations of Scotland, Ireland and Wales. Through emigration, British colonies in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa developed also a strong following. Unusally, the game was also adopted in France who formed one of the "Five Nations" teams that compete in the annual northern hemisphere competition. This has recently been expanded to Six Nations with the addition of Italy. Other countries wher the game is popular include Argentina and various southern pacific islands.

Mini versions of the game have also been developed, such as Rugby Sevens, where only seven players are in a team. Rugby has typically been a physical contact sport for men but alternative versions such as touch rugby where a player is obliged to release the ball when touched rather than physically tackled have also been developed.

[[American Football]] derives from rugby, which itself evolved out of many ancient and prehistoric ball games.

American National Rugby League [http://www.amnrl.com]
[[category:sports]]

Netherlands

2007-05-01T17:19:04Z

Erasmus: crime

[[Image:Netherlands_map.gif|right]]

The '''Netherlands''' is a country in [[Europe]]. It is bordered by [[Belgium]] and [[Germany]], and has a total population of approximately 16 million (2007). The country is often referred to as "Holland", but this incorrect, as Holland is actually just one region of the Netherlands.

As its name implies, it is a very low-lying country. About a quarter of the land area, containing more than half of the population, is actually below sea level, and would flood if the sea were not held back by a system of dikes.

A major breach of the dikes occurred in 1953, killing 1800 people.

[[Amsterdam]], named for the Amstel river, is the largest city, and officially the capital (although the seat of government is actually in The Hague). It is ringed by an extensive system of concentric canals.

[[Eindhoven]] is the location of the giant electronics corporation, Philips (full name: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.), with annual revenue equivalent to about $40 billion. (The U.S. corporation [[General Electric]] has revenues of about $150 billion, but much of it is from non-electronics businesses).

The Netherlands has long been famous for its production of flowers, and also for a related economic event, the "tulip mania" of 1636-1637. A classic example of a "bubble," [[tulip]]s were traded on stock exchanges, and bid up to fantastic prices by people who understood that the prices were crazy but hoped to sell at a profit to even crazier investors. As with all bubbles, when bidding began to lag, people tried to sell and the bubble burst.

The Netherlands is also famous for its low-crime rate and [[liberal]] legislation. Examples are organized prostitution in designated areas of major cities, such as Amsterdam's Red Light District, the legal [[soft drugs]] sold in the country's many coffee shops, wide [[abortion]] rights, [[same-sex marriage]]s and [[euthanasia]].

[[Category:European Countries]]
[[Category:NATO members]]
[[Category:EU Members]]

Netherlands

2007-05-01T17:17:32Z

Erasmus: expanded canals

[[Image:Netherlands_map.gif|right]]

The '''Netherlands''' is a country in [[Europe]]. It is bordered by [[Belgium]] and [[Germany]], and has a total population of approximately 16 million (2007). The country is often referred to as "Holland", but this incorrect, as Holland is actually just one region of the Netherlands.

As its name implies, it is a very low-lying country. About a quarter of the land area, containing more than half of the population, is actually below sea level, and would flood if the sea were not held back by a system of dikes.

A major breach of the dikes occurred in 1953, killing 1800 people.

[[Amsterdam]], named for the Amstel river, is the largest city, and officially the capital (although the seat of government is actually in The Hague). It is ringed by an extensive system of concentric canals.

[[Eindhoven]] is the location of the giant electronics corporation, Philips (full name: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.), with annual revenue equivalent to about $40 billion. (The U.S. corporation [[General Electric]] has revenues of about $150 billion, but much of it is from non-electronics businesses).

The Netherlands has long been famous for its production of flowers, and also for a related economic event, the "tulip mania" of 1636-1637. A classic example of a "bubble," [[tulip]]s were traded on stock exchanges, and bid up to fantastic prices by people who understood that the prices were crazy but hoped to sell at a profit to even crazier investors. As with all bubbles, when bidding began to lag, people tried to sell and the bubble burst.

The Netherlands is also famous for its [[liberal]] legislation. Examples are organized prostitution in designated areas of major cities, such as Amsterdam's Red Light District, the legal [[soft drugs]] sold in the country's many coffee shops, wide [[abortion]] rights, [[same-sex marriage]]s and [[euthanasia]].

[[Category:European Countries]]
[[Category:NATO members]]
[[Category:EU Members]]

Mushy peas

2007-05-01T17:07:06Z

Erasmus: Coloring

[[ Image:Carlins.jpg |200px|thumb| Carlin peas simmering in a pan]]

'''Mushy peas''' are dried marrowfat [[pea]]s which have been soaked overnight and then boiled. They are a great favourite of the north of [[England]] and are a traditional accompaniment to [[battered fish| fish]] and [[potato chips| chips]], and normally purchased from a local [[chip shop]]. Local variations include [[Lancashire]] 'black peas' which are an acquired taste<ref> see
http://music.musictnt.com/biography/sdmc_Black_Peas for recipes and directions for eating</ref>. Black peas bear similarities to [[Carlin]] or [[Carling]] peas served in the north-east of England.

Canned peas have extra colouring added and appear to be emerald green. Home-cooked peas tend to be a pale grey-green colour but their taste can rival the finest [[hummus]] or foul medames.

Mushy peas are best served with [[salt]] and lashings of [[vinegar]].

===References===

<references/>

[[Category:Vegetables]]
[[Category:Fast foods]]

Chip

2007-05-01T17:03:32Z

Erasmus: Accompaniments

'''Chips''' are a traditional British working-class method of preparing potatoes. The potatos are peeled and sliced, generally into finger-sized slivers, and deep fried in [[lard]] or [[oil]].

This is either done at home, in a special [[chip-pan]], or often the chips are purchased from a [[chip shop]], a common fixture in any British town, and often the centre of the local community.

[[Fish and chips]] is a common meal, though chip shops will also sell [[pie]] and chips, [[sausage]] and chips, [[deep-fried Mars bar]]s, and [[pickled egg]]s. Common accompaniments are [[mushy peas]], gravy or curry sauce.

[[French Fries]] are an imitation of chips made with reconstituted potato pulp.

Americans use the word ''"chips"'' to refer to [[potato chips|potato crisps]].

[[Category:Potato recipes]]

Shandy

2007-05-01T16:52:35Z

Erasmus: Expanded article

Shandy is a traditional British drink made from lemonade (Sprite or 7-Up) and beer normally mixed 50-50. Afficianados may prefer to have lemonade first or beer first. Traditionally the beer has been traditional English ale but with the popularity of lager beers from Europe it is permissible to request a lager shandy.

The drink is a very popular refreshment during the summer months as it effectively dilutes the concentration of alcohol and therfore can be consumed in larger amounts. It is not normal for the drink to be served with ice but should be served chilled. Non-alcoholic or very low (<1%) versions are available in cans.

In the United Kingdom shandy is often a young person's first introduction to alcohol.

Shandy

2007-05-01T16:48:19Z

Erasmus: Created page

Pub

2007-05-01T16:44:50Z

Erasmus: Cider & shandy

The English '''Pub''' is a tavern where fine traditional ales are served in a friendly setting. The name is a contraction of "Public House" - an inn open to all, as opposed to a private club.

Pub's were traditionally run by a ''landlord'', often known as "mine host". Originally ales, porters and stouts would have been brewed on the premises but with the improvement in transport connections during in Victorian times, large breweries that supplied many pubs were developed. In the cities this created the hey-day of Victorian public houses with ornate woodwork and glass, often referred to as "gin-palaces". To ensure that a pub would continue to purchase from a particular brewery the brewery owners started buying up pubs and enforcing their own poor standards and restricting choice. This lead to the introduction of so-called "keg"-beers and the nadir for English pubs. A group of enthusiasts formed the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) to re-educated the general public to the delights of traditional beer and to fight the closure of small breweries and independent inns. Largely as a result of their efforts pubs are obliged to offer ''guest beers'' from other brewers.

During the summer, pubs also offer chilled refresshing drinks like [[cider]] (alcoholic) and [[shandy]].

In olden times an inn would have offered food and lodgings as well as wines, beers and spirits. However, the custom declined so that most pubs only offered crisps (''U.S. potato chips''), salted peanuts and [[pork scratchings]]. Since the glorious revolution of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, pubs were allowed to sell proper food again and out of this has developed the gastro-pub where unique regional comestibles are offered to complement the ales

Rudyard Kipling

2007-05-01T16:42:39Z

Erasmus: Added origin of name and If most popular poem

'''Rudyard Kipling''' (1865-1936) was an English poet (born in [[India]], which was a British colony at the time) and writer of children's books who spent some time living in Vermont. His unusual first name comes from Lake Rudyard wher his parents spent many happy hours together. He authored ''Captains Courageous'' and ''The Jungle Books''. He won an early Nobel Prize for Literature, in 1907. He made his home at Bateman's, near the prosperous village of [[Burwash]] in [[Sussex]], [[England]].

He wrote in the ''Ballad of East and West'':

"Oh, East is East, and West is West,
 And never the twain shall meet,
 Till earth and sky stand presently,
 At God's great judgment seat"

Kipling's other writings included ''Kim'', ''Wee Willie Winkie'', ''Gunga Din'', and ''Baa Baa Black Sheep''. His poem '''If''' topped the BBC's poll for the nation's (UK) favorite poem.

Kipling and [[Robert Baden-Powell]], founder of the [[Boy Scouts]], knew each other, and Baden-Powell's Scouting program drew on some of Kipling's ideas. His 1908 ''Scouting for Boys'' included a condensed version of ''Kim,'' and the memory training exercise "Kim's Game" was and remains part of Scouting.

Kipling was identified with British imperialism, and for a time fell victim to a kind of political correctness. In a famous essay, [[George Orwell]] notes that "During five literary geenerations every enlightened person has despised him, and at the end of that time nine-tenths of those enlightened persons are forgotten and Kiping is in some sense still there." He said that Kipling "is the only English writer of our time who has added phrases to the language." Giving as an example Kipling's line "He travels the fastest who travels alone," Orwell notes "It may not be true, but at any rate you it is a thought that everyone thinks. Sooner or later you will have occasion to feel that he travels the fastest who travels alone, and there the thought is, ready made and, as it were, waiting for you. So the chances are that, having once heard this line, you will remember it."<ref>Orwell, George (1942), "Rudyard Kipling." ''The Collected Essays, Journalism and Letters of George Orwell,'' volume 2, pp. 184-197</ref>

Kipling's poem 'If' was voted the favourite British poem by BBC viewers.

Kipling wrote a number of stories about engineers and machines, topics unusual in literature at the time. His poem, "The Hymn of Breaking Strain" analogizes mechanical and human failure. A curious sidenote is an 1897 story by Kipling which anthropomorphizes railroad engines. It tells the story of how one particular young locomotive performs in a heroic way, wins the respect of his peers, and is inducted into a sort of fraternal organization, the Amalgamated Brotherhood of Locomotives. The name of the engine and the title of the story is ''.007.'' Fans of Ian Fleming have often speculated that this was the inspiration for fictional spy James Bond's code number, but it has never been proven.

President [[Ronald Reagan]] had this to say about Rudyard Kipling near the very end of Reagan's presidency, "As I prepare to lay down the mantle of office...I cannot help believe that what Rudyard Kipling said of another time and place is true today for America: 'We are at the opening verse of the opening page of the chapter of endless possibilities.' Thank you, and God bless you."

==Catch phrases==
*You're a better man than I am Gunga Din

==References==
<references/>

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kipling, Rudyard}}
[[Category:Authors]]
[[Category:Poets]]

Haggis

2007-05-01T16:33:38Z

Erasmus: Apocryphal haggis story

'''Haggis''' is a traditional [[Scotland|Scottish]] dish. It is made with various ingredients including the [[sheep]]’s liver, heart and lungs, seasoned, and mixed with [[oats]], a cereal which Dr Johnson memorably described in his [[Dictionary]] as "a grain, which in [[England]] is generally given to horses, but in [[Scotland]] supports the people." The ingredients are cooked for about an hour in the sheep’s stomach. Portions of haggis are also frequently coated in batter, deep fried and served at [[chip shop]]s.

Many more recipes can be found below.

Scots like to tease tourists with the suggestion that a haggis is a small Scottish animal whose unique feature is having two legs shorter on one side of their body so that they can run round mountains. Unfortunately, the male and female haggises have the shorter legs in opposite sides so they go round in opposite directions. Don't be fooled.

http://www.smart.net/~tak/haggis.html

[[Category:Meat]]
[[Category:Scottish Cuisine]]

Liverpool

2007-05-01T16:25:41Z

Erasmus: Expanded list

A minor port city in the North West of England, it was originally awarded a [[City Charter]] by King John in 1208. However, it was not until the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that Liverpool developed into a major global city. This prominence was based largely on trade, including [[tobacco]], [[sugar]] and a major involvement in the [[slave trade]]. The slave trade was abolished in 1806, however Liverpool continued to flourish as an industrial trade and financial industries center.

During [[World War II]] Liverpool's position as a port and centre of shipbuilding made it a target for the [[Luftwaffe]].

The city currently has a population of approximately 450,000, known as 'Scousers' after a popular local dish, with the wider [[Merseyside]] region having a population of 1.5 million. The city itself is divided up into villages such as Aigburth, West Derby, [[Aintree]] and [[Knotty Ash]]. The popular culture and 'soul' of Liverpool has most memorably been portrayed by the author and dramatist Carla Lane in a number of highly-regarded television dramas including "The Liver Birds" and "Bread". Willy Russell and Alan Bleasdale are also noted playwrights from Liverpool. Bleasedale effectively portrayed the misery and deprivation of 1980s Liverpool in dramas such as ''The Black Stuff'', ''Giro Day'' and ''Dole Ponce'', while Russell, probably the most well-known of current Liverpool writers has enjoyed huge success with offerings such as ''Educating Rita'', ''Blood Brothers'' and ''Shirley Valentine''.

Around 1911 Adolf Hitler visited his brother Alois who lived and worked in Liverpool.

British [[Prime Minister]] [[Harold Wilson]] later Lord Wilson of Rievaulx was [[Member of Parliament]] for the Liverpool constituency of Huyton from 1945 until 1979.

Famous natives of Liverpool:
* Cilla Black (singer, TV presenter)
* Arthur Askey (comedian and actor)
* Anne Robinson (TV presenter and journalist)
* Tony Booth (actor and father-in-law of [[Tony Blair]])
* Billy Butler (comedian)
* Jimmy Tarbuck (comedian)
* Ted Ray (comedian)
* Norman Rossiter (comedian and actor)
* [[John Prescott]] (comedian)
* Steven Gerrard (footballer)
* Robbie Fowler (footballer)
* Stan Boardman (comedian)
* Derek Nimmo (comic actor)
* Terry McDermott (footballer and archetypal Scouser)
* [[Knotty Ash|Ken Dodd]] (comedian and singer)
* Ricky Tomlinson (trade unionist, actor, comedian and banjo player)
* George Melly (jazz singer and author)
* Jamie Caragher (footballer and comedian)
* Derek Hatton (politician and scally)
* Fanny Hare (actress)
* Daniel Craig (actor) from nearby Hoylake

Many of the above are strong ambassadors for Liverpool and despite worldly success display their loyalty by continuing to live nearby in the county of [[Buckinghamshire]].

==Culture==
* [[Merseybeat]]
* [[The Beatles]]
* [[Echo and the Bunnymen]]
* [[Tate Modern]]
* The [[Liverpool Poets]]
* [[The Scaffold]]
* [[Frankie Goes to Hollywood]]

==Sports==
* [[Everton FC]] Soccer
* [[Liverpool FC]] Soccer
* [[Liverpool St Helens]] RUFC
* [[St Helens RLFC]]
* [[Tranmere Rovers]] Soccer

[[Category:UK Towns and Cities]]

Hemorrhoids

2007-05-01T16:20:56Z

Erasmus: Added charms

'''Hemorrhoids''' are a condition in which the veins around the anus or lower rectum become swollen and inflamed, typically causing extreme discomfort. Hemorrhoids are often caused by straining to move stool, or sometimes by [[pregnancy]], aging, chronic constipation or [[diarrhea]], and anal intercourse.

Despite their discomfort, replica hemorrhoids have sometimes been used as lucky gold charms known as ormerods.

== Hemorrhoids in the Bible ==

The Israelites are threatened with hemorrhoids, as a curse for disobedience,
<blockquote>
''The LORD will smite thee with the botch of Egypt, and with the emerods, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed.'' Deuteronomy 28:27 (KJV)
</blockquote>
and a plague of hemorrhoids is inflicted upon the [[Philistines]] after their capture of the [[Ark of the Covenant]]. (1 Samuel, 5-6)

[[Category:Health]]
[[Category:Anatomy]]

Pub

2007-05-01T16:13:27Z

Erasmus: Started article

The English '''Pub''' is a tavern where fine traditional ales are served in a friendly setting. The name is a contraction of "Public House" - an inn open to all, as opposed to a private club.

Pub's were traditionally run by a ''landlord'', often known as "mine host". Originally ales, porters and stouts would have been brewed on the premises but with the improvement in transport connections during in Victorian times, large breweries that supplied many pubs were developed. In the cities this created the hey-day of Victorian public houses with ornate woodwork and glass, often referred to as "gin-palaces". To ensure that a pub would continue to purchase from a particular brewery the brewery owners started buying up pubs and enforcing their own poor standards and restricting choice. This lead to the introduction of so-called "keg"-beers and the nadir for English pubs. A group of enthusiasts formed the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) to re-educated the general public to the delights of traditional beer and to fight the closure of small breweries and independent inns. Largely as a result of their efforts pubs are obliged to offer ''guest beers'' from other brewers.

In olden times an inn would have offered food and lodgings as well as wines, beers and spirits. However, the custom declined so that most pubs only offered crisps (''U.S. potato chips''), salted peanuts and [[pork scratchings]]. Since the glorious revolution of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, pubs were allowed to sell proper food again and out of this has developed the gastro-pub where unique regional comestibles are offered to complement the ales

History of rugby

2007-05-01T15:49:45Z

Erasmus: Expanded article

[[Image:Boston College Rugby Running With Ball.jpg|right|thumb|300px|A Rugby match at Boston College.]]
'''Rugby Football''', or more commonly "Rugby", is a team ball game that originated at the English public school of the same name. It was invented during a game of Association Football (soccer) when one of the pupils foresook the laws of the game and picked up the ball and ran. The laws of the game were later codified by the Rugby Football Union so that a team comprised 15 players and games were played over two halves of 40 minutes. An alternative version with 13 players per team was developed by the Rugby League. Historically, Rugby Union was played at southern English public (private) schools and the senior teams comprised strictly amateur players. Rugby League was mainly played in working class areas of northern England and used professional players.

Rugby League was popularized on Brtish television by northern commentator Eddie Waring with catchphrases such as "Its an up and under", and "it looks like he's having an early bath" when a player was sent off before the end of the game.

Despite its English origins, rugby gained popularity amongst the smaller British nations of Scotland, Ireland and Wales. Through emigration, British colonies in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa developed also a strong following. Unusally, the game was also adopted in France who formed one of the "Five Nations" teams that compete in the annual northern hemisphere competition. This has recently been expanded to Six Nations with the addition of Italy. Other countries wher the game is popular include Argentina and various southern pacific islands.

Mini versions of the game have also been developed, such as Rugby Sevens, where only seven players are in a team

[[American Football]] derives from rugby, which itself evolved out of many ancient and prehistoric ball games.

American National Rugby League [http://www.amnrl.com]
[[category:sports]]

Talk:George W. Bush

2007-05-01T15:19:58Z

Erasmus: How can I edit this article?

{{protect|MountainDew}}

== Liberal Media? ==
um, isn't that an opinion phrase? I don't really think there's a scientific basis for such a remark.

:::Didn't you hear? This is conservapedia, a place where ignorance coalesces into a gungy goo of people who think their opinions are always right. Anyone who doesn't agree with them is a goshdang Communist! Liberal Media, haha, oh boy that's a larf.

:::::Everyone thinks their opinions are right. That's why they're their opinions. But you are right, the phrase "liberal media" has become an oft-lampooned indication of conservative paranoia. The use of it will only serve to make this article sound Stephen Colbert-ish. Not only do I think the phrase should be deleted; I think it should become the policy of conservapedia to strive to avoid it in the future. --[[User:Mechrobioticon|Mechrobioticon]] 18:42, 31 March 2007 (EDT)

::::::The [[Liberal-Biased Media]] is the GOP's equivalent of Hillary Clinton's [[Vast Right-wing Conspiracy]], as well as being an all-purpose scapegoat from when the facts turn out to have an anti-Bush agenda. --[[User:BDobbs|BDobbs]] 21:49, 1 April 2007 (EDT)

:::::::Considering this page has been locked, I'd greatly appreciate it if an administrator would remove this clearly biased phrase.--[[User:Ge Ming|Ge Ming]] 15:38, 6 April 2007 (EDT)

== Edits ==

1) Removed the line about Bush executing Saddam. Saddam was executed by the Iraqis under Iraqi law.
2) Removed the un-encyclopediac comment about John Kerry.

Why's this page locked? It's not going to get any better if you don't let people add to it.

The SysOp locked it b/c of rampant vandalism. It's an obivous target for such action{{citation needed}}.

This page should be unlocked. All of Bush's good (and bad) deeds will not be known to the world until this page is unlocked. The point of our site here is to inform the people, and without people interacting and adding information, Conservapedia will die out. People will go elsewhere to a more democratic environment, and that is not good for this site.

That's just fine. The Liberals can go to Communistpedia, and the people who want a more REPUBLICAN Wiki can come here! --[[User:Ballon|Ballon]] 21:03, 11 March 2007 (EDT)

The liberals would probably be far more intelligent than the people that frequent this site and go to wikipedia [[User:You're wrong|You're wrong]] 15:17, 4 April 2007 (EDT)

:::communists can go to http://eng.anarchopedia.org/index.php/Main_Page [[User:Jaques|Jaques]] 15:21, 4 April 2007 (EDT)

:I'd rather Communism if Fascism were the other choice. If you really need to think you're always right to sleep at night, then be my guest my lil' Yank friend.

Shouldn't the first sentence read Name, birth date, political party, etc. and then say only President of the United States? After all, it's not like there is a Democratic President. --[[User:ColinR|ColinR]] 16:48, 12 March 2007 (EDT)

If they didn't know bush was republican we don't want them on the site.

::I think by "democratic," the above poster (who failed to sign his/her comment) was referring to the political idea of democracy rather than the American political party, [[User:Ballon|Ballon]]. And let's try not to deride each other with pejoratives like "commie" and "fascist." Anyway, I agree that this page needs to be watched closely. It is an obvious location for vandalism. However, very sensible changes (exempli gratia: moving references of George Bush's religious values to a section other than "Foreign Policy") have been suggested on this page, and they seem to have been largely ignored. This article is not passable in its current state. The sysops must either unlock the page or at the very least make changes that we agree upon on this talk page.
::[[User:Mechrobioticon|Mechrobioticon]] 17:09, 2 April 2007 (EDT)

== Photo ==

Somebody deleted the body of this page and substituted a photo-- can anybody verify that this photo actually is President Bush? (Could we maybe print the photo as a thumbnail, and link to the large photo?)

I believe the photo is one of Prince Harry, who has recently taken up active duty in Iraq for the UK, in compliance with the American notion that leaders such as George Washington and the sons of prominent and wealthy people should be involved in and at risk from armed conflict for their country in equal measure to the legions of the poor they send to do their work for them.

==Lacking Substance==
Conservapedia will go absolutely nowhere if its alternative viewpoints from wikipedia consist purerly in pejorative adjectives and vague speculative references. Disprove alternative opinions with facts, not derogatory adjectives and slanted phrases. I would provide examples, but they are more than clear and numerous.

This article is useless. It is a stub, which is fine, except that this is GWB, not some arcane entry. This is made more eggregious since this page has undergone many edits, and nobody has decided to actually make it a full article, just back and forth fluff. I admit that I don't particularly want to put the work in, because I don't care about this entry, I just think that conservapedia needs a credible entry for GWB to be taken seriously. Compare with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_W._Bush Wikipedia's entry].

As a starting point, how about information that would be useful, that you don't hear about in the liberal media; Major (and minor) legislative pushes, both successful and not. Who were his good conservative judicial appointments? --[[User:Whatter|Whatter]] 01:51, 24 February 2007 (EST)

== Nation building ==

It's interesting that Bush's stated opposition to nation building isn't modified to show that he has been involved in exactly that in both Afghanistan & Iraq for over half his time in office.

I'd argue he hasn't done much nation-building in either of those places. :(
It is weird, though--having a site for Conservative politics and having such dinky articles about President Bush and Iraq is like having a wiki about oceanography and not mentioning water. --[[User:Sandbagger|Sandbagger]] 14:38, 11 March 2007 (EDT)

I am concerned that the entry reads as if it were written by a gushing fan instead of one who spent significant time researching the President. If the point of conservapedia is to become a credible resource intellectually honest about its bias, we must demand these entries be written at the highest standard possible. This is gossipy drivel; the libs are bound to cackle over it. }-(

== Economy ==

Since when is Exxon Mobile the bellwether of the US economy?

:Whoever wrote that is probably a Liberal grousing about the fact that Bush has made his corporate benefactors a great deal richer by strip-mining the American economy. --[[User:Ballon|Ballon]] 18:25, 11 March 2007 (EDT)

Paul O'Niell (the man who rescued Alcoa) tried to talk economic sense to Bush. Good advice fell on deaf ears. Then Cheney arranged his dismissal.

I've just visited the Yahoo! article linked to by reference 7, and it says nothing about unemployment being at an all-time low in March, 2007. In fact, the article's assessment of the economy is quite bleak.

Regarding “the Clinton years which lead to the lowest point of the stock market in January 2000 AD since the great depression of 1929 AD” it should be noted that the source that is cited states the opposite. The stock market hit it’s highest in January 2000, before GWB took office.

Per the article quoted: “Oct. 9, 2002, the Dow Jones industrial average, battered by the worst stock market meltdown since the 1929 crash, hit bottom. It closed 4,437 points below its January 2000 all-time high”.

The major blow to the stock market took place in 2002, about 20 months after Bush took office. It should be noted that this took place exactly one week after Congress authorized Bush to invade Iraq. Investors claimed this as a reason for the drop in the stock market.

Such frequently found mistakes underlines why Conservapedia is more propaganda than an online encyclopedia and should never be used as a source of information. The information is at best one sided, and more frequently, blantently false. The truth does not have a conservative or liberal slant. There seems to be a trend, however, in the last 12 or so years of American political media to baselessly proclaim an extream slant in media. Just because the reader does not like the truth does not mean that the carrier is slanted.
Artical

:"As we all know, the facts have an anti-Bush agenda." -- Steven Colbert. (Or, to be more accurate, it looks like Bush has an anti-facts agenda. :( --[[User:BDobbs|BDobbs]] 15:32, 1 April 2007 (EDT)

== Skull and Bones Club ==

MountainDew, why did you take that part out? It's a matter of public record (and any number of jokes) that Bush and Kerry are in the same club.

The guy who put that in there was a known vandal, so I was just reversing all his edits at once. [[User:MountainDew|MountainDew]] 18:53, 13 March 2007 (EDT)

== Locked Page ==

Should we really lock a page with so many typos? [[User:Czolgolz|Miguel_Cervantes]] 09:13, 14 March 2007 (EDT)

I can understand why the page is locked, obviously people will target Bush, but the page needs LOTS of improvement, not just typos, but the Economy section is laughable.

: Indeed. No mention of the 8 trillion (is it 9 now) debt? [[User:GofG | GofG]] [[Special:Contributions/GofG||||]] [[User talk:GofG | Talk]] 20:07, 15 March 2007 (EDT)

:: Debt only matters if you ever intend to pay it off. --[[User:BDobbs|BDobbs]] 15:29, 1 April 2007 (EDT)

== Economy ==

''Though the liberal media continues to disparage Bush's handling of the economy, they often neglect to report the many aspects of the economy that Bush has improved. For example, during his term Exxon Mobile has posted the largest profit of any company in a signle year, and executive salaries have greatly increased as well [5]. This is due to changes in the stock market that lead to a record high in 2006, recovering from the Clinton years which lead to the lowest point of the stock market in January 2000 AD since the great depression of 1929 AD, and "Companies are churning out double-digit profit growth" currently.[6] Even the working class is benefiting from the Bush economy, as unemployment hits an all time low in March 2007.[7] Bush worked with Democrats to raise the minimum wage to a more livable level.[8]''

The information in this section appears to have either been written by a liberal who was interested in subtly undermining the informative authority of this particular entry (and possibly Conservapedia in general), or by someone who is perhaps good-intentioned but very badly informed.

First of all, using Exxon-Mobil and executive salary increases as an indication of how much Bush has done for the economy is actually quite bad press for him. The majority of Americans are not voting to line the pockets of the people at the very top. They prefer to have their own pockets lined, even if it is just in small ways, like in tax cuts for the middle class. Suggesting that Bush has done good for our economy as evidenced by the economic boon of the elite would seem to give credit to Bush's detractors who have accused him of being concerned only with his "oil buddies" and largest contributors. Let's not add more wood to that fire, please. That's how we lost the mid-terms - shooting ourselves in the foot.

Second point, please, whoever has write permissions, clean up the spelling errors at the very least (Exxon-Mobile, signle - in this section)

Third, someone else cited the error in referencing January 2000 as the lowest point of the stock market. In addition to their points (including the quote from the article that was supposedly used as reference for that inaccurate "fact"), I think it's important to clarify that while the market has never dropped as low as it did following the crash of 1929, the *percentage* drop could again be as great as it was in 1929. In 1929 the percentage drop was 23%. In 1987, the crash of October caused a dip of 22.7%. The actual numbers of 1929 were in the 200-400 range, whereas the Dow Jones is over 12,000 right now. If, in the modern era, the DJIA ever dropped as low as it did in 1929, i.e., down ot the 200-400 range, then we may as well prepare for Armageddon, because the state of the world would probably be *that* bad.

Fourth, is it necessary to place A.D. after every year, even when it is obvious that the referenced year is In the Year of Our Lord (i.e. Anno Domini)? It seems unnecessary, and certainly cumbersome to have A.D. following years that are obviously referring to U.S. political events. Our conservative audience is not so dumb as to be confused about whether the Clinton administration of the year 2000 is in reference to 2000 years before or 2000 years after the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. Mostly I agree that we should not be concerned about the stereotypes our liberal brothers and sisters have placed upon us, but when possible for us to avoid looking stupid and playing into the stereotypes the liberals have assigned to us, I think we ought do so.

Fifth, the unemployment rate is dropping for March 2007, and this is wonderful and it speaks well of Bush's handling of the economy. It is not the lowest rate of all time, however. I don't feel compelled to provide sources here, because this information is readily available in under 2 minutes of searching for "U.S." and "unemployment rate" on any search engine of your choosing. The Bureau of Labor Statistics, for example, can tell you that the lowest unemployment rate of the last 60 years was in 1953 at just under 3%. It's an easy fact to check, and a ridiculous error to lock into an entry about our President. There are true pieces of information about President Bush that make him worthy of admiration. There is no need to attempt to bolster his image with false information.

And finally, let's please be honest about the minimum wage situation. The decision to raise the minimum wage is controversial among conservatives, and I am having difficulty finding a reliable source that suggests Bush supports, in isolation, the idea of raising the minimum wage (i.e. without tax-cuts for small-businesses also tacked on as a proviso). In terms of economic growth, raising the minimum wage may not be helpful, and everything I have read about President Bush seems to indicate that he knows that. So any suggestion that his personal opinion is that the minimum wage should be raised is questionable. Aside from his personal opinion, in his professional capacity, he most certainly hasn't been placed in a position of "working with the Democrats to raise the minimum wage to a livable level." The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 has passed in both the House and the Senate, but it has not yet been presented to our President to be signed into law, because it is pending committee review. Additionally, crediting Bush with "working with Democrats" on this is erroneous. Bush has reached across partisan lines on many occasions, but this particular bill was brought on entirely by Democratic feather-ruffling during their "First 100-Hours" campaign. It was an attempt by the Dems to make a garish display of their new "authority," having gained the majority in Congress.

:For starters, what powers do the executive branch have over economics? --[[User:JamesLipton|JamesLipton]] 22:29, 19 March 2007 (EDT)

::My personal political philosophies aside, I completely agree that Exxon-Mobile is probably the worst company that could have been chosen to show support for Bush's economic policies. This is an encyclopedia for conservatives, but if it's going to stand up to the criticisms of the liberal community and not be a major source of embarrassment for conservatives as a whole, it must hold itself to a higher level of political awareness. Whether one believes Exxon-Mobile's booming business is proof the economy is in great shape or not, the majority of those who read this (including conservatives) will fall out of their chairs when they read that. I guarantee you, liberal citizens all across America will copy and paste the paragraph into their blogs for their readers to laugh at.

::This is probably the most important article on conservapedia. It HAS to be beyond reproof. --[[User:Mechrobioticon|Mechrobioticon]] 14:42, 1 April 2007 (EDT)

: When is this going to be fixed? The "lowest unemployment rate in history" is not true, it was far lower in the 60s, and lower during the later years of the Clinton administrator. The claim isn't even supported by the reference, which claims "the lowest in five years", which I suppose is true enough. Concise and fact based indeed. --[[User:Abrown|Abrown]] 16:02, 6 April 2007 (EDT)

== Ridicolous claim ==

"He is now working tirelessly to end the Iraqi insurgency and stabilize the region."

Eh, ok? Source? A silly attempt to try to create some kind of sympathy for the man. It's like saying "Jesus was very kind." in his entry. It has got nothing to do with facts and people should be given facts on this site and then determine for themselves if Jesus was kind and if GWB is working tirelessly.

:Agreed. Authors establish bias effectively by utilizing fact selectivity and through awareness of the perspective from which those facts are related. Ineffective authors establish bias by simply writing their opinions. An openly biased article is not the same thing as an opinion column. An encyclopedia does not need to allow itself to be tainted with opinions in order to be biased. This is supported by conservapedia itself in its article "Examples of Bias in Wikipedia." (Wikipedia, however biased it may or may not be, never allows anything close to the candid opinions of its editors to pollute articles.)
:[[User:Mechrobioticon|Mechrobioticon]] 17:29, 2 April 2007 (EDT)

== "Hard Work" ==

George W Bush has never done a day's hard work in his lifetime.

Oh wait, he was having trouble reading his children's book when he heard about 9/11. Dang, forgot about that.

:Sarcasm and exaggeration are the didactic devices of idiots.
:[[User:Mechrobioticon|Mechrobioticon]] 17:31, 2 April 2007 (EDT)

== Ridicolous Article ==

This whole article is a joke, right? How can you put this out as fact when it has been debunked so many times?

==Better Picture==
[[Image:Busio.jpeg|thumb|right]]

::I agree, that is a much better picture. It's the same one used on wikipedia, but it's public domain. I'd use it, but get a higher resolution copy of the image at http://www.defenselink.mil/DODCMSShare/NewsPhoto/2003-02/030114-O-0000D-001.jpg
::[[User:Mechrobioticon|Mechrobioticon]] 14:49, 1 April 2007 (EDT)
This article does not just neglect important information, but also gives incorrect facts. Al Gore won the popular vote in the 200 election. Also, this I laugh out loud that people are actually believing this conservopedia crap.

== Requested edits ==

* The article needs to have <tt style="background-color:#bfb"><nowiki>{{DEFAULTSORT:Bush, George W.}}</nowiki></tt> added just above the categories at the bottom, so its category sortkey is set properly. Thanks. --[[User:Interiot|Interiot]] 17:02, 31 March 2007 (EDT)

:Please add <nowiki>[[Category:Military Commanders]]</nowiki>
:He is after all our [[Commander in Chief]] leading the hugely successful war against [[terrorism]] in [[Iraq]] and elswhere.
::"Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people." (Isaiah 55:4)
:[[User:JC|JC]] 10:26, 1 April 2007 (EDT)

:::"Hugely successful?" I missed the announcement that they'd caught Osama Bin Laden. --[[User:BDobbs|BDobbs]] 15:56, 1 April 2007 (EDT)

== Poor addition to a poor article ==

The line, "Many people feel that George W. Bush's faith is sincere and profound. The Faith of George W. Bush, a non-political book by author Stephen Strang, made the New York Times best-sellers list" should be quickly deleted from this article. I know wikipedia doesn't allow such B.S. qualifiers as "many people feel," and neither should conservapedia if it's going to be taken seriously. Just state that he's a Christian. How profound his Christian-ness is is both irrelevant and unquantifiable.

At least move it out of the "Foreign Policy" section of the article.

--[[User:Mechrobioticon|Mechrobioticon]] 18:53, 31 March 2007 (EDT)
:I don't agree with the first paragraph by Mechrobioticon, but I do agree with the second paragraph. I think that faith statement should be moved from the "Foreign Policy" section to a new "Faith" section. There is tons of material from the book ''God and George W. Bush''. [[User:Crocoite|Crocoite]][[User Talk:Crocoite|talk]] 02:30, 1 April 2007 (EDT)

::OK, maybe requesting that the reference be completely omitted is a little harsh to ask of a conservative encyclopedia, but I still stand by my statement that it needs to be drastically reworded. "Many people feel" is simply a phrase that should never be used in scholarly writing. It's an obvious euphemism for "I feel," and a bad attempt to cover up personal bias. It makes the article appear very amateurish and will become a point of ridicule for knowledgeable readers.
::[[User:Mechrobioticon|Mechrobioticon]] 14:28, 1 April 2007 (EDT)

:::Who cares how 'sincere' he is? [[Marshall Applewhite]] was 'sincere', but that didn't stop him from being lethally deluded. Or are we hoping the [[Great Pumpkin]] will visit Bush this Halloween? --[[User:BDobbs|BDobbs]] 15:51, 1 April 2007 (EDT)

::::I agree that how "profound" or "sincere" one's faith in something is is a poor indicator of one's character (not to mention highly arbitrary and impossible to confirm), but this isn't my encyclopedia. It's conservapedia. The ideas of the secular humanist must yield to the consensus of the conservative majority. I think that even bearing this fact, however, that there is a good case to be made for the removal of the sentences in question on the basis that they are, in fact, an opinion that can't be indisputably confirmed. But again, that's not my place to decide, and if the conservative editors and sysops of conservapedia say "it stays," then it stays. Secularists should always remember that we are here to advise and help, not to ridicule and lampoon.
::::[[User:Mechrobioticon|Mechrobioticon]] 16:54, 2 April 2007 (EDT)

== No information ==

There's no information about how GWB is being named the Worst President in History [http://www.rollingstone.com/news/profile/story/9961300/the_worst_president_in_history] by alot of people, as well as having some of the lowest approval ratings ever.[http://www.hist.umn.edu/~ruggles/Approval.htm][http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/02/27/opinion/polls/main1350874.shtml] And lack of information about major events in his presidency. Such as Katarina, September 11th and stuff like that.

==No Information==
Period. This isn't an encyclopedia entry, this is more like the bio somebody writes for the program to their high school musical. Could it be more bland? Ish. [[User:Flippin|Flippin]] 16:02, 24 April 2007 (EDT)

Nothing about his childhood, his college, or his time as Texas governor. And there never will be. Conservapedia doesn't trust their editors to write about this icon. (They might mention, for instance, his drunk driving arrest or allegations of cocaine use). [[User:Czolgolz|Czolgolz]] 13:36, 30 April 2007 (EDT)

== Someone tell me when this article is fixed ==

I'm quickly coming to the conclusion that this article is hopeless. It's not my opinion that George W. Bush's "sincere and profound faith in God" doesn't belong in the foreign policy section of this article. It's a demonstrable fact. Someone tell me what qualifies his religion as a formal written policy by which America's interactions with other countries are deliberated, and I will shut up. The addition is also poorly written, vague, unscholarly, conjectural, impossible to confirm, and dripping with bias and ethnocentrism, but I'll ignore that. Just move it. Please just move it. If this ever happens, please email me at happyhealey@gmail.com, and will resume contributing to Conservapedia. It's ludicrous for a wiki project to be unable to correct its own typographical errors. It's been a month. A whole month. If this were Wikipedia it would have been corrected in less than five minutes. This is, without exaggeration, pitiful.
[[User:Mechrobioticon|Mechrobioticon]] 23:24, 29 April 2007 (EDT)

Well, at least you changed the picture. Good to know the article isn't completely stagnant.
[[User:Mechrobioticon|Mechrobioticon]] 23:32, 29 April 2007 (EDT)

== How can I edit this article? ==

There are some spelling mistakes (Exxon Mobil not Exxon Mobile) and grammar that need correcting but I can't get on to fix it. [[User:Erasmus|Erasmus]] 11:19, 1 May 2007 (EDT)