Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Talk:Chess

2007-04-15T20:18:58Z

MountainDew:

My gosh, there is no context given for the second half of the article, not describing what the pieces are. --[[User:Hojimachong|'''Hojimachong''']][[User_Talk:Hojimachong|talk]] 12:41, 1 April 2007 (EDT)

: What's the source on the pieces being added? Curious to read more.-'''AmesG'''[http://www.conservapedia.com/User_talk:AmesG yo!] 15:26, 13 April 2007 (EDT)

I'll get on it. By the way, is anybody interested in playing email chess? [[User:MountainDew|MountainDew]] 17:13, 14 April 2007 (EDT)

: RedHotPawn, same username.-'''AmesG'''[http://www.conservapedia.com/User_talk:AmesG yo!] 17:14, 14 April 2007 (EDT)

I'll do the email chess MD; 
ON Topic: we're going to need diagrams for to spell out moves and strategies, as chess is such a visual game. I don't have a clue where to get them though. Also a section on chess notation would be handy.[[User:Rob Pommer| Cracker]][[User_talk:Rob_Pommer|talk]] 16:14, 15 April 2007 (EDT)

I'm kansaspatzer if anyone is on Gameknot.

A section on chess notation would be excellent! [[User:MountainDew|MountainDew]] 16:18, 15 April 2007 (EDT)

Conservapedia talk:How Conservapedia Differs from Wikipedia

2007-04-15T20:06:59Z

MountainDew: /* User names? */

{{protect|Aschlafly}}

== Additions ==

Great additions, Ed! --~ [[User:TK|TK]] [[User_talk:TK|MyTalk]] 22:46, 8 April 2007 (EDT)

==British English==

'''NO LONGER BANNED'''

We non US English speakers now have freedom to speak

==General questions==
I think you meant authoritative support, but I won't correct it, it's your doc. So are you still going to say your site is neutral?--[[User:AmesG|AmesG]] 17:29, 21 March 2007 (EDT)

: Good point. Thanks. I corrected it.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 17:37, 21 March 2007 (EDT)

==Authoritative Source==
I would really like to know more about this "authoritative" source. What counts as "journalist opinion" vs. "reporting of facts" this is particularly important in regards to issues being raised at on this [http://www.conservapedia.com/Conservapedia_Talk#Quality_of_References talk page]. [[User:Tmtoulouse|Tmtoulouse]] 17:34, 21 March 2007 (EDT)

: A big flaw in Wikipedia's system is that it treats journalist's opinions as authorities. They aren't. In a court of law, such attempts would be laughable.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 17:37, 21 March 2007 (EDT)
:: Does this mean that Creationwiki is not considered authoritative? --[[User:Mtur|Mtur]] 17:38, 21 March 2007 (EDT)

:: So if an article written by a journalist is quoted and its merely reporting events "such and such happened" "this was said by this person" then the source is fine? [[User:Tmtoulouse|Tmtoulouse]] 17:39, 21 March 2007 (EDT)

::: Sure, that's fine. But Wikipedia improperly converts a journalist's biased opinion into a factual assertion.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 18:06, 21 March 2007 (EDT)

::::Its not so much that "''Wikipedia''" ''improperly converts a journalist's biased opinion into a factual assertion'' but that a particular ''editor'' did. That could happen here too. Such edits remain until another ''editor'' changes them. The more popular the article the quicker questionable edits are likely to be changed.
::::[[User:WhatIsG0ing0n|WhatIsG0ing0n]] 04:14, 4 April 2007 (EDT)

==Original research==
Point 5 should be clarified so that it doesn't clash with "always cite sources" and "must be true and verifiable". Original Research can get out of hand very quickly, I think. --[[User:Sid 3050|Sid 3050]] 17:46, 21 March 2007 (EDT)

:Correct, in the hands of a responsible editor original research can add synthesis of ideas that would otherwise be impossible to include, and can be valuable. The reason it is shunned on Wikipedia though is that you wind up getting every crank out there with a new "unified theory of everything" or a high school algebraic solution to Fermat's Last Theorm that is being repressed by the establishment claiming a right to publish it here. [[User:Tmtoulouse|Tmtoulouse]] 17:48, 21 March 2007 (EDT)

::My issue exactly. I'm not THAT much of a fan of the OR rule myself, but I can understand why it's there and thus support it in general. --[[User:Sid 3050|Sid 3050]] 17:50, 21 March 2007 (EDT)

::: Original work can be labeled as such. There is no reason for Wikipedia to censor it, except to enforce its liberal view of the world.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 18:07, 21 March 2007 (EDT)

::::So if I come up with my own theory of how the universe was created, I could post it here as OR without the need to cite any sources? And the admins won't be allowed to delete it, although it shows a complete lack of backing by anybody? ...thank you. :D --[[User:Sid 3050|Sid 3050]] 18:19, 21 March 2007 (EDT)

:::: I don't know Mr. Schlafly, as I said I can see the value of original works to a certain extent, but as more and more of the [[George Hammond]]'s of the world find this site you may be innudated with original research that is nothing but a detractor and a nuisance. There are many, many individuals on the internet with all kinds of crazy ideas and all of them would love a place to post them where they will get views. The questions becomes do you want your site to be a repository for all the crazy theories of the internet? If not there needs to be some sort of qualification, restriction or clarification. However, that being said we are not at the moment being innudated with such entries. This policy may work for now, its just something to keep in mind. [[User:Tmtoulouse|Tmtoulouse]] 18:20, 21 March 2007 (EDT)

::::: If properly labeled, then I don't see a problem. We'll see. Wikipedia allows hundreds of thousands of entries of pure junk, such as terms invented for rap songs. Wikipedia's complete ban on original work seems a bit contrived and limiting to me. We shouldn't be stuck in the past and act like nothing new is good.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 18:32, 21 March 2007 (EDT)

While I agree that some original work should be allowed, letting any and all OR into Conservapedia articles would create a terrible mess. Somebody could come and claim "Moses and Jesus fought a boxing match in heaven", and nobody would be able to argue. Perhaps we should merely allow inflections and commentary, based off of what can be gathered in a source? Wikipedia doesn't allow this. --[[User:Hojimachong|'''Hojimachong''']][[User_Talk:Hojimachong|talk]] 18:35, 21 March 2007 (EDT)

: The presentation of new ideas is perfectly acceptable, but a freely editable encyclopedia is not the correct venue for this. Protecting your ownership of these original ideas is very difficult when both the statement of the idea and developer of it can be changed by anyone with a free account. Additionally, users shouldn't be given the perception that new ideas are widely accepted, when in most cases they are not accepted until they are no longer considered 'new'. --[[User:Charliemc86|Charliemc86]] 17:37, 21 March 2007 (CST)

:Such commentary might border on opinions and unencyclopedic language, though. (Funny thing is that Conservapedia doesn't even ''have'' a rule about encyclopedic tone...) Or will we allow "49.9% of the population" to be changed to "less than half the population" and "50.1%" to "the majority"? It's certainly not wrong, but it's also not what an encyclopedic article would write (Disclaimer: I'm not 100% familiar with Wiki rules, but I think I recall a rule about using exact terms and numbers if possible.). I think Conservapedia has enough issues with being taken seriously already. --[[User:Sid 3050|Sid 3050]] 18:47, 21 March 2007 (EDT)

::The very existence of Conservapedia is a joke. People who disband from a freely editable encyclopedia because they believe it is biased simply don't wish to have their statements checked by people with opposing viewpoints. You're right that people aren't taking it seriously, but I doubt minor changes to the rules will make people overlook that constant, unfounded criticism of Wikipedia that runs rampant in so many articles here. --[[User:Charliemc86|Charliemc86]] 18:01, 21 March 2007 (CST)
:::(chuckles) I agree with you, but I still think that it may have a chance of becoming a bit... more accepted (as more than a source of endless entertainment at least =P). Thus, I support "minor" changes to the rules when they have the potential of making a difference in the way people apply them.
:::Broadly allowing all forms of OR can lead to chaos, and a change of the rules later on is tied to much clean-up work. If the rule stays, then there should at least be some clarification, for example in the form Hojimachong suggested. --[[User:Sid 3050|Sid 3050]] 19:07, 21 March 2007 (EDT)

==Gossip==

Point 1 is baseless criticism of Wikipedia. The statement "We do not allow gossip, just as a real encyclopedia avoids it" implies that Wikipedia allows gossip, which it does not. I propose that this difference be removed from the list. --[[User:Charliemc86|Charliemc86]] 17:01, 21 March 2007 (CST)

: You can't be serious. Are you? Numerous entries in Wikipedia have gossip that would never appear in a real encyclopedia. We have several examples in [[Bias in Wikipedia]] but that is only the tip of the iceberg.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 18:04, 21 March 2007 (EDT)

:: I'm not here to dispute the fact that gossip exists on Wikipedia. The differences page implies that it is allowed or encouraged, which it is not. A careful reading of the rules for editing on Wikipedia clearly excludes gossip from the set of valid information sources. --[[User:Charliemc86|Charliemc86]] 17:12, 21 March 2007 (CST)

::: Which Wikipedia rule forbids gossip??? Show me and let's enforce it against what, about 100,000 entries there?--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 18:18, 21 March 2007 (EDT)

:::: Wikipedia refers to it as NPOV (Neutral Point of View). The full explanation of where and when opinions (including gossip/second-hand opinions) may be used is located here: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:NPOV_tutorial] --[[User:Charliemc86|Charliemc86]] 17:24, 21 March 2007 (CST)

::::: OK, I went to your link and searched on the word "gossip". It doesn't appear. '''Wikipedia has no rule against gossip'''. Gossip is pervasive on Wikipedia.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 18:26, 21 March 2007 (EDT)
::::::You have to dig a little bit further into the policies to see it [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Biographies_of_living_persons#Reliable_sources stated] - "Not all widely read newspapers and magazines are equally reliable. There are some magazines and newspapers that print gossip much of which is false. While such information may be titillating, that does not mean it has a place here." --[[User:Mtur|Mtur]] 18:29, 21 March 2007 (EDT)

:::::: A simple text search for the word gossip returns no hits, however gossip fits into the larger category of opinion. The citation of opinions on Wikipedia is permitted, but under specific guidelines. Show just one of these 100,000 entries that use gossip and cite it as fact, and I'll find five pages that enforced this regulation. --[[User:Charliemc86|Charliemc86]] 17:29, 21 March 2007 (CST)

:::: Gossip is different from "opinion". Come on, let's not pretend that we don't know what gossip is. The "fact" that John Tower's ex-wife refused to accept flowers from him as she was dying in the hospital is gossip. Wikipedia allows it.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 18:34, 21 March 2007 (EDT)

::::: That statement doesn't appear on Wikipedia. Not all opinions are gossip, but gossip is wholly contained in the realm of opinion. --[[User:Charliemc86|Charliemc86]] 17:40, 21 March 2007 (CST)

:::: Really, has Wikipedia deleted it? If so, then it was only after criticism here. Check out the entry on Bertrand Russell on Wikipedia and more gossip greets the reader. It's pervasive. By the way, facts often qualify as gossip, so your definition is not correct.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 18:46, 21 March 2007 (EDT)

::::: Don't you think you're giving yourself a little bit too much credit there? You make it sound as if all of Wikipedia scans your massively important list for things to correct. The probability of somebody reading your list and then editing it is quite small, compared to people getting to the page through other ways and editing it in the normal Wiki process. --[[User:Sid 3050|Sid 3050]] 18:50, 21 March 2007 (EDT)

:::::: Criticizing a 1.5 million-page wiki based on a few of its worst pages isn't fair, especially when they clearly go against the wiki's policy. (much like Wikipedia's article on Conservapedia isn't really fair for picking out a few of the worst articles here, articles that are likely to be improved up within a few weeks or months) --[[User:Interiot|Interiot]] 20:44, 21 March 2007 (EDT)

:Andy, you've given examples of gossip, but if we could come up with an actual definition to follow, that would be helpful. Gossip is in the eye of the beholder.[[User:Palmd001|Palmd001]] 18:27, 21 March 2007 (EDT)

My suggestion is this: '''Personal websites may not be used as an article's reference.''' If we put that into force we will save ourselves enormous amounts of difficulty. Gossip is always personal opinion. Personal websites abound in gossip. And, it is often presented as part of a larger page that has some attention getting element. An example is in the [[Scientology]] article where Andreas Heldal-Lund's personal site, xenu.net is cited [http://www.xenu.net/archive/audit/latey.html] for his hand typed representation of a court document. But also appearing on the page are his evaluations and criticisms and bias about the court document and surrounding issues. [[User:Terryeo|Terryeo]] 18:44, 21 March 2007 (EDT)

:For further exposition on "personal websites" interested editors should review this [http://www.conservapedia.com/Conservapedia_Talk#Quality_of_References discussion]. [[User:Tmtoulouse|Tmtoulouse]] 19:34, 21 March 2007 (EDT)
Aschlafly, your definition of gossip seems to be information that sheds negative light on a person or idea that you support. Please correct me with an explicit definition? --[[User:Charliemc86|Charliemc86]] 17:50, 21 March 2007 (CST)

::Isn't saying that wikipedia deleted something because of your criticism a form of gossip? What proof do you have that it was your criticism that caused the edit? Wikipedia is under constant ''internal'' scrutiny from a large population of editors. [[User:Myk|Myk]] 18:56, 21 March 2007 (EDT)
:::I think the only instance when a Wiki edit was actually (quasi-)proven to originate here was the issue of "elementary proof" or whatever the name was. And that was a case of "...well, you could've created the entry yourself in the time you spent writing the criticism". --[[User:Sid 3050|Sid 3050]] 19:00, 21 March 2007 (EDT)

Not to mention Wikipedia actively discourages anything like [[debate topics]], let alone links to it from the sidebar. Gossip indeed. --[[User:Interiot|Interiot]] 20:44, 21 March 2007 (EDT)

:: Folks, I'm not going to debate the pervasive gossip in Wikipedia with you further. At the rate you're going, you might also claim the National Enquirer doesn't have gossip! Actually, I suppose its employees might claim that. If you think Wikipedia is free of gossip, then so be it.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 20:50, 21 March 2007 (EDT)

Gossip is a very vague word, what is one (wo)man's gossip is another's hard facts! So before the term "gossip" gets thrown about too much we ought to have a concrete definition of it. [[User:Mathmo|Mathmo]] 01:09, 24 March 2007 (EDT)

I asked above for a definition of gossip so that the rules can be followed clearly. I have no interest in debating Wikipedia...it's irrelevant. But, I would like a definition of gossip if it is going to stay a commandment. [[User:Palmd001|Palmd001]] 16:30, 24 March 2007 (EDT)

==Bias==

''7. We do not allow liberal censorship of conservative facts...'' - Do you allow conservative censorship of liberal facts? This isn't clear. --[[User:JamesK|JamesK]] 18:04, 21 March 2007 (EDT)

: No, we don't.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 18:05, 21 March 2007 (EDT)

::Thanks, I think that should be explicitly stated then. --[[User:JamesK|JamesK]] 18:14, 21 March 2007 (EDT)

:::Conservative facts? What is that supposed to mean? Sounds like some kind of hippy, commie relativism to me! Facts are facts. --[[User:Zerba|Zerba]] 12:32, 22 March 2007 (EDT)

: Yes JamesK. Conservative censorship is allowed, as evidenced by this page: [[Alger Hiss]]. The fact that the accuracy of the released Soviet documents is disputed, and that a key FBI witness committed perjury while testifying that a typewriter cannot be used for forgery is completely ignored in this account. --[[User:Charliemc86|Charliemc86]] 17:09, 21 March 2007 (CST)
:: this is all sour grapes from a disgruntled former editor of wikipedia. it is not to be taken seriously. Ashlafly is simply a member of the radical right disguising himself, albeit poorly, as a conservative. Do not take him seriously. He is baised against anythnig that doesn't support his ideosyncratic agenda. 20:24, 21 March 2007 (EDT)

"Conservative facts? What is that supposed to mean?" I agree, what does it mean? How can a fact be of different political alignments? You can check it the [[Wiktionary:fact|definition]]. --[[User:Trekie9001|trekie9001]] 16:06, 28 March 2007 (EDT)
: They're ''special'' facts. Y'know, the ones that are so obviously true, they don't even need citations. [[User:Wikinterpreter|Wikinterpreter]]

== Neutral? Censorship? ==

''"3. We do not allow obscenity, while Wikipedia has many entries unsuitable for children. "''

This point conflicts with point one... A real encyclopedia doesn't avoid issues that may be considered "unsuitable". One example is [[Intercourse|Sex]]. One of the oldest and most respected encyclopaedias out there, Encyclopædia Britannica, has a page on [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9067000/sexual-intercourse|Sexual Intercourse]. What's wrong with a scientific article on something completely natural, something which is very much involved with Christianity? I really cannot understand.

I shall return. [[User:O2mcgovem|O2mcgovem]] 19:39, 21 March 2007 (EDT)

:That is a very good point. The fact that the sex article has been censored on this site is a bit odd. There is no need to get into the depth that Wikipedia goes into about human sexualit, sex positions, etc. But some acknowledgment or treatment of the way that nearly all multi-cellular organisms come to be seems to be something that shoudl be included in anything claiming to be "encyclopedic".--[[User:Zerba|Zerba]] 12:36, 22 March 2007 (EDT)

== items 1,4 and 7 seem to be mutally exclusive ==

and are not applied to actual pages. if we're going to state these rules they should ve consistent and supportable. [[User:Godman|Godman]] 20:19, 21 March 2007 (EDT)
* I assume 7 is referring to Andrew's lectures ([[Economics Lectures]], [[World History Lectures]])? If so, perhaps Conservapedia may eventually have something like Wikinews' [http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Wikinews:Original_reporting original reporting] policy, which allows original work, as long as it's labeled as being authored by an identifiable person. (and Wikinews' policy would make point 7 invalid as well) --[[User:Interiot|Interiot]] 21:13, 21 March 2007 (EDT)
:: it would lend much needed credibility to this project if editorials and opinion were labeled as such. As it is it smacks of intellectual dishonesty. not that it seems to matter here, as intellectual seems to be a bad word. [[User:Godman|Godman]] 23:54, 21 March 2007 (EDT)

==Name Change==
Wouldn't it be more appropriate to call it "Differences from wikipedia" or "How Conservapedia is different from Wikipedia"? "Differences with wikipedia" sounds awkward. If you want to take a good idea from wikipedia, you might make a "What conservapedia is not" page.[[User:IMFromKathlene|IMFromKathlene]] 01:43, 22 March 2007 (EDT)

== Neutral to the facts? ==

What facts are these that justify a daily bible comment on the front page?

Honestly, I have no problem with the Bible quote. It has nothing to do with any controversy about facts. It is simply a quotation that the founders of this site wish to share.[[User:Palmd001|Palmd001]] 18:35, 22 March 2007 (EDT)

:Surely what or what isn't a ''[[Terrorism|terrorist group]]'' group depends on the definintion used and the perspective of the definer.
::''If a group is a terrorist group, then the label "terrorist" is used here but not on Wikipedia.''
:What definition is being used here - and wouldn't that be an opinion likely to controvene no. 2?
:Admittedly that only states that the ''opinions of journalists'' are unacceptable. Are other opinions acceptable? Though I can only assume they are also subject to ''authoritative support''. Who is the authority on what or what isn't a ''terrorist group''? It there also an authority on [[fact]]s?
:A real encyclopedia would [[Conservapedia:Attribution|attribute]] claims that a particular group is terrorist to those doing the claiming?
:[[User:WhatIsG0ing0n|WhatIsG0ing0n]] 10:51, 31 March 2007 (EDT)

== Restrictions ==

5. We have less restrictions on the reuse of our material than Wikipedia does.

In what way? how? This means nothing on it's own. --[[User:Cgday|Cgday]] 11:27, 25 March 2007 (EDT)
:: Users here have been unable to grasp wikipedia's copyright, so they've determined it is 'cumbersome' whereas conservapedia's apparent founder has said something like "anybody can copy our stuff until we object" . . . it's pretty clear, given the dishonest and unacademic tone of the rest of this site, how that should be parsed. More evidence that this site is a platform for radicals and zealots, dishonest ones at that, rather than actual conservatives or, heaven help us, Christians. I more than half suspect this site is some sort of joke intended to make average good hearted Christian-Americans look like fascists and nut-cases. But perhaps thats just because it is apparently run by misguided high school students.[[User:Godman|Godman]] 18:01, 1 April 2007 (EDT)

== Copyright differences ==

The page currently reads "By entering information on Wikipedia you are actually losing rights to your own material, and cannot copy your own material elsewhere without complying with Wikipedia's burdensome copyright restrictions." That's incorrect... Wikipedia contributors are required to license their contributions under the GFDL, but under the law, the contributor still owns the copyright to the work* and may license the contribution under other additional licenses. Wikipedia even encourages this sometimes. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Granting_work_into_the_public_domain#Advice_for_users_of_our_content]

GFDL is just a normal license that is used outside of Wikipedia, and it has no clauses akin to "transfer the copyright ownership to the site I post it on". I can write a poem by myself, license it under the GFDL, and post it on Geocities, but I'm still the copyright holder. Same goes with Wikipedia --[[User:Interiot|Interiot]] 12:49, 6 April 2007 (EDT)

: I've clarified point one, and responded on [[Conservapedia talk:Copyright]]. Thanks.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 14:35, 6 April 2007 (EDT)

:: Thank you very much, the factual bits are correct now at least. And there are a number of people who criticize copyleft licenses for being [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyleft#Is_copyleft_.22viral.22.3F "viral"], so that sentiment isn't too far out of the mainstream (though I think personally think there are good reasons for some of the restrictions... it ensures that the community, rather than Jimbo or the Wikimedia Foundation, will forever own and control the content... there have been [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CDDB#History unfortunate incidents] in the past where a community contributes under the belief that their work will always be freely available, but it's later closed off and used only for commercial gain). --[[User:Interiot|Interiot]] 19:18, 6 April 2007 (EDT)

== stubs ==

''12. We do not encourage the insertion of distracting "stubs" in entries. Wikipedia has numerous distracting stubs on entries.''

In Wikipedia, a "stub" is a short article, like a [[Conservapedia:Very Short Article]]. In fact Conservapedia has a template called <nowiki>{{stub}}</nowiki> that puts a large box at the top of the article noting that it is a Very Short Article and placing it in [[:Category:Articles needing major improvement]]. This category is still manageable here with less than 1000 articles in it. As Wikipedia is so much larger, the stub categories are further divided so that editors can find stub articles they have the interest or knowledge to expand. Wikipedia stub tags are a line or two of italic text at the bottom of an article (often with a small image next to them), less visually intrusive than the large blue box at the top of articles here.

This point should be either deleted or clarified to explain what difference is actually highlighted. Perhaps "Short Wikipedia articles are called "stubs" and are marked at the bottom of the article, short Conservapedia articles are called "VSAs" and are marked by a blue box at the top. Both markings invite readers to extend the article." --[[User:Scott|Scott]] 00:39, 9 April 2007 (EDT)

*As you might have been noticing, there is more of a push on here to discourage their placement, in favor of short, factual and concise entries, over verbose and lenghty ones. Templates are most certainly not encouraged here, and when found on questionable articles, removed. I actually see the ability to place templates on articles restricted here, to Sysop's and above soon. --~ [[User:TK|TK]] [[User_talk:TK|MyTalk]] 00:43, 9 April 2007 (EDT)

Wikipedia places stubs on almost anything that is short. But concise entries are ''better'' than the wordy, overly verbose entries that dominate Wikipedia. it seems that a high percentage of entries on Wikipedia have "stubs" placed on them. Who wants to be distracted by that? It's silly and, as TK says, we don't want them here.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 01:03, 9 April 2007 (EDT)

Stub articles can serve a legitimate purpose if there are very few of them, to alert us of the real problems (i.e. when Germany was one paragraph long). I suspect that was the original intent. Obviously, this isn't happening. [[User:MountainDew|MountainDew]] 01:04, 9 April 2007 (EDT)

: I take the stub notices out whenever I see them now, unless truly deserved. Also, let's warn and, if necessary, block editors who are inserting lots of stub notices. Thanks and a good Easter to you, MountainDew!--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 01:22, 9 April 2007 (EDT)

::How about this? "12. Short Wikipedia articles are called "stubs" and are marked at the bottom of the article, very short Conservapedia articles are called "VSAs" and are marked by a blue box at the top, but these markings are discouraged. Both markings invite readers to extend the article, however a typical "complete" Conservapedia article is generally much shorter than a "complete" Wikipedia article." --[[User:Scott|Scott]] 01:58, 9 April 2007 (EDT)

*I'm not that long out of College to remember what a pain it was, those overly long, verbose entries, when trying to fact-check, and research! Scott, I agree, we could site the two examples, and play-up our penchant for ''concise'' over wordy articles, for the sake of wordiness. --~ [[User:TK|TK]] [[User_talk:TK|MyTalk]] 02:04, 9 April 2007 (EDT)

**Neither website (nor a paper encyclopaedia) is an appropriate source for tertiary-level research. Most of Wikipedia's Good and Featured articles have extensive reference lists which might be useful, but you're still relying on someone else's literature search with no idea if it's complete. Wikipedia tends to cite online and free (as in beer) articles rather than paper or paid sources as they are more accessible to the majority of editors. That is also a bias problem for serious research, and I haven't noticed a significant difference in that area at Conservapedia, which in general has a lot less references. World Book Encyclopaedia's short/concise articles give a quick and simple overview. Encyclopaedia Britannica has longer articles that give a fair amount of detail, like Wikipedia. True research means go and find your own sources. (Disclaimer: I graduated before the Internet existed). Should we have a guideline here that articles are aimed for the attention span and reading level of a 12-year old (i.e. like World Book)? --[[User:Scott|Scott]] 02:28, 9 April 2007 (EDT)

*That is kind of snobbish, no? --~ [[User:TK|TK]] [[User_talk:TK|MyTalk]] 03:10, 9 April 2007 (EDT)

**My last sentence? Possibly, but Aschlafly can move the number up or down, a guideline like that would help to clarify vague terms like "concise", "family-friendly" etc. The problem with Conservapedia is that it is trying to be too many things - an alternative to Wikipedia that presents items from a conservative POV instead of a Neutral POV should aim to carry informative and deep articles on the main items where conservatives differ from both liberals and moderates. However many of these articles are censored or hijacked due to the second goal of being a family-friendly and safe resource for home-schooled children. This goal is hard because family-friendly for an eight-year-old is different to family-friendly for a sixteen-year old. Articles on subjects like sex and families need to present different stuff, or at least one group will be looking elsewhere for information. The latest idea is that Conservapedia might be a [[think tank]]. Yet another goal, with yet another set of competing criteria to do it well. If these three or four goals were in separate websites or separate namespaces each linked from the front page, editors and readers could choose which they want to be involved in, and perhaps some of the complaints about sysop control would be addressed by people recognising different rules in different spaces. --[[User:Scott|Scott]] 05:41, 9 April 2007 (EDT)

I think "distracting stubs" meant that placing the {{tl|stub}} template was presenting a distraction. Both Mr. Schafly and [[User:Conservative]] IIRC have criticized its application. No one is objecting to well-written articles that simply happen to be short.
*A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell. [William Strunk, Jr.] http://web.clas.ufl.edu/users/rhatch/pages/02-TeachingResources/readingwriting/05c-essy.htm

Wikipedia suffers from stylistic strictures. It has a prejudice against concise writing and favors "blather" over cohesion. All articles must be created by a process of accretion, as if 100 monkeys at a typewriter could eventually produce the works of Shakespeare. (MUST I point out this use of [[hyperbole]]? That link being a red one, I guess I must. ;-)

At some future date, I may write an article on [[military communications]] which will expose the weaknesses of traditional [[command and control]] ideas, based on the insights of retired Marine Corps General [[Paul van Riper]]. Here's a taste:
*"We would not get caught up in any of these mechanistic processes. We would use the wisdom, the experience, and the good judgment of the people we had." (Page 118 of [[Malcolm Gladwell]]'s ''[[blink]]''.)

Van Riper's Red Team beat the Pentagon's best and brightest in a military exercise called the [[Millennium Challenge]]. --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] 07:11, 9 April 2007 (EDT)

::Ed, I suspect you are right what is ''intended'' by point 12. It is not what it ''says''. I have made two attempts in this talk page section to propose rephrased sentences that I think say what is meant. I'm not allowed to edit the actual page, so can only discuss proposed changes here, leading to interesting tangents if no sysop actually picks up the changes quickly. The "wiki way" (not just Wikipedia) is that I would make a change, and others would improve it in the page itself and eventually we would reach an improved consensus. --[[User:Scott|Scott]] 07:27, 9 April 2007 (EDT)

::#I didn't write item #12.
::#You can ask the protecting sysop to unprotect the article. --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] 07:32, 9 April 2007 (EDT)

*Scott, I don't think the site owners care about the "wiki way" very much, neither do I, for a Conservapedia, that gives full credit to Conservative values, and Christian thinking. Consensus reached with those who don't think too highly of non-PC thoughts, and Conservative values isn't consensus, but watering down, IMO. How could it be otherwise? --~ [[User:TK|TK]] [[User_talk:TK|MyTalk]] 07:34, 9 April 2007 (EDT)

::This is verging away from stubs and into a discussion of the relative merits of [[conservatism]] and [[liberalism]]. Continuing on this tangent, I will agree with Terry and run the ball a bit further.

::Conservatives want to preserve what is good, i.e., what we already have. This doesn't mean their minds are closed to new ideas which are also good. We're not sending letters by pony express here but using a [[wiki]] on the [[Internet]]. Just because Al Gore invented it, doesn't mean it's evil <wink>.

::I just think that C's are less close-minded than L's. Read ''[[Closing of the American Mind]]'' for a lengthy essay which argues that liberal "open-mindedness" actually leads to mental impoverishment and destruction. Do Liberals consciously desire poverty and chaos? Hardly. But the problem remains unsolved. --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] 08:27, 9 April 2007 (EDT)

:::[[User:Aschlafly|The protecting sysop]] has responded in this thread, but did not change the article, or unprotect it. This appears to be the usual Conservapedia attitude to "...preserve what is good, i.e., what we already have." At least I haven't been reverted for deleting information about Tanzania from [[Tonga]] or Laos from [[Fiji]]. --[[User:Scott|Scott]] 09:44, 9 April 2007 (EDT)

*Tonga? Laos? *head is spinning --~ [[User:TK|TK]] [[User_talk:TK|MyTalk]] 12:19, 9 April 2007 (EDT)
**A couple of editors a month ago appear to have had a ''very'' spotty understanding of world geography, and got several countries mixed up. I removed material from articles it was not about. --[[User:Scott|Scott]] 18:51, 9 April 2007 (EDT)

: Scott, I'm not sure what you want me to respond to. We discourage defacing concise articles here with ugly "stub" banners. Here we encourage conciseness. At Wikipedia, the culture seems to think more words are better. Not so.

: Also, we favor concise rules. We're not going to have thousands and thousands of words about rules here. God covered all of life with Ten Commandments, and many of them were just a few words long. We're going to have fewer here. If you like bureaucracy, then you might prefer Wikipedia.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 12:26, 9 April 2007 (EDT)

::Ed has now corrected the most obvious problem with the point - thanks. The issue appeared to be a misunderstanding of Wikipedia. The new version is close enough I wouldn't have commented. I have no problem with conciseness, but short-and-wrong is not as good as long-enough-and-right. I continue to contribute to Wikipedia as well, and do not come here with the chip on my shoulder that everything about Wikipedia is wrong, unlike some people here. If we are to criticise Wikipedia, the criticism should be fair and true. Both stubs and VSAs allow a project to extend its breadth quickly, and hopefully others will come behind to increase the depth of coverage. --[[User:Scott|Scott]] 18:51, 9 April 2007 (EDT)

== User names? ==

Yep, names like "Conservative", "CoulterMan", etc., aren't ''at all'' like those mentioned. Are you guys aware that "Nearly Headless Nick" is the name of a character from a book? --[[User:Hacker|Hacker]]<code>([[User talk:Hacker|Write some code]])</code> 14:00, 15 April 2007 (EDT)
:I'd shy away from bashing user names, if you want a lot of creative people coming in to edit you're bound to get creative user names. Also, the fact that we have a user who goes by the name of [[User:MountainDew| MountainDew]], (which, at best, is a euphemism of illicit neutral grain spirit and at worst a trademark violation) who is not an ordinary registered user but a sysop, would be like shooting a gun with a "U" shaped barrel. MOO [[User:Rob Pommer| Cracker]][[User_talk:Rob_Pommer|talk]] 14:26, 15 April 2007 (EDT)
No offense, but your name is a racial slur. I don't think you have any room to complain about my name. [[User:MountainDew|MountainDew]] 16:03, 15 April 2007 (EDT)
:Ahem? Is it now too offensive to enjoy saltine crackers, or similary culinary treats? --[[User:Hojimachong|'''Hojimachong''']][[User_Talk:Hojimachong|talk]] 16:05, 15 April 2007 (EDT)
Well, he's accusing my name of being a reference to moonshine, so that's just as logical. [[User:MountainDew|MountainDew]] 16:06, 15 April 2007 (EDT)

Chess

2007-04-15T20:05:11Z

MountainDew: /* The Fork */

[[Image:Staunton chess set.jpg|right|thumb|300px|A typical chess set and tournament clock.]]
'''Chess''' is a turn-based board game for two players, and is generally considered the most popular game in the world.<ref>[http://50.lycos.com/082902.asp Equally Popular:Board Games], ''Lycos''</ref> The goal of the game is to place the opposing king into ''checkmate'', that is, a position in which the king is attacked and cannot escape from this situation.

Modern international chess has a powerful, sweeping [[queen]] who was not in the original game. The long reach of bishops today was also lacking at first. Maneuvers such as castling or capturing en passant have been developed within the past few hundred years.

Today, chess is one of the most popular board games in the world. International competition, including world championship events, is organized by an organization called FIDE and American competition organized by the USCF (United States Chess Federation). The only American world champion was [[Bobby Fischer]]. The current world champion is Russian Vladimir Kramnik.

==Origins==
Chess has its roots in [[India]], where locals played a game called Shaturanga. The earliest extant description of the game is contained in the [[Bhavishya Purana]], which dates from A.D. 300 to A.D. 600. Shaturanga used [[dice]], but [[Hinduism]] bans gambling. As a result, the game of chess developed free from any dice or chance. [[European]] travelers visited India in the 15th century, and brought back knowledge of the game, and modern chess was developed in southern Europe.

==Pieces==
[[Image:StauntonPieces.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Staunton Style chess pieces.]]
Each player has a total of 16 pieces; 8 pawns, 2 bishops, 2 knights, 2 rooks, 1 queen, 1 king. 
===Movement===
The pieces move as follows.
*The '''pawn''' moves one square forward, except when moving from it's opening position, when it can optionally move two. The pawn is the only piece that captures in a way different from the way it moves. It captures opposing pieces by capturing one square diagonally forward. When another piece is on the square directly in front of a pawn it cannot move unless it is making a capture. 
*The '''bishop''' can move as many squares as desired diagonally. 
*The '''knight''', which is the only piece that can jump over other pieces, moves one square in one straight direction and two in the other. 
*The '''rook''' can move as many squares as desired in a straight direction. 
*The '''queen''' is the most powerful piece in the board. It can move as many squares as desired (without jumping over another piece), either straight or diagonally. 
*The '''king''', which is the most important piece on the board, moves one square, either straight or diagonally.

====Special Moves====
*'''Castling'''- When a player has no pieces between a rook and his king, and he has not moved either piece, he can move the king two squares in the direction of the rook, and then place the rook on the square that the king passed over. A player cannot castle if the King is currently in check, would be in check after castling, or would move through a square which is under attack.
*'''en passant'''- French for "In passing." In chess, if a player pushes his pawn far down to the end of the board, and his opponent pushes a starting pawn 2 spaces ahead, to put the pawn on the same row to avoid confrontation, the player may choose to invoke the "en passant" move, which treats the enemy pawn as though it had only moved one space. The player may capture diagonally on the square '''behind''' the enemy pawn, and remove the enemy pawn. The principle is that the two space rule for a pawn's first move cannot be used to avoid confrontation between two pawns. However, the player may only invoke "en passant" on the first turn after the opponent pushes his pawn. You cannot make it after than turn.

===Value===
For the relative value of the pieces, see below.

===Style===
The most popular style of pieces are known as Staunton style pieces, the tournament standard for chess pieces, although other types exist. Often, popular themed chess sets will appear with characters from popular culture or fiction taking the places of the more common Staunton style pieces. These novelty pieces are not tournament sanctioned however, and can sometimes cause confusion during gameplay as to which piece is which.

Although chess pieces can come in a variety of materials, marble and glass tend to be very popular, but for most chess tournaments, simple plastic pieces are usually favored. Also, while many home chess sets use heavy boards made out of wood or stone or some polymer material, tournament boards are actually roll-able mats with the board printed on it.

==Gameplay ==
All pieces attack each other along their lines of motion - if a piece could move to occupy the location of another piece, it can therefore be taken. The only piece that does not attack along lines of motion is the '''pawn''', which can only attack diagonally by one square. A piece is said to be undefended if it has no piece "supporting" its position - i.e., preventing an opponent from taking it by threat of losing his attacking piece.

The goal of the game is to protect your own '''King''' while attacking your opponent's. Every time the King is under direct '''threat''' from another piece - queen, bishop, et al, the King is said to be under '''check.''' When a player is in check, the King must be protected - no move that fails to remedy the check is acceptable.

When check is not correctable - as in, when the King is under check, and no move can be made to extract him, the King is under '''checkmate''', and the opposing player wins. Alternately, if the King is NOT under check, but the player cannot move with any other piece, and the King cannot be moved without placing himself in check, '''stalemate''' occurs, which means that the game is a draw.

The player with the White pieces always moves first.

When a pawn reaches the far side of the board, it may be promoted to any other piece (except a King).

== Strategy==
===Moves which win material===
There are several basic types of moves that win material.
====The Fork====
When a player makes a move which attacks 2 of his opponent's pieces simultaneously with one piece of his own, it is called a '''fork'''. This forces his opponent to essentially, choose which piece he will lose. Knights are especialy adept at Forking because their method of movement allows them to attack any other kind of piece without being under attack from that piece. Forks in which the enemy King is one of the pieces under attack are especialy effective because they force the opponent to move the king, leaving no choice as to which piece to move. While the knight is the most adept at forking, all of the other pieces are capable of it.

One example of the fork is called '''"The Pickle"'''. A inexperienced player can be tricked into losing one of his rooks in the following manner. You move your king pawn forward 2 squares. Your opponent pushes his kings pawn up 2 squares as well. (the most common response) You move your queen out diagonaly to the right all the way to the edge of the board. If the other player is ambitious, they will most likely advance the knight's pawn 1 square to attack your queen. At that point, you move to capture your opponent's king pawn with your queen. This will place the king in check, forcing him to block the check with a piece. Then, since he moved his knight's pawn, the path will be clear for you to capture the kings rook. this sets you up with one of his rooks out of the way, and you have control over the center of the board.

====Pinning====
This strategy involves maneuvering your piece, so that there is an enemy piece in between your attacking piece and another more valuable enemy piece. This creates a situation in where the opponent cannot move the piece in question without losing the more valuable piece behind it, effectively "pinning" the piece. A pinned piece can be easily taken.

===Other Strategy===
====Doubling Rooks====
Placing both Rooks together in a rank or file with no pieces in between is a powerful method of attack, because each rook defends the other.

====Sacrificing====
When a player intentionally allows one of his own pieces to be taken in exchange for better position, this is called '''Sacrificing'''. Often, the piece is offered in an attempt to get the players opponenet to weaken his own defenses by capturing with a piece that had been in a good defensive position.

===Relative Value of Pieces===
There are several different ideas about the relative value of the pieces. It is important to note that the "points" used to assign a value to each piece are hypothetical and do not constitute a score.

The method most often used is:
*Pawn--1
*Knight--3 (some say 2.5)
*Bishop--3
*Rook--5
*Queen--9
*King--Priceless (although in an endgame, the King has an attacking power of about 3)

[[Category:board games]]

Chess

2007-04-15T20:04:48Z

MountainDew: /* Sacrificing */

[[Image:Staunton chess set.jpg|right|thumb|300px|A typical chess set and tournament clock.]]
'''Chess''' is a turn-based board game for two players, and is generally considered the most popular game in the world.<ref>[http://50.lycos.com/082902.asp Equally Popular:Board Games], ''Lycos''</ref> The goal of the game is to place the opposing king into ''checkmate'', that is, a position in which the king is attacked and cannot escape from this situation.

Modern international chess has a powerful, sweeping [[queen]] who was not in the original game. The long reach of bishops today was also lacking at first. Maneuvers such as castling or capturing en passant have been developed within the past few hundred years.

Today, chess is one of the most popular board games in the world. International competition, including world championship events, is organized by an organization called FIDE and American competition organized by the USCF (United States Chess Federation). The only American world champion was [[Bobby Fischer]]. The current world champion is Russian Vladimir Kramnik.

==Origins==
Chess has its roots in [[India]], where locals played a game called Shaturanga. The earliest extant description of the game is contained in the [[Bhavishya Purana]], which dates from A.D. 300 to A.D. 600. Shaturanga used [[dice]], but [[Hinduism]] bans gambling. As a result, the game of chess developed free from any dice or chance. [[European]] travelers visited India in the 15th century, and brought back knowledge of the game, and modern chess was developed in southern Europe.

==Pieces==
[[Image:StauntonPieces.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Staunton Style chess pieces.]]
Each player has a total of 16 pieces; 8 pawns, 2 bishops, 2 knights, 2 rooks, 1 queen, 1 king. 
===Movement===
The pieces move as follows.
*The '''pawn''' moves one square forward, except when moving from it's opening position, when it can optionally move two. The pawn is the only piece that captures in a way different from the way it moves. It captures opposing pieces by capturing one square diagonally forward. When another piece is on the square directly in front of a pawn it cannot move unless it is making a capture. 
*The '''bishop''' can move as many squares as desired diagonally. 
*The '''knight''', which is the only piece that can jump over other pieces, moves one square in one straight direction and two in the other. 
*The '''rook''' can move as many squares as desired in a straight direction. 
*The '''queen''' is the most powerful piece in the board. It can move as many squares as desired (without jumping over another piece), either straight or diagonally. 
*The '''king''', which is the most important piece on the board, moves one square, either straight or diagonally.

====Special Moves====
*'''Castling'''- When a player has no pieces between a rook and his king, and he has not moved either piece, he can move the king two squares in the direction of the rook, and then place the rook on the square that the king passed over. A player cannot castle if the King is currently in check, would be in check after castling, or would move through a square which is under attack.
*'''en passant'''- French for "In passing." In chess, if a player pushes his pawn far down to the end of the board, and his opponent pushes a starting pawn 2 spaces ahead, to put the pawn on the same row to avoid confrontation, the player may choose to invoke the "en passant" move, which treats the enemy pawn as though it had only moved one space. The player may capture diagonally on the square '''behind''' the enemy pawn, and remove the enemy pawn. The principle is that the two space rule for a pawn's first move cannot be used to avoid confrontation between two pawns. However, the player may only invoke "en passant" on the first turn after the opponent pushes his pawn. You cannot make it after than turn.

===Value===
For the relative value of the pieces, see below.

===Style===
The most popular style of pieces are known as Staunton style pieces, the tournament standard for chess pieces, although other types exist. Often, popular themed chess sets will appear with characters from popular culture or fiction taking the places of the more common Staunton style pieces. These novelty pieces are not tournament sanctioned however, and can sometimes cause confusion during gameplay as to which piece is which.

Although chess pieces can come in a variety of materials, marble and glass tend to be very popular, but for most chess tournaments, simple plastic pieces are usually favored. Also, while many home chess sets use heavy boards made out of wood or stone or some polymer material, tournament boards are actually roll-able mats with the board printed on it.

==Gameplay ==
All pieces attack each other along their lines of motion - if a piece could move to occupy the location of another piece, it can therefore be taken. The only piece that does not attack along lines of motion is the '''pawn''', which can only attack diagonally by one square. A piece is said to be undefended if it has no piece "supporting" its position - i.e., preventing an opponent from taking it by threat of losing his attacking piece.

The goal of the game is to protect your own '''King''' while attacking your opponent's. Every time the King is under direct '''threat''' from another piece - queen, bishop, et al, the King is said to be under '''check.''' When a player is in check, the King must be protected - no move that fails to remedy the check is acceptable.

When check is not correctable - as in, when the King is under check, and no move can be made to extract him, the King is under '''checkmate''', and the opposing player wins. Alternately, if the King is NOT under check, but the player cannot move with any other piece, and the King cannot be moved without placing himself in check, '''stalemate''' occurs, which means that the game is a draw.

The player with the White pieces always moves first.

When a pawn reaches the far side of the board, it may be promoted to any other piece (except a King).

== Strategy==
===Moves which win material===
There are several basic types of moves that win material.
====The Fork====
When a player makes a move which attacks 2 of his opponent's pieces simultaneously with one piece of his own, it is called a '''fork'''. This forces his opponent to essentially, choose which piece he will lose. Knights are especialy adept at Forking because their method of movement allows them to attack any other kind of piece without being under attack from that piece. Forks in which the enemy King is one of the pieces under attack are especialy effective because they force the opponent to move the king, leaving no choice as to which piece to move. While the knight is the most adept at forking, all of the other pieces are capable of it.

One example of the fork is called '''"The Pickle"'''. A inexperienced player can be tricked into losing one of his rooks in the following manner. You move your king pawn forward 2 squares. Your opponent pushes his kings pawn up 2 squares as well. (the most common response) You move your queen out diagonaly to the right all the way to the edge of the board. If the other player is ambitious, they will most likely advance the knight's pawn 1 square to attack your queen. At that point, you move to capture your opponent's king pawn with your queen. This will place the king in check, forcing him to block the check with a piece. Then, since he moved his knight's pawn, the path will be clear for you to capture the kings rook. this sets you up with one of his rooks out of the way, and you have controll over the center of the board.

====Pinning====
This strategy involves maneuvering your piece, so that there is an enemy piece in between your attacking piece and another more valuable enemy piece. This creates a situation in where the opponent cannot move the piece in question without losing the more valuable piece behind it, effectively "pinning" the piece. A pinned piece can be easily taken.

===Other Strategy===
====Doubling Rooks====
Placing both Rooks together in a rank or file with no pieces in between is a powerful method of attack, because each rook defends the other.

====Sacrificing====
When a player intentionally allows one of his own pieces to be taken in exchange for better position, this is called '''Sacrificing'''. Often, the piece is offered in an attempt to get the players opponenet to weaken his own defenses by capturing with a piece that had been in a good defensive position.

===Relative Value of Pieces===
There are several different ideas about the relative value of the pieces. It is important to note that the "points" used to assign a value to each piece are hypothetical and do not constitute a score.

The method most often used is:
*Pawn--1
*Knight--3 (some say 2.5)
*Bishop--3
*Rook--5
*Queen--9
*King--Priceless (although in an endgame, the King has an attacking power of about 3)

[[Category:board games]]

Chess

2007-04-15T20:04:19Z

MountainDew: spelling

[[Image:Staunton chess set.jpg|right|thumb|300px|A typical chess set and tournament clock.]]
'''Chess''' is a turn-based board game for two players, and is generally considered the most popular game in the world.<ref>[http://50.lycos.com/082902.asp Equally Popular:Board Games], ''Lycos''</ref> The goal of the game is to place the opposing king into ''checkmate'', that is, a position in which the king is attacked and cannot escape from this situation.

Modern international chess has a powerful, sweeping [[queen]] who was not in the original game. The long reach of bishops today was also lacking at first. Maneuvers such as castling or capturing en passant have been developed within the past few hundred years.

Today, chess is one of the most popular board games in the world. International competition, including world championship events, is organized by an organization called FIDE and American competition organized by the USCF (United States Chess Federation). The only American world champion was [[Bobby Fischer]]. The current world champion is Russian Vladimir Kramnik.

==Origins==
Chess has its roots in [[India]], where locals played a game called Shaturanga. The earliest extant description of the game is contained in the [[Bhavishya Purana]], which dates from A.D. 300 to A.D. 600. Shaturanga used [[dice]], but [[Hinduism]] bans gambling. As a result, the game of chess developed free from any dice or chance. [[European]] travelers visited India in the 15th century, and brought back knowledge of the game, and modern chess was developed in southern Europe.

==Pieces==
[[Image:StauntonPieces.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Staunton Style chess pieces.]]
Each player has a total of 16 pieces; 8 pawns, 2 bishops, 2 knights, 2 rooks, 1 queen, 1 king. 
===Movement===
The pieces move as follows.
*The '''pawn''' moves one square forward, except when moving from it's opening position, when it can optionally move two. The pawn is the only piece that captures in a way different from the way it moves. It captures opposing pieces by capturing one square diagonally forward. When another piece is on the square directly in front of a pawn it cannot move unless it is making a capture. 
*The '''bishop''' can move as many squares as desired diagonally. 
*The '''knight''', which is the only piece that can jump over other pieces, moves one square in one straight direction and two in the other. 
*The '''rook''' can move as many squares as desired in a straight direction. 
*The '''queen''' is the most powerful piece in the board. It can move as many squares as desired (without jumping over another piece), either straight or diagonally. 
*The '''king''', which is the most important piece on the board, moves one square, either straight or diagonally.

====Special Moves====
*'''Castling'''- When a player has no pieces between a rook and his king, and he has not moved either piece, he can move the king two squares in the direction of the rook, and then place the rook on the square that the king passed over. A player cannot castle if the King is currently in check, would be in check after castling, or would move through a square which is under attack.
*'''en passant'''- French for "In passing." In chess, if a player pushes his pawn far down to the end of the board, and his opponent pushes a starting pawn 2 spaces ahead, to put the pawn on the same row to avoid confrontation, the player may choose to invoke the "en passant" move, which treats the enemy pawn as though it had only moved one space. The player may capture diagonally on the square '''behind''' the enemy pawn, and remove the enemy pawn. The principle is that the two space rule for a pawn's first move cannot be used to avoid confrontation between two pawns. However, the player may only invoke "en passant" on the first turn after the opponent pushes his pawn. You cannot make it after than turn.

===Value===
For the relative value of the pieces, see below.

===Style===
The most popular style of pieces are known as Staunton style pieces, the tournament standard for chess pieces, although other types exist. Often, popular themed chess sets will appear with characters from popular culture or fiction taking the places of the more common Staunton style pieces. These novelty pieces are not tournament sanctioned however, and can sometimes cause confusion during gameplay as to which piece is which.

Although chess pieces can come in a variety of materials, marble and glass tend to be very popular, but for most chess tournaments, simple plastic pieces are usually favored. Also, while many home chess sets use heavy boards made out of wood or stone or some polymer material, tournament boards are actually roll-able mats with the board printed on it.

==Gameplay ==
All pieces attack each other along their lines of motion - if a piece could move to occupy the location of another piece, it can therefore be taken. The only piece that does not attack along lines of motion is the '''pawn''', which can only attack diagonally by one square. A piece is said to be undefended if it has no piece "supporting" its position - i.e., preventing an opponent from taking it by threat of losing his attacking piece.

The goal of the game is to protect your own '''King''' while attacking your opponent's. Every time the King is under direct '''threat''' from another piece - queen, bishop, et al, the King is said to be under '''check.''' When a player is in check, the King must be protected - no move that fails to remedy the check is acceptable.

When check is not correctable - as in, when the King is under check, and no move can be made to extract him, the King is under '''checkmate''', and the opposing player wins. Alternately, if the King is NOT under check, but the player cannot move with any other piece, and the King cannot be moved without placing himself in check, '''stalemate''' occurs, which means that the game is a draw.

The player with the White pieces always moves first.

When a pawn reaches the far side of the board, it may be promoted to any other piece (except a King).

== Strategy==
===Moves which win material===
There are several basic types of moves that win material.
====The Fork====
When a player makes a move which attacks 2 of his opponent's pieces simultaneously with one piece of his own, it is called a '''fork'''. This forces his opponent to essentially, choose which piece he will lose. Knights are especialy adept at Forking because their method of movement allows them to attack any other kind of piece without being under attack from that piece. Forks in which the enemy King is one of the pieces under attack are especialy effective because they force the opponent to move the king, leaving no choice as to which piece to move. While the knight is the most adept at forking, all of the other pieces are capable of it.

One example of the fork is called '''"The Pickle"'''. A inexperienced player can be tricked into losing one of his rooks in the following manner. You move your king pawn forward 2 squares. Your opponent pushes his kings pawn up 2 squares as well. (the most common response) You move your queen out diagonaly to the right all the way to the edge of the board. If the other player is ambitious, they will most likely advance the knight's pawn 1 square to attack your queen. At that point, you move to capture your opponent's king pawn with your queen. This will place the king in check, forcing him to block the check with a piece. Then, since he moved his knight's pawn, the path will be clear for you to capture the kings rook. this sets you up with one of his rooks out of the way, and you have controll over the center of the board.

====Pinning====
This strategy involves maneuvering your piece, so that there is an enemy piece in between your attacking piece and another more valuable enemy piece. This creates a situation in where the opponent cannot move the piece in question without losing the more valuable piece behind it, effectively "pinning" the piece. A pinned piece can be easily taken.

===Other Strategy===
====Doubling Rooks====
Placing both Rooks together in a rank or file with no pieces in between is a powerful method of attack, because each rook defends the other.

====Sacrificing====
When a player intentionaly allows one of his own pieces to be taken in exchange for better position is called '''Sacrificing'''. Often the piece is offerend in an attempt to get the players opponenet to weaken his own defenses by capturing with a piece that is had been in a good defensive position.

===Relative Value of Pieces===
There are several different ideas about the relative value of the pieces. It is important to note that the "points" used to assign a value to each piece are hypothetical and do not constitute a score.

The method most often used is:
*Pawn--1
*Knight--3 (some say 2.5)
*Bishop--3
*Rook--5
*Queen--9
*King--Priceless (although in an endgame, the King has an attacking power of about 3)

[[Category:board games]]

Conservapedia talk:How Conservapedia Differs from Wikipedia

2007-04-15T20:03:35Z

MountainDew: /* User names? */

Penis

2007-04-15T09:29:48Z

MountainDew: changed delete template per Hoji's suggestion on Andy's talk page

Scots

2007-04-15T09:28:36Z

MountainDew:

Scots refers to the indiginous language of lowland [[Scotland]] and parts of the north of [[Ireland]] where it is also known as Ulster Scots.
Since there are no universally accepted criteria for distinguishing languages from dialects, scholars and other interested parties often disagree about the linguistic, historical and social status of Scots. Although a number of paradigms for distinguishing between languages and dialects do exist these often render contradictory results Consequently Scots has, on the one hand, been traditionally regarded as one of the ancient dialects of English but with its own ancient and distinct dialects. Scots has often been treated as part of English as spoken in Scotland but differs significantly from the Standard Scottish English taught in schools. On the other hand, it has been regarded as a distinct Germanic language the way Swedish is distinct from Danish. Its subordination to Anglo-English has also been compared to the subordination of Frisian to Dutch in the Netherlands.Thus Scots can be interpreted as a collective term for the dialects of English spoken or originating in Scotland, or it can be interpreted as the autochthonous language of Lowland Scotland.<ref>A.J. Aitken in ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' p.894</ref>
The British Government has accepted the second interpretation:
:"The UK Government announced on 4 June 1998 its decision to sign the Council of Europe Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. This came into effect as of the 1 July 2001. The Scots language will be covered by Part II of the Charter. By applying Part II of the Charter to Scots the Government will be recognising the distinctive nature and cultural value of the language." <ref>http://conventions.coe.int/treaty/en/Treaties/Html/148.htm</ref>

==Web Links==

* [http://www.scots-online.org/ Scots-online]
* [http://www.scotslanguage.com/ Scots Language Centre]
* [http://www.scotstext.org/ ScotsteXt] - books, poems and texts in Scots
* [http://www.scots-online.org/dictionary The Online Scots Dictionary]
* [http://www.dsl.ac.uk/dsl/ The Dictionary of the Scots Language]
==References==
<references/>

Lawrence

2007-04-15T09:20:00Z

MountainDew:

'''Lawrence''' is a city in eastern [[Kansas]] that is the home to the [[University of Kansas]]. In 1863, it was raided by pro-slavery raider [[William Quantrill]], who led forces that killed approximately 200 males, practically the entire male population of the town.

Notable residents of the town have included [[Langston Hughes]], [[Jim Ryun]], and [[James Naismith]].

Kansas

2007-04-15T09:17:16Z

MountainDew:

'''Kansas''' is a Midwestern state which became the 34th state admitted to the Union on January 29, 1861. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest cities are, in order, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City. The name ''Kansas'' comes from a Sioux word meaning "people of the south wind".

==History==
Kansas was admitted as a [[free state]] in the midst of [[Bleeding Kansas|guerilla warfare]] between pro-slavery and abolitionist forces that erupted in the wake of the passage of the [[Kansas-Nebraska Act]] of 1854. <ref>http://www.legendsofamerica.com/OZ-BleedingKansas.html</ref> This act provided for an election to determine whether Kansas would be a free state or a slave state, and many people flooded into the state to vote. The vote process was not easy, and was rife with accusations of voter fraud. <ref>http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/kansas.htm</ref> Noted abolitionist [[John Brown]] led anti-slavery forces during some of this time period. This violence continued after Kansas was admitted to the union, and the worst example was the destruction of the city of [[Lawrence]] by pro-slavery guerilla [[William Quantrill]] on August 21, 1863, which killed most of the male population of the town. <ref>http://www.legendsofamerica.com/OZ-Lawrence2.html</ref>

==Politics==
Kansas is perhaps one of the most consistent examples of a [[red state]], having voted for the Republican candidate in every presidential election since 1964. 71% of voters supported a ban on gay marriage in 2005 <ref>http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/04/05/national/main685831.shtml</ref>, and both of its senators (Pat Roberts and [[Sam Brownback]] are Republicans), and there is a general sense that the Republican primaries are more important than general elections on a state level. However, this may be changing. [[Kathleen Sebelius]], the widely popular governor, is a Democrat and in her second term. In the 2006 attorney general race, Democrat Paul Morrison defeated incumbent Phill Kline, who had strenuously pushed a conservative agenda, most notably his relentless, yet ultimately futile, legal pursuit of abortion provider George Tiller. The publicity from these activities has been credited with his defeat. Former Rep. [[Jim Ryun]]'s surprise loss to Nancy Boyda in 2006 has created a situation in which two out of the four U.S. Representatives (Boyda and Dennis Moore, who represents the affluent suburban area near Kansas City) are Democrats. (The two Republicans are Todd Tiahrt and Jerry Moran).

==Miscellaneous==
Kansas exports more wheat than any other state. Kansas's economy is heavily dependent upon agriculture. <ref>http://www.fas.usda.gov/info/factsheets/CAFTA/ks.html</ref>

Kansas's motto is ''ad astra per aspera'', which is Latin for "to the stars through difficulties." Its state flower is the sunflower, its state tree is the cottonwood, and its state bird is the Western meadowlark.

[[Helium]] was first found in natural gas at the University of Kansas in Lawrence in 1905. <ref>http://www.news.ku.edu/2000/00N/AprNews/Apr7/bailey.html</ref>

The term "What would Jesus do?" was first used by Charles Sheldon, a Topeka minister, in 1896. <ref>http://www.mastersimage.com/articles/ihs.htm</ref>

Cawker City is home to the world's largest ball of twine, which has a 40 foot circumference<ref>http://skyways.lib.ks.us/towns/Cawker/twine.html</ref>, and Greensburg is home to the world's deepst hand dug well, which is 109 feet deep. <ref>http://www.bigwell.org/bigwell.html</ref>.

Although Dorothy Gale, in the 1900 book and 1939 film ''The Wizard of Oz'', is from Kansas, L. Frank Baum, the author of the Oz books, had never been to Kansas, and based his description of a state where 'everything was grey' on his experiences as a newspaper man in [[North Dakota]].

The default position for the mapping program [[Google Earth]] is Lawrence. <ref>http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2005/dec/21/lawrence_pinpointed_center_google_earth/</ref>

==Notable Kansans==

[[Sam Brownback]], current US Senator and 2008 Presidential candidate, was born in Parker, attended Kansas State University, and currently represents Kansas in the Senate.

[[Bob Dole]], former US Senator and the 1996 Republican nominee for President, grew up in Russell.

[[Amelia Earhart]], the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, was from Abilene.

[[Dwight Eisenhower]], president of the United States from 1952 to 1960, grew up in Abilene.

[[Thomas Frank]], an author who is most well known for his book ''What's the Matter with Kansas?'', a look at the political history of Kansas written from a liberal perspective.

[[James Naismith]], inventor of the game of basketball, was a professor and coach at the University of Kansas in Lawrence.

[[Gordon Parks]], an award-winning African-American photographer and writer, was from Fort Scott.

[[Jim Ryun]], a three time Olympic gold medalist who held the world record in the mile run and served several terms in the House of Representatives, is originally from Wichita but now lives in Lawrence.

[[William Allen White]], a journalist who is most well known for his bitter piece of conservative satire, ''What's the Matter With Kansas?'', lived in Emporia. (Note: The title of the aforementioned Frank book is a reference to the article by White, which precedes Frank's book by over 100 years.)

The 1970s progressive rock band [[Kansas]], known for the songs [[Carry On My Wayward Son]] and [[Dust in the Wind]] takes its name from the state.

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:US state]]

Lawrence

2007-04-15T09:16:24Z

MountainDew: where I am

Omaha

2007-04-15T09:07:57Z

MountainDew:

'''Omaha''' is the largest city in [[Nebraska]]. It is the home of investor [[Warren Buffett]] and [[Creighton University]], and was the birthplace of [[Gerald Ford]].

[[Category:American Cities]]

Nebraska

2007-04-15T09:07:35Z

MountainDew:

'''Nebraska''' is the thirty-seventh state to enter into the Union. It is located in the Midwest and borders Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Wyoming, and South Dakota.

==Notable Nebrakans==

[[William Jennings Bryan]], former presidential candidate, Populist statesman, and participant in the Scopes trial in the 1920s, lived in Lincoln.

[[Gutzon Borglun]], who designed Mount Rushmore, grew up in Nebraska.

Billionaire investor [[Warren Buffett]] lives in [[Omaha]].

Famous author [[Willa Cather]], best known for her novel ''My Antonia'', grew up in Red Cloud, an experience which inspired the book.

President [[Gerald Ford]] was born in Omaha.

[[L. Ron Hubbard]], founder of the Church of Scientology, was born in Tilden.

Charles Starkweather, one of the most notorious serial killers in American history, was electrocuted in Nebraska.

{{stub2}}

[[Category:US state]]

Leon Czolgosz

2007-04-15T09:06:52Z

MountainDew:

[[image:Leonczolgosz55.jpg‎|thumb|right| Leon Czolgosz]]
'''Leon Czolgosz''' was the assasin of President [[William McKinley]]. He involved with various anarchist groups, and he was influenced by known anarchists such as [[Emma Goldman]]. On September 6, 1901, he shot and killed the president in Buffalo, New York. The assasination took place at the [[Pan-American Exposition]], a large exposition/fair. Czolgosz was [[Capital punishment|executed]] by the electric chair on October 29, 1901.

His crime is the subject of the song, "The Ballad of Czolgosz," in the [[Stephen Sondheim]] musical [[Assassins]].
[[category:political people]]

Assassination

2007-04-15T09:06:23Z

MountainDew:

'''Assassination''' is the act of murdering a high ranking politician or an otherwise important figure. Assassinations are usually politically motivated, compared with other murders, although many assassins suffered from some sort of mental imbalance. Revenge, monetary gain, and military operations may also be reasons for assassination.

==Famous People Who Were Assassinated==

*[[John F. Kennedy|John F. Kennedy]]
*[[Martin Luther King|Martin Luther King Jr.]]
*[[Robert Kennedy]]
*[[Franz Ferdinand]]
*[[William McKinley]]
*[[Abraham Lincoln]]
*[[Julius Caesar]]
*[[James Garfield]]

==Famous Assassins==
*[[Sirhan Sirhan]]
*[[John Wilkes Booth]]
*[[Leon Czolgosz]]
*[[Lee Harvey Oswald]]

Loam

2007-04-15T08:47:27Z

MountainDew: Reverted edits by All Fish Welcome (Talk); changed back to last version by TempestHead

A mixture of gravel, sand, silt, and clay.<ref>Wile, Dr. Jay L. ''Exploring Creation With Biology''. Apologia Educational Ministries, Inc. 1998</ref>

{{stub2}}

==References==
<references/>

Talk:Martin Luther King

2007-04-15T08:43:50Z

MountainDew:

Too bad this page is protected. There's nothing here about his extramarital affairs, his plagiarism, or his support for socialism. [[User:AppliedFaith|AppliedFaith]] 04:24, 15 April 2007 (EDT)
:Oh good God in Heaven, are you trying to discredit Martin Luther King Jr.? The man is an American ICON. Thats like trying to discredit JFK or Lincoln. I think every city has a street named after MLK.--[[User:Elamdri|Elamdri]] 04:25, 15 April 2007 (EDT)
::He's an icon for liberals and Negroes, not for all Americans. [[User:AppliedFaith|AppliedFaith]] 04:37, 15 April 2007 (EDT)
:::Well, if you wanna hate the man according to your twisted beliefs, be my guest. Btw, since when is Socialism a vice?--[[User:Elamdri|Elamdri]] 04:39, 15 April 2007 (EDT)
Give me a break. [[User:MountainDew|MountainDew]] 04:43, 15 April 2007 (EDT)

RMS Titanic

2007-04-15T08:43:23Z

MountainDew: /* Passengers */

[[Image:Rms2.jpg|thumb|300px|right|R.M.S. ''Titanic'', April 10, 1912.]]
'''R.M.S.''Titanic''''' was a luxury passenger liner which sank after striking an iceberg on the night of April 14, 1912, while on its maiden voyage from [[Southampton]], England, to New York City, killing 1,517 passengers and crew. The men allowed women and children to go first in filling the lifeboats. This disaster has been the subject of films, plays, literature, and scientific scrutiny.

==Description==
''Titanic'' was built to sail the highly-competitive North Atlantic route by White Star Line. Its chief competitor was Cunard, whose vessels recently garnered attention for their speed and luxury. Designed and built by the Belfast firm Harland and Wolff, ''Titanic'' was at the time of her launch and outfitting the largest ship afloat: its gross tonnage was 46,329 tons, and displaced 66,000 tons fully-laden; it was 882.5 feet long and 92.5 feet across the beam. For safety it was built with a double-bottom hull, which was further divided into sixteen watertight compartments, which would not affect the ship's stability if four were flooded.

==Maiden voyage==
''Titanic'' left Southampton on April 10, 1912, picking up additional passengers at Cherbourg, France, and Queenstown (now Cobh), Ireland, before heading out into the Atlantic. At 11:40 pm on April 14, the ship was about 400 miles south of Newfoundland when it collided with an iceberg, rupturing six watertight compartments on the starboard side, resulting in flooding of the bow, and eventually flooding each watertight compartment aft until the ship broke apart at the surface and sank at 2:20 am on April 15. The 706 survivors were rescued by the Cunard liner ''Carpathia'', which was more than 50 miles away when it first heard the distress calls; she arrived some eighty minutes after the ''Titanic'' went down.

==Passengers==

Several of the wealthiest and most prominent persons in the world were passengers on the Titanic for its prestigious maiden voyage. To their credit, they voluntarily went down with the ship and died rather than take a spot on a lifeboat from others.

A full passenger list is available that highlights who survived and who did not.[http://www.lva.lib.va.us/whoweare/exhibits/titanic/p2.htm]

Prominent Americans who went down with the ship included Mr. Benjamin Guggenheim, of the family that donated the Guggenheim Museum of modern art in New York City, Major Archibald Butt, a military aide to President Taft, and Colonel J.J. Astor, whose great grandfather was the wealthiest American prior to the Civil War. Colonel J.J. Astor was an inventor and science fiction writer who helped build three great hotels in New York City: the Astoria (now the Waldorf-Astoria), the Knickerbocker, and the St. Regis.[http://www.britannica.com/titanic/astor.html]

==Inquiries==
Inquiries conducted in both Great Britain and the United States determined a number of factors which contributed to the loss of the ship and passengers.

The watertight compartments were designed without capping at the top; water filling the six ruptured compartments pulled the bow of the ship down far enough that water spilled over the top of the next compartment in line. ''Titanic'' also had 16 standard lifeboats and 4 collapsibles, with enough combined space to carry 1,178 passengers, far short of the 2,224 persons aboard; many of the lifeboats were lowered down the side only partialy filled with passengers (many of those remaining onboard initially believed the ship to be "unsinkable"). Although the number of lifeboats was determined to be inadequate, [http://www.titanicinquiry.org/BOTInq/BOTReport/BOTRepRec.php#a2] the Titanic had in actuality exceeded the British Board of Trade's lifeboat regulations, which had been written down for much smaller ships.

Both inquiries also determined that part of the blame for the high loss of passengers rested with Captain Stanley Lord of the liner ''Californian'', which was stopped for the night by an ice field some twenty miles from ''Titanic''. The board members alleged that ''Californian'' could have aided ''Titanic'' had its radio operator been on duty after 11:00 pm, and able to hear its distress signals. Indeed, it was determined that officers on the bridge of the ''Californian'' had seen distress lights from what they considered to be a "large passenger steamer", keeping under observation until the lights vanished after 2:00 am, but doing nothing further than that [http://www.titanicinquiry.org/BOTInq/BOTReport/BOTRepCalifornian.php].

Of the passengers who went into the water, only six were pulled out alive, and only by efforts of surviving officers in several boats going through a sea of bodies. Hypothermia killed the remainder, as the water was about 29 degrees farenheit. Many of those who perished came from wealthy, prominent families in Europe and America, among them the heirs to the Straus fortune and the owners of Macy's department store in New York City. The disaster also had its heroes, such as the ship's band assembled on the stern in order to keep remaining passengers calm; and the "Unsinkable" Molly Brown, who forcibly took the tiller away from a rowboat crewman and forced everyone in her lifeboat to go back for people in the water. [http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic_victims/][http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/manifest.php?q=5]

As a result of the loss of ''Titanic'', in 1913 the first International Convention for Safety of Life at Sea was opened in London, England. Among the rules drawn up were requirements that each voyage hold lifeboat drills; that every ship have lifeboat space for each person onboard; and ships maintain a 24-hour radio watch. The International Ice Patrol was also created to keep watch on North Atlantic sea lanes and give ships adequate warnings of icebergs found. The United States Congress also passed the Wireless Ship Act in 1912; it stipulated that all vessels carrying more than 50 people and traveling more than two hundred miles off the coast carry a wireless capable of at least a 100-mile range.

==''Titanic'' found==
[[Image:5462536r.jpg|right|thumb|Titanic's bow as seen from the Russian MIR I submersible.]]
The wreck was found on September 1, 1985 at 41°46′ N 50°14′ W, under 13,000 feet of water, by an American/French team led by Dr. Robert Ballard of Woods Hole Institute and Jean-Louis Michel of Ifremer. Remote submersibles photographed the wreckage, which was in two pieces lying upright, confirming some witness accounts of the ship breaking in two at the surface. Further explorations by Ballard and Ifremer could not find evidence of a long gash caused by the iceberg and cited on the original reports; instead it was postulated that a series of rivet popping combined with separation of seams and brittle fracturing in the hull plating allowed the water to rush in.

==Further reading==
*Ballard, Robert D. ''The Discovery of the Titanic'' Warner Books, New York, (1995)
*Butler, Daniel Allen. ''Unsinkable: The Full Story of RMS Titanic'', Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA (1998).
*Collins, L. M. ''The Sinking of the Titanic: The Mystery Solved'' Souvenir Press, London (2003)
*Gardener, R & van der Vat, D ''The Riddle of the Titanic'' Orion, London (1995)
*Kentley, Eric. ''Discover the Titanic'', DK Inc, New York (1997)
*Lord, Walter. ''A Night to Remember'', Bantam, New York (1997).
*Lynch, Donald and Marschall, Ken. ''Titanic: An Illustrated History'', Hyperion, New York (1995)
*Marcus, Geoffrey. ''The Maiden Voyage'', Buccaneer Books, New York (1991)
*Pellegrino, Charles R. ''Her Name, Titanic'' Avon, New York (1990)
*Wade, Wyn Craig. ''The Titanic: End of a Dream.'' Penguin Books, New York (1986)
*Wels, Susan. ''Titanic: Legacy of the World's Greatest Ocean Liner'', Time-Life, New York (1997)

==Links==
*[http://www.titanicinquiry.org/USInq/USReport/AmInqRep03.php United States inquiry]
*[http://www.titanicinquiry.org/BOTInq/BOT01.php Great Britain inquiry]
*[http://www.titanichistoricalsociety.org Titanic Historical Society]
*[http://www.paullee.com/titanic/index.html Titanic essays and links]
*[http://titanic.deep-ice.com/ Titanic Archive]
*[http://www.titanic-titanic.com/ Titanic-Titanic.com]
*[http://www.titanic-online.com/ RMS Titanic, Inc] The official ''Titanic'' archive.
*[http://www.atlanticliners.com/titanic_home.htm ''Titanic Home'' at Atlantic Liners.]
*[http://news.titanic.org.uk/ Titanic News Headlines]
*[http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/ Encyclopedia Titanica]
[[category:history]]

Chess

2007-04-15T08:42:04Z

MountainDew: /* Relative Value of Pieces */

[[Image:Staunton chess set.jpg|right|thumb|300px|A typical chess set and tournament clock.]]
'''Chess''' is a turn-based board game for two players, and is generally considered the most popular game in the world.<ref>[http://50.lycos.com/082902.asp Equally Popular:Board Games], ''Lycos''</ref> Chess has its roots in [[India]], where locals played a game called Shaturanga. The earliest extant description of the game is contained in the [[Bhavishya Purana]], which dates from A.D. 300 to A.D. 600. [[European]] travelers visited India in the 15th century, and brought back knowledge of the game, and modern chess was developed in southern Europe. The goal of the game is to place the opposing king into ''checkmate'', that is, a position in which the king is attacked and cannot escape from this situation.

Shaturanga used [[dice]], but [[Hinduism]] bans gambling. As a result, the game of chess developed free from any dice or chance.

Modern international chess has a powerful, sweeping [[queen]] who was not in the original game. The long reach of bishops today was also lacking at first. Maneuvers such as castling or capturing en passant have been developed within the past few hundred years.

Today, chess is one of the most popular board games in the world. International competition, including world championship events, is organized by an organization called FIDE and American competition organized by the USCF (United States Chess Federation). The only American world champion was [[Robert J. Fischer]]. The current world champion is Russian Vladimir Kramnik.

==Pieces==
[[Image:StauntonPieces.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Staunton Style chess pieces.]]
Each player has a total of 16 pieces; 8 pawns, 2 bishops, 2 knights, 2 rooks, 1 queen, 1 king. 
*The '''pawn''' moves one square forward, except on its first move, when it can optionally move two. It captures opposing pieces by capturing one square diagonally. It cannot capture in a backward diagonal motion. All other pieces capture opposing pieces by moving to the square on which the opposing piece is. A player cannot capture one of his own pieces. 
*The '''bishop''' can move as many squares as desired diagonally. 
*The '''knight''', which is the only piece that can jump over other pieces, moves one square in one straight direction and two in the other. 
*The '''rook''' can move as many squares as desired in a straight direction. 
*The '''queen''' is the most powerful piece in the board. It can move as many squares as desired (without jumping over another piece), either straight or diagonally. 
*The '''king''', which is the most important piece on the board, moves one square, either straight or diagonally.

Players may occassionally assign point values to pieces, which are roughly indicative of the piece's strategic importance. The common point values are noted above.

The most popular style of pieces are known as Staunton style pieces, the tournament standard for chess pieces, although other types exist. Often, popular themed chess sets will appear with characters from popular culture or fiction taking the places of the more common Staunton style pieces. These novelty pieces are not tournament sanctioned however, and can sometimes cause confusion during gameplay as to which piece is which.

Although chess pieces can come in a variety of materials, marble and glass tend to be very popular, but for most chess tournaments, simple plastic pieces are usually favored. Also, while many home chess sets use heavy boards made out of wood or stone or some polymer material, tournament boards are actually roll-able mats with the board printed on it.

==Gameplay ==
All pieces attack each other along their lines of motion - if a piece could move to occupy the location of another piece, it can therefore be taken. The only piece that does not attack along lines of motion is the '''pawn''', which can only attack diagonally by one square. A piece is said to be undefended if it has no piece "supporting" its position - i.e., preventing an opponent from taking it by threat of losing his attacking piece.

The goal of the game is to protect your own '''King''' while attacking your opponent's. Every time the King is under direct '''threat''' from another piece - queen, bishop, et al, the King is said to be under '''check.''' When a player is in check, the King must be protected - no move that fails to remedy the check is acceptable.

When check is not correctable - as in, when the King is under check, and no move can be made to extract him, the King is under '''checkmate''', and the opposing player wins. Alternately, if the King is NOT under check, but the player cannot move with any other piece, and the King cannot be moved without placing himself in check, '''stalemate''' occurs, which means that the game is a draw.

The player with the White pieces always moves first.

When a pawn reaches the far side of the board, it may be promoted to any other piece (except a King).
==Special Moves==
*'''Castling'''- When a player has no pieces between a rook and his king, and he has not moved either piece, he can move the king two squares in the direction of the rook, and then place the rook on the square that the king passed over. The king cannot move through a square under attack or if castling would put the king in check.
*'''en passant'''- French for "In passing." In chess, if a player pushes his pawn far down to the end of the board, and his opponent pushes a starting pawn 2 spaces ahead, to put the pawn on the same row to avoid confrontation, the player may choose to invoke the "en passant" move, which treats the enemy pawn as though it had only moved one space. The player may capture diagonally on the square '''behind''' the enemy pawn, and remove the enemy pawn. The principle is that the two space rule for a pawn's first move cannot be used to avoid confrontation between two pawns. However, the player may only invoke "en passant" on the first turn after the opponent pushes his pawn. You cannot make it after than turn.

== Strategy==
There are several classic chess moves that form the basis of any strategy -
* '''"Double-filing"''' - placing two Rooks in line with each other creates a very powerful vertical or horizontal force along that line.
*'''Forking''' - attacking two undefended pieces simultaneously with one piece of your own. This forces your opponent to, essentially, choose which piece to sacrifice. Forking between rooks is a common strategy, especially with a knight. Forking between a rook and a king is common, too, since the player obviously cannot surrender his King!
*'''Pinning'''- this strategy involves maneuvering your piece, so that there is an enemy piece in between your piece and the enemy king. This creates a situation in where the opponent cannot move the piece in question anymore, because to do so would be to place the king in check, effectively "pinning" the piece. This strategy can be used to make taking the piece in question an easy task, or by keeping the piece in question from interfering in a future attack.
*'''Sacrificing for Position'''- This involves intentionally allowing your opponent to take a piece, in order to open up for a counter attack. By offering up the piece, the opponent may weaken his defenses by attacking it, allowing for a decisive strike.
*'''The Pickle'''-This is a special gambit in chess that may work on inexperienced players. By pushing king's pawn as your opening move. If your opponent pushes kings pawn as well (the most common response to kings pawn is to push kings pawn), then move the queen to h5 on the board. If the player is ambitious, they will most likely advance the knight's pawn to g6 to attack your queen. At that point, move the queen to take the king's pawn on e6. This will place the king in check, forcing him to block the check with a piece. Then, since he moved his knight's pawn, the path will be clear for you to capture the kings rook, effectively removing one pawn and one rook from the game by turn 7 and imbedding your queen behind his front lines.
[[Category:board games]]

===Relative Value of Pieces===
There are several different ideas about the relative value of the pieces. It is important to note that the "points" used to assign a value to each piece are hypothetical and do not constitute a score.

The method most often used is:
*Pawn--1
*Knight--3 (some say 2.5)
*Bishop--3
*Rook--5
*Queen--9
*King--Priceless (although in an endgame, the King has an attacking power of about 3)

Talk:Martin Luther King

2007-04-15T08:38:30Z

MountainDew:

Talk:Martin Luther King

2007-04-15T08:33:33Z

MountainDew:

Critical mass

2007-04-15T08:14:40Z

MountainDew: Reverted edits by All Fish Welcome (Talk); changed back to last version by N

The amount of [[isotopes|isotope]] necessary to cause an explosion due to a chain reaction.<ref>Wile, Dr. Jay L. ''Exploring Creation With Physical Science''. Apologia Educational Ministries, Inc. 1999, 2000</ref>

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Physics]]

Virus

2007-04-15T08:14:34Z

MountainDew: Reverted edits by All Fish Welcome (Talk); changed back to last version by Aschlafly

A '''virus''' is a non-[[cell]]ular infectious agent that has two characteristics: It has genetic material (either [[DNA]] or [[RNA]]) inside a protective [[protein]] coat, and it cannot reproduce itself.<ref>Wile, Dr. Jay L. ''Exploring Creation With Biology''. Apologia Educational Ministries, Inc. 1998</ref> To reproduce itself, it needs to infect a cell. The genetic material is inserted into the cell, and the reproductive machinery of that cell is then effectively "hijacked": the cell starts to produce components of new virus particles. These components spontaneously self-assemble and the new virus particles can then infect other cells, where the same process happens.

Examples of viruses include the [[influenza]] virus, the common cold, [[smallpox]] and [[polio]].

==References==

<references/>

[[Category:Biology]]

Heat capacity

2007-04-15T08:14:25Z

MountainDew: Reverted edits by All Fish Welcome (Talk); changed back to last version by AustinM

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left"
|+ Heat Capacities of Common Substances
|-
! Substance !! Heat Capacity <math>\left ( \frac{cal}{g.^0C} \right )</math>
|-
| Copper || 0.092
|-
| Iron || 0.108
|-
| Styrofoam || 11.95
|-
| Glass || 0.200
|}<ref>Wile, Dr. Jay L. ''Exploring Creation With Chemistry''. Apologia Educational Ministries, Inc. 1998</ref>

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Chemistry]]

Antichrist

2007-04-15T08:08:58Z

MountainDew: Reverted edits by Saxonwhittle (Talk); changed back to last version by Jaques

The word '''Antichrist''' comes from the [[Greek]] αντί-χριστος (''anti''-''khristos''), meaning ''opposite of Christ''. The Greek word ''anti'' can also mean 'instead of' or "equal to, like" so that the phrase can also be interpreted as meaning ''in place of, or like, Christ''.

All that the [[Bible]] actually says about the Antichrist (KJV), however, is:

:I John 2:18 'as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now there are many antichrists'

:I John 2:22 'Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieith the Father and the Son.'

:I John 4:3 'And every spirit that confesseth not that [[Jesus]] Christ is come in the flesh is not of [[God]]: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

:2 John 7: 'For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.'

Thus, all these references are to a ''generalized concept'', applicable to anybody who is 'against Christ', not to a particular person. Moreover, they make it clear that such 'antichrists' were already present in the world nearly two thousand years ago.

There are ''no'' other references to the term in the Bible. Neither the book of [[Daniel]] nor St John's [[Revelation]] (both of them controversial in their own right) mention the concept at all. Thus, if [[Christian]]s choose to link it to anything there, it is they who are making the link, not the Bible.

==Sources==

* Cruden, A., ''Complete Concordance to the Old and New Testaments'' (Lutterworth, 1930)
* ''The Holy Bible'' (King James Version)
* ''The New English Bible'' (Oxford & Cambridge University Presses, 1970)
* ''The New Jerusalem Bible'' (Darton, Longman & Todd, 1990)
* Peake, A.S., ''Commentary on the Bible'' (Nelson, 1962)
* Young, R., ''Analytical Concordance to the Holy Bible'' (Lutterworth, 1939)
[[category:christianity]]

Wicca

2007-04-15T08:08:45Z

MountainDew: Reverted edits by Saxonwhittle (Talk); changed back to last version by Jaques

'''Wicca''' is a [[religion]] which involves the practicing of witchcraft. It has many different sects and groups similar to many other religions. Unlike many other religions, however, Wiccans have no central body or governing organization. Instead, Wiccans either belong to and practice with small, local organizations called "covens" or practice "solitary", either out of choice or necessity, as there are many places in the country were Wiccan groups and organizations are persecuted. This, plus the fact that Wicca is a religion that encourages its followers to question what they are taught and develop their own practices, makes it very difficult to come up with a universal definition of what is a Wiccan. However, most Wiccans do share a few core concepts, including a respect for and a desire to live in rhythm with nature, the worship of a God and a Goddess, and a basic code of ethics.{{fact}} Wicca calls on the practitioner to act as their own priest/ess, interacting directly with Deity rather than through an intermediary as members of the patriarchal religions do.

==Wiccan Morality==
Most Wiccans submit to two basic rules of morality, the Wiccan Rede and the Threefold Law. ''The Rede'' states: "An it harm done, do as you will," meaning that you may do what you like, so long as you do not offer harm to others or to yourself. The Threefold Law states that what you send out in both the mundane and magical planes will return to you, though not necessarily by three.

==Wiccans and Deity==
Wiccans may be either monotheistic or polytheistic; the monotheists simply directing their spells and prayers to Spirit, and the polytheists subscribing to a variety of historical pantheons, including Celtic, Greek, Nordic, Roman, and even Chinese, Japanese, and Indian. Nearly all Wiccans, however, subscribe to the idea of Spirit being divided into two polarities, the male and the female. The male polarity is the God, or the Green Man; the female polarity is the Goddess, whom herself is split into the three parts of Maiden, Mother, and Crone. They are also often called the Lord and Lady.

==Wiccans and Magic==
"Wicca" is a religion. "Witchcraft" is the practice of magic. Most Wiccans are also Witches in that they practice magic, but there are those Wiccans who do not practice magic, and there are those who practice magic, but do not call themselves Wiccans, or even [[Pagan]].

==Wiccan Holy Days==
Wiccans usually celebrate the eight Sabbats and the thirteen Esbats. The Sabbats follow the solar cycle, and are as follows:

*Imbolc (Feb. 1)
*Ostara (March 21)
*[[May Day|Beltaine]] (May 1)
*Midsummer Day (June 21)
*Lammas (Aug. 1, sometimes called Lughnasadh)
*Mabon (Sept. 21)
*[[Halloween|Samhain]] (Oct. 31)

The esbats follow the lunar cycle, and are generally celebrated on the full moon.

==The Four Elements==
Wiccan worship is conducted in a [[circle]], and the participants call on the four traditional elements of [[Air]], [[Fire]], [[Water]], and [[Earth]] at the respective [[cardinal]] points of East, South, West, and North. Air and Fire are considered masculine elements, and Water and Earth are considered feminine. Air is generally represented by an athame or a [[sword]], and stands for the east, the new moon, spring, the intellect, and new beginnings. Fire is represented by a wand or [[candle]], and stands for the south, summer, the waxing moon, will, passion, and transformation. Water is represented by a chalice and stands for the west, the full moon, emotions, cleansing, and the season of fall. Earth is represented by the pentacle or a bowl of salt, and stands for winter, silence, death, the waning moon, and the practical matters of everyday living.

==Wiccans and Ritual==
The general procedure for a Wiccan ritual is as follows:

*Cleansing of the sacred space with incense/[[holy water]]
*Forming of the circle
*Invoking the four quarters/elements
*Invoking the Lord and Lady
*Invoking of the ancestral dead
*State intent of [[ritual]]
*Drawing down of sun/moon (optional)
*Perform magical work
*Cakes and Ale
*Devoke ancestors
*Thank and release Deity
*Thank and release quarters
*Devoke circle
*cleanup

This is not a hard and fast outline, however. The drawing down of the moon would generally only occur during an esbat (see above), just as the drawing down of the sun would generally only occur during a sabbat. A solitary performing a ritual, or a group performing a simpler ritual may not opt to do these things, just as they may not opt to invoke the ancestors or serve the Cakes and Ale.

==Some History of Wicca==
Although there are elements of Wicca which date back to ancient times (the Sabbat fire festivals, for example), most aspects of Wicca are modern and were come up with in the last fifty years. Wicca was first popularized in England by Gerald Gardner after the repeal of Britain's laws banning Witchcraft. Gardner was a noted [[libertarian]], and his politics were very [[conservative]]. These attitudes are still adhered to by those who follow his religion in the form in which he created it, who are known as 'Gardnerians'. Nowadays, there are many forms of Wicca, including Alexandrian, Dianic, [[Druid]]ic, Corellian, Stregha (Italian witchcraft), Faery, and many others. There are also many Solitary and Eclectic practitioners, who follow no set tradition at all.
[[Category:religion]]

User talk:MountainDew

2007-04-15T08:08:08Z

MountainDew: /* You might */

Archive:
*[[User talk:MountainDewarchive1]]
*[[User talk:MountainDewarchive2]]

==Edit-Delete conflict==

Wow! My first ever "you deleted, I edited" conflict. There's not even a word for it.

Hey, don't get me wrong, if you think the article can't be salvaged, go ahead and re-delete. --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] 20:12, 31 March 2007 (EDT)

I don't have a problem with you salvaging it. See my talk page comment. [[User:MountainDew|MountainDew]] 20:13, 31 March 2007 (EDT)

:Thanks, I don't want to alienate my best friend at Conservapedia. :-) --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] 20:22, 31 March 2007 (EDT)

== Mining ==

[http://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Theory_of_evolution&curid=3327&diff=78371&oldid=78363 The definition of quote mining], this edit was done by [[User:Conservative|Conservative]]. I would appreciate some backup when I actually get him to talk, because that edit shows blatant abridging which completely changes the meaning of the quote. --[[User:Hojimachong|'''Hojimachong''']][[User_Talk:Hojimachong|talk]] 20:28, 31 March 2007 (EDT)
:I don't want to get deeper into an edit war, so I kindly ask that you undo Conservative's last revision to [[Theory of evolution]]. I don't know you're personal opinions on the subject, but I do know that you're here to build an encyclopedia (being one of the most prolific editors here), and an intentionally mined quote when the full version is in the last revision is unacceptable. I asked Conservative to provide a reason for his reversions, and he has given none. I would appreciate this. Thanks, --[[User:Hojimachong|'''Hojimachong''']][[User_Talk:Hojimachong|talk]] 20:43, 31 March 2007 (EDT)

== Huey ==

:Even if his ban isn't undone, he can still use email user. You are sure he should be blocked? Geo.[www.conservapedia.com/User_talk:Geo.plrd Talk] 22:55, 31 March 2007 (EDT)

== Pat Robertson, On feminism ==

"The feminist agenda is not about equal rights for women. It is about a socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism, and become lesbians." -- Pat Robertson, fund-raising letter, 1992

Why'd you delete it? He said it, it belongs on the page. --[[User:BDobbs|BDobbs]] 16:38, 1 April 2007 (EDT)

Pat Robertson is "out of the Conservative mainstream"? Since when? The guy ran for president as a Republican back in 1988, and Bush Senior certainly didn't treat him like he was just some kook! --[[User:BDobbs|BDobbs]] 16:50, 1 April 2007 (EDT)

== I will let Andy decide about the pic policy ==

I will let Andy decide about the pic policy. I do know that in private schools aborted baby pics are shown. [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] 01:48, 2 April 2007 (EDT)conservative

== assistance ==

Wanna block [[User:Theimp?]]

== Response ==

I was responding to the state of the Obama article which said that critique indicated that he could not win because he was black.

== My appeal to Conservative ==

Please see Conservative's talk page, at the bottom, and post your opinions on my outlined statements. I would really appreciate your opinion, MD, because you are one of the best editors here. In Christ, --[[User:Hojimachong|'''Hojimachong''']][[User_Talk:Hojimachong|talk]] 00:16, 4 April 2007 (EDT)

== george w. bush ==

I'm trying to figure out how to do this correctly. I'm requesting that information be added to the george w. bush. Here's what I said on the discussion page;

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.

Hope I did this right..

*Well, still no signature so users will know who you are. This is the ''Conserv''apedia, not Wikipedia. The insertions you are asking about are gossipy, thus against our rules. Why do you think poll numbers are germain to the article? Will it make him no longer President? Will it undo the vote? No, and several historians, while a President is still in office, rating someone such is moronic. History is the long view, not the short one. --~ [[User:TK|TerryK]] [[User_talk:TK|MyTalk]] 21:31, 4 April 2007 (EDT)

==Nancy Pelosi==

Why did you remove that information?

It could be worded in a way so as not to call Pelosi a terrorist. [[User:MountainDew|MountainDew]] 16:18, 5 April 2007 (EDT)

I didn't say she was a terrorist, I just said terrorists express support for her.

== Was was my edit reverted? ==

Why did you revert my edit? Do you dispute that the nazi party was right wing? --[[User:C for Conservative|C for Conservative]] 17:52, 5 April 2007 (EDT)

OK, thanks for fixing that. --[[User:C for Conservative|C for Conservative]] 17:56, 5 April 2007 (EDT)
==Please for to see==
Are we allowed to copy 1:1??
[[Amazing grace| Please view the talk page as well]].
::[[User:Rob Pommer| Cracker]][[User_talk:Rob_Pommer|talk]] 23:38, 5 April 2007 (EDT)

== Why can't my name be in blue like everyone else's? ==

Hi Mountain Dew, I'm an Australian contributor to Conservapedia and a good writer and proofreader to boot. Why is my name in plain old black while others have their name in blue and are thus hyperlinked? It's doing my self-esteem ever so much harm. I came to you because I read here that you were an Old World Creationist. I'm a bisexual, atheistic communist revolutionary myself, so naturally I turned to you. MylesP myles325@yahoo.com.au April 6, 2007 AD.

== Biblical Creation Account locked ==

You locked [[Biblical creation account]] (then called "Creation") on 14th March. When did you have in mind to unlock it again? [[User:Philip J. Rayment|Philip J. Rayment]] 11:20, 6 April 2007 (EDT)

== You are doing a great job fighting vandalism ==

You are doing a great job fighting vandalism! I just wanted to let you know that someone appreciates your work. [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] 16:14, 6 April 2007 (EDT)conservative

== Great block ==

Great block on WolfieSmith. You beat me to it!--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 17:44, 6 April 2007 (EDT)

== Canada ==

Sorry to bother you, I'm not trying to start a fight. I'm concerned that CoulterMan is citing dated facts, and not listening to reason when I present it to him. I updated the facts, yet he proceeded to add the dated fact after the one I cited above. As well, he is consistently turning the Canada page into "How Canada Compares to the United States". What are our options for handling this user? --[[User:TrueGrit|TrueGrit]] 23:29, 6 April 2007 (EDT)
:Thank you for locking it. --[[User:TrueGrit|TrueGrit]] 23:32, 6 April 2007 (EDT)

== Happy Easter! ==

Happy Easter to you, Dan!

'''The eleven disciples went to the hill in Galilee where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him, Jesus drew near and said to them, "I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples: baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And I will be with you always, to the end of the age." ''Matthew 28''
 '''Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right. You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him. “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
''—Acts 10:34-43 NIV''''''''

--~ [[User:TK|TK]] [[User_talk:TK|MyTalk]] 04:40, 8 April 2007 (EDT)

== IRC ==

I have no idea how to use Trillian at all :-\, I tried it and didn't like it, so I went back to using ChatZilla, though I think [[User:TK]] uses Trillian, so you might try asking him. Happy Easter! --[[User:Hojimachong|'''Hojimachong''']][[User_Talk:Hojimachong|talk]] 21:36, 8 April 2007 (EDT)

:Quick googling gave [http://www.discarnate.com/boysnextdoor/IRC.html this] and [http://www.gimptalk.com/forum/topic.php?t=18245&start=1 this]. Maybe it helps... --[[User:Sid 3050|Sid 3050]] 21:40, 8 April 2007 (EDT)
==AwaitTawniestmound==
This user is a SirCliff sock. Could you help block the others?Geo.[http://www.conservapedia.com/User_talk:Geo.plrd Talk] 18:15, 9 April 2007 (EDT)

== Liberty ==

Mountain Dew - that's my favorite soda too! I'm glad to see you wrote an article about a Liberty professor. Who was it? If you don't go to school there, what are your connections? Maybe we have mutual friends? --[[User:Thammersmith|Thammersmith]] 19:53, 10 April 2007 (EDT)

I just checked out your article on Professor Habermas, to see if there was anything I could add. Imagine my surprise when I found out that you really got everything down! It is too bad you couldn't see his speech on the "lost tomb," he did a really great job. I'll try and see if I can find a video of it somewhere, he is an amazing speaker. --[[User:Thammersmith|Thammersmith]] 20:03, 10 April 2007 (EDT)

== Impersonating God? ==

It hardly seems necessary to ban someone for that--usually, the lack of their posts being rendered in mile-high letters of flame kind of gives it away. Besides, what if the REAL God posts, and you ban him by accident for being too liberal? That sort of mix-up could only lead to tragedy and Smitings. --[[User:BDobbs|BDobbs]] 00:28, 12 April 2007 (EDT)
:God himself would probably register as "God" (or "Yahweh" :P). --[[User:Hojimachong|'''Hojimachong''']][[User_Talk:Hojimachong|talk]] 00:29, 12 April 2007 (EDT)

== Boxes ==

Add <nowiki>{{userboxtop|MountainDew}} and {{userboxbottom}}.</nowiki>-'''AmesG'''[http://www.conservapedia.com/User_talk:AmesG yo!] 01:55, 12 April 2007 (EDT)

== Good old days ==

I miss the good old days of massive page move vandal attacks... :-(. Well, not really. --[[User:Hojimachong|'''Hojimachong''']][[User_Talk:Hojimachong|talk]] 19:11, 12 April 2007 (EDT)

==Proposed Block Policy==
There has recently been some disagreement over blocks, so I have created a [[User:CPAdmin1/Proposed Block Policy|proposed block policy]]
Tell me what you think. --[[User:CPAdmin1|CPAdmin1]] 23:23, 12 April 2007 (EDT)

==Sysop Pledge==

As my good deed of the day I am requesting that you place this template on your userpage. Participating sysops will earn my respect and gratitude. --[[User:BenjaminS|BenjaminS]] 00:03, 13 April 2007 (EDT)

{{Sysop Pledge}}

== Request unprotection of [[Dick Cheney]] ==

Would it be possible to unprotect [[Dick Cheney]]? I've got a few edits I'd like to make. The move vandalism that appeared to cause the protection isn't possible anymore, and I've got the page on my watchlist now. --[[User:Interiot|Interiot]] 12:27, 1 April 2007 (EDT)

:Me, too, please. --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] 19:00, 13 April 2007 (EDT)

== Thank you ==

Thank you for unblocking CoulterMan! Have you read some of his edits? I never knew that President [[Jimmy Carter]] believed in UFOs and supported space programs so that we could join a galactic civilizations! CoulterMan's stuff is good, and a "nazi" reference is frequently made in American discourse, even if improper.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 21:39, 13 April 2007 (EDT)

== Pledge... ==

I have proudly posted a version of the "Pledge" on my user page, that I can acccept. It includes the Admin guidelines Andy approved, and does not ignore them. --~ [[User:TK|TK]] [[User_talk:TK|MyTalk]] 07:50, 14 April 2007 (EDT)

<div style="width: 550px; text-align: center; border: 1px solid #999; background: #ccc; margin: .5em auto .5em auto; padding: 5px;"><big>'''Sysop Pledge'''</big> As a Conservapedia Sysop, '''''I will never arbitrarily block anyone who is not in violation of the [[Conservapedia Commandments]], and related CP Guidelines.''''' </div>
==You might==
You might want to delete these [[Image:Star Wars Galactic Empire emblem.svg"]] and [[Image:RebelAlliance.jpg]] as they're probably copyright violations. [[User:Rob Pommer| Cracker]][[User_talk:Rob_Pommer|talk]] 18:24, 14 April 2007 (EDT)

test [[User:MountainDew|MountainDew]] 04:08, 15 April 2007 (EDT)

Seattle Seahawks

2007-04-14T23:16:03Z

MountainDew:

The '''Seattle Seahawks''' are a professional [[Football]] team based in [[Seattle]], [[Washington]]. They are members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference (NFC) of the [[National Football League]] (NFL). Up until 2001, the Seahawks were members of the [[American Football Conference]] (AFC) West.

The Seahawks joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team, along with the [[Tampa Bay Buccaneers]].

==Super Bowl==
The Seahawks lost to the [[Pittsburgh Steelers]] in Super Bowl XL after defeating the [[Carolina Panthers]] in the NFC Championship. The Seahawks are the only team to have played in both the AFC and NFC Championship Game.

[[Category:Sports]]

NFL

2007-04-14T23:14:39Z

MountainDew:

The '''National Football League''' (NFL), is composed of 32 professional football teams from the United States. The NFL was orginally formed in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association but in 1922 it officially adopted the name of the National Football League as it is today.

Teams play sixteen regular season games. Twelve teams qualify to the playoffs, which culminates in the NFL's championship game, the Super Bowl. The Indianapolis Colts defeated the Chicago Bears in the 2007 Super Bowl.

==List of Teams==

'''American Football Conference'''

*Baltimore Ravens
*Buffalo Bills
*Cincinatti Bengals
*Cleveland Browns
*Denver Broncos
*Houston Texans
*Indianapolis Colts
*Jacksonville Jaguars
*Kansas City Chiefs
*Miami Dolphins
*[[New England Patriots]]
*New York Jets
*Oakland Raiders
*Pittsburgh Steelers
*San Diego Chargers
*Tennessee Titans

'''National Football Conference'''

*Arizona Cardinals
*Atlanta Falcons
*Carolina Panthers
*Chicago Bears
*Dallas Cowboys
*Detroit Lions
*Green Bay Packers
*Minnesota Vikings
*New Orleans Saints
*New York Giants
*Philadelphia Eagles
*St. Louis Rams
*San Francisco 49ers
*[[Seattle Seahawks]]
*Tampa Bay Buccaneers
*Washington Redskins

[[Category:Sports]]

James Naismith

2007-04-14T23:13:25Z

MountainDew:

'''James Naismith''' (1861-1939) was a [[Canadian]]-born physical education instructor who invented the game of basketball in [[Springfield]],[[ Massachusetts]] in 1892. He later became the basketball coach at the University of [[Kansas]]. Ironically, he is the only coach in the university's history to have an overall losing record.

==See Also==
*[http://www.hoophall.com/history/original_13rules.htm/ Dr. Naismith's original 13 rules of basketball]
[[Category:Basketball]]
[[Category:Biographies]]

User:MountainDew

2007-04-14T23:09:48Z

MountainDew:

<div style="width: 550px; text-align: center; border: 1px solid #999; background: #ccc; margin: .5em auto .5em auto; padding: 5px;"><big>'''Sysop Pledge'''</big> As a Conservapedia Sysop, '''''I will never arbitrarily block anyone who is not in violation of the [[Conservapedia Commandments]], and related CP Guidelines.''''' </div>

{{userboxtop|MountainDew}}
{{User Sysop}}
{{User Godbigbang}}
{{User Donuthole}}
{{User Christian}}
{{User OEC}}
{{User Political Compass|2.13|-1.18}}
{{User faveband|Soundgarden}}
{{userboxbottom|MountainDew}}

[[Image:MNTDND.jpg]]
[[Image:KCCHFS.jpg]]
[[Image:Jayhawk.jpg]]

My name is Dan. I am a sophomore at a Midwestern public university majoring in education, a basketball fan and a tournament chess player.

I expect to spend most of my time cleaning up grammar (let's write in complete sentences, folks!) removing vandalism and adding to entries relating to American history and Christianity, although I don't intend to limit myself to these areas. Lately, I've been working on beefing up the articles of the US presidents and states.

I am a Baptist and an Old-Earth Creationist. I am conservative or libertarian on most political issues with the exception of some environmental issues. I am also a proud Eagle Scout. I love following the Kansas Jayhawks and the Dallas Mavericks in basketball, as well as the Kansas City Chiefs in football.

I can be reached on AIM at FadingToStatic.

'''A few of the pages I have created or contributed extensively to:'''
*[[John Brown]]
*[[Kansas]]
*[[Calvinism]]
*[[Herbert Hoover]]
*[[Basketball]]
*[[Utah]]
*[[Chess]]
*[[Capital punishment]]
*[[Boy Scouts]]

'''Favorite Websites'''
*[http://www.godandscience.org A Christian apologetics site that focuses on science, aimed at a lay audience ] (Warning: Old Earth Alert)
*[http://www.gameknot.com Gameknot online chess]
*[http://www.garyhabermas.com Gary Habermas - more Christian apologetics]
*[http://www.collegehoopsnet.com College basketball news online]

Berlin Wall

2007-04-14T23:02:25Z

MountainDew: What do you mean by accidentally?

The Berlin Wall was a wall in [[Germany]] that separated Communist East Germany from democratic West Germany. It was one of the most visible symbols of the [[Iron Curtain]]. The wall was built in 1961 by the East German government in order to stop the tide of emigration to West Germany due to poor economic and political conditions in East Germany. [http://userpage.chemie.fu-berlin.de/BIW/wall.html] Armed guards patrolled the wall. In 1962, Peter Fechter was shot while attempting to cross into West Germany, and slowly bled to death in front of a large crowd, [http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/episodes/09/1st.draft/] which started a riot and led to Fechter becoming a symbol of resistance against the wall.

The symbolism of the wall as a representative of the divide between capitalism and communism was not lost on American President [[Ronald Reagan]], who, in a famous 1987 speech, urged [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] President [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] to "tear down this wall!" These words proved prophetic, as East Germany on November 9, 1989, announced that the border would be re-opened. The wall was promptly destroyed. Germany reunified the following year.

Omaha

2007-04-14T23:01:40Z

MountainDew:

'''Omaha''' is the largest city in [[Nebraska]]. It is the home of investor [[Warren Buffett]] and [[Creighton University]].

[[Category:American Cities]]

Ulysses S. Grant

2007-04-14T23:00:53Z

MountainDew: somebody apparently chopped off this paragraph midsentence.

{{stub}}

'''Ulysses S. Grant''' was the President of the United States from 1869 to 1877. He was born on April 27, 1822 in Point Pleasant, Ohio. He served as a Union general in the [[Civil War]] and is credited for victory against the south. After his Presidency he had a cancer in his throat and was in great pain for the rest of his life. He struggled to write his memoirs but completed them and they provided money for his family after he died. He died in the morning on July 23, 1885. <ref> Encyclopedia of Presidents - Ulysses S. Grant by Zachary Kent, Children's Press, 1989. </ref>

His administration is often considered to have been one of widespread governmental [[corruption]], giving rise to the ironic term the "Gilded Age" in American history.

==Military Career==

A graduate of West Point, Grant served in the Mexican American War. He tried several businesses after the United States victory, but none of them suceeded.

==Name==
He was actually named Hiram Ulysses Grant by his parents but when he applied for West Point he was accidentally registered Ulysses Simpson Grant. He liked the name better than Hiram Ulysses Grant because it formed the initials H.U.G.<ref> Encyclopedia of Presidents - Ulysses S. Grant by Zachary Kent, Children's Press, 1989. </ref>
[[category:Presidents of the United States]]

==References==

<references/>

John Wilkes Booth

2007-04-14T22:59:30Z

MountainDew:

[[Image:180px-Jwbooth.jpg|right|thumb]]
'''John Wilkes Booth''' was born on May 10, 1838 in [[Maryland]]. He shot [[Abraham Lincoln]] (the 16th President of the United States) on April 14th 1865. He jumped into the president’s box shooting him twice in the back of the head. He then jumped onto the stage, breaking his leg and supposedly yelling “sic semper tyrannus” or "so ends all tyrants". He had several conspirators. One, [[Mary Suratt]] was the first woman hanged in the U.S. and his plan included the assassination of [[William Seward]], Lincoln’s Secretary of State. Booth fled the theatre after he broke his leg and hid with a fellow conspirator in a tobacco barn. The Union cavalry caught up with him and set the barn on fire and shot Booth. Before he died Booth was paralyzed from the struggle and his last words were “Useless! Useless!”
[[category:political people]]

John Major

2007-04-14T22:49:11Z

MountainDew: stub removal

'''Sir John Major''', KG, CH, PC (born 29 March 1943) was the [[Prime Minister]] of [[the United Kingdom]] from November 1990 to May 1997, succeeding [[Margaret Thatcher]] and succeeded by [[Tony Blair]].

Major was elected leader of the British [[Conservative Party]], and hence Prime Minister, following the resignation of [[Margaret Thatcher]]. He was a relatively unknown figure at the time, but he was seen by many, including Lady Thatcher herself, as being firmly on the right of centre (or, at least, as being more conservative then his relatively [[liberal]] main opponent, [[Michael Heseltine]], the man who had brought Lady Thatcher down). He subsequently disappointed many in his party by pursuing relatively [[centrist]] policies. A particular source of contention was his support for the [[Maastricht Treaty]] and the integration of Britain with the [[European Union]] that it brought about. Lady Thatcher criticised Major's European policy both publicly and in private.

Following the Conservatives' surprise victory in the 1992 general election, the popularity both of the party and of Major himself fell dramatically, particularly after a financial crisis in September 1992 known as [[Black Wednesday]], in which the [[Pound]] was forced out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM). Major's approval ratings remained in the doldrums for the remainder of his term in office, and in the May 1997 general election the Conservatives suffered one of their heaviest defeats in history against the newly revamped Labour Party of [[Tony Blair]]. Major was subsequently replaced as Prime Minister by [[Tony Blair]] of the [[Labour Party]] and as leader of the Conservative Party by [[William Hague]].

{{DEFAULTSORT:Major, John}}
[[Category:UK Prime Ministers]]

Rhode Island

2007-04-14T22:43:08Z

MountainDew:

'''Rhode Island''' is the smallest U.S. state in land area and one of the original thirteen colonies. Its area is 1,214 square miles, less than one-seventh the size of [[New Jersey]].

Its official name is actually "Rhode Island and Providence Plantations." So, even though it is the smallest state in the United States, it has the longest name.

''Providence,'' the capital of Rhode Island was founded by [[Roger Williams]]. It was the first government in the world to be founded on the principles of religious liberty, and separation of church and state. This was very different from the situation in Boston, which was ruled by the [[Puritan]] [[theocracy]]. [[Quaker]]s, for example, were welcome in Rhode Island but not permitted in Boston. A Quaker named Mary Dyer was put to death in Boston for preaching Quakerism.

==Notable Rhode Islanders==

[[Nathaniel Greene]]
 
[[Roger Williams]]

{{stub2}}

[[Category:US state]]

Rhode Island

2007-04-14T22:42:54Z

MountainDew: this looks obscene even though it isn't

'''Rhode Island''' is the smallest U.S. state in land area and one of the original thirteen colonies. Its area is 1,214 square miles, less than one-seventh the size of [[New Jersey]].

Its official name is actually "Rhode Island and Providence Plantations." So, even though it is the smallest state in the United States, it has the longest name.

''Providence,'' the capital of Rhode Island was founded by [[Roger Williams]]. It was the first government in the world to be founded on the principles of religious liberty, and separation of church and state. This was very different from the situation in Boston, which was ruled by the [[Puritan]] [[theocracy]]. [[Quaker]]s, for example, were welcome in Rhode Island but not permitted in Boston. A Quaker named Mary Dyer was put to death in Boston just for preaching Quakerism.

==Notable Rhode Islanders==

[[Nathaniel Greene]]
 
[[Roger Williams]]

{{stub2}}

[[Category:US state]]

Talk:The

2007-04-14T22:36:16Z

MountainDew:

Does this article really need to exist? [[User:MountainDew|MountainDew]] 18:21, 14 April 2007 (EDT) 
Yes, every article should exist. [[User:Ribbix|Ribbix]] 18:34, 14 April 2007 (EDT)
:No, that wastes space. --[[User:Hojimachong|'''Hojimachong''']][[User_Talk:Hojimachong|talk]] 18:36, 14 April 2007 (EDT)
And bandwidth. [[User:MountainDew|MountainDew]] 18:36, 14 April 2007 (EDT)

Arab-Israeli conflict

2007-04-14T22:33:36Z

MountainDew: Reverted edits by HI IM robS. ASSHOLE (Talk); changed back to last version by Jaques

The '''Arab-Israeli conflict''' ([[Arabic]] "الصراع العربي الإسرائيلي", [[Hebrew]] "הסכסוך הישראלי ערבי") is a term used to refer to the recurring conflict between the citizens of [[Israel]] and the Arab states of the [[Middle East]] (notably [[Egypt]], [[Syria]], [[Jordan]], [[Iraq]], and [[Lebanon]]). Many wars have been fought between the State of Israel and other Arab nations in the region.

==List of Conflicts==
*[[1929 Hebron massacre]]
*[[1948 Arab-Israeli War]]
*[[Suez Crisis]]
*[[Six-Day War]]
*[[War of Attrition]]
*[[Yom Kippur War]]
*[[1982 Lebanon War]]
*[[1982-2000 South Lebanon conflict]]
*[[Gulf War]]
*[[Second Intifada]]
*[[2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict]]

[[Category:wars]]

==Books==

From Time Immemorial: The Origins of the Arab-Jewish Conflict
by Joan Peters

Myths and Facts: A Guide to the Arab-Israeli Conflict
By Mitchell G. Bard

The Fight for Jerusalem
By Dore Gold

The Case for Israel
by Alan M. Dershowitz

==The Israeli Perspective==

[http://www.us-israel.org/jsource/myths/mftoc.html Myths & Facts: A Guide to the Arab-Israeli Conflict]

[http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/go.asp?MFAH0ken0 Frequently Asked Questions About Israel]

[http://www.eretzyisroel.org/~samuel Fact and Fantasy in the Holy Land]

[http://www.science.co.il/Arab-Israeli-conflict.asp Arab-Israeli conflict - Basic facts]

[http://www.meforum.org/article/522 The Smoking Gun: Arab Immigration into Palestine, 1922-1931]

[http://palestinefacts.org History, maps & facts]

[http://www.conceptwizard.com/info.html Concept wizard info, Visual information about the Middle East conflict]

[http://www.iris.org.il/sizemaps.htm Israel Size Comparison Maps]

[http://lindasog.com/public/terrorvictims.htm A History of Terrorism in Israel (since the 1920's)]

[http://www.middle-east-info.org MEI- Middle East regimes and Terrorism]

[http://www.infoisrael.net/cgi-local/xmlpath.pl?id=3 IHC Historical Facts]

==Historical Accounts prior to conflict==

The vast majority of travelogues and historical accounts of the Middle east describe this area as barren- that does not mean UN -populated- it does mean UNDER populated.
Alexander Keith, recalling Volney's 1785 description (quoted above) fifty years later, commented: "In his day [Volney's] the land had not fully reached its last degree of desolation and depopulation." (The Land of Israel).

Other travelers and pilgrims recorded similar reports of the dreary state of the Land around the middle of the nineteenth century. Here are just a few examples:

Alphonse de Lamartine, in 1835: "...a complete eternal silence reigns in the town, on the highways, in the country ... the tomb of a whole people" (Recollections of the East, Vol. I, p. 308).

A contemporary German encyclopedia (Brockhaus, "Allegmeine deutsche Real- Encyklopaidie", Vol. VIII, p. 206, Leipzig, 1827) calls Palestine "desolate and roamed through by Arab robber-bands."

In 1849, the American W. F. Lynch described the desertion of Palestinian villages "caused by the frequent forays of the wandering Bedouin" (Narrative of the United States Expedition to the River Jordan and the Dead Sea, p. 489).

And again H. B. Tristram, in 1865: "... both in the north and south (of the Sharon plain), land is going out of cultivvation, and whole villages ar rapidly disappearing from the face of the earth. Since the year 1838, no less than 20 villages have been thus erased from the map (by the Bedouin) and the stationary population extirpated" (p. 490).

Mark Twain, 'Innocents Abroad' 1867:

""Desolate country whose soil is rich enough but is given over wholly to weeds - a silent mournful expanse ... We reached Tabor safely ...
We never saw a human being on the whole route" (p. 451, 480);
"There is not a solitary village throughout its (the Jezreel Valley's) whole extent - not for thirty miles in either direction.
There are two or three small clusters of Bedouin tents but not a single permanent habitation.
One may ride ten miles, hereabouts, and not see ten human beings" (p. 448);
"Of all the lands there are for dismal scenery, I think Palestine must be the prince. The hills are barren ... the valleys are unsightly deserts... It is a hopeless, dreary, heartbroken land... Palestine is desolate and unlovely... Palestine is no more of this workday world. It is sacred to poetry and tradition - it is dreamland" (pp. 564, 567).

Referring to the same era, the Christian historian James Parkes writes in Whose Land?: "Peasant and Bedouin alike have contributed to the ruin of the countryside on which both depend for a livelihood... In spite of the immense fertility of the soil, it is probable that in the first half of the nineteenth century the population sank to the lowest level it had ever known in historic times."

In 1738, the land was described by the English archeologist Thomas Shaw as "lacking in people to till its fertile soil" (Travels and Observations Relating to Several Parts of Barbary and the Levant). The French historian Conte Constantine Francois Volney writes:

"The peasants are incessantly making inroads on each other's lands, destroying their corn, durra, sesame and olive-trees, and carrying off their sheep, goats and camels. The Turks, who are everywhere negligent in repressing similar disorders, are attentive to them here, since their authority is very precarious. The Bedouin, whose camps occupy the level country, are continually at open hostility
Alexander Keith, recalling Volney's 1785 description (quoted above) fifty years later, commented: "In his day [Volney's] tthe land had not fully reache its last degree of desolation and depopulation." (The Land of Israel).

Other travelers and pilgrims recorded similar reports of the dreary state of the Land around the middle of the nineteenth century. Here are just a few examples:

Alphonse de Lamartine, in 1835: "...a complete eternal silence reigns in the town, on the highways, in the country ... the tomb of a whole people" (Recollections of the East, Vol. I, p. 308).

A contemporary German encyclopedia (Brockhaus, "Allegmeine deutsche Real- Encyklopaidie", Vol. VIII, p. 206, Leipzig, 1827) calls Palestine "desolate and roamed through by Arab robber-bands."

In 1849, the American W. F. Lynch described the desertion of Palestinian villages "caused by the frequent forays of the wandering Bedouin" (Narrative of the United States Expedition to the River Jordan and the Dead Sea, p. 489).

And again H. B. Tristram, in 1865: "... both in the north and south (of the Sharon plain), land is going out of cultivvation, and whole villages ar rapidly disappearing from the face of the earth. Since the year 1838, no less than 20 villages have been thus erased from the map (by the Bedouin) and the stationary population extirpated" (p. 490).

Mark Twain, 'Innocents Abroad' 1867:

""Desolate country whose soil is rich enough but is given over wholly to weeds - a silent mournful expanse ... We reached Tabor safely ...
We never saw a human being on the whole route" (p. 451, 480);
"There is not a solitary village throughout its (the Jezreel Valley's) whole extent - not for thirty miles in either direction.
There are two or three small clusters of Bedouin tents but not a single permanent habitation.
One may ride ten miles, hereabouts, and not see ten human beings" (p. 448);
"Of all the lands there are for dismal scenery, I think Palestine must be the prince. The hills are barren ... the valleys are unsightly deserts... It is a hopeless, dreary, heartbroken land... Palestine is desolate and unlovely... Palestine is no more of this workday world. It is sacred to poetry and tradition - it is dreamland" (pp. 564, 567).

==Further sites==

[http://www.cat2002.org Coalition against terrorism]

[http://all4israel.org Update on victims - All4israel]

[http://pmw.org.il 'Palestinian' Media Watch]

[http://www.think-israel.org Think Israel]

[http://www.factsandlogic.org Factsandlogic]

[http://www.onejerusalem.org One Jerusalem]

[http://rotter.net/israel Rotter]

[http://www.israel-wat.com/parent_eng.htm Israel's War Against 'Palestinian' Terror]

[http://www.awesomeseminars.com Awsome Seminars]

[http://freeisraelnow.blogspot.com/2006/05/israel-palestine-101.html Israel 'Palestine' - 101]

[http://www.arabsforisrael.com Arabs For Israel]

[http://www.geocities.com/palestiniansarelies LIES!]

[http://www.tellthechildrenthetruth.com/AminAlHusseini.htm Amin Al Husseini - The Grand Mufti and father of today's jihad]

In November 1941, the Mufti met with Hitler, who told him the Jews were his foremost enemy. The Nazi dictator rebuffed the Mufti's requests for a declaration in support of the Arabs, however, telling him the time was not right. The Mufti offered Hitler his “thanks for the sympathy which he had always shown for the Arab and especially Palestinian cause, and to which he had given clear expression in his public speeches....The Arabs were Germany's natural friends because they had the same enemies as had Germany, namely....the Jews....” Hitler replied.
[http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/muftihit.html The Mufti and the Fuhrer]

[http://www.eretzyisroel.org/~jkatz/farhud.html 1941 The Farhud, the Mufti inspired Krystallnacht in Iraq]

In 1948, nearly 900,000 Jews - indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa - lived in what are now known as the "Arab States." ~ Today, 99% of these indigenous Jewish communities no longer exist. ~ Arab governments forced us to leave, confiscated our personal and communal property and stripped us of our citizenships. 
[http://jimena.org Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa]

[http://www.memri.org MEMRI: Middle East Media Research Institute (translating Arab media)]

==Basic articles==

[http://israelinsider.com/views/articles/views_0401.htm Twenty facts about Israel and the Middle East]

[http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/go.asp?MFAH0ldc0 Arab terrorism came before the (so called) "occupation"]

[http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=13590 The Case for Israel]

[http://www.aynrand.org/israel Israel's morality]

[http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=4454 Why Israel Is The Victim And The Arabs Are The Indefensible Aggressors In the Middle East]

[http://www.pmw.org.il/LatestBulletins.htm#b300506 Who caused the Arab "refugee" problem? Refugee: Arab leaders told us to flee Israel in 1948]

[http://www.aish.com/jewishissues/middleeast/Israels_Moral_Right_to_its_Life.asp Israel's moral right to exist]

[http://www.peacewithrealism.org/antizi05.htm Israel's Right to Exist Questioned, Anti-Zionism or Anti-Semitism?]

[http://www.likud.nl/press50.html Israel and the Palestinians: no moral contest]

[http://gamla.org.il/english/index.htm Gamla]

[http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=7268 Two causes of the Arab-Israeli conflict. The first is Arab racism, rejects any presence that isn't Arab in its neighborhood; the second is Islamic intolerance which leads to same rejection]

[http://www.tampabayprimer.org/index.cfm?action=articles&drill=viewArt&art=1255 How Strong Is the Arab Claim to Palestine?]

[http://www.ldolphin.org/palestinians.html The Arabs in the Holy Land - Natives or Aliens?]

[http://ziontruth.blogspot.com/2006/08/flauberts-observations-of-jerusalem.html "Flaubert's Observations of Jerusalem and the Jews Living There [1850]"]

[http://www.therefinersfire.org/israel_defends_itself.htm Israel Has A Moral Right To Its Life Why reason and justice are on Israel's side]

[http://www.netanyahu.org/ismorleg.html Israel's Moral Legitimacy]

British National Archives unveil presence of Nazi S.S. agents in Mandatory Palestine, working closely with Palestinian leaders. Historical documents in Britain's National Archives in London show
[http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3248081,00.html Nazis shipped arms to Palestinians]

[http://students.washington.edu/israeluw/info-anti.html When being anti-Israel is anti-Semitic]

[http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/hebron29.html The Hebron Massacre of 1929]

[http://haveitclearly.blogspot.com/2006/04/120-years-to-first-of-arabs-attack-on.html March 2006 - 120 Years to first of Arabs' attack on Jews in "palestine" Israel, Petach Tikva 1886]

As grand mufti, al Husseini presided as the Imam of the Al Aqsa mosque in ... 1929. Hebron Massacre, Amin Al-Husseini organizes more riots in Palestine 
[http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/2543 From Al Husseini to Hitler Radical Islam and the Nazi connection]

[http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/israel_the_struggle_for_good_vs_evil/index.html Israel's struggle for Good VS Evil]

[http://www.think-israel.org/wright.munich.html Munich & morality tale of good vs. evil]

[http://www.acpr.org.il/cloakrm/clk117.html The Islamization of Bethlehem by Arafat]

[http://www.tpmcafe.com/blog/lel66/2006/sep/12/palestinian_persecution_of_christians Palestinian persecution of Christians, Hamas may be seeking to impose Islamic rule on the Palestinian population]

[http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=32560 Persecution in 'Palestine', video documentary that exposes the anti-Christian persecution within the Palestinian Authority, "Holy Land: Christians in Peril,"]

[http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=27338 The Jews took no one's land]

[http://www.israelnationalnews.com/print.php3?what=article&id=1726 Arabs Recognized Israel - 1919]

Marijuana

2007-04-14T22:33:33Z

MountainDew: Reverted edits by HI IM robS. ASSHOLE (Talk); changed back to last version by Jeremiah4-22

'''Marijuana''' is a [[Schedule I]] [[Controlled Substance]]. It comes from the ''Cannabis'' [[plant]].

The effects of marijuana can include a feeling of euphoria, short-term memory loss, mild hallucinations, and an impairment of physical and mental functioning. Marijuana advocates and many scientists have claimed that it has medicinal benefits, particularly for pain relief and appetite stimulation (''"the munchies"'') among those with a terminal illness. Doctors have found that other drugs can also deliver these benefits but with considerable side effects. Former Conservative Law Enforcement officials, [[liberals]], and [[libertarians]] have rallied to decriminalize the drug<ref>[http://www.leap.cc]</ref>. Members of the [[Rastafari movement]] use it as a sacrament.

==References==

<References/>

[[Category:Medicine]]

Elvis Presley

2007-04-14T22:29:57Z

MountainDew: Reverted edits by 840krew (Talk); changed back to last version by Tsumetai

'''Elvis Presley''' was an early pioneer of Rock and Roll music. He was one of the most successfully musicians of his day and appeared many [[Hollywood movies]]. He died of a drug overdose.
[[category:biographies]]

User talk:MountainDew

2007-04-14T22:25:54Z

MountainDew: /* You might */

Talk:The

2007-04-14T22:21:39Z

MountainDew: New page: Does this article really need to exist? ~~~~

Does this article really need to exist? [[User:MountainDew|MountainDew]] 18:21, 14 April 2007 (EDT)

Connecticut

2007-04-14T22:17:38Z

MountainDew:

Located in the Northeast, '''Connecticut''' borders [[New York]], [[Massachusetts]], and [[Rhode Island]]. It was the fifth state to enter into the union. Its capital is Hartford.

==Notable People from Connecticut==

*Traitor [[Benedict Arnold]] was born in Norwich.

*Showman [[P.T. Barnum]] was born in Bethel.

*President [[George W. Bush]] was born in New Haven.

*Inventor [[Charles Goodyear]] was born in New Haven.

*Liberal activist [[Ralph Nader]] was born in Newsted.

*Lexicographer [[Noah Webster]] was born in Hartford.

[[Category:US state]]

Connecticut

2007-04-14T22:15:16Z

MountainDew:

Located in the Northeast, '''Connecticut''' borders [[New York]], [[Massachusetts]], and [[Rhode Island]]. It was the fifth state to enter into the union. Its capital is Hartford.

==Notable People from Connecticut==

*Showman [[P.T. Barnum]] was born in Bethel.

*President [[George W. Bush]] was born in New Haven.

*Inventor [[Charles Goodyear]] was born in New Haven.

*Lexicographer [[Noah Webster]] was born in Hartford.

[[Category:US state]]

Connecticut

2007-04-14T22:14:10Z

MountainDew:

Located in the Northeast, '''Connecticut''' borders [[New York]], [[Massachusetts]], and [[Rhode Island]]. It was the fifth state to enter into the union. Its capital is Hartford.

==Notable People from Connecticut==

*Showman [[P.T. Barnum]] was born in Bethel.

*Lexicographer [[Noah Webster]] was born in Hartford.

[[Category:US state]]

Connecticut

2007-04-14T22:11:55Z

MountainDew:

Connecticut

2007-04-14T22:11:43Z

MountainDew:

Located in the Northeast, '''Connecticut''' borders [[New York]], [[Massachusetts], and [[Rhode Island]]. It was the fifth state to enter into the union. Its capital is Hartford.

[[Category:US state]]

User:MountainDew

2007-04-14T22:06:35Z

MountainDew:

<div style="width: 550px; text-align: center; border: 1px solid #999; background: #ccc; margin: .5em auto .5em auto; padding: 5px;"><big>'''Sysop Pledge'''</big> As a Conservapedia Sysop, '''''I will never arbitrarily block anyone who is not in violation of the [[Conservapedia Commandments]], and related CP Guidelines.''''' </div>

{{userboxtop|MountainDew}}
{{User Sysop}}
{{User Godbigbang}}
{{User Donuthole}}
{{User Christian}}
{{User OEC}}
{{User Political Compass|2.13|-1.18}}
{{User faveband|Soundgarden}}
{{userboxbottom|MountainDew}}

[[Image:MNTDND.jpg]]
[[Image:KCCHFS.jpg]]
[[Image:Jayhawk.jpg]]

My name is Dan. I am a sophomore at a Midwestern public university majoring in education, a basketball fan and a tournament chess player.

I expect to spend most of my time cleaning up grammar (let's write in complete sentences, folks!) removing vandalism and adding to entries relating to American history and Christianity, although I don't intend to limit myself to these areas. Lately, I've been working on beefing up the articles of the US presidents and states.

I am a Baptist and an Old-Earth Creationist. I am conservative or libertarian on most political issues with the exception of some environmental issues. I am also a proud Eagle Scout. I love following the Kansas Jayhawks and the Dallas Mavericks in basketball, as well as the Kansas City Chiefs in football.

I can be reached on AIM at FadingToStatic.

I haven't had as much time to edit Conservapedia lately because of Easter and tests, but rest assured I haven't burned out.

'''A few of the pages I have created or contributed extensively to:'''
*[[John Brown]]
*[[Kansas]]
*[[Calvinism]]
*[[Herbert Hoover]]
*[[Basketball]]
*[[Utah]]
*[[Chess]]
*[[Capital punishment]]
*[[Boy Scouts]]

'''Favorite Websites'''
*[http://www.godandscience.org A Christian apologetics site that focuses on science, aimed at a lay audience ] (Warning: Old Earth Alert)
*[http://www.gameknot.com Gameknot online chess]
*[http://www.garyhabermas.com Gary Habermas - more Christian apologetics]
*[http://www.collegehoopsnet.com College basketball news online]