Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

British politics

2008-11-25T20:22:38Z

KarlJaeger: /* Parties */

'''British politics''' take place within the context of a [[democracy|democratic]] [[parliamentary]] system dominated by three major parties.

The political culture of the UK tends to be more liberal than that of the United States, but less so than that of many other European nations.

==Institutions==

===Parliament===

''See also [[Parliament]]''

The cornerstone of the unwritten British [[constitution]] is ''Parliamentary supremacy'', or ''Parliamentary sovereignty''.

Britain is one of a small number of nations without a written constitution, and the British legislature, ''Parliament'', is free to legislate however it pleases. In British law, the only authority higher than parliamentary legislation is the law of the [[European Union]], and Britain is subject to EU law only by virtue of the fact that Parliament has chosen to accept it.

Parliament consists of the Queen, the [[House of Lords]] and the [[House of Commons (UK)|House of Commons]]. The Queen today takes no part in active politics (the last time that a monarch refused to ratify a law passed by the Lords and Commons was in 1714). While the House of Lords is considered to be the more prestigious chamber, the Commons is dominant by virtue of the fact that its members are elected rather than appointed. The Lords can only delay rather than veto legislation, though the Commons rarely chooses to push through laws against the Lords' wishes (it has done so only five times since the Lords' absolute veto was removed in 1911).

Reform of the House of Lords is a current political issue in the UK. The House of Commons has resolved to make it more democratic, so that 80% or 100% of its members are elected rather than appointed.

===The Executive===

The British Government operates in the name of the Queen (or the "Crown"), but power lies in practice with the '''Prime Minister''' and his '''Cabinet'''. The British Prime Minister has one of the most powerful roles of any democratic head of government or head of state (though some, like the French President, have similar or more extensive powers).

== Devolution ==

{| class="wikitable"
|- bgcolor=cccccc
! Nation/Region || Legislature || Executive || Leader(s)
|-
| '''[[Scotland]]''' || [[Scottish Parliament]] || Scottish Executive || First Minister
|-
| '''[[Wales]]''' || National Assembly for Wales || Welsh Assembly Government || First Minister
|-
| '''[[Northern Ireland]]''' || Northern Ireland Assembly || Northern Ireland Executive || First Minister and Deputy First Minister1
|-
| '''[[London|Greater London]]''' || London Assembly|| Mayor of London || Mayor of London
|}


1 Northern Ireland is a dyarchy in which both leaders are regarded as equal.


==Local government==

Each locality in the UK has its own '''local authority''': there are '''councils''' of various sorts, as well as a number of elected '''mayors''' (most notably in London, whose current mayor is the controversial right-wing politician [[Boris Johnson]]). The powers of local authorities have been declining for many years, but it is believed that they are due for a significant revival.

It should be noted that most mayors in Britain are relatively powerless officials who serve as mere figureheads (rather like the Queen), as the power is with the local council, of which the mayor is the leader. However, a number of cities, such as London, have powerful mayors with a full executive role.

==Parties==

The British political spectrum has historically been dominated by the '''[[Labour Party]]''' on the left, the '''[[Conservative Party]]''' on the right, and the '''Liberal Party''' (now the [[Liberal Democrats]]) in the centre between them ("liberal" in British political terminology is often used to mean "centrist" or "moderate", rather than "left-wing"). In theory, these parties represent the three main political ideologies; liberal, conservative and socialist, but recently, there has been a perception that the main parties are crowding together on the centre ground. In the 1990s, Labour moved decisively away from the traditional left (angering many of its more traditionally-minded supporters), to the point where it was perceived by many as being less left-wing than the Liberal Democrats. Since the advent of [[David Cameron]] as its leader in 2005, the Conservative Party has moved away from the territory of the traditional right (in this case too, angering many of its more strongly conservative or [[Thatcherism|Thatcherite]] supporters).

===Labour===

The Labour Party is the current party of government in the UK. It is also the largest party in the Welsh legislature and the second-largest party in the Scottish Parliament.

Following its defeat by Margaret Thatcher's Conservatives in 1979, the Labour Party adopted a strongly left-wing, socialist program. Following a catastrophic defeat in the 1983 general election, more moderate politicians took charge of Labour and slowly moved it closer to the centre ground of British politics, a process started by [[Neil Kinnock]] in the mid-1980s and carried forward enthusiastically by [[Tony Blair]] after his election as leader in 1994. Many more traditional, left-wing Labour supporters see Tony Blair as an usurper whose policies are too right-wing for comfort. This has been the case in particular following the Iraq War.

Blair's policies were arguably a mixture of left (e.g. higher taxes, higher government spending, greater integration with the European Union, equal rights for gay people) and right (e.g. pro-market reforms in the public services, retention of Lady Thatcher's labour laws, support for the [[War on Terror]] and [[George W. Bush]]'s foreign policies). His successor [[Gordon Brown]], once a close ally of Blair, has spoken out against the idea of the party shifting back to the left

===Conservatives===

British conservatism has traditionally been a moderate, non-ideological creed: its heroes include such pragmatic figures as [[Edmund Burke]] in the eighteenth century and Sir [[Robert Peel]] and [[Benjamin Disraeli]] in the nineteenth century. These figures contrasted with contemporary conservatives from other European countries such as the French thinker [[Joseph de Maistre]], who were often strong, ideologically-minded supporters of absolute monarchy and Roman Catholicism.

The Conservative Party became more ideologically conservative during the leadership of [[Margaret Thatcher]] (1975-1990). Since Lady Thatcher resigned in 1990s, the strongly conservative element within the party has been more or less eclipsed. It had some influence in the 1990s during the leadership of Sir John Major (1990-1997), but the current Conservative leader, [[David Cameron]], has moved decisively away from "Thatcherism". While this has caused dismay to many Conservative activists, it has greatly increased the popularity and electability of the Conservative Party.

===Liberal Democrats===

The Liberal Democrats (or "Lib Dems") were formed in 1988 by the merger of the old centrist Liberal Party with the centre-left Social Democratic Party (SDP). They have long advocated disestablishing the [[Church of England]], and their current leader is [[Nick Clegg]], who has publicly said he is "not an active believer" in God, but claims to be "open-minded" about religion, has married a Catholic and is bringing his children up as Catholics.<ref>''Nick Clegg is a believer in families, not God'' [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article3076044.ece Times Online]</ref>

The Liberal Democrats are divided between a relatively left-wing faction (to which the former leaders Sir Menzies Campbell and Charles Kennedy belong), which has taken positions to the left of the Labour Party on a number of issues, and a more right-wing, pro-[[free market]] faction to which the present leader belongs (several of whose members contributed to a controversial collection of essays published in 2004 called ''The Orange Book''). Despite the range of view on economic issues, the party is consistently liberal, even libertarian, on social issues. The Liberal Democrats are strong advocates of anti-discrimination laws.

=== Scotland ===
The largest party in Scotland is the '''[[Scottish National Party]]''', which is in fact a major force in Scottish politics, being the largest party in the [[Scottish Parliament]]. It advocates independence for Scotland.

=== Wales ===
There is also a Welsh nationalist party, called '''Plaid Cymru''', or simply '''Plaid''', which currently in coalition with Labour has control of the [[Welsh Assembly]].

=== Northern Ireland ===
Northern Ireland has a number of political parties:
* '''[[Democratic Unionist Party]]''' - strongly Unionist
* '''[[Sinn Fein]]''' - strongly Irish-Nationalist ("Republican")
* '''[[Ulster Unionist Party]]''' - moderately Unionist
* '''[[Social Democratic and Labour Party]]''' - moderately Irish-Nationalist

===Minor parties===
There are several other minor British parties worthy of mention:
* The '''[[UK Independence Party]]''' advocates the withdrawal of Britain from the [[European Union]] and other more strongly conservative policies than those supported by the official Conservative Party.
* The '''[[Green Party (UK)|Green Party]]''' campaigns for protection of the environment, decentralisation and social justice.
* '''[[RESPECT Party|Respect]]''' is a strongly left-wing, socialist party led by the maverick ex-Labour politician [[George Galloway]].
* The '''[[British National Party]]''' is generally seen as an extreme right-wing or fascist party. It advocates the repatriation of non-white people from the UK to the countries of their or their families' origin.
*The [[Monster raving loony party|Monster Raving Loony Party]] is a 'joke' party, which however often receives significant numbers of [[protest vote]]s especially in high-profile [[by-election]]s (which may attract a large number, sometimes dozens, of other not entirely serious candidates).

==References==
<references/>
[[Category:British Politics]]

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

2008-11-02T17:50:39Z

KarlJaeger:

Although the nominal head of state of the [[United Kingdom]] is the monarch, currently the Queen [[Elizabeth II]], real power falls with the head of the government; Her Majesty's [[Prime Minister]]. Although the British Prime Minister is not officially the head of state in the same way that the American [[President]] is, they still wield many of the associated powers.

==Selection==
Unlike in the United States, the British parliament is not voted on seperately from the Prime Minister. Officially, the Prime Minister is selected by the ruling monarch, and is expected to be someone who has the support of the British parliament. In practice, this means that the leader of the current majority party is made Prime Minister. For example, when the [[Labour Party]] won the most seats in the 1997 general election, the current leader of that party, [[Tony Blair]] became Prime Minister. When an election produces a hung parliament (rare under the British system), the monarch will offer the position to the leader of the largest party. If they are unable to form a government that has a majority support (either through a coalition or ruling as a minority), the monarch will offer it to the next largest party leader, and so on.
The method of appointing the Prime Minister means that it is possible for a PM to be unelected by the populace; they only need to become leader of their party. Although this is uncommon, the current PM, Gordon Brown was appointed in this way. Despite intending to call an election, warnings of a narrow Conservative victory stayed his hand, and the plans for an early election were cancelled.

==Current Prime Minister==
Currently, [[Gordon Brown]] is the leader of the Labour Party, and thus Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. However, [[Gordon Brown]]'s Labour party have yet to win a general election; he became Prime Minister as part of the victory won by the previous leader, [[Tony Blair]], in 2005. In fact, opinion polls suggest that the Labour party is currently (2008) less popular than [[David Cameron]]'s [[Conservative Party]], though the gap in the polls is closing. Legally, [[Gordon Brown]] is obliged to hold such an election by [[2010]], baring special intervention as in [[World War One]] and [[World War Two]].

==Powers==
Although officially the powers of the Prime Minister are quite vague, mainly to "form a government", a good deal of the selections officially made by the monarch are really made by the Prime Minister, including knighthoods and peerages. Recently, the Prime Minister has become more powerful within the government, and some have criticed the office as being a "British Presidency". This would be problem as it effectively means that the British head of state is not voted on by the people, but chosen by party. The incumbent Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, has proposed handing some powers back to Parliament, such as the power to declare war, reducing the overall power of the Prime Minister.
[[Category:United Kingdom|United Kingdom]]

The West Wing (TV show)

2008-11-02T17:45:16Z

KarlJaeger:

'''''The West Wing''''' (1999 - 2006) was a TV show depicting the term of U.S. [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] President Josiah Bartlett (played by [[Martin Sheen]]), and the frequent political realities of a party not holding majorities in [[Congress]], despite holding the [[presidency]].

Although sometimes accused of having a liberal slant (it has been referred to as "The Left Wing" by critics), the show was widely praised by real-life members of both parties, and even benefitted from the involvement of important figures from them, such as [[Bill Clinton|Clinton]] press secretary Dee Dee Myers and [[Ronald Reagan|Reagan]] press secretary [[Peggy Noonan]].

The election for Bartlet's successor which ended the show has drawn renewed attention for its similarity to the 2008 presidential election two years later. In both cases, the Democrats nominate a young Senator from a minority ethnic group (Matt Santos on the show, Barack Obama in real life) who picks a Washington insider as his running mate (Leo McGarry, Joe Biden). He runs against an old Republican senator portrayed as a "maverick" (Arnold Vinick, John McCain), who picks a conservative Christian as his running mate (Ray Sullivan, Sarah Palin).

It is sometimes regarded as one of the best TV dramas of modern times, sharing a pedestal with shows like ''Lost'' and ''The Sopranos''. It was widely hailed by political scientists and was a favorite of critics.{{fact|date=January 2008}}

==External Links==

* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0200276/ IMDB website]

[[category:Television Shows]]

Mortal Engines Quartet

2008-11-02T17:39:47Z

KarlJaeger:

The '''Mortal Engines Quartet''' (known as the Hungry Cities Chronicles in the USA) is a series of books by British author Philip Reeve set in an apocalyptic far future, after a global war known as the Sixty Minute War. Although not part of the main series, the short story "Urbivore", written by Reeve some years earlier, shares many of the main elements with the series as it was ultimately conceieved. A possible reference to this fact is made in '''Predator's Gold''', when one of the characters refers to [[Arkangel]] as a "lumbering urbivore."

==Books==
*'''Mortal Engines''': Originally written as a stand-alone novel, Mortal Engines introduces the characters of Thomas "Tom" Natsworthy, a citizen of London, and Hester Shaw, a scavenger. The novel focuses on the traction city of London, which has uncovered an energy weapon called MEDUSA from the Sixty Minute War.
*'''Predator's Gold''': Set two years after Mortal Engines, Predator's Gold is more of a direct sequel to the original than the two books that follow, and features the same main characters. The plot takes place around the traction city of Anchorage, which is making an exodus across the ice of the north Atlantic in an effort to reach the "dead continent" of North America.
*'''Infernal Devices''': The next book expands the range of characters, with the introduction of the Aleutian engineer Oenone Zero and the daughter of Tom and Hester, Wren as viewpoint characters. Infernal Devices takes place during a drawn out war between the Green Storm, a revolutionary Anti-Tractionist movement and the Traktionstadts, an alliance of German traction cities formed in response. Much of the plot takes place on the raft-city of Brighton.
*'''A Darkling Plain''': In the final book, Oenone Zero, now named Naga ceases to be a viewpoint character, and becomes a background character. She is replaced by Theo Ngoni, the African aviator introduced in Infernal Devices. The book takes place during a fragile truce between the Traktionstadtsgesellschaft and the Green Storm, and the efforts of the characters to bring about a lasting peace.

==World of Mortal Engines==

===Sixty Minute War===
The Sixty Minute War is a global conflict (though damage seemed to have been worse on the North American continent) whose details are left vague. It is known that a power called the "American Empire" (this is possibly an in-universe historical mistake, and it refers to the United States) was involved, and it is implied that a power called "Greater China" was as well. Very little other information is known, except that both energy weapons and orbital weapons were used. Virtually all old technology was lost during the war, and the resulting tectonic instabilities lead to the rise of traction cities. Occasionally, a weapon from the war is revealled to have survived, such as MEDUSA (acronym unknown) in Mortal Engines, and ODIN (Orbital Defence INitiative) in Infernal Devices and A Darkling Plain.

===Anti-Traction League===
The Anti-Traction League was formed by the nation of Shan Guo for mutual defence against hungry cities. The western frontier of the League was marked by the Shield-Wall, Batmunkh Gompa, a gap in the mountains barricaded by a huge steel wall and city. Formerly, the African statics in the south were members of the League, but
they withdrew following the military coup by the Green Storm.

===Green Storm===
The Green Storm is a radical and extremist anti-tractionist group that seizes power in the Anti-Traction League. It turns the League into a totalitarian control state, restricting all freedoms and focussing on arms production for a war against the cities. The rise of the Green Storm helped form together the Traktionstadtsgesellschaft to defend Municipal Darwinism from the radical Storm. The Green Storm is portrayed as an Eastern totalitarian state, much like China under communist rule. A reference to this is made when Oenone Zero mentions that she used to sing "The East is Green" at school, referring to the de facto Chinese national anthem "The East is Red."
The Green Storm's revolutionary military focus means that its economy suffers, and when General Naga takes power, he struggles to repair the damage caused by years of radical government. Ultimately, the Storm is dissolved and replaced with the New Anti-Traction League.
The Storm frequently used airships, in particuarly the Fox Spirit fighter-bomber.

===Traktionstadtsgesellschaft===
The Traktionstadtsgesellschaft or Traktionstadts, German for "Traction Town Society" is an alliance of German-speaking Traction cities, formed to oppose the Green Storm. The main fighter and bomber airship used is the Super-Gnat.

===Stalkers===
Stalkers are corpses, antimated by means of electronic implants. The original technology, designed to preserve the minds of rulers, was developed not long after the Sixty Minute War, but the civilization was destroyed in the Black Centuries. The ressurected Anna Fang is powered by a Stalker-brain from this era. Later, a civilization called the "Nomad Empires" pick up a crude version of the technology, and use to to create undead soldiers. The Stalker Shrike is an artefact from this era.
Later, London starts to develop undead soldiers along the lines of the Nomad Empire's Stalkers. These are copied and refined by the Green Storm, who make extensive use of them as shock troops. By the far future epilogue "Shrike in the World to Come", Stalkers are unknown, except as stories, leaving Shrike as the only surviving relic of the technology.

==In-Jokes==
Reeve frequently makes puns or jokes that are unapparent to the characters, but are noticable to the reader. For example:
*The god of Municipal Darwinism is referred to as "The Thatcher" a reference to British Prime Minister [[Margaret Thatcher]].
*A plane in ''A Darkling Plain'' is called the ''Group Captain Mandrake'', a reference to Group Captain Lionel Mandrake from the Peter Sellers film ''Doctor Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.
*The town of Tunbridge Wells has become "Tunbridge Wheels" in the age of moving cities.
*Anna Fang refers to "a bat out of Hull", referring to the expression "a bat out of Hell" and the city of Kingston-upon-Hull, better known as "Hull".
*The [[Disney]] cartoon characters of Pluto and Mickey are referred to as "animal-headed gods of North America".
*A propaganda song of the Green Storm is "The East is Green"; a reference to the Chinese national anthem "The East is Red".

Mortal Engines Quartet

2008-11-02T17:38:50Z

KarlJaeger:

The '''Mortal Engines Quartet''' (known as the Hungry Cities Chronicles in the USA) is a series of books by British author Philip Reeve set in an apocalyptic far future, after a global war known as the Sixty Minute War. Although not part of the main series, the short story "Urbivore", written by Reeve some years earlier, shares many of the main elements with the series as it was ultimately conceieved. A possible reference to this fact is made in ''Predator's Gold''', when one of the characters refers to [[Arkangel]] as a "lumbering urbivore."

==Books==
*'''Mortal Engines''': Originally written as a stand-alone novel, Mortal Engines introduces the characters of Thomas "Tom" Natsworthy, a citizen of London, and Hester Shaw, a scavenger. The novel focuses on the traction city of London, which has uncovered an energy weapon called MEDUSA from the Sixty Minute War.
*'''Predator's Gold''': Set two years after Mortal Engines, Predator's Gold is more of a direct sequel to the original than the two books that follow, and features the same main characters. The plot takes place around the traction city of Anchorage, which is making an exodus across the ice of the north Atlantic in an effort to reach the "dead continent" of North America.
*'''Infernal Devices''': The next book expands the range of characters, with the introduction of the Aleutian engineer Oenone Zero and the daughter of Tom and Hester, Wren as viewpoint characters. Infernal Devices takes place during a drawn out war between the Green Storm, a revolutionary Anti-Tractionist movement and the Traktionstadts, an alliance of German traction cities formed in response. Much of the plot takes place on the raft-city of Brighton.
*'''A Darkling Plain''': In the final book, Oenone Zero, now named Naga ceases to be a viewpoint character, and becomes a background character. She is replaced by Theo Ngoni, the African aviator introduced in Infernal Devices. The book takes place during a fragile truce between the Traktionstadtsgesellschaft and the Green Storm, and the efforts of the characters to bring about a lasting peace.

==World of Mortal Engines==

===Sixty Minute War===
The Sixty Minute War is a global conflict (though damage seemed to have been worse on the North American continent) whose details are left vague. It is known that a power called the "American Empire" (this is possibly an in-universe historical mistake, and it refers to the United States) was involved, and it is implied that a power called "Greater China" was as well. Very little other information is known, except that both energy weapons and orbital weapons were used. Virtually all old technology was lost during the war, and the resulting tectonic instabilities lead to the rise of traction cities. Occasionally, a weapon from the war is revealled to have survived, such as MEDUSA (acronym unknown) in Mortal Engines, and ODIN (Orbital Defence INitiative) in Infernal Devices and A Darkling Plain.

===Anti-Traction League===
The Anti-Traction League was formed by the nation of Shan Guo for mutual defence against hungry cities. The western frontier of the League was marked by the Shield-Wall, Batmunkh Gompa, a gap in the mountains barricaded by a huge steel wall and city. Formerly, the African statics in the south were members of the League, but
they withdrew following the military coup by the Green Storm.

===Green Storm===
The Green Storm is a radical and extremist anti-tractionist group that seizes power in the Anti-Traction League. It turns the League into a totalitarian control state, restricting all freedoms and focussing on arms production for a war against the cities. The rise of the Green Storm helped form together the Traktionstadtsgesellschaft to defend Municipal Darwinism from the radical Storm. The Green Storm is portrayed as an Eastern totalitarian state, much like China under communist rule. A reference to this is made when Oenone Zero mentions that she used to sing "The East is Green" at school, referring to the de facto Chinese national anthem "The East is Red."
The Green Storm's revolutionary military focus means that its economy suffers, and when General Naga takes power, he struggles to repair the damage caused by years of radical government. Ultimately, the Storm is dissolved and replaced with the New Anti-Traction League.
The Storm frequently used airships, in particuarly the Fox Spirit fighter-bomber.

===Traktionstadtsgesellschaft===
The Traktionstadtsgesellschaft or Traktionstadts, German for "Traction Town Society" is an alliance of German-speaking Traction cities, formed to oppose the Green Storm. The main fighter and bomber airship used is the Super-Gnat.

===Stalkers===
Stalkers are corpses, antimated by means of electronic implants. The original technology, designed to preserve the minds of rulers, was developed not long after the Sixty Minute War, but the civilization was destroyed in the Black Centuries. The ressurected Anna Fang is powered by a Stalker-brain from this era. Later, a civilization called the "Nomad Empires" pick up a crude version of the technology, and use to to create undead soldiers. The Stalker Shrike is an artefact from this era.
Later, London starts to develop undead soldiers along the lines of the Nomad Empire's Stalkers. These are copied and refined by the Green Storm, who make extensive use of them as shock troops. By the far future epilogue "Shrike in the World to Come", Stalkers are unknown, except as stories, leaving Shrike as the only surviving relic of the technology.

==In-Jokes==
Reeve frequently makes puns or jokes that are unapparent to the characters, but are noticable to the reader. For example:
*The god of Municipal Darwinism is referred to as "The Thatcher" a reference to British Prime Minister [[Margaret Thatcher]].
*A plane in ''A Darkling Plain'' is called the ''Group Captain Mandrake'', a reference to Group Captain Lionel Mandrake from the Peter Sellers film ''Doctor Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.
*The town of Tunbridge Wells has become "Tunbridge Wheels" in the age of moving cities.
*Anna Fang refers to "a bat out of Hull", referring to the expression "a bat out of Hell" and the city of Kingston-upon-Hull, better known as "Hull".
*The [[Disney]] cartoon characters of Pluto and Mickey are referred to as "animal-headed gods of North America".
*A propaganda song of the Green Storm is "The East is Green"; a reference to the Chinese national anthem "The East is Red".

Mortal Engines Quartet

2008-11-02T17:34:16Z

KarlJaeger:

The '''Mortal Engines Quartet''' (known as the Hungry Cities Chronicles in the USA) is a series of books by British author Philip Reeve set in an apocalyptic far future, after a global war known as the Sixty Minute War.

==Books==
*'''Mortal Engines''': Originally written as a stand-alone novel, Mortal Engines introduces the characters of Thomas "Tom" Natsworthy, a citizen of London, and Hester Shaw, a scavenger. The novel focuses on the traction city of London, which has uncovered an energy weapon called MEDUSA from the Sixty Minute War.
*'''Predator's Gold''': Set two years after Mortal Engines, Predator's Gold is more of a direct sequel to the original than the two books that follow, and features the same main characters. The plot takes place around the traction city of Anchorage, which is making an exodus across the ice of the north Atlantic in an effort to reach the "dead continent" of North America.
*'''Infernal Devices''': The next book expands the range of characters, with the introduction of the Aleutian engineer Oenone Zero and the daughter of Tom and Hester, Wren as viewpoint characters. Infernal Devices takes place during a drawn out war between the Green Storm, a revolutionary Anti-Tractionist movement and the Traktionstadts, an alliance of German traction cities formed in response. Much of the plot takes place on the raft-city of Brighton.
*'''A Darkling Plain''': In the final book, Oenone Zero, now named Naga ceases to be a viewpoint character, and becomes a background character. She is replaced by Theo Ngoni, the African aviator introduced in Infernal Devices

==World of Mortal Engines==

===Sixty Minute War===
The Sixty Minute War is a global conflict (though damage seemed to have been worse on the North American continent) whose details are left vague. It is known that a power called the "American Empire" (this is possibly an in-universe historical mistake, and it refers to the United States) was involved, and it is implied that a power called "Greater China" was as well. Very little other information is known, except that both energy weapons and orbital weapons were used. Virtually all old technology was lost during the war, and the resulting tectonic instabilities lead to the rise of traction cities. Occasionally, a weapon from the war is revealled to have survived, such as MEDUSA (acronym unknown) in Mortal Engines, and ODIN (Orbital Defence INitiative) in Infernal Devices and A Darkling Plain.

===Anti-Traction League===
The Anti-Traction League was formed by the nation of Shan Guo for mutual defence against hungry cities. The western frontier of the League was marked by the Shield-Wall, Batmunkh Gompa, a gap in the mountains barricaded by a huge steel wall and city. Formerly, the African statics in the south were members of the League, but
they withdrew following the military coup by the Green Storm.

===Green Storm===
The Green Storm is a radical and extremist anti-tractionist group that seizes power in the Anti-Traction League. It turns the League into a totalitarian control state, restricting all freedoms and focussing on arms production for a war against the cities. The rise of the Green Storm helped form together the Traktionstadtsgesellschaft to defend Municipal Darwinism from the radical Storm. The Green Storm is portrayed as an Eastern totalitarian state, much like China under communist rule. A reference to this is made when Oenone Zero mentions that she used to sing "The East is Green" at school, referring to the de facto Chinese national anthem "The East is Red."
The Green Storm's revolutionary military focus means that its economy suffers, and when General Naga takes power, he struggles to repair the damage caused by years of radical government. Ultimately, the Storm is dissolved and replaced with the New Anti-Traction League.
The Storm frequently used airships, in particuarly the Fox Spirit fighter-bomber.

===Traktionstadtsgesellschaft===
The Traktionstadtsgesellschaft or Traktionstadts, German for "Traction Town Society" is an alliance of German-speaking Traction cities, formed to oppose the Green Storm. The main fighter and bomber airship used is the Super-Gnat.

===Stalkers===
Stalkers are corpses, antimated by means of electronic implants. The original technology, designed to preserve the minds of rulers, was developed not long after the Sixty Minute War, but the civilization was destroyed in the Black Centuries. The ressurected Anna Fang is powered by a Stalker-brain from this era. Later, a civilization called the "Nomad Empires" pick up a crude version of the technology, and use to to create undead soldiers. The Stalker Shrike is an artefact from this era.
Later, London starts to develop undead soldiers along the lines of the Nomad Empire's Stalkers. These are copied and refined by the Green Storm, who make extensive use of them as shock troops. By the far future epilogue "Shrike in the World to Come", Stalkers are unknown, except as stories, leaving Shrike as the only surviving relic of the technology.

==In-Jokes==
Reeve frequently makes puns or jokes that are unapparent to the characters, but are noticable to the reader. For example:
*The god of Municipal Darwinism is referred to as "The Thatcher" a reference to British Prime Minister [[Margaret Thatcher]].
*A plane in ''A Darkling Plain'' is called the ''Group Captain Mandrake'', a reference to Group Captain Lionel Mandrake from the Peter Sellers film ''Doctor Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.
*The town of Tunbridge Wells has become "Tunbridge Wheels" in the age of moving cities.
*Anna Fang refers to "a bat out of Hull", referring to the expression "a bat out of Hell" and the city of Kingston-upon-Hull, better known as "Hull".
*The [[Disney]] cartoon characters of Pluto and Mickey are referred to as "animal-headed gods of North America".
*A propaganda song of the Green Storm is "The East is Green"; a reference to the Chinese national anthem "The East is Red".

Talk:Essay:Rules of Chivalry for Students

2008-10-31T16:00:55Z

KarlJaeger: /* Reactionary to the Point of Absurdity */

==parody?==
At first I thought this might be parody, then I saw who created it... now I think perhaps it's not that bad a page after all. [[User:NewCrusader|NewCrusader]] 20:22, 2 September 2008 (EDT)
:Why would you think it was parody? [[User:HenryS|HenryS]] 20:23, 2 September 2008 (EDT)
::Because it's typical of liberals to accuse conservatives of being outdated, or of supporting gender inequality. If it looks like us as seen by them, it may be written by them. But I know Aschlafly is no parodist, so I can trust this. [[User:NewCrusader|NewCrusader]] 20:56, 2 September 2008 (EDT)
:This is no parody. My class of 56 teenagers, boys and girls, starts Thursday. Unlike my prior classes, this one is going to develop a bit of [[chivalry]].--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 20:26, 2 September 2008 (EDT)
::Aschlafly, might I ask where you teach? I more than somewhat like the articles I see here. I did not know as much about Barack Obama untill I read that article on him,and am rather impressed by the depth of multiple other articles. [[User:JohnI|JohnI]] 20:31, 2 September 2008 (EDT)

::: I teach in [[New Jersey]]. I don't use any school. Thanks for your comments, if sincere, and regardless Godspeed to you.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 20:34, 2 September 2008 (EDT)

::::As a thought, it would be interesting to ask the students in your pending class to contribute a few entries themselves. I'm sure most of us are not teen-age students, so it would be interesting to get their direct perspective on what they'd consider "chivalrous". --[[User:DinsdaleP|DinsdaleP]] 21:23, 2 September 2008 (EDT)

==Sports==
What does attending boys' sporting events have to do with chivalry? [[User:HenryS|HenryS]] 20:35, 2 September 2008 (EDT)

:It is supportive of your classmates.[[User:ErstBlenchPoet|ErstBlenchPoet]] 20:37, 2 September 2008 (EDT)
::I just don't see that as fitting in. Lets get more opinions. [[User:HenryS|HenryS]] 20:38, 2 September 2008 (EDT)

:::Because they are more easily injured, girls should not play most sports (except the explicitly feminine ones such as gymnastics or dance). Therefore it is appropriate for them to cheer on the sidelines and provide support.[[User:ErstBlenchPoet|ErstBlenchPoet]] 20:40, 2 September 2008 (EDT)
:::::Ah, I see. Welcome back, ErstBlenchPoet. [[User:HenryS|HenryS]] 20:46, 2 September 2008 (EDT)
::::I do somewhat object to that, I have seen quite a couple women and girls playing sports, including what you would consider not to be "explictily feminine ones", and while I have seen some of them get injured, the amount seemed about even to the men. I believe that both genders can cheer at athletic events, as below. [[User:JohnI|JohnI]] 20:45, 2 September 2008 (EDT)
::::I agree that attending sports events is supportive however I dont think it specifically applies to girls as such. More the whole class should get out and cheer each other on. [[User:ClarkeD|ClarkeD]] 20:42, 2 September 2008 (EDT)
:::::I removed it per consensus. [[User:HenryS|HenryS]] 20:46, 2 September 2008 (EDT)
::::::How about a "both" section? It would be a good place for listing things like being supportive of classmates' endeavors. I also think the "no cursing" should be #1. [[User:Human|Human]] 21:06, 2 September 2008 (EDT)
:::::::I agree with that idea. Another one I think should be in "both" would be proper dress. [[User:JohnI|JohnI]] 21:55, 2 September 2008 (EDT)

==hat doffing==
(unindent) Would removing one's hat in the presence of a lady be considered anachronistic? While a hat is no longer a major part of adult attire, many teenagers wear baseball caps and the like. --[[User:Benp|Benp]] 20:47, 2 September 2008 (EDT)
:I was brought up to not wear hats inside period. [[User:ClarkeD|ClarkeD]] 20:49, 2 September 2008 (EDT)

I can't believe my entry was removed. I am from Belgium and here most girls curtsey, and all are taught to! I can't believe that it is considered anachronistic in America! I hope the other Europeans here agree with me. --[[User:HPoirot|HPoirot]] 20:52, 2 September 2008 (EDT)
:I never saw that in Brussles. But then again, my eyes were only for chocolate. ;-) Seriously, your teens curtsey for someone other than royalty?--[[User:MHayes|MHayes]] 21:09, 2 September 2008 (EDT)
::And how often did you see men bow? Good manners are fading, but I guarantee you that every girl learns to curtsey here. --[[User:HPoirot|HPoirot]] 21:18, 2 September 2008 (EDT)

::: I don't know. Seems far-fetched, HPoirot. It hasn't been seen in the U.S. for many decades.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 21:31, 2 September 2008 (EDT)
::::You are the teacher and I do not want you to teach wrong manners. Still, I can only feel sad that the U.S. have gone so far. All the world admires and takes example from the U.S., but also imports most of your uses and manners, including some which are questionable. Good luck for your class though, teaching chivalry to students is an admirable task. --[[User:HPoirot|HPoirot]] 21:39, 2 September 2008 (EDT)

==Complementing people==
why should complementing people be reserved as something boys do for girls. *everyone* especially young teens trying to find their path in this world, can benefit from sharp, insightful (not empty) complements. "I really like your ideas on that last question". "Your writing style is impressive". and "I find that you have wonderful taste in literature, would you recommend something to me". "golly sally you are sure' perty" seems like something from the 1950's tv reality. We can have our well educated kids do far better than that! I try to find one really genuine thing to say about a person I work with each day. And when I can, I try to make it about them, not just what they are wearing, or things they cant change like how pretty they look.--[[User:MHayes|MHayes]] 21:07, 2 September 2008 (EDT)

:Nicely said. A sincere compliment on what someone does (which we can change with every choice we make) goes a long way to building a good self-image. --[[User:DinsdaleP|DinsdaleP]] 21:20, 2 September 2008 (EDT)

:: Chivalry emphasizes complimenting females. They appreciate it more than males do. In fact, a male can find a compliment to be patronizing or insincere.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 21:24, 2 September 2008 (EDT)

:::I'd think a female would find an insincere or patronizing "compliment" just as offensive. You're right about chivalry being oriented about the manners of men in their treatment of women, though. It just seems a shame to pass on an opportunity to teach both genders in a 21st century class about courtesy, manners and respect without it depending so much on which gender one belongs to. --[[User:DinsdaleP|DinsdaleP]] 21:31, 2 September 2008 (EDT)

::::(edit conflict) That is just wrong, Andy. A complement is important to all people. Especially people who are strong, who are intelligent, and who want to be important community leaders. Boys take and give complements every day and are better for it. perhaps you mean to say "flattery" where it isn't a complement about something someone does well, but just empty rhetoric about how pretty they are. Are you truly sitting here saying that you, a man, do not complement your students, and if you do, they boys only think it is hollow or patronizing? Teachers teach by pointing out the best in each thing they say, and then trying to help make other aspects as good. Teachers teach by saying "you have really improved in your essay writing (and it does not matter if its Jane or John), but you still need to work on your math skills". Teachers teach by giving grades that do not just have letters, but well explained reasons for why they were given that grade which *necessarily* provides things they student does well, not just things he or she does poorly. --[[User:MHayes|MHayes]] 21:33, 2 September 2008 (EDT)

==Dresses==

I believe it should be mentioned that wearing a dress is preferable for a girl seeing how it is more traditional and it establishes set gender roles. Pants were originally designed to be worn exclusively by men and were worn exclusively until the Feminist movement in the 60's. -- [[User:Jose83|Jose83]]

Girls

1. Put your superior social skills to good use by welcoming others.
2. Do not attempt to embarrass a boy, as in trying to beat him in arm-wrestling or bragging that you did better on a test.
3. Avoid excessive gossip.
4. Dress modestly, not provocatively or suggestively. A dress is preferable.
5. Avoid profanity.

-- [[User:Jose83|Jose83]]
:Didn't you learn anything since your last parody block? [[User:HenryS|HenryS]] 21:28, 2 September 2008 (EDT)

::That was parody, but given that there are essays like [[Essay:Women wearing pants]] written by sysops it's not that far a stretch. --[[User:DinsdaleP|DinsdaleP]] 21:37, 2 September 2008 (EDT)
:::Indeed. It's hard to tell here - I'm still trying to work out why I was blocked for a week as a 'parodist' in response to my edit to the Satan page. I made three changes, and none of them look at all contriversial to me. There are some users here who are on the fringe, but not intentionally parodist. [[User:NewCrusader|NewCrusader]] 14:47, 3 September 2008 (EDT)
Please focus your attention on the writing, not the writer. --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] [[User talk:Ed Poor|Talk]] 09:35, 3 September 2008 (EDT)

== Rules for both genders ==

Would it be appropriate to redivide this with one section for rules which apply to both genders (e.g. good manners, avoid profanity, avoid gossip), then the sections on ruled for boys and girls? I think that many of the rules should apply equally to boys & girls, although there are a few which are more specific. [[User:Sideways|Sideways]] 09:30, 3 September 2008 (EDT)
:Frankly, I think that would be a wonderful idea. I am a Christian woman who puts my family first. But I am also a supporter of women finding their own strength and wisdom and path - and not just being empty wombs that some people want us to be. We are mothers, and it takes an inordinate amount of awareness, lifeskills, intelligence, and even stubbornness (kids are a blessing, but damn are they a pain!) to be a good mother. Rules in our house, and rules in my highschool classes go for BOTH genders. No one hits the other, both of my kids are to have respect for each other. Both are to help out either parent when it's needed (and yes, both my son and my husband do the dishes if they need done, and I've been known to use a drill when something is loose. being the head of the household, and being a good wife as defined by Christianity does not mean you have to be dogmatic as a man nor a push over as a woman. and nothing in the bible says women are less - just that they have differences.) In my classroom, no one uses bad language, no one slouches when anyone else is giving a presentation, all students help pick up before we go out, all students help monitor each other's works. And if and when any student gets a great grade, they are encouraged to be proud of the grade but not tease others. "girls should not tease boys about higher grades" makes it sound as if boys should be getting the higher grades. Everyone is treated equally in my classes. This is what mutual respect is all about, and it is a very Christian and Jesus-like view. Bravo for suggesting it!--[[User:MHayes|MHayes]] 12:40, 3 September 2008 (EDT)

==Equal==

Boys and girls are not 'equal' - in things like strength, for instance - so it's unlikely a boy would lower himself by bragging the way sideways suggested.

We have separate do's and dont's for boys and girls because of their inherent differences. If you want to argue about whether such differences exist (or are socially conditioned), start a debate page - don't make ideological edits. --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] [[User talk:Ed Poor|Talk]] 09:33, 3 September 2008 (EDT)
:How was it an ideological edit? It was an edit related to chivalry. Wouldn't you agree that a boy bragging about beating a girl is decidedly unchivalrous? I have certainly encountered this sort of bragging, and do consider it unchivalrous, for the very reason that there is a difference in strength and aptitude, which is why I believe it should be acknowledged as a rule of chivalry. The reason that ''most'' boys would not lower themselves to this kind of bragging is precisely because they consider it unchivalrous. [[User:Sideways|Sideways]] 09:40, 3 September 2008 (EDT)
::Ed, that is also a sexist view point. Boys are not "better" than women, you know. and boys *do* brag, and girls brag. neither should be encouraged to brag. But I am beginning to find that several of you do not have Christian Equality in mind, but rather like stating that women are an inferior being. Not one place in the Bible will you find it stated that women are more likely to be braggarts then men. No where in the Bible does Jesus, or Paul, or even Timothy suggest that women shouldn't be proud of their educational accomplishments. Being a good Christian woman is about putting your family first in a melinia where the entire world wants you to put your career first. (again, why I have issues with Palin, serious ones). Being a good Chrsitian woman means knowing your husband is the ultimate arbitrator if you and he disagree about something - but it does not mean you should not express your opinion nor does it mean he should not listen and does not have to respect you. Being a good Christian woman means finding love at the core of what you do, and putting aside petty things we *all* as humans are tempted to do. but in no way, anywhere in our Bible does it suggest that women are more likely to be petty, nor that men must somehow "handle" women, or that men should be treated with kid gloves and not embarrassed in class. That is just reinforcing the idea that women are not as capable as men in navigating this world. We use different emotional paths, and put value in other places, but we are just as valuable and important as men. Your comments are hateful to women, I'm sorry to say, by belittling them and turning us into mere toys and not strong, loving, compassionate, intelligent beings on our own.Michelle. Proud mother, Proud Wife, Proud educator, Proud student and scholar (in that order). --[[User:MHayes|MHayes]] 12:49, 3 September 2008 (EDT)

== Essay? ==

Regarding NewCrusader's concern that this might be a parody, well, this is no essay at all. An essay is a ''written composition of moderate length exploring a particular issue or subject''. What we have here is just an enumeration of "guidelines".
Perhaps it would be better without the "Essay", just "Rules of Chivalry for Students," under a new category: Conservative guidelines or something like that. --[[User:CBlake|CBlake]] 11:17, 3 September 2008 (EDT)
:I'd point out that '''Essay:''' as a ''wiki namespace'' is not necessarily the same as ''essay'' in the dictionary. --[[User:EPauper|EPauper]] 11:21, 3 September 2008 (EDT)

::From that point of view, obviously. --[[User:CBlake|CBlake]] 11:30, 3 September 2008 (EDT)

:: And I'll point out that "Essay" is not actually a namespace on Conservapedia! This page (not the talk page, of course) is in mainspace. [[User:Philip J. Rayment|Philip J. Rayment]] 11:31, 3 September 2008 (EDT)
:::Oh, point taken! I thought both Essay: and Debate: were separate namespaces. --[[User:EPauper|EPauper]] 11:33, 3 September 2008 (EDT)

:::: I've avoided adding new namespaces because they frustrate searching. I've been told that there is a software change to overcome that frustration, but that seems to be low priority right now.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 12:10, 3 September 2008 (EDT)

:::::Any user can set default namespaces for searches. It's in the "Search" tab of the Preferences. Right now, it's the ''current'' scenario that makes searching frustrating because the main search box is assumed to search the encyclopedia (Well, at least ''I'' assumed that much when I first used it... YMMV, but I think general intuition agrees with me since the encyclopedia aspect is the most notable one.), but the results also show (some) debates, lectures and their homework (like [[American History Homework One Answers]]) and essays. So I'm all for proper namespaces for things that aren't connected to the encyclopedia aspect. </two_cent> --[[User:DirkB|DirkB]] 18:12, 3 September 2008 (EDT)

==Date Section==
I think the section just added by Bugler about going on a date should be removed. Is this guide not for students and about classroom behaviour? Just a suggestion. [[User:ClarkeD|ClarkeD]] 18:31, 3 September 2008 (EDT)
:It's rules of chivalry for young - and old -adults. Attraction is normal. Proper beahviour should be aimed at. Do you have a problem with what I suggest as a rule? The fact that you interpret 'going on a date' in a salacious fashion speaks volumes. It ain't neccesarily so, and that is how my advice was framed. [[User:Bugler|Bugler]] 18:35, 3 September 2008 (EDT)
::There is no need to get shirty with me. You state in your edit "if going on a date". I was under the impression that Aschlafly wrote this as a guidline for his students within the classroom setting. I wont remove anything from this and just leave it for him to decide. [[User:ClarkeD|ClarkeD]] 18:45, 3 September 2008 (EDT)
:::What I wrote is perfectly appropriate for older students. And what I am counselling is perfectly proper behaviour, OK? [[User:Bugler|Bugler]] 18:48, 3 September 2008 (EDT)
::::Post what you like, I was merely making a suggestion. Not attacking you. [[User:ClarkeD|ClarkeD]] 18:52, 3 September 2008 (EDT)

== Gossip ==

"Avoid excessive gossip." Excessive? How about just avoiding it entirely? Just curious. [[User:Human|Human]] 21:05, 9 September 2008 (EDT)
:Thank you Hew. I removed that part. Great Dane-related contribution. [[User:HenryS|HenryS]] 00:32, 10 September 2008 (EDT)

== Reactionary to the Point of Absurdity ==

Firstly, I complete respect the author's rights to his opinions about gender roles and inherent differences. However, I feel that to continue to contribute to this site without commenting on this page would be taciturn approval of those opinions, which would be incorrect. '''I find this page, and the views expressed therein to be disgraceful.'''

Are you going to force all people to conform to these gender roles? I know that you don't consider the idea of gender equality and these views to be contradictory, but the idea that boys should "carry something heavy" for girls is clearly a comment that girls are less capable. There's simply no other way to interpret it. And as for "Be appreciative when girls bake cookies for the entire class", I simply find this to be riserable. As far as I can tell, this comment has two interpretations: boys can't make biscuits, or when they do, nobody should be appreciative. The latter seems odd, and the former is again, ridiculously misogynistic. You're treating girls like the outdated stereotype that they should be "homemakers and mothers". [[George Osborne|Good Osborne]], have we come full circle? Has nobody learnt anything from the last fifty years?

Anyway, as I said, I respect the opinions in the essay, but I feel I have to point out I find them horrific, and that I in no way agree with them. Thank you,

[[User:KarlJaeger|KarlJaeger]] 15:19, 30 October 2008 (EDT)
:That does sound like an odd one... I used to work at a school, just a typical school, and they were quite paranoid about the safety of the students, both out of genuine concern and fear of legal action: If a student were to bake cookies, they would probably be forbidden from openly handing them out for fear the school may be liable should any student come down with food poisoning. If the cookies were distributed, it would be while the staff were not looking. But perhaps some schools are more permissive than others. I could probably rant on this for a time if I wished... the school trip is slowly dying out because the health-and-safety requirements are growing prohibative. [[User:NewCrusader|NewCrusader]] 15:28, 30 October 2008 (EDT)
:: I know what you mean. I help run a church youth group, and the health and safety legislation is getting ridiculous to the point where we can do pratically nothing anymore. [[User:KarlJaeger|KarlJaeger]] 15:40, 30 October 2008 (EDT)

::: Church groups are notorious for lacking in chivalry. That may be the number one reason why boys and girls often leave them when they start dating, and why boys and girls rarely date fellow members of a church group. And when boys and girls date outside the church group, the value of the church group (and all that enormous effort) is totally lost.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 23:27, 30 October 2008 (EDT)
::::Isn't that a huge generalisation? More to the point, why would I not date a girl from my youth group because it's "lacking in chivalry". That seems to be a bit of a non-sequitur. [[User:KarlJaeger|KarlJaeger]] 07:13, 31 October 2008 (EDT)

::::: I'm starting to wonder if you really have any involvement in a church group, given your response. The answer to your question about chivalry and dating is too obvious to spell out. I will observe that dating requires the consent of ''both'' parties.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 09:42, 31 October 2008 (EDT)

::::: The answer to his question is not obvious to me, beyond a very broad generalisation. That is, whether or not he dates a girl from his youth group will depend on him and the girl (including her consent), not on whether the group as a whole has or lacks chivalry. And why would his comments cause you to doubt his involvement in a church group? [[User:Philip J. Rayment|Philip J. Rayment]] 11:15, 31 October 2008 (EDT)

::::: While I'm here, I'll add some other thoughts. This essay has always bothered me, but I haven't been able to pin down exactly why. But I think I've just realised. When growing up I was lacking many of the societal norms (and I'm not here referring to secular vs. Christian), and wished that people had given me more advice such as in this essay sooner (and gentler) than they did. The problem is that these are very specific ''examples'' (e.g. baking biscuits (sorry, "cookies")), but they are presented as ''rules''. The ''rule'' is that you should be chivalrous. The essay points are merely ''examples'' on how to do that. And of course most of these apply equally to both sexes anyway (e.g. both males and females should pay compliments to both males and females, not just boys to girls). [[User:Philip J. Rayment|Philip J. Rayment]] 11:15, 31 October 2008 (EDT)
:::::::I still do not understand the core idea of treating boys and girls differently (that is, adults treating us differently) is appropriate. There is, as M. Rayment has shown, a rather public conversation (debate) going on about a test in a classroom. That is not being chivalrous, it is reinforcing stereotypes and in fact engendering the idea that boys are "better" than girls, not just "different". Why isn't there simply more emphasis on students treating *each other* well, regardless of their gender. I see nothing Christian about saying girls should not be challenged in the same way as boys; I do see tons of biblical ideas that no one should be a braggart. Love and Respect should be given for all students both from each other and the teacher, right? isn't that the core of Chivalry? treating people with respect and kindness?--[[User:JeanJacques|JeanJacques]] 11:46, 31 October 2008 (EDT)

::::::Thank you Mr. Rayment for getting it right: '''"That is, whether or not he dates a girl from his youth group will depend on him and the girl (including her consent)... "''' What has "chivalry" got to do with the price of hemlock? And to respond to the comment from Mr. Schafly, I am very much involved in my local church's youth section, specifically, the part of it that used to be called "Sunday School".

::::::And more to the point, my problems with the essay are twofold; firstly, they are oddly and needlessly specific. '''"Be appreciative when a girl makes biscuits for the entire class"'''. So, you shouldn't be appreciative when a boy does it? Or when they make Victoria Sponge? Or when they only buy biscuits (not bake them) for the class? Or when they only do it for one person? Or how about when they invite them to a birthday party? "Surely, "Be appreciative when somebody does something for you" would be more general. My second problem is the horrible gender conformity that it seems to advocate. Apparently, girls must have their parents permission to date a boy. Fine, a little archaic, but we'll run with it. But nowhere does it say the same for boys. The conclusion has to be drawn that for boys it doesn't matter. Why? Same goes for the one about biscuits; it appears not in the girls' section. Do boys not cook? Everybody has to eat. I'm hardly Jamie Oliver, but I know how to stop myself starving, short of MacDonald's every day. I could go on... so I will. The one about "staring at attractive girls"; apparently girls can stare at attractive boys. "Do not attempt to embarras a boy." But apparently it's okay the other way around. [[User:KarlJaeger|KarlJaeger]] 12:00, 31 October 2008 (EDT)

Talk:Essay:Rules of Chivalry for Students

2008-10-31T11:13:58Z

KarlJaeger: /* Reactionary to the Point of Absurdity */

Talk:Essay:Rules of Chivalry for Students

2008-10-30T19:46:40Z

KarlJaeger: /* Reactionary to the Point of Absurdity */

Talk:Essay:Rules of Chivalry for Students

2008-10-30T19:40:39Z

KarlJaeger: /* Reactionary to the Point of Absurdity */

==parody?==
At first I thought this might be parody, then I saw who created it... now I think perhaps it's not that bad a page after all. [[User:NewCrusader|NewCrusader]] 20:22, 2 September 2008 (EDT)
:Why would you think it was parody? [[User:HenryS|HenryS]] 20:23, 2 September 2008 (EDT)
::Because it's typical of liberals to accuse conservatives of being outdated, or of supporting gender inequality. If it looks like us as seen by them, it may be written by them. But I know Aschlafly is no parodist, so I can trust this. [[User:NewCrusader|NewCrusader]] 20:56, 2 September 2008 (EDT)
:This is no parody. My class of 56 teenagers, boys and girls, starts Thursday. Unlike my prior classes, this one is going to develop a bit of [[chivalry]].--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 20:26, 2 September 2008 (EDT)
::Aschlafly, might I ask where you teach? I more than somewhat like the articles I see here. I did not know as much about Barack Obama untill I read that article on him,and am rather impressed by the depth of multiple other articles. [[User:JohnI|JohnI]] 20:31, 2 September 2008 (EDT)

::: I teach in [[New Jersey]]. I don't use any school. Thanks for your comments, if sincere, and regardless Godspeed to you.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 20:34, 2 September 2008 (EDT)

::::As a thought, it would be interesting to ask the students in your pending class to contribute a few entries themselves. I'm sure most of us are not teen-age students, so it would be interesting to get their direct perspective on what they'd consider "chivalrous". --[[User:DinsdaleP|DinsdaleP]] 21:23, 2 September 2008 (EDT)

==Sports==
What does attending boys' sporting events have to do with chivalry? [[User:HenryS|HenryS]] 20:35, 2 September 2008 (EDT)

:It is supportive of your classmates.[[User:ErstBlenchPoet|ErstBlenchPoet]] 20:37, 2 September 2008 (EDT)
::I just don't see that as fitting in. Lets get more opinions. [[User:HenryS|HenryS]] 20:38, 2 September 2008 (EDT)

:::Because they are more easily injured, girls should not play most sports (except the explicitly feminine ones such as gymnastics or dance). Therefore it is appropriate for them to cheer on the sidelines and provide support.[[User:ErstBlenchPoet|ErstBlenchPoet]] 20:40, 2 September 2008 (EDT)
:::::Ah, I see. Welcome back, ErstBlenchPoet. [[User:HenryS|HenryS]] 20:46, 2 September 2008 (EDT)
::::I do somewhat object to that, I have seen quite a couple women and girls playing sports, including what you would consider not to be "explictily feminine ones", and while I have seen some of them get injured, the amount seemed about even to the men. I believe that both genders can cheer at athletic events, as below. [[User:JohnI|JohnI]] 20:45, 2 September 2008 (EDT)
::::I agree that attending sports events is supportive however I dont think it specifically applies to girls as such. More the whole class should get out and cheer each other on. [[User:ClarkeD|ClarkeD]] 20:42, 2 September 2008 (EDT)
:::::I removed it per consensus. [[User:HenryS|HenryS]] 20:46, 2 September 2008 (EDT)
::::::How about a "both" section? It would be a good place for listing things like being supportive of classmates' endeavors. I also think the "no cursing" should be #1. [[User:Human|Human]] 21:06, 2 September 2008 (EDT)
:::::::I agree with that idea. Another one I think should be in "both" would be proper dress. [[User:JohnI|JohnI]] 21:55, 2 September 2008 (EDT)

==hat doffing==
(unindent) Would removing one's hat in the presence of a lady be considered anachronistic? While a hat is no longer a major part of adult attire, many teenagers wear baseball caps and the like. --[[User:Benp|Benp]] 20:47, 2 September 2008 (EDT)
:I was brought up to not wear hats inside period. [[User:ClarkeD|ClarkeD]] 20:49, 2 September 2008 (EDT)

I can't believe my entry was removed. I am from Belgium and here most girls curtsey, and all are taught to! I can't believe that it is considered anachronistic in America! I hope the other Europeans here agree with me. --[[User:HPoirot|HPoirot]] 20:52, 2 September 2008 (EDT)
:I never saw that in Brussles. But then again, my eyes were only for chocolate. ;-) Seriously, your teens curtsey for someone other than royalty?--[[User:MHayes|MHayes]] 21:09, 2 September 2008 (EDT)
::And how often did you see men bow? Good manners are fading, but I guarantee you that every girl learns to curtsey here. --[[User:HPoirot|HPoirot]] 21:18, 2 September 2008 (EDT)

::: I don't know. Seems far-fetched, HPoirot. It hasn't been seen in the U.S. for many decades.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 21:31, 2 September 2008 (EDT)
::::You are the teacher and I do not want you to teach wrong manners. Still, I can only feel sad that the U.S. have gone so far. All the world admires and takes example from the U.S., but also imports most of your uses and manners, including some which are questionable. Good luck for your class though, teaching chivalry to students is an admirable task. --[[User:HPoirot|HPoirot]] 21:39, 2 September 2008 (EDT)

==Complementing people==
why should complementing people be reserved as something boys do for girls. *everyone* especially young teens trying to find their path in this world, can benefit from sharp, insightful (not empty) complements. "I really like your ideas on that last question". "Your writing style is impressive". and "I find that you have wonderful taste in literature, would you recommend something to me". "golly sally you are sure' perty" seems like something from the 1950's tv reality. We can have our well educated kids do far better than that! I try to find one really genuine thing to say about a person I work with each day. And when I can, I try to make it about them, not just what they are wearing, or things they cant change like how pretty they look.--[[User:MHayes|MHayes]] 21:07, 2 September 2008 (EDT)

:Nicely said. A sincere compliment on what someone does (which we can change with every choice we make) goes a long way to building a good self-image. --[[User:DinsdaleP|DinsdaleP]] 21:20, 2 September 2008 (EDT)

:: Chivalry emphasizes complimenting females. They appreciate it more than males do. In fact, a male can find a compliment to be patronizing or insincere.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 21:24, 2 September 2008 (EDT)

:::I'd think a female would find an insincere or patronizing "compliment" just as offensive. You're right about chivalry being oriented about the manners of men in their treatment of women, though. It just seems a shame to pass on an opportunity to teach both genders in a 21st century class about courtesy, manners and respect without it depending so much on which gender one belongs to. --[[User:DinsdaleP|DinsdaleP]] 21:31, 2 September 2008 (EDT)

::::(edit conflict) That is just wrong, Andy. A complement is important to all people. Especially people who are strong, who are intelligent, and who want to be important community leaders. Boys take and give complements every day and are better for it. perhaps you mean to say "flattery" where it isn't a complement about something someone does well, but just empty rhetoric about how pretty they are. Are you truly sitting here saying that you, a man, do not complement your students, and if you do, they boys only think it is hollow or patronizing? Teachers teach by pointing out the best in each thing they say, and then trying to help make other aspects as good. Teachers teach by saying "you have really improved in your essay writing (and it does not matter if its Jane or John), but you still need to work on your math skills". Teachers teach by giving grades that do not just have letters, but well explained reasons for why they were given that grade which *necessarily* provides things they student does well, not just things he or she does poorly. --[[User:MHayes|MHayes]] 21:33, 2 September 2008 (EDT)

==Dresses==

I believe it should be mentioned that wearing a dress is preferable for a girl seeing how it is more traditional and it establishes set gender roles. Pants were originally designed to be worn exclusively by men and were worn exclusively until the Feminist movement in the 60's. -- [[User:Jose83|Jose83]]

Girls

1. Put your superior social skills to good use by welcoming others.
2. Do not attempt to embarrass a boy, as in trying to beat him in arm-wrestling or bragging that you did better on a test.
3. Avoid excessive gossip.
4. Dress modestly, not provocatively or suggestively. A dress is preferable.
5. Avoid profanity.

-- [[User:Jose83|Jose83]]
:Didn't you learn anything since your last parody block? [[User:HenryS|HenryS]] 21:28, 2 September 2008 (EDT)

::That was parody, but given that there are essays like [[Essay:Women wearing pants]] written by sysops it's not that far a stretch. --[[User:DinsdaleP|DinsdaleP]] 21:37, 2 September 2008 (EDT)
:::Indeed. It's hard to tell here - I'm still trying to work out why I was blocked for a week as a 'parodist' in response to my edit to the Satan page. I made three changes, and none of them look at all contriversial to me. There are some users here who are on the fringe, but not intentionally parodist. [[User:NewCrusader|NewCrusader]] 14:47, 3 September 2008 (EDT)
Please focus your attention on the writing, not the writer. --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] [[User talk:Ed Poor|Talk]] 09:35, 3 September 2008 (EDT)

== Rules for both genders ==

Would it be appropriate to redivide this with one section for rules which apply to both genders (e.g. good manners, avoid profanity, avoid gossip), then the sections on ruled for boys and girls? I think that many of the rules should apply equally to boys & girls, although there are a few which are more specific. [[User:Sideways|Sideways]] 09:30, 3 September 2008 (EDT)
:Frankly, I think that would be a wonderful idea. I am a Christian woman who puts my family first. But I am also a supporter of women finding their own strength and wisdom and path - and not just being empty wombs that some people want us to be. We are mothers, and it takes an inordinate amount of awareness, lifeskills, intelligence, and even stubbornness (kids are a blessing, but damn are they a pain!) to be a good mother. Rules in our house, and rules in my highschool classes go for BOTH genders. No one hits the other, both of my kids are to have respect for each other. Both are to help out either parent when it's needed (and yes, both my son and my husband do the dishes if they need done, and I've been known to use a drill when something is loose. being the head of the household, and being a good wife as defined by Christianity does not mean you have to be dogmatic as a man nor a push over as a woman. and nothing in the bible says women are less - just that they have differences.) In my classroom, no one uses bad language, no one slouches when anyone else is giving a presentation, all students help pick up before we go out, all students help monitor each other's works. And if and when any student gets a great grade, they are encouraged to be proud of the grade but not tease others. "girls should not tease boys about higher grades" makes it sound as if boys should be getting the higher grades. Everyone is treated equally in my classes. This is what mutual respect is all about, and it is a very Christian and Jesus-like view. Bravo for suggesting it!--[[User:MHayes|MHayes]] 12:40, 3 September 2008 (EDT)

==Equal==

Boys and girls are not 'equal' - in things like strength, for instance - so it's unlikely a boy would lower himself by bragging the way sideways suggested.

We have separate do's and dont's for boys and girls because of their inherent differences. If you want to argue about whether such differences exist (or are socially conditioned), start a debate page - don't make ideological edits. --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] [[User talk:Ed Poor|Talk]] 09:33, 3 September 2008 (EDT)
:How was it an ideological edit? It was an edit related to chivalry. Wouldn't you agree that a boy bragging about beating a girl is decidedly unchivalrous? I have certainly encountered this sort of bragging, and do consider it unchivalrous, for the very reason that there is a difference in strength and aptitude, which is why I believe it should be acknowledged as a rule of chivalry. The reason that ''most'' boys would not lower themselves to this kind of bragging is precisely because they consider it unchivalrous. [[User:Sideways|Sideways]] 09:40, 3 September 2008 (EDT)
::Ed, that is also a sexist view point. Boys are not "better" than women, you know. and boys *do* brag, and girls brag. neither should be encouraged to brag. But I am beginning to find that several of you do not have Christian Equality in mind, but rather like stating that women are an inferior being. Not one place in the Bible will you find it stated that women are more likely to be braggarts then men. No where in the Bible does Jesus, or Paul, or even Timothy suggest that women shouldn't be proud of their educational accomplishments. Being a good Christian woman is about putting your family first in a melinia where the entire world wants you to put your career first. (again, why I have issues with Palin, serious ones). Being a good Chrsitian woman means knowing your husband is the ultimate arbitrator if you and he disagree about something - but it does not mean you should not express your opinion nor does it mean he should not listen and does not have to respect you. Being a good Christian woman means finding love at the core of what you do, and putting aside petty things we *all* as humans are tempted to do. but in no way, anywhere in our Bible does it suggest that women are more likely to be petty, nor that men must somehow "handle" women, or that men should be treated with kid gloves and not embarrassed in class. That is just reinforcing the idea that women are not as capable as men in navigating this world. We use different emotional paths, and put value in other places, but we are just as valuable and important as men. Your comments are hateful to women, I'm sorry to say, by belittling them and turning us into mere toys and not strong, loving, compassionate, intelligent beings on our own.Michelle. Proud mother, Proud Wife, Proud educator, Proud student and scholar (in that order). --[[User:MHayes|MHayes]] 12:49, 3 September 2008 (EDT)

== Essay? ==

Regarding NewCrusader's concern that this might be a parody, well, this is no essay at all. An essay is a ''written composition of moderate length exploring a particular issue or subject''. What we have here is just an enumeration of "guidelines".
Perhaps it would be better without the "Essay", just "Rules of Chivalry for Students," under a new category: Conservative guidelines or something like that. --[[User:CBlake|CBlake]] 11:17, 3 September 2008 (EDT)
:I'd point out that '''Essay:''' as a ''wiki namespace'' is not necessarily the same as ''essay'' in the dictionary. --[[User:EPauper|EPauper]] 11:21, 3 September 2008 (EDT)

::From that point of view, obviously. --[[User:CBlake|CBlake]] 11:30, 3 September 2008 (EDT)

:: And I'll point out that "Essay" is not actually a namespace on Conservapedia! This page (not the talk page, of course) is in mainspace. [[User:Philip J. Rayment|Philip J. Rayment]] 11:31, 3 September 2008 (EDT)
:::Oh, point taken! I thought both Essay: and Debate: were separate namespaces. --[[User:EPauper|EPauper]] 11:33, 3 September 2008 (EDT)

:::: I've avoided adding new namespaces because they frustrate searching. I've been told that there is a software change to overcome that frustration, but that seems to be low priority right now.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 12:10, 3 September 2008 (EDT)

:::::Any user can set default namespaces for searches. It's in the "Search" tab of the Preferences. Right now, it's the ''current'' scenario that makes searching frustrating because the main search box is assumed to search the encyclopedia (Well, at least ''I'' assumed that much when I first used it... YMMV, but I think general intuition agrees with me since the encyclopedia aspect is the most notable one.), but the results also show (some) debates, lectures and their homework (like [[American History Homework One Answers]]) and essays. So I'm all for proper namespaces for things that aren't connected to the encyclopedia aspect. </two_cent> --[[User:DirkB|DirkB]] 18:12, 3 September 2008 (EDT)

==Date Section==
I think the section just added by Bugler about going on a date should be removed. Is this guide not for students and about classroom behaviour? Just a suggestion. [[User:ClarkeD|ClarkeD]] 18:31, 3 September 2008 (EDT)
:It's rules of chivalry for young - and old -adults. Attraction is normal. Proper beahviour should be aimed at. Do you have a problem with what I suggest as a rule? The fact that you interpret 'going on a date' in a salacious fashion speaks volumes. It ain't neccesarily so, and that is how my advice was framed. [[User:Bugler|Bugler]] 18:35, 3 September 2008 (EDT)
::There is no need to get shirty with me. You state in your edit "if going on a date". I was under the impression that Aschlafly wrote this as a guidline for his students within the classroom setting. I wont remove anything from this and just leave it for him to decide. [[User:ClarkeD|ClarkeD]] 18:45, 3 September 2008 (EDT)
:::What I wrote is perfectly appropriate for older students. And what I am counselling is perfectly proper behaviour, OK? [[User:Bugler|Bugler]] 18:48, 3 September 2008 (EDT)
::::Post what you like, I was merely making a suggestion. Not attacking you. [[User:ClarkeD|ClarkeD]] 18:52, 3 September 2008 (EDT)

== Gossip ==

"Avoid excessive gossip." Excessive? How about just avoiding it entirely? Just curious. [[User:Human|Human]] 21:05, 9 September 2008 (EDT)
:Thank you Hew. I removed that part. Great Dane-related contribution. [[User:HenryS|HenryS]] 00:32, 10 September 2008 (EDT)

== Reactionary to the Point of Absurdity ==

Firstly, I complete respect the author's rights to his opinions about gender roles and inherent differences. However, I feel that to continue to contribute to this site without commenting on this page would be taciturn approval of those opinions, which would be incorrect. '''I find this page, and the views expressed therein to be disgraceful.'''

Are you going to force all people to conform to these gender roles? I know that you don't consider the idea of gender equality and these views to be contradictory, but the idea that boys should "carry something heavy" for girls is clearly a comment that girls are less capable. There's simply no other way to interpret it. And as for "Be appreciative when girls bake cookies for the entire class."
As far as I can tell, this comment has two interpretations: boys can't make biscuits, or when they do, nobody should be appreciative. The latter seems odd, and the former is again, ridiculously misogynistic. You're treating girls like the outdated notion that they should be "homemakers and mothers". Good Osborne, have we come full circle? Has nobody learnt anything from the last fifty years?

Anyway, as I said, I respect the opinions in the essay, but I feel I have to point out I find them horrific, and that I in no way agree with them. Thank you,

[[User:KarlJaeger|KarlJaeger]] 15:19, 30 October 2008 (EDT)
:That does sound like an odd one... I used to work at a school, just a typical school, and they were quite paranoid about the safety of the students, both out of genuine concern and fear of legal action: If a student were to bake cookies, they would probably be forbidden from openly handing them out for fear the school may be liable should any student come down with food poisoning. If the cookies were distributed, it would be while the staff were not looking. But perhaps some schools are more permissive than others. I could probably rant on this for a time if I wished... the school trip is slowly dying out because the health-and-safety requirements are growing prohibative. [[User:NewCrusader|NewCrusader]] 15:28, 30 October 2008 (EDT)
:: I know what you mean. I help run a church youth group, and the health and safety legislation is getting ridiculous to the point where we can do pratically nothing anymore. [[User:KarlJaeger|KarlJaeger]] 15:40, 30 October 2008 (EDT)

Joseph Kennedy

2008-10-30T19:34:46Z

KarlJaeger: Redirecting to Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.

#REDIRECT [[Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.]]

Joseph P. Kennedy

2008-10-30T19:34:24Z

KarlJaeger: Redirecting to Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.

#REDIRECT [[Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.]]

Fatherland

2008-10-30T19:32:14Z

KarlJaeger:

'''Fatherland''' is a novel, written in [[1994]] by novelist Robert Harris. It is set in an alternate 1964, where the [[Cold War]] between the [[United States]] and [[Nazi]] [[Germany]] is starting to thaw. The plot follows a Kriminalpolizei Sturmbannführer, Xavier March, investigating the murder of Josef Bühler in the days leading up to President [[Joseph P. Kennedy]]'s visit and [[Adolf Hitler]]'s birthday. Gradually, March uncovers a conspiracy to hide the mass murder of eleven million European Jews during the war.

==The Second World War==
[[World War Two]] progresses very differently in the fictional history of the novel. In 1942, Soviet forces manage to halt the German advance towards Moscow. The German forces then try to cut off oil supplies to the Red Army by launching a new attack into the Caucasus. The offensive is highly succesful, and Soviet forces surrender in 1942. In 1944, the Royal Navy is lured by false intelligence to its destruction, and German U-Boats begin to cut off food supplies to Britain. In 1944, Britain signs an armistice with Germany; Churchill and King George VI are forced into exile in Canada, and instead, Edward, Duke of Windsor, is crowned as king. This leaves the United States as the only power still at war with Germany, and with no way to reach it. (An operation along the lines of D-Day is, by this point, impossible, as all of Europe is occupied, and Britain is no longer fighting the Germans.)
In 1945, much as in original history, the United States obliterate two Japanese cities with atomic weapons, and Japan surrenders unconditional. In 1946, a V-3 missile is sent to explode above [[New York City]] as a demonstration to the US. Unwilling to enter a long range war that would likely kill many civilians, the US and the German Reich sign a peace treaty. The [[Holocaust]] happens just as in original history, but its existence is only speculated by the Allies, and no solid evidence ever surfaces.

==The World of 1964==
In 1964, a puppet [[European Union]], controlled by Germany dominates Europe, and a [[Cold War]] as developed between Germany and its satellites and the US and its allies. [[Joseph Kennedy]], an appeaser, and anti-semite, is elected President, leading to a thawing of relations between Washington and [[Berlin]]. The USA continues to fund Soviet guerilla fighting on the Eastern Front, causing a huge death toll amongst Wehrmacht soldiers. This has caused [[Adolf Hitler]] to try and ease relations; Germany can no longer sustain the massive losses to Soviet forces, despite Hitler's comments some years earlier about "welcoming" twenty years of war. In prepartion for the birthday of Adolf Hitler (the "Führertag") and President Kennedy's visit, the Gestapo have become a campaign to elimate those with knowledge of the Holocaust.

==Characters==
*Xavier March: Xavier "Zavi" March served during the Second World War as a U-Boat captain, and later joined the Kriminalpolizei ("Kripo") in Berlin as a homicide detective. He was at one point married to a woman called Klara, but is now divorced. Zavi has a son, Paul "Pili" March; a fanatical young Nazi who lives with his mother and her boyfriend. Zavi stops meeting him near to the beginning of the book.
*Max Jaeger: Max Jaeger is an obsese detective working alongside March in Berlin. He is told by the Gestapo to not investigate the death of Buhler too thoroughly, to "lose the file for a few days", as March puts it. However, he misses his shift, and instead, March gets the Buhler case, leading to the events of the novel.
*Charlotte Maguire: An American journalist who becomes involved with March, and helps to uncover the conspiracy to hide the Holocaust.

User:KarlJaeger

2008-10-30T19:22:51Z

KarlJaeger:

Don't be dense.

[[Image:Starsand_bars1.png|14px]]

[[Image:Union_jack.jpg|14px]]

Talk:Essay:Rules of Chivalry for Students

2008-10-30T19:19:27Z

KarlJaeger: /* Reactionary to the Point of Absurdity */ new section

==parody?==
At first I thought this might be parody, then I saw who created it... now I think perhaps it's not that bad a page after all. [[User:NewCrusader|NewCrusader]] 20:22, 2 September 2008 (EDT)
:Why would you think it was parody? [[User:HenryS|HenryS]] 20:23, 2 September 2008 (EDT)
::Because it's typical of liberals to accuse conservatives of being outdated, or of supporting gender inequality. If it looks like us as seen by them, it may be written by them. But I know Aschlafly is no parodist, so I can trust this. [[User:NewCrusader|NewCrusader]] 20:56, 2 September 2008 (EDT)
:This is no parody. My class of 56 teenagers, boys and girls, starts Thursday. Unlike my prior classes, this one is going to develop a bit of [[chivalry]].--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 20:26, 2 September 2008 (EDT)
::Aschlafly, might I ask where you teach? I more than somewhat like the articles I see here. I did not know as much about Barack Obama untill I read that article on him,and am rather impressed by the depth of multiple other articles. [[User:JohnI|JohnI]] 20:31, 2 September 2008 (EDT)

::: I teach in [[New Jersey]]. I don't use any school. Thanks for your comments, if sincere, and regardless Godspeed to you.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 20:34, 2 September 2008 (EDT)

::::As a thought, it would be interesting to ask the students in your pending class to contribute a few entries themselves. I'm sure most of us are not teen-age students, so it would be interesting to get their direct perspective on what they'd consider "chivalrous". --[[User:DinsdaleP|DinsdaleP]] 21:23, 2 September 2008 (EDT)

==Sports==
What does attending boys' sporting events have to do with chivalry? [[User:HenryS|HenryS]] 20:35, 2 September 2008 (EDT)

:It is supportive of your classmates.[[User:ErstBlenchPoet|ErstBlenchPoet]] 20:37, 2 September 2008 (EDT)
::I just don't see that as fitting in. Lets get more opinions. [[User:HenryS|HenryS]] 20:38, 2 September 2008 (EDT)

:::Because they are more easily injured, girls should not play most sports (except the explicitly feminine ones such as gymnastics or dance). Therefore it is appropriate for them to cheer on the sidelines and provide support.[[User:ErstBlenchPoet|ErstBlenchPoet]] 20:40, 2 September 2008 (EDT)
:::::Ah, I see. Welcome back, ErstBlenchPoet. [[User:HenryS|HenryS]] 20:46, 2 September 2008 (EDT)
::::I do somewhat object to that, I have seen quite a couple women and girls playing sports, including what you would consider not to be "explictily feminine ones", and while I have seen some of them get injured, the amount seemed about even to the men. I believe that both genders can cheer at athletic events, as below. [[User:JohnI|JohnI]] 20:45, 2 September 2008 (EDT)
::::I agree that attending sports events is supportive however I dont think it specifically applies to girls as such. More the whole class should get out and cheer each other on. [[User:ClarkeD|ClarkeD]] 20:42, 2 September 2008 (EDT)
:::::I removed it per consensus. [[User:HenryS|HenryS]] 20:46, 2 September 2008 (EDT)
::::::How about a "both" section? It would be a good place for listing things like being supportive of classmates' endeavors. I also think the "no cursing" should be #1. [[User:Human|Human]] 21:06, 2 September 2008 (EDT)
:::::::I agree with that idea. Another one I think should be in "both" would be proper dress. [[User:JohnI|JohnI]] 21:55, 2 September 2008 (EDT)

==hat doffing==
(unindent) Would removing one's hat in the presence of a lady be considered anachronistic? While a hat is no longer a major part of adult attire, many teenagers wear baseball caps and the like. --[[User:Benp|Benp]] 20:47, 2 September 2008 (EDT)
:I was brought up to not wear hats inside period. [[User:ClarkeD|ClarkeD]] 20:49, 2 September 2008 (EDT)

I can't believe my entry was removed. I am from Belgium and here most girls curtsey, and all are taught to! I can't believe that it is considered anachronistic in America! I hope the other Europeans here agree with me. --[[User:HPoirot|HPoirot]] 20:52, 2 September 2008 (EDT)
:I never saw that in Brussles. But then again, my eyes were only for chocolate. ;-) Seriously, your teens curtsey for someone other than royalty?--[[User:MHayes|MHayes]] 21:09, 2 September 2008 (EDT)
::And how often did you see men bow? Good manners are fading, but I guarantee you that every girl learns to curtsey here. --[[User:HPoirot|HPoirot]] 21:18, 2 September 2008 (EDT)

::: I don't know. Seems far-fetched, HPoirot. It hasn't been seen in the U.S. for many decades.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 21:31, 2 September 2008 (EDT)
::::You are the teacher and I do not want you to teach wrong manners. Still, I can only feel sad that the U.S. have gone so far. All the world admires and takes example from the U.S., but also imports most of your uses and manners, including some which are questionable. Good luck for your class though, teaching chivalry to students is an admirable task. --[[User:HPoirot|HPoirot]] 21:39, 2 September 2008 (EDT)

==Complementing people==
why should complementing people be reserved as something boys do for girls. *everyone* especially young teens trying to find their path in this world, can benefit from sharp, insightful (not empty) complements. "I really like your ideas on that last question". "Your writing style is impressive". and "I find that you have wonderful taste in literature, would you recommend something to me". "golly sally you are sure' perty" seems like something from the 1950's tv reality. We can have our well educated kids do far better than that! I try to find one really genuine thing to say about a person I work with each day. And when I can, I try to make it about them, not just what they are wearing, or things they cant change like how pretty they look.--[[User:MHayes|MHayes]] 21:07, 2 September 2008 (EDT)

:Nicely said. A sincere compliment on what someone does (which we can change with every choice we make) goes a long way to building a good self-image. --[[User:DinsdaleP|DinsdaleP]] 21:20, 2 September 2008 (EDT)

:: Chivalry emphasizes complimenting females. They appreciate it more than males do. In fact, a male can find a compliment to be patronizing or insincere.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 21:24, 2 September 2008 (EDT)

:::I'd think a female would find an insincere or patronizing "compliment" just as offensive. You're right about chivalry being oriented about the manners of men in their treatment of women, though. It just seems a shame to pass on an opportunity to teach both genders in a 21st century class about courtesy, manners and respect without it depending so much on which gender one belongs to. --[[User:DinsdaleP|DinsdaleP]] 21:31, 2 September 2008 (EDT)

::::(edit conflict) That is just wrong, Andy. A complement is important to all people. Especially people who are strong, who are intelligent, and who want to be important community leaders. Boys take and give complements every day and are better for it. perhaps you mean to say "flattery" where it isn't a complement about something someone does well, but just empty rhetoric about how pretty they are. Are you truly sitting here saying that you, a man, do not complement your students, and if you do, they boys only think it is hollow or patronizing? Teachers teach by pointing out the best in each thing they say, and then trying to help make other aspects as good. Teachers teach by saying "you have really improved in your essay writing (and it does not matter if its Jane or John), but you still need to work on your math skills". Teachers teach by giving grades that do not just have letters, but well explained reasons for why they were given that grade which *necessarily* provides things they student does well, not just things he or she does poorly. --[[User:MHayes|MHayes]] 21:33, 2 September 2008 (EDT)

==Dresses==

I believe it should be mentioned that wearing a dress is preferable for a girl seeing how it is more traditional and it establishes set gender roles. Pants were originally designed to be worn exclusively by men and were worn exclusively until the Feminist movement in the 60's. -- [[User:Jose83|Jose83]]

Girls

1. Put your superior social skills to good use by welcoming others.
2. Do not attempt to embarrass a boy, as in trying to beat him in arm-wrestling or bragging that you did better on a test.
3. Avoid excessive gossip.
4. Dress modestly, not provocatively or suggestively. A dress is preferable.
5. Avoid profanity.

-- [[User:Jose83|Jose83]]
:Didn't you learn anything since your last parody block? [[User:HenryS|HenryS]] 21:28, 2 September 2008 (EDT)

::That was parody, but given that there are essays like [[Essay:Women wearing pants]] written by sysops it's not that far a stretch. --[[User:DinsdaleP|DinsdaleP]] 21:37, 2 September 2008 (EDT)
:::Indeed. It's hard to tell here - I'm still trying to work out why I was blocked for a week as a 'parodist' in response to my edit to the Satan page. I made three changes, and none of them look at all contriversial to me. There are some users here who are on the fringe, but not intentionally parodist. [[User:NewCrusader|NewCrusader]] 14:47, 3 September 2008 (EDT)
Please focus your attention on the writing, not the writer. --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] [[User talk:Ed Poor|Talk]] 09:35, 3 September 2008 (EDT)

== Rules for both genders ==

Would it be appropriate to redivide this with one section for rules which apply to both genders (e.g. good manners, avoid profanity, avoid gossip), then the sections on ruled for boys and girls? I think that many of the rules should apply equally to boys & girls, although there are a few which are more specific. [[User:Sideways|Sideways]] 09:30, 3 September 2008 (EDT)
:Frankly, I think that would be a wonderful idea. I am a Christian woman who puts my family first. But I am also a supporter of women finding their own strength and wisdom and path - and not just being empty wombs that some people want us to be. We are mothers, and it takes an inordinate amount of awareness, lifeskills, intelligence, and even stubbornness (kids are a blessing, but damn are they a pain!) to be a good mother. Rules in our house, and rules in my highschool classes go for BOTH genders. No one hits the other, both of my kids are to have respect for each other. Both are to help out either parent when it's needed (and yes, both my son and my husband do the dishes if they need done, and I've been known to use a drill when something is loose. being the head of the household, and being a good wife as defined by Christianity does not mean you have to be dogmatic as a man nor a push over as a woman. and nothing in the bible says women are less - just that they have differences.) In my classroom, no one uses bad language, no one slouches when anyone else is giving a presentation, all students help pick up before we go out, all students help monitor each other's works. And if and when any student gets a great grade, they are encouraged to be proud of the grade but not tease others. "girls should not tease boys about higher grades" makes it sound as if boys should be getting the higher grades. Everyone is treated equally in my classes. This is what mutual respect is all about, and it is a very Christian and Jesus-like view. Bravo for suggesting it!--[[User:MHayes|MHayes]] 12:40, 3 September 2008 (EDT)

==Equal==

Boys and girls are not 'equal' - in things like strength, for instance - so it's unlikely a boy would lower himself by bragging the way sideways suggested.

We have separate do's and dont's for boys and girls because of their inherent differences. If you want to argue about whether such differences exist (or are socially conditioned), start a debate page - don't make ideological edits. --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] [[User talk:Ed Poor|Talk]] 09:33, 3 September 2008 (EDT)
:How was it an ideological edit? It was an edit related to chivalry. Wouldn't you agree that a boy bragging about beating a girl is decidedly unchivalrous? I have certainly encountered this sort of bragging, and do consider it unchivalrous, for the very reason that there is a difference in strength and aptitude, which is why I believe it should be acknowledged as a rule of chivalry. The reason that ''most'' boys would not lower themselves to this kind of bragging is precisely because they consider it unchivalrous. [[User:Sideways|Sideways]] 09:40, 3 September 2008 (EDT)
::Ed, that is also a sexist view point. Boys are not "better" than women, you know. and boys *do* brag, and girls brag. neither should be encouraged to brag. But I am beginning to find that several of you do not have Christian Equality in mind, but rather like stating that women are an inferior being. Not one place in the Bible will you find it stated that women are more likely to be braggarts then men. No where in the Bible does Jesus, or Paul, or even Timothy suggest that women shouldn't be proud of their educational accomplishments. Being a good Christian woman is about putting your family first in a melinia where the entire world wants you to put your career first. (again, why I have issues with Palin, serious ones). Being a good Chrsitian woman means knowing your husband is the ultimate arbitrator if you and he disagree about something - but it does not mean you should not express your opinion nor does it mean he should not listen and does not have to respect you. Being a good Christian woman means finding love at the core of what you do, and putting aside petty things we *all* as humans are tempted to do. but in no way, anywhere in our Bible does it suggest that women are more likely to be petty, nor that men must somehow "handle" women, or that men should be treated with kid gloves and not embarrassed in class. That is just reinforcing the idea that women are not as capable as men in navigating this world. We use different emotional paths, and put value in other places, but we are just as valuable and important as men. Your comments are hateful to women, I'm sorry to say, by belittling them and turning us into mere toys and not strong, loving, compassionate, intelligent beings on our own.Michelle. Proud mother, Proud Wife, Proud educator, Proud student and scholar (in that order). --[[User:MHayes|MHayes]] 12:49, 3 September 2008 (EDT)

== Essay? ==

Regarding NewCrusader's concern that this might be a parody, well, this is no essay at all. An essay is a ''written composition of moderate length exploring a particular issue or subject''. What we have here is just an enumeration of "guidelines".
Perhaps it would be better without the "Essay", just "Rules of Chivalry for Students," under a new category: Conservative guidelines or something like that. --[[User:CBlake|CBlake]] 11:17, 3 September 2008 (EDT)
:I'd point out that '''Essay:''' as a ''wiki namespace'' is not necessarily the same as ''essay'' in the dictionary. --[[User:EPauper|EPauper]] 11:21, 3 September 2008 (EDT)

::From that point of view, obviously. --[[User:CBlake|CBlake]] 11:30, 3 September 2008 (EDT)

:: And I'll point out that "Essay" is not actually a namespace on Conservapedia! This page (not the talk page, of course) is in mainspace. [[User:Philip J. Rayment|Philip J. Rayment]] 11:31, 3 September 2008 (EDT)
:::Oh, point taken! I thought both Essay: and Debate: were separate namespaces. --[[User:EPauper|EPauper]] 11:33, 3 September 2008 (EDT)

:::: I've avoided adding new namespaces because they frustrate searching. I've been told that there is a software change to overcome that frustration, but that seems to be low priority right now.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 12:10, 3 September 2008 (EDT)

:::::Any user can set default namespaces for searches. It's in the "Search" tab of the Preferences. Right now, it's the ''current'' scenario that makes searching frustrating because the main search box is assumed to search the encyclopedia (Well, at least ''I'' assumed that much when I first used it... YMMV, but I think general intuition agrees with me since the encyclopedia aspect is the most notable one.), but the results also show (some) debates, lectures and their homework (like [[American History Homework One Answers]]) and essays. So I'm all for proper namespaces for things that aren't connected to the encyclopedia aspect. </two_cent> --[[User:DirkB|DirkB]] 18:12, 3 September 2008 (EDT)

==Date Section==
I think the section just added by Bugler about going on a date should be removed. Is this guide not for students and about classroom behaviour? Just a suggestion. [[User:ClarkeD|ClarkeD]] 18:31, 3 September 2008 (EDT)
:It's rules of chivalry for young - and old -adults. Attraction is normal. Proper beahviour should be aimed at. Do you have a problem with what I suggest as a rule? The fact that you interpret 'going on a date' in a salacious fashion speaks volumes. It ain't neccesarily so, and that is how my advice was framed. [[User:Bugler|Bugler]] 18:35, 3 September 2008 (EDT)
::There is no need to get shirty with me. You state in your edit "if going on a date". I was under the impression that Aschlafly wrote this as a guidline for his students within the classroom setting. I wont remove anything from this and just leave it for him to decide. [[User:ClarkeD|ClarkeD]] 18:45, 3 September 2008 (EDT)
:::What I wrote is perfectly appropriate for older students. And what I am counselling is perfectly proper behaviour, OK? [[User:Bugler|Bugler]] 18:48, 3 September 2008 (EDT)
::::Post what you like, I was merely making a suggestion. Not attacking you. [[User:ClarkeD|ClarkeD]] 18:52, 3 September 2008 (EDT)

== Gossip ==

"Avoid excessive gossip." Excessive? How about just avoiding it entirely? Just curious. [[User:Human|Human]] 21:05, 9 September 2008 (EDT)
:Thank you Hew. I removed that part. Great Dane-related contribution. [[User:HenryS|HenryS]] 00:32, 10 September 2008 (EDT)

== Reactionary to the Point of Absurdity ==

Firstly, I complete respect the author's rights to his opinions about gender roles and inherent differences. However, I feel that to continue to contribute to this site without commenting on this page would be taciturn approval of those opinions, which would be incorrect. '''I find this page, and the views expressed therein to be disgraceful.'''

Are you going to force all people to conform to these gender roles? I know that you don't consider the idea of gender equality and these views to be contradictory, but the idea that boys should "carry something heavy" for girls is clearly a comment that girls are less capable. There's simply no other way to interpret it. And as for "Be appreciative when girls bake cookies for the entire class."
As far as I can tell, this comment has two interpretations: boys can't make biscuits, or when they do, nobody should be appreciative. The latter seems odd, and the former is again, ridiculously misogynistic. You're treating girls like the outdated notion that they should be "homemakers and mothers". Good Osborne, have we come full circle? Has nobody learnt anything from the last fifty years?

Anyway, as I said, I respect the opinions in the essay, but I feel I have to point out I find them horrific, and that I in no way agree with them. Thank you,

[[User:KarlJaeger|KarlJaeger]] 15:19, 30 October 2008 (EDT)

Talk:George Washington

2008-10-29T21:24:07Z

KarlJaeger: /* Washington/Jesus */ new section

==Discussion on George Washington Article==

Just because something is silly, does not mean that it is not true. An encyclopedia is supposed to be about the truth and while sometimes the truth is very silly, it still is important. The canonization of George Washington, while silly, is an issue that is important to many Catholics. By deleting this section, you are not living up to your own standards (e.g. Biases of Wikipedia). You claim to be Pro-Christianity and Pro-America, yet you delete a section about one of our greatest leaders as a result of anti-Catholic bias. Shame on you, sir.

In the end, there was never a way that he ''could be'' canonized. It was proposed that he should be, but George Washington was not Catholic - as you stated in the article. If he were canonized, there would be grounds for keeping this section. Nothing came out of this topic. It ''was'' truly useless information. --[[User:David R|David R]] 23:39, 21 February 2007 (EST)

I have several images taken by my own camera of several landmarks related to George Washington. I have a photo of the historic Christ Church Episcopal church in old town Alexandria that George Washington regularly attended. A photo of the very pew in which he and his family sat in during services. I also have a photo of his tomb taken at his Mt. Vernon property. How can I post these onto the Conservapedia site? --[[User:Watchman|Watchman]] 17:17, 27 January 2008 (EST)

==George Washington's expenses==

What, no mention of his expensive expense account? Washington was magnanimous enough to lead the Revolutionary Forces against Great Britain for free, saying:

<blockquote>''Sir, I beg leave to assure the Congress that as no pecuniary consideration could have tempted me to have accepted this arduous employment, I do not wish to make any profit from it. I will keep an exact account of my expenses. Those I doubt not they will discharge, and that is all I desire.''</blockquote>

However over eight years his expenses came to nearly $500,000 – well over $4 million in today's money. He also gave loans to his friends that were never repaid, he bought limes by the crateload (400 at one point), and he treated himself to every "sundry" good available. From July 21-22 1775, he bought a pig, an unreadable number of ducks, "1 dozen pigeons, veal, 1 dozen squash, 2 dozen eggs, hurtleberries, biscuit and a cork cask."

From September 1775 to March 1776, Washington spent over six thousand dollars on booze.

Once President, Washington made the same offer to exchange a salary for an expense account. He was politely rebuffed and given a modest $25,000-a-year salary. [http://www.historyhouse.com/in_history/washington/] [[User:Britinme|Britinme]] 16:01 11 April 2007 (EDT)

==Giving up power==

The British Empire in 1936, when Edward VIII voluntarily abdicated, giving up worldly power to marry the wife of his choice, included India, Canada, South Africa, Australia, and many other nations right around the globe - Edward was the Head of State of all of them. Washington's stepping aside after two terms as US president was trivial by comparison. --[[User:Burke|Burke]] 12:02, 4 March 2007 (EST)

:By 1936, the King was merely a figurehead. This was amply demonstrated by the events just prior to World War II. He had essential no power.

:Also, the abdication was to obtain something else that King Edward VIII wanted (marrying a woman). It was like resigning one position to accept another one. Had the British allowed him to marry the woman and remain King, he would have done so.

:Washington declined permanent rule over the United States despite being relative young and in good health. It was a pure declining of immense worldly power and the only similar example in world history was by Jesus.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 13:29, 4 March 2007 (EST)

::Jesus didn't decline worldly power; he declined sin in the Last Temptation. Also, you're patently wrong bout the "only similar example" being history. Let's start in Rome. Diocletian abdicated from his post as senior Augustus to allow his junior Caesar to take his place. He did this for no other reason than the good of Rome; to secure the balance in the tetrarchy. Also, famously, the Roman dictator Cincinattus served as unquestioned ruler for under a year before surrendering his position and returning to his farm, earning him a place in Roman legend. Washington actually followed Cincinattus' example, as all the founders sought to emulate the Roman Republic, and British poet Lord Byron caught on. In his poem, "Ode to Napoleon Bonaparte," the poet scourges Bonaparte before hailing Washington as "the first, the last, the best, the Cincinnatus of the West." http://www.theotherpages.org/poems/2001/byron0101.html.--[[User:AmesG|AmesG]] 10:32, 8 March 2007 (EST)

:::Another person who voluntarily relinquished power was the Italian patriot, Garibaldi, who used his army to unify the country, and then gave up the power he could have assumed. Also, George Washington should probably not be compared to Jesus if you don't want to isolate conservative thinkers outside of the United States.

==Confused==

Was he a freemason cause he had a free mason burial. Or was his wife a mason? --[[User:Will N.|Will N.]] 12:20, 4 March 2007 (EST)

: Washington was a Mason. There are paintings of him wearing some Mason regalia.--[[User:Dave3172|Dave3172]] 10:47, 8 March 2007 (EST)

Yes, definitely a mason. Only a mason can receive a masonic burial. Woman cannot join freemasonry.
Also, there is much doubt as to Washington's faith, although it almost certainly had a theistic base. According to his pastor, Abercrombie, I believe his name was, he was a Unitarian. It appears that he doubted the doctrine of the trinity and Christ's divinity.
--[[User:Adon2|Adon2]] 01:15, 19 March 2007 (EDT)

:I thought he was a Deist. [[User:FernoKlump|FernoKlump]] 12:41, 26 March 2008 (EDT)
::He wasn't a deist at all. He was a Christian, and this fact was confirmed not only in his own writings, but in the writings of others. [[User:Karajou|Karajou]] 12:52, 26 March 2008 (EDT)

::: My addition was completely cited and true. There was no reason to remove it. [[User:FernoKlump|FernoKlump]] 13:18, 26 March 2008 (EDT)

If no one can give me a reason why doubts towards his Christian faith shouldn't be added, then I am going to change it back [[User:FernoKlump|FernoKlump]] 13:46, 26 March 2008 (EDT)
::You were given a reason; he was not a deist, and that was confirmed by his and other's writings. Do not change it. [[User:Karajou|Karajou]] 11:54, 27 March 2008 (EDT)

Have you even looked at my edit? I didn't write that he was a deist. I said that I ''thought'' he was a deist in the talk page. There are doubts to whether or not he was really a Christian and the information I added reflects that. But if conservapedia is about lying to push an agenda then leave it out. [[User:FernoKlump|FernoKlump]] 12:00, 27 March 2008 (EDT)

:FernoKlump, the question is not whether or not WE have looked at your edits; the question is whether YOU have read either the writings of Washington himself, or the statements and writings of those that knew him, or both. The article stands on the fact that he was a Christian. [[User:Karajou|Karajou]] 12:46, 27 March 2008 (EDT)

::I guess there is no arguing with someone who can lock the page. [[User:FernoKlump|FernoKlump]] 12:54, 27 March 2008 (EDT)

FK, if you have reason to believe your own "thought", please share it with us. What is the source of your opinion that Washington was a [[Deist]]? --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] [[User talk:Ed Poor|Talk]] 16:23, 27 March 2008 (EDT)

: I never inserted into the article that he was a deist. I heard somewhere else that there were deistic characteristics to his faith. This is what I added and was reverted:
"While it is generally accepted that he was theistic and believed in a higher power, there are doubts that he was a Christian. He only attended church rarely and did not take communion, though his wife, Martha, did. <ref>http://www.virginiaplaces.org/religion/religiongw.html</ref>" [[User:FernoKlump|FernoKlump]] 19:02, 29 March 2008 (EDT)

OK Karajou, Washington's pastor, Dr. Abercrombie said (or wrote I'm not entirely sure) after Washington's death, "Sir, Washington was a Deist." to Reverend Bird Wilson
<ref>http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/franklin_steiner/presidents.html#1</ref>. So the question is whether YOU have read all of Washington's writings and the writings of those who knew him, or just the ones that suggest that he was a Christian. I am not dismissing the evidence that he was a Christian, I think that evidence of both christianity and deism suggests that he was somewhere in between being a Deist and being a Christian. [[User:FernoKlump|FernoKlump]] 01:13, 1 April 2008 (EDT)
:What you have picked for references was two pro-atheism blogs; the adds at the top of one ("stop the Bible thumpers!") say it all. And in the above line you write ''"Dr. Abercrombie said (or wrote I'm not entirely sure)"''. In short, you're not entirely sure. You're going to have to hit the books. [[User:Karajou|Karajou]] 03:50, 1 April 2008 (EDT)

::Virginiaplaces.org is not a pro-atheist blog [[User:FernoKlump|FernoKlump]] 10:03, 1 April 2008 (EDT)
:::By "hitting the books", you can start with this one: [http://www.loa.org/volume.jsp?RequestID=5]. I own a copy, and several others that are on this page, so you can't accuse me of not reading his works myself. [[User:Karajou|Karajou]] 10:30, 1 April 2008 (EDT)

== Slave Ownership ==

I find it amazing that someone so mean as to own slaves could ever be seen as a Christian. By the time of the American Revolutionary War (in itself a small side-line of a greater Franco-British War) the ownership of slaves was seen in most civilised countries as somewhere between illegal and unfashionable. Indeed, one of the points of contention between the American colonies and Britain was the ownership of slaves and their use producing goods sold at a cheaper price than goods made from non-slave labour.
Whilst it is true that Washington had his slaves released at his death, this is hardly gracious of him. To quote Voltaire "The man who leaves money to charity in his will is only giving away what no longer belongs to him"

:Exuse me. Many Godly men had slaves. In fact God has several instructions about slaves in the first five books of the Bible. Slavery wasn't evil. It is mistreating those slaves that is evil. -[[User:Additioner|Additioner]] 17:33, 11 May 2007 (EDT)

::I'd love to get some historical information about how and when "the ownership of slaves in most civilized countries" became illegal or "unfashionable". We could put that in the [[Slavery]] and/or [[Abolition]] articles. --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] [[User talk:Ed Poor|Talk]] 16:25, 27 March 2008 (EDT)

:::It was first outlawed in the Roman Empire under Christianity, before coming back again in a new form a millennium later. Of course in some other parts of the world it never went away at all. [[User:Learn together|Learn together]] 23:37, 27 March 2008 (EDT)

==Quotes==
I cleaned up some of the quotes and gave them the proper cites. Some of the quotes were false (the firearms quote for example). The quote about the U.S. government not being founded on the Christian religion does exist, but it has nothing to do with Washington. It was in the text of a treaty that the U.S. signed with the Barbary Pirates in the very early nineteenth century. --[[User:McIntyre|McIntyre]] 10:38, 30 June 2007 (EDT)

: That's great, but the section is still severely lacking. That second quote boggles my mind: Why in the world would you reference the Farewell Address without giving a quote related to Washington's two famous warnings: the first about factions and political parties and the second about entagling alliances. I don't have the time to read through and find simple quotes about them, but I strongly recommend the article is changed to include them. [[User:Stryker|Stryker]] 15:22, 13 July 2007 (EDT)

== Presidency ==

Shouldn't there be a mention that John Adams was his Vice President? [[User:LyraBelaqua|LyraBelaqua]] 23:49, 27 March 2008 (EDT)

==Notes & References==
<references/>

== Editing ==

I'm brand new to Conservapedia. Why can't we edit the George Washington article? I'd like to be able to make the "term of office" section more specific by including the month and day of inauguration and separating George Washington's term into "1st term" and "2nd term." [[User:Malveramenso|Mal]] 17:15, 19 June 2008 (EDT)

==Decipher George's Will==

Washington gave his nephews the Swords or Cutteaux and they are to choose in the order they are named.

''These swords are accompanied with an injunction not to unsheath them for the purpose of shedding blood, except it be for self defense, or in '''defense of their Country & its rights'''; and in the latter case, to keep them unsheathed, and prefer falling with them in their hands, to the relinquishment thereof.''

My understanding, only to use the swords to protect America ideals/rights and only reliquish by dying in defense of America?

== Washington/Jesus ==

"Washington is perhaps the only person other than Jesus who declined enormous worldly power, in Washington's case by voluntarily stepping aside as the ruler of a prosperous nation."

For goodness' sake; is this a joke? Firstly, comparing any human to the son of God looks extremely forced and rather pathetic, not to mention disrespectful to those of a religious (but perhaps not American) bent. He was a great man, but trying to compare him to Jesus just looks daft. Secondly, '''"Washington is perhaps the only person other than Jesus who declined enormous worldly power"'''. That bit's just rubbish. Plenty of people have declined power who had the oppotunity to take it.

By all means, point out that he was a noble man who believed in the ideal of liberty for the USA, and who declined power, but trying to portray him as some sort of cross between Jesus and Gandhi, whose very footsteps echo of liberty and nobility, just looks silly. Also, come to think of it, it's rather disrespectful to both Washington and Jesus.
[[User:KarlJaeger|KarlJaeger]] 17:24, 29 October 2008 (EDT)

Yes Minister

2008-10-28T15:27:44Z

KarlJaeger: /* James "Jim" Hacker */

'''Yes Minister''' is a [[British]] satirical television comedy about the workings of a fictional department of the British government; the Department of Administrative Affairs. Much of the humour is derived from the fact that Jim Hacker, despite being the Minister of the DAA is severely limited in his power; indeed, his Permanent Secretary, Sir Humphrey Appleby insists that it is his job to run the Department, and Hacker's is only to provide a public face for it.

Through the course of three seasons of '''Yes Minister''', Hacker establishes himself in the DAA, and then in a Christmas episode "Party Games" succeeds in becoming the [[Prime Minister]], backed by Sir Humphrey and the Civil Service, who believe he will be easily manipulated. A sequel series, '''Yes, Prime Minister''' ran for a further two series.

==Characters==

===James "Jim" Hacker===
After backing the loser in a bid for the leadership of his party (it is deliberately ambiguous as to which one), James Hacker (Paul Eddington) is given the Department of Administrative Affairs after spending around seven years as Shadow Minister of Agriculture. Although considered around tenth highest in the Cabinet, it has a reputation for being a political graveyard, much like the Home Office. Hacker has never worked in government before, and is constantly surprised and frustrated that he holds little real power, and that regardless of his promises made in opposition, all policies tend towards maintaining the status quo thanks to the intervention of his Civil Servants. As the series goes on, he starts to become more politically skilled, and in a small number of episodes, succeeds in outwitting Sir Humphrey.
Hacker has an unfortunate tendency to say things that are open to other, unintended interpretations. He mentions once that "ministers... are chosen expressly because they know nothing."
Hacker can be seen as an exaggeration of the typical cabinet minister; he is initially concerned with doing what is right, but then avoids making any decision that can be seen as controversial in fear of losing votes. When asked whether, when he said he wanted to do something about local government, he meant "do" something or "appear to do" something, he hastily affirmed that he meant "appear to do".

===Sir Humphrey Appleby===
Just as Hacker is a caricature of a government minister, the Permanent Secretary of the DAA, Sir Humphrey (Nigel Hawthorne) is a satire of the civil servant. He is arrogant and elitist and considers it ''his'' job to run the department on a common ground, regardless of which party is in power or the minister's own policy. He is shown to have little understanding of the world outside his upper-class, grammar-school educated bubble, but believes that what is best for the Civil Service is honestly best for Britain. He constantly lampoons the fact that Hacker has an "inferior" education from London School of Economics (compared to his own degrees in Greek and Latin from Oxford) and generally talks down to Hacker (and often Bernard).
A lot of Sir Humphrey's humour comes from the euphemisms he uses when advising the Minister:
* "A controversial decision, Minister" ''(That'll cost you votes.)''
* "A courageous decision, Minister" ''(That'll cost you the election.)''
* "Have you considered all of the implications?" ''(That's a bad idea.)''
Although Humphrey can be callous and overbearing, he is not without a form of respect towards Hacker and Bernard; in one episode he forces Hacker to protect Bernard from his mistakes, and occasionally helps Hacker to survive his ministerial career, usually in return for dropping a policy that Humphrey is against.

Sir Humphrey explained the roles of Bernard Wooley and himself to Jim Hacker in the first episode:
:'''Jim:''' Who else is in this department?
:'''Sir Humphrey:''' Well briefly sir I am the Permanent Undersecretary of State known as the Permanent Secretary. Wooley here is your Principle Private Secretary. I too have a Principle Private Secretary, and he is the Principle Private Secretary to the Permanent Secretary. Directly responsible to me are ten Deputy Secretaries, eighty-seven Undersecretaries and two hundred and nineteen assistant secretaries. Directly responsible to the Principle Private Secretaries are Plain Private Secretaries. The Prime Minister will be appointing two Parliamentary Undersecretaries and you will be appointing your own Parliamentary Private Secretary.
:'''Jim:''' Can they all type?
:'''Sir Humphrey:''' None of us can type Minister, Mrs McKay types, she's the secretary

Sir Humphrey was big on verbosity:
:'''Hacker:''' When you give your evidence to the Think Tank, are you going to support my view that the civil service is overmanned and feather-bedded, or not? Yes or no? Straight answer!
:'''Sir Humphrey:''' Well Minister, if you ask me for a straight answer, then I shall say that, as far as we can see, looking at it by and large, taking one thing with another in terms of the average of departments, then in the final analysis it is probably true to say, that at the end of the day, in general terms, you would probably find that, not to put too fine a point on it, there probably wasn't very much in it one way or the other as far as one can see, at this stage.

===Bernard Woolley===
Hacker's Private Secretary, Bernard Woolley (Derek Fowlds) is trusted by both Hacker (who is supposed to be loyal to) and Sir Humphrey (who he depends on for his future in the Civil Service). This means that both characters confide in him, and thus the audience. Bernard is shown to be extremely pedantic, pointing out the shortcomings in Sir Humphrey's and Hacker's metaphors. For example, when Hacker announced that the idea was to "cut through red tape with a sledgehammer" he points out that it is not possible to "cut" tape with a sledgehammer. Bernard often acts very childlike; when Humphrey insists that an inert compound is one that doesn't "ert", Bernard adds that it "wouldn't ert a fly". However, Humphrey considers him to be a "high flyer" and the novelisations of the series reveal that he eventually becomes head of the Civil Service itself.
Although sometimes ally of Humphrey, he also takes pleasure in conspiring with Hacker against him.

:'''Bernard''': But, you only need to know things on a need-to-know basis.
:'''Sir Humphrey''': I need to know ''everything''. How else can I judge whether or not I need to know it?
:'''Bernard''': So that means you need to know things even when you don't need to know them. You need to know them not because you need to know them but because you need to know whether or not you need to know. If you don't need to know, you still need to know so that you know that there is no need to know.
:'''Sir Humphrey''': Yes!
:'''Bernard''': Good. That's very clear!

==Department of Administrative Affairs==
The (fictional) department that Hacker leads is the DAA, the Department of Administrative Affairs, whose job it is to help administer all the other departments and to reduce needless administration and red tape. Ironically, the idea of having a department whose sole purpose is to check up on other departments is itself needless administration. The DAA's unique purpose means that the programme can use ideas for episodes that would normally fall under the jurisdiction of various other ministries, such as the Foreign Office or the Home Office.
The DAA was founded in 1964, when Sir Humphrey joined the department, but the forerunner of the department was founded by [[William Gladstone]] (so, presumably somewhere between 1868 and 1894).

==Portrayal of the British Government==
Within the programme, the elected officials and ministers are portrayed as being controlled almost exclusively by the civil servants, who have been in their posts for much longer as they are not elected. The Civil Service is portrayed as being hideously overstaffed and overpaid and resistant to change anything about itself. Virtually all of the [[civil servant]]s are upper-class with a grammar school/Oxford education but with little real understanding of the common people.
Politicians in general, and in particular the Cabinet, are portrayed as being relatively ignorant and reliant on their Civil Servants. A running joke in the series in that the Foreign Office does not reflect the views of the British people, or even the government. At one point, after being told that the elaborate reception is to "show the Arab nations whose side we're on", Hacker replies that "this may come as a suprise to the Foreign Office, but you're supposed to be on '''our''' side. Later in the series, Hacker is told "they are on our side", and Hacker seeks clarification that he meant the Americans, adding that: "for a moment, I thought you meant the Foreign Office". Former British Prime Minister [[Margaret Thatcher]] commented that the portrayal of government was surprisingly accurate, and was a fan of the show even going so far as to write a script for the programme.

== External links ==
=== IMDB links to actors and characters ===
* [http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0001329/ Nigel Hawthorne] ([http://us.imdb.com/character/ch0030014/ Sir Humphrey Appleby])
* [http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0248844/ Paul Eddington] ([http://us.imdb.com/character/ch0030013/ James Hacker])
* [http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0288621/ Derek Fowlds] ([http://us.imdb.com/character/ch0030015/ Bernard Woolley])

[[Category:Television Shows]]
[[Category:Satires]]

Yes Minister

2008-10-28T15:27:18Z

KarlJaeger: /* Portrayal of the British Government */

'''Yes Minister''' is a [[British]] satirical television comedy about the workings of a fictional department of the British government; the Department of Administrative Affairs. Much of the humour is derived from the fact that Jim Hacker, despite being the Minister of the DAA is severely limited in his power; indeed, his Permanent Secretary, Sir Humphrey Appleby insists that it is his job to run the Department, and Hacker's is only to provide a public face for it.

Through the course of three seasons of '''Yes Minister''', Hacker establishes himself in the DAA, and then in a Christmas episode "Party Games" succeeds in becoming the [[Prime Minister]], backed by Sir Humphrey and the Civil Service, who believe he will be easily manipulated. A sequel series, '''Yes, Prime Minister''' ran for a further two series.

==Characters==

===James "Jim" Hacker===
After backing the loser in a bid for the leadership of his party (it is deliberately ambiguous as to which one), James Hacker (Paul Eddington) is given the Department of Administrative Affairs after spending around seven years as Shadow Minister of Agriculture. Although considered around tenth highest in the Cabinet, it has a reputation for being a political graveyard, much like the Home Office. Hacker has never worked in government before, and is constantly surprised and frustrated that he holds little real power, and that regardless of his promises made in opposition, all policies tend towards maintaining the status quo thanks to the intervention of his Civil Servants. As the series goes on, he starts to become more politically skilled, and in a small number of episodes, succeeds in outwitting Sir Humphrey.
Hacker has an unfortunate tendency to say things that are open to other, unintended interpretations. He mentions once that "ministers... are chosen expressly because they know nothing."
Hacker can be seen as an exaggeration of the typical cabinet minister; he is initially concerned with doing what is right, but then avoids making any decision that can be seen as controversial in fear of losing votes. When asked whether, when he said he wanted to do something about local government, he meant "do" something or "seen to do" something, he hastily affirmed that he meant "seen to do".

===Sir Humphrey Appleby===
Just as Hacker is a caricature of a government minister, the Permanent Secretary of the DAA, Sir Humphrey (Nigel Hawthorne) is a satire of the civil servant. He is arrogant and elitist and considers it ''his'' job to run the department on a common ground, regardless of which party is in power or the minister's own policy. He is shown to have little understanding of the world outside his upper-class, grammar-school educated bubble, but believes that what is best for the Civil Service is honestly best for Britain. He constantly lampoons the fact that Hacker has an "inferior" education from London School of Economics (compared to his own degrees in Greek and Latin from Oxford) and generally talks down to Hacker (and often Bernard).
A lot of Sir Humphrey's humour comes from the euphemisms he uses when advising the Minister:
* "A controversial decision, Minister" ''(That'll cost you votes.)''
* "A courageous decision, Minister" ''(That'll cost you the election.)''
* "Have you considered all of the implications?" ''(That's a bad idea.)''
Although Humphrey can be callous and overbearing, he is not without a form of respect towards Hacker and Bernard; in one episode he forces Hacker to protect Bernard from his mistakes, and occasionally helps Hacker to survive his ministerial career, usually in return for dropping a policy that Humphrey is against.

Sir Humphrey explained the roles of Bernard Wooley and himself to Jim Hacker in the first episode:
:'''Jim:''' Who else is in this department?
:'''Sir Humphrey:''' Well briefly sir I am the Permanent Undersecretary of State known as the Permanent Secretary. Wooley here is your Principle Private Secretary. I too have a Principle Private Secretary, and he is the Principle Private Secretary to the Permanent Secretary. Directly responsible to me are ten Deputy Secretaries, eighty-seven Undersecretaries and two hundred and nineteen assistant secretaries. Directly responsible to the Principle Private Secretaries are Plain Private Secretaries. The Prime Minister will be appointing two Parliamentary Undersecretaries and you will be appointing your own Parliamentary Private Secretary.
:'''Jim:''' Can they all type?
:'''Sir Humphrey:''' None of us can type Minister, Mrs McKay types, she's the secretary

Sir Humphrey was big on verbosity:
:'''Hacker:''' When you give your evidence to the Think Tank, are you going to support my view that the civil service is overmanned and feather-bedded, or not? Yes or no? Straight answer!
:'''Sir Humphrey:''' Well Minister, if you ask me for a straight answer, then I shall say that, as far as we can see, looking at it by and large, taking one thing with another in terms of the average of departments, then in the final analysis it is probably true to say, that at the end of the day, in general terms, you would probably find that, not to put too fine a point on it, there probably wasn't very much in it one way or the other as far as one can see, at this stage.

===Bernard Woolley===
Hacker's Private Secretary, Bernard Woolley (Derek Fowlds) is trusted by both Hacker (who is supposed to be loyal to) and Sir Humphrey (who he depends on for his future in the Civil Service). This means that both characters confide in him, and thus the audience. Bernard is shown to be extremely pedantic, pointing out the shortcomings in Sir Humphrey's and Hacker's metaphors. For example, when Hacker announced that the idea was to "cut through red tape with a sledgehammer" he points out that it is not possible to "cut" tape with a sledgehammer. Bernard often acts very childlike; when Humphrey insists that an inert compound is one that doesn't "ert", Bernard adds that it "wouldn't ert a fly". However, Humphrey considers him to be a "high flyer" and the novelisations of the series reveal that he eventually becomes head of the Civil Service itself.
Although sometimes ally of Humphrey, he also takes pleasure in conspiring with Hacker against him.

:'''Bernard''': But, you only need to know things on a need-to-know basis.
:'''Sir Humphrey''': I need to know ''everything''. How else can I judge whether or not I need to know it?
:'''Bernard''': So that means you need to know things even when you don't need to know them. You need to know them not because you need to know them but because you need to know whether or not you need to know. If you don't need to know, you still need to know so that you know that there is no need to know.
:'''Sir Humphrey''': Yes!
:'''Bernard''': Good. That's very clear!

==Department of Administrative Affairs==
The (fictional) department that Hacker leads is the DAA, the Department of Administrative Affairs, whose job it is to help administer all the other departments and to reduce needless administration and red tape. Ironically, the idea of having a department whose sole purpose is to check up on other departments is itself needless administration. The DAA's unique purpose means that the programme can use ideas for episodes that would normally fall under the jurisdiction of various other ministries, such as the Foreign Office or the Home Office.
The DAA was founded in 1964, when Sir Humphrey joined the department, but the forerunner of the department was founded by [[William Gladstone]] (so, presumably somewhere between 1868 and 1894).

==Portrayal of the British Government==
Within the programme, the elected officials and ministers are portrayed as being controlled almost exclusively by the civil servants, who have been in their posts for much longer as they are not elected. The Civil Service is portrayed as being hideously overstaffed and overpaid and resistant to change anything about itself. Virtually all of the [[civil servant]]s are upper-class with a grammar school/Oxford education but with little real understanding of the common people.
Politicians in general, and in particular the Cabinet, are portrayed as being relatively ignorant and reliant on their Civil Servants. A running joke in the series in that the Foreign Office does not reflect the views of the British people, or even the government. At one point, after being told that the elaborate reception is to "show the Arab nations whose side we're on", Hacker replies that "this may come as a suprise to the Foreign Office, but you're supposed to be on '''our''' side. Later in the series, Hacker is told "they are on our side", and Hacker seeks clarification that he meant the Americans, adding that: "for a moment, I thought you meant the Foreign Office". Former British Prime Minister [[Margaret Thatcher]] commented that the portrayal of government was surprisingly accurate, and was a fan of the show even going so far as to write a script for the programme.

== External links ==
=== IMDB links to actors and characters ===
* [http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0001329/ Nigel Hawthorne] ([http://us.imdb.com/character/ch0030014/ Sir Humphrey Appleby])
* [http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0248844/ Paul Eddington] ([http://us.imdb.com/character/ch0030013/ James Hacker])
* [http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0288621/ Derek Fowlds] ([http://us.imdb.com/character/ch0030015/ Bernard Woolley])

[[Category:Television Shows]]
[[Category:Satires]]

House of Commons (UK)

2008-10-28T12:57:07Z

KarlJaeger:

The '''House of Commons''', or, strictly speaking, ''the Honourable the House of Commons'', is the [[lower house]] of the British [[legislature]]. Together with the Queen and the [[House of Lords]], it is one of the three components of the British [[Parliament]]

The House consists of 646 elected members, who are known as Members of Parliament or MPs. Each MP is elected by a particular geographical area known as a ''constituency''. By convention, the leader of the party which has the majority of MPs becomes Prime Minister and forms a government, with its members drawn from the House of Commons and, to a lesser extent, from the House of Lords. The party with the second-largest number of MPs becomes the official Opposition ("Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition"), and forms a "shadow cabinet", also consisting of MPs and Lords.

==Elections to the House==

Elections to the House of Commons are held when the Queen (in practice, acting at the request of the Prime Minister) dissolves Parliament. Elections must be held at least at five-yearly intervals.

Because Britain has three main parties (and a number of minor parties) and because each MP is elected to the House of Commons on the basis of winning the largest number of votes in his constituency (known as "first past the post"), the link between the overall number of votes won by each party nationwide and the number of MPs that it is able to return to the Commons can be relatively weak. The electoral system for the Commons has historically been criticised by the [[Liberal Democrats]], who do particularly badly out of it.

==Composition==

The last elections to the House of Commons took place in May 2005. The current distribution of MPs is as follows:

[[Labour Party]]: 352 seats

[[Conservative Party]]: 196 seats

[[Liberal Democrats]]: 63 seats

[[Scottish National Party]] (Scottish nationalists): 6 seats

[[Plaid Cymru]] (Welsh Nationalists): 3 seats

[[Democratic Unionist Party]] (Northern Irish unionists): 9 seats

[[Ulster Unionist Party]] (Northern Irish unionists): 1 seat

[[Sinn Fein]] (Irish nationalists): 5 seats

[[Social Democratic and Labour Party]] (Irish nationalists): 3 seats

Others (inc. independents): 8 seats

TOTAL: 646

==See also==

* [[Parliament]]
* [[House of Lords]]

[[Category:British Politics]]

George Osborne

2008-10-28T12:44:07Z

KarlJaeger:

'''George Osborne''' is a [[British]] [[Conservative Party]] [[politician]]. He is the Member of Parliament for Tatton, and Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer (Finance Minister).
Osborne was born in 1971, and went to St Paul's School in London. He studied modern history at Magdalen College, Oxford. Whilst at Oxford, he was joint editor of the magazine Isis. In 1994 he joined the Research Department of the Conservative Party. In 2001, he ran for parliament and was elected as MP for Tatton. In 2005, under new leader [[David Cameron]], he became Shadow Chancellor.

George Osborne

2008-10-28T12:38:59Z

KarlJaeger:

'''George Osbourne''' is a [[British]] [[Conservative Party]] [[politician]]. He is the Member of Parliament for Tatton, and Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer (Finance Minister).

George Osborne

2008-10-28T12:38:17Z

KarlJaeger: New page: '''George Osbourne''' is a British Conservative politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Tatton, and Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer (Finance Minister).

'''George Osbourne''' is a British Conservative politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Tatton, and Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer (Finance Minister).

Mortal Engines Quartet

2008-10-28T12:29:12Z

KarlJaeger:

The '''Mortal Engines Quartet''' (known as the Hungry Cities Chronicles in the USA) is a series of books by British author Philip Reeve set in an apocalyptic far future, after a global war known as the Sixty Minute War.

==Books==
*'''Mortal Engines''': Originally written as a stand-alone novel, Mortal Engines introduces the characters of Thomas "Tom" Natsworthy, a citizen of London, and Hester Shaw, a scavenger. The novel focuses on the traction city of London, which has uncovered an energy weapon called MEDUSA from the Sixty Minute War.
*'''Predator's Gold''': Set two years after Mortal Engines, Predator's Gold is more of a direct sequel to the original than the two books that follow, and features the same main characters. The plot takes place around the traction city of Anchorage, which is making an exodus across the ice of the north Atlantic in an effort to reach the "dead continent" of North America.
*'''Infernal Devices''': The next book expands the range of characters, with the introduction of the Aleutian engineer Oenone Zero and the daughter of Tom and Hester, Wren as viewpoint characters. Infernal Devices takes place during a drawn out war between the Green Storm, a revolutionary Anti-Tractionist movement and the Traktionstadts, an alliance of German traction cities formed in response. Much of the plot takes place on the raft-city of Brighton.
*'''A Darkling Plain''': In the final book, Oenone Zero, now named Naga ceases to be a viewpoint character, and becomes a background character. She is replaced by Theo Ngoni, the African aviator introduced in Infernal Devices

==World of Mortal Engines==

===Sixty Minute War===
The Sixty Minute War is a global conflict (though damage seemed to have been worse on the North American continent) whose details are left vague. It is known that a power called the "American Empire" (this is possibly an in-universe historical mistake, and it refers to the United States) was involved, and it is implied that a power called "Greater China" was as well. Very little other information is known, except that both energy weapons and orbital weapons were used. Virtually all old technology was lost during the war, and the resulting tectonic instabilities lead to the rise of traction cities. Occasionally, a weapon from the war is revealled to have survived, such as MEDUSA (acronym unknown) in Mortal Engines, and ODIN (Orbital Defence INitiative) in Infernal Devices and A Darkling Plain.

===Anti-Traction League===
The Anti-Traction League was formed by the nation of Shan Guo for mutual defence against hungry cities. The western frontier of the League was marked by the Shield-Wall, Batmunkh Gompa, a gap in the mountains barricaded by a huge steel wall and city. Formerly, the African statics in the south were members of the League, but
they withdrew following the military coup by the Green Storm.

===Green Storm===
The Green Storm is a radical and extremist anti-tractionist group that seizes power in the Anti-Traction League. It turns the League into a totalitarian control state, restricting all freedoms and focussing on arms production for a war against the cities. The rise of the Green Storm helped form together the Traktionstadtsgesellschaft to defend Municipal Darwinism from the radical Storm. The Green Storm is portrayed as an Eastern totalitarian state, much like China under communist rule. A reference to this is made when Oenone Zero mentions that she used to sing "The East is Green" at school, referring to the de facto Chinese national anthem "The East is Red."
The Green Storm's revolutionary military focus means that its economy suffers, and when General Naga takes power, he struggles to repair the damage caused by years of radical government. Ultimately, the Storm is dissolved and replaced with the New Anti-Traction League.
The Storm frequently used airships, in particuarly the Fox Spirit fighter-bomber.

===Traktionstadtsgesellschaft===
The Traktionstadtsgesellschaft or Traktionstadts, German for "Traction Town Society" is an alliance of German-speaking Traction cities, formed to oppose the Green Storm. The main fighter and bomber airship used is the Super-Gnat.

==In-Jokes==
Reeve frequently makes puns or jokes that are unapparent to the characters, but are noticable to the reader. For example:
*The god of Municipal Darwinism is referred to as "The Thatcher" a reference to British Prime Minister [[Margaret Thatcher]].
*A plane in ''A Darkling Plain'' is called the ''Group Captain Mandrake'', a reference to Group Captain Lionel Mandrake from the Peter Sellers film ''Doctor Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.
*The town of Tunbridge Wells has become "Tunbridge Wheels" in the age of moving cities.
*Anna Fang refers to "a bat out of Hull", referring to the expression "a bat out of Hell" and the city of Kingston-upon-Hull, better known as "Hull".
*The [[Disney]] cartoon characters of Pluto and Mickey are referred to as "animal-headed gods of North America".
*A propaganda song of the Green Storm is "The East is Green"; a reference to the Chinese national anthem "The East is Red".

Mortal Engines Quartet

2008-10-28T12:28:42Z

KarlJaeger:

The '''Mortal Engines Quartet''' (known as the Hungry Cities Chronicles in the USA) is a series of books by British author Philip Reeve set in an apocalyptic far future, after a global war known as the Sixty Minute War.

==Books==
*'''Mortal Engines''': Originally written as a stand-alone novel, Mortal Engines introduces the characters of Thomas "Tom" Natsworthy, a citizen of London, and Hester Shaw, a scavenger. The novel focuses on the traction city of London, which has uncovered an energy weapon called MEDUSA from the Sixty Minute War.
*'''Predator's Gold''': Set two years after Mortal Engines, Predator's Gold is more of a direct sequel to the original than the two books that follow, and features the same main characters. The plot takes place around the traction city of Anchorage, which is making an exodus across the ice of the north Atlantic in an effort to reach the "dead continent" of North America.
*'''Infernal Devices''': The next book expands the range of characters, with the introduction of the Aleutian engineer Oenone Zero and the daughter of Tom and Hester, Wren as viewpoint characters. Infernal Devices takes place during a drawn out war between the Green Storm, a revolutionary Anti-Tractionist movement and the Traktionstadts, an alliance of German traction cities formed in response. Much of the plot takes place on the raft-city of Brighton.
*'''A Darkling Plain''': In the final book, Oenone Zero, now named Naga ceases to be a viewpoint character, and becomes a background character. She is replaced by Theo Ngoni, the African aviator introduced in Infernal Devices

==World of Mortal Engines==

===Sixty Minute War===
The Sixty Minute War is a global conflict (though damage seemed to have been worse on the North American continent) whose details are left vague. It is known that a power called the "American Empire" (this is possibly an in-universe historical mistake, and it refers to the United States) was involved, and it is implied that a power called "Greater China" was as well. Very little other information is known, except that both energy weapons and orbital weapons were used. Virtually all old technology was lost during the war, and the resulting tectonic instabilities lead to the rise of traction cities. Occasionally, a weapon from the war is revealled to have survived, such as MEDUSA (acronym unknown) in Mortal Engines, and ODIN (Orbital Defence INitiative) in Infernal Devices and A Darkling Plain.

===Anti-Traction League===
The Anti-Traction League was formed by the nation of Shan Guo for mutual defence against hungry cities. The western frontier of the League was marked by the Shield-Wall, Batmunkh Gompa, a gap in the mountains barricaded by a huge steel wall and city. Formerly, the African statics in the south were members of the League, but
they withdrew following the military coup by the Green Storm.

===Green Storm===
The Green Storm is a radical and extremist anti-tractionist group that seizes power in the Anti-Traction League. It turns the League into a totalitarian control state, restricting all freedoms and focussing on arms production for a war against the cities. The rise of the Green Storm helped form together the Traktionstadtsgesellschaft to defend Municipal Darwinism from the radical Storm. The Green Storm is portrayed as an Eastern totalitarian state, much like China under communist rule. A reference to this is made when Oenone Zero mentions that she used to sing "The East is Green" at school, referring to the de facto Chinese national anthem "The East is Red."
The Green Storm's revolutionary military focus means that its economy suffers, and when General Naga takes power, he struggles to repair the damage caused by years of radical government. Ultimately, the Storm is dissolved and replaced with the New Anti-Traction League.
The Storm frequently used airships, in particuarly the Fox Spirit fighter-bomber.

===Traktionstadtsgesellschaft===
The Traktionstadtsgesellschaft or Traktionstadts, German for "Traction Town Society" is an alliance of German-speaking Traction cities, formed to oppose the Green Storm. The main fighter and bomber airship used is the Super-Gnat.

==In-Jokes==
Reeve frequently makes puns or jokes that are unapparent to the characters, but are noticable to the reader. For example:
*The god of Municipal Darwinism is referred to as "The Thatcher" a reference to British Prime Minister [[Margaret Thatcher]].
*A plane in ''A Darkling Plain'' is called the ''Group Captain Mandrake'', a reference to Group Captain Lionel Mandrake from the Peter Sellers film ''Doctor Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.
*The town of Tunbridge Wells has become "Tunbridge Wheels" in the age of moving cities.
*Anna Fang refers to "a bat out of Hull", referring to the expression "a bat out of Hell" and the city of Kingston-upon-Hull, better known as "Hull".
*The [[Disney]] cartoon characters of Pluto and Mickey are referred to as "animal-headed gods of North America".

Mortal Engines Quartet

2008-10-28T12:26:31Z

KarlJaeger:

The '''Mortal Engines Quartet''' (known as the Hungry Cities Chronicles in the USA) is a series of books by British author Philip Reeve set in an apocalyptic far future, after a global war known as the Sixty Minute War.

==Books==
*'''Mortal Engines''': Originally written as a stand-alone novel, Mortal Engines introduces the characters of Thomas "Tom" Natsworthy, a citizen of London, and Hester Shaw, a scavenger. The novel focuses on the traction city of London, which has uncovered an energy weapon called MEDUSA from the Sixty Minute War.
*'''Predator's Gold''': Set two years after Mortal Engines, Predator's Gold is more of a direct sequel to the original than the two books that follow, and features the same main characters. The plot takes place around the traction city of Anchorage, which is making an exodus across the ice of the north Atlantic in an effort to reach the "dead continent" of North America.
*'''Infernal Devices''': The next book expands the range of characters, with the introduction of the Aleutian engineer Oenone Zero and the daughter of Tom and Hester, Wren as viewpoint characters. Infernal Devices takes place during a drawn out war between the Green Storm, a revolutionary Anti-Tractionist movement and the Traktionstadts, an alliance of German traction cities formed in response. Much of the plot takes place on the raft-city of Brighton.
*'''A Darkling Plain''': In the final book, Oenone Zero, now named Naga ceases to be a viewpoint character, and becomes a background character. She is replaced by Theo Ngoni, the African aviator introduced in Infernal Devices

==World of Mortal Engines==

===Sixty Minute War===
The Sixty Minute War is a global conflict (though damage seemed to have been worse on the North American continent) whose details are left vague. It is known that a power called the "American Empire" (this is possibly an in-universe historical mistake, and it refers to the United States) was involved, and it is implied that a power called "Greater China" was as well. Very little other information is known, except that both energy weapons and orbital weapons were used. Virtually all old technology was lost during the war, and the resulting tectonic instabilities lead to the rise of traction cities. Occasionally, a weapon from the war is revealled to have survived, such as MEDUSA (acronym unknown) in Mortal Engines, and ODIN (Orbital Defence INitiative) in Infernal Devices and A Darkling Plain.

===Anti-Traction League===
The Anti-Traction League was formed by the nation of Shan Guo for mutual defence against hungry cities. The western frontier of the League was marked by the Shield-Wall, Batmunkh Gompa, a gap in the mountains barricaded by a huge steel wall and city. Formerly, the African statics in the south were members of the League, but
they withdrew following the military coup by the Green Storm.

===Green Storm===
The Green Storm is a radical and extremist anti-tractionist group that seizes power in the Anti-Traction League. It turns the League into a totalitarian control state, restricting all freedoms and focussing on arms production for a war against the cities. The rise of the Green Storm helped form together the Traktionstadtsgesellschaft to defend Municipal Darwinism from the radical Storm. The Green Storm's revolutionary military focus means that its economy suffers, and when General Naga takes power, he struggles to repair the damage caused by years of radical government. Ultimately, the Storm is dissolved and replaced with the New Anti-Traction League.
The Storm frequently used airships, in particuarly the Fox Spirit fighter-bomber.

===Traktionstadtsgesellschaft===
The Traktionstadtsgesellschaft or Traktionstadts, German for "Traction Town Society" is an alliance of German-speaking Traction cities, formed to oppose the Green Storm. The main fighter and bomber airship used is the Super-Gnat.

==In-Jokes==
Reeve frequently makes puns or jokes that are unapparent to the characters, but are noticable to the reader. For example:
*The god of Municipal Darwinism is referred to as "The Thatcher" a reference to British Prime Minister [[Margaret Thatcher]].
*A plane in ''A Darkling Plain'' is called the ''Group Captain Mandrake'', a reference to Group Captain Lionel Mandrake from the Peter Sellers film ''Doctor Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.
*The town of Tunbridge Wells has become "Tunbridge Wheels" in the age of moving cities.
*Anna Fang refers to "a bat out of Hull", referring to the expression "a bat out of Hell" and the city of Kingston-upon-Hull, better known as "Hull".
*The [[Disney]] cartoon characters of Pluto and Mickey are referred to as "animal-headed gods of North America".

Mortal Engines Quartet

2008-10-28T12:20:03Z

KarlJaeger: New page: The '''Mortal Engines Quartet''' (known as the Hungry Cities Chronicles in the USA) is a series of books by British author Philip Reeve set in an apocalyptic far future, after a global war...

The '''Mortal Engines Quartet''' (known as the Hungry Cities Chronicles in the USA) is a series of books by British author Philip Reeve set in an apocalyptic far future, after a global war known as the Sixty Minute War.

==Books==
*'''Mortal Engines''': Originally written as a stand-alone novel, Mortal Engines introduces the characters of Thomas "Tom" Natsworthy, a citizen of London, and Hester Shaw, a scavenger. The novel focuses on the traction city of London, which has uncovered an energy weapon called MEDUSA from the Sixty Minute War.
*'''Predator's Gold''': Set two years after Mortal Engines, Predator's Gold is more of a direct sequel to the original than the two books that follow, and features the same main characters. The plot takes place around the traction city of Anchorage, which is making an exodus across the ice of the north Atlantic in an effort to reach the "dead continent" of North America.
*'''Infernal Devices''': The next book expands the range of characters, with the introduction of the Aleutian engineer Oenone Zero and the daughter of Tom and Hester, Wren as viewpoint characters. Infernal Devices takes place during a drawn out war between the Green Storm, a revolutionary Anti-Tractionist movement and the Traktionstadts, an alliance of German traction cities formed in response. Much of the plot takes place on the raft-city of Brighton.
*'''A Darkling Plain''': In the final book, Oenone Zero, now named Naga ceases to be a viewpoint character, and becomes a background character. She is replaced by Theo Ngoni, the African aviator introduced in Infernal Devices

==World of Mortal Engines==

===Sixty Minute War===
The Sixty Minute War is a global conflict (though damage seemed to have been worse on the North American continent) whose details are left vague. It is known that a power called the "American Empire" (this is possibly an in-universe historical mistake, and it refers to the United States) was involved, and it is implied that a power called "Greater China" was as well. Very little other information is known, except that both energy weapons and orbital weapons were used. Virtually all old technology was lost during the war, and the resulting tectonic instabilities lead to the rise of traction cities. Occasionally, a weapon from the war is revealled to have survived, such as MEDUSA (acronym unknown) in Mortal Engines, and ODIN (Orbital Defence INitiative) in Infernal Devices and A Darkling Plain.

===Anti-Traction League===
The Anti-Traction League was formed by the nation of Shan Guo for mutual defence against hungry cities. The western frontier of the League was marked by the Shield-Wall, Batmunkh Gompa, a gap in the mountains barricaded by a huge steel wall and city. Formerly, the African statics in the south were members of the League, but
they withdrew following the military coup by the Green Storm.

===Green Storm===
The Green Storm is a radical and extremist anti-tractionist group that seizes power in the Anti-Traction League. It turns the League into a totalitarian control state, restricting all freedoms and focussing on arms production for a war against the cities. The rise of the Green Storm helped form together the Traktionstadtsgesellschaft to defend Municipal Darwinism from the radical Storm. The Green Storm's revolutionary military focus means that its economy suffers, and when General Naga takes power, he struggles to repair the damage caused by years of radical government. Ultimately, the Storm is dissolved and replaced with the New Anti-Traction League.
The Storm frequently used airships, in particuarly the Fox Spirit fighter-bomber.

===Traktionstadtsgesellschaft===
The Traktionstadtsgesellschaft or Traktionstadts, German for "Traction Town Society" is an alliance of German-speaking Traction cities, formed to oppose the Green Storm. The main fighter airship used is the Super-Gnat.

User:KarlJaeger

2008-09-21T20:17:14Z

KarlJaeger:

Don't be dense.
[[User:KarlJaeger/Mortal Engines Quartet]]

[[Image:Starsand_bars1.png|14px]]

[[Image:Union_jack.jpg|14px]]

User:KarlJaeger

2008-09-20T11:07:47Z

KarlJaeger:

Don't be dense.
[[User:KarlJaeger/Mortal Engines Quartet]]

[[Image:CSAnational1.png|14px]]

[[Image:Union_jack.jpg|14px]]

Yes Minister

2008-09-20T10:26:10Z

KarlJaeger:

'''Yes Minister''' is a [[British]] satirical television comedy about the workings of a fictional department of the British government; the Department of Administrative Affairs. Much of the humour is derived from the fact that Jim Hacker, despite being the Minister of the DAA is severely limited in his power; indeed, his Permanent Secretary, Sir Humphrey Appleby insists that it is his job to run the Department, and Hacker's is only to provide a public face for it.

Through the course of three seasons of '''Yes Minister''', Hacker establishes himself in the DAA, and then in a Christmas episode "Party Games" succeeds in becoming the [[Prime Minister]], backed by Sir Humphrey and the Civil Service, who believe he will be easily manipulated. A sequel series, '''Yes, Prime Minister''' ran for a further two series.

==Characters==

===James "Jim" Hacker===
After backing the loser in a bid for the leadership of his party (it is deliberately ambiguous as to which one), James Hacker (Paul Eddington) is given the Department of Administrative Affairs after spending around seven years as Shadow Minister of Agriculture. Although considered around tenth highest in the Cabinet, it has a reputation for being a political graveyard, much like the Home Office. Hacker has never worked in government before, and is constantly surprised and frustrated that he holds little real power, and that regardless of his promises made in opposition, all policies tend towards maintaining the status quo thanks to the intervention of his Civil Servants. As the series goes on, he starts to become more politically skilled, and in a small number of episodes, succeeds in outwitting Sir Humphrey.
Hacker has an unfortunate tendency to say things that are open to other, unintended interpretations. He mentions once that "ministers... are chosen expressly because they know nothing."
Hacker can be seen as an exaggeration of the typical cabinet minister; he is initially concerned with doing what is right, but then avoids making any decision that can be seen as controversial in fear of losing votes. When asked whether, when he said he wanted to do something about local government, he meant "do" something or "seen to do" something, he hastily affirmed that he meant "seen to do".

===Sir Humphrey Appleby===
Just as Hacker is a caricature of a government minister, the Permanent Secretary of the DAA, Sir Humphrey (Nigel Hawthorne) is a satire of the civil servant. He is arrogant and elitist and considers it ''his'' job to run the department on a common ground, regardless of which party is in power or the minister's own policy. He is shown to have little understanding of the world outside his upper-class, grammar-school educated bubble, but believes that what is best for the Civil Service is honestly best for Britain. He constantly lampoons the fact that Hacker has an "inferior" education from London School of Economics (compared to his own degrees in Greek and Latin from Oxford) and generally talks down to Hacker (and often Bernard).
A lot of Sir Humphrey's humour comes from the euphemisms he uses when advising the Minister:
* "A controversial decision, Minister" ''(That'll cost you votes.)''
* "A courageous decision, Minister" ''(That'll cost you the election.)''
* "Have you considered all of the implications?" ''(That's a bad idea.)''
Although Humphrey can be callous and overbearing, he is not without a form of respect towards Hacker and Bernard; in one episode he forces Hacker to protect Bernard from his mistakes, and occasionally helps Hacker to survive his ministerial career, usually in return for dropping a policy that Humphrey is against.

Sir Humphrey explained the roles of Bernard Wooley and himself to Jim Hacker in the first episode:
:'''Jim:''' Who else is in this department?
:'''Sir Humphrey:''' Well briefly sir I am the Permanent Undersecretary of State known as the Permanent Secretary. Wooley here is your Principle Private Secretary. I too have a Principle Private Secretary, and he is the Principle Private Secretary to the Permanent Secretary. Directly responsible to me are ten Deputy Secretaries, eighty-seven Undersecretaries and two hundred and nineteen assistant secretaries. Directly responsible to the Principle Private Secretaries are Plain Private Secretaries. The Prime Minister will be appointing two Parliamentary Undersecretaries and you will be appointing your own Parliamentary Private Secretary.
:'''Jim:''' Can they all type?
:'''Sir Humphrey:''' None of us can type Minister, Mrs McKay types, she's the secretary

Sir Humphrey was big on verbosity:
:'''Hacker:''' When you give your evidence to the Think Tank, are you going to support my view that the civil service is overmanned and feather-bedded, or not? Yes or no? Straight answer!
:'''Sir Humphrey:''' Well Minister, if you ask me for a straight answer, then I shall say that, as far as we can see, looking at it by and large, taking one thing with another in terms of the average of departments, then in the final analysis it is probably true to say, that at the end of the day, in general terms, you would probably find that, not to put too fine a point on it, there probably wasn't very much in it one way or the other as far as one can see, at this stage.

===Bernard Woolley===
Hacker's Private Secretary, Bernard Woolley (Derek Fowlds) is trusted by both Hacker (who is supposed to be loyal to) and Sir Humphrey (who he depends on for his future in the Civil Service). This means that both characters confide in him, and thus the audience. Bernard is shown to be extremely pedantic, pointing out the shortcomings in Sir Humphrey's and Hacker's metaphors. For example, when Hacker announced that the idea was to "cut through red tape with a sledgehammer" he points out that it is not possible to "cut" tape with a sledgehammer. Bernard often acts very childlike; when Humphrey insists that an inert compound is one that doesn't "ert", Bernard adds that it "wouldn't ert a fly". However, Humphrey considers him to be a "high flyer" and the novelisations of the series reveal that he eventually becomes head of the Civil Service itself.
Although sometimes ally of Humphrey, he also takes pleasure in conspiring with Hacker against him.

:'''Bernard''': But, you only need to know things on a need-to-know basis.
:'''Sir Humphrey''': I need to know ''everything''. How else can I judge whether or not I need to know it?
:'''Bernard''': So that means you need to know things even when you don't need to know them. You need to know them not because you need to know them but because you need to know whether or not you need to know. If you don't need to know, you still need to know so that you know that there is no need to know.
:'''Sir Humphrey''': Yes!
:'''Bernard''': Good. That's very clear!

==Department of Administrative Affairs==
The (fictional) department that Hacker leads is the DAA, the Department of Administrative Affairs, whose job it is to help administer all the other departments and to reduce needless administration and red tape. Ironically, the idea of having a department whose sole purpose is to check up on other departments is itself needless administration. The DAA's unique purpose means that the programme can use ideas for episodes that would normally fall under the jurisdiction of various other ministries, such as the Foreign Office or the Home Office.
The DAA was founded in 1964, when Sir Humphrey joined the department, but the forerunner of the department was founded by [[William Gladstone]] (so, presumably somewhere between 1868 and 1894).

==Portrayal of the British Government==
Within the programme, the elected officials and ministers are portrayed as being controlled almost exclusively by the civil servants, who have been in their posts for much longer as they are not elected. The Civil Service is portrayed as being hideously overstaffed and overpaid and resistant to change anything about itself. Virtually all of the [[civil servant]]s are upper-class with a grammar school/Oxford education but with little real understanding of the common people.
Politicians in general, and in particular the Cabinet, are portrayed as being relatively ignorant and reliant on their Civil Servants. A running joke in the series in that the Foreign Office does not reflect the views of the British people, or even the government. At one point, after being told that the elaborate reception is to "show the Arab nations whose side we're on", Hacker replies that "this may come as a suprise to the Foreign Office, but you're supposed to be on '''our''' side. Later in the series, Hacker is told "they are on our side", and Hacker clarifies that he meant the Americans, adding that: "for a moment, I thought you meant the Foreign Office". Former British Prime Minister [[Margaret Thatcher]] commented that the portrayal of government was surprisingly accurate, and went as far as to write a script for the programme.

== External links ==
=== IMDB links to actors and characters ===
* [http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0001329/ Nigel Hawthorne] ([http://us.imdb.com/character/ch0030014/ Sir Humphrey Appleby])
* [http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0248844/ Paul Eddington] ([http://us.imdb.com/character/ch0030013/ James Hacker])
* [http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0288621/ Derek Fowlds] ([http://us.imdb.com/character/ch0030015/ Bernard Woolley])

[[Category:Television Shows]]
[[Category:Satires]]

Fatherland

2008-09-09T12:29:25Z

KarlJaeger: New page: '''Fatherland''' is a novel, written in 1994 by novelist Robert Harris. It is set in an alternate 1964, where the German Third Reich and the United States are in a Cold War. ==The...

'''Fatherland''' is a novel, written in [[1994]] by novelist Robert Harris. It is set in an alternate 1964, where the German Third Reich and the United States are in a [[Cold War]].

==The Second World War==
[[World War Two]] progresses very differently in the fictional history of the novel. In 1942, Soviet forces manage to halt the German advance towards Moscow. The German forces then try to cut off oil supplies to the Red Army by launching a new attack into the Caucasus. The offensive is highly succesful, and Soviet forces surrender in 1942. In 1944, the Royal Navy is lured by false intelligence to its destruction, and German U-Boats begin to cut off food supplies to Britain. In 1944, Britain signs an armistice with Germany; Churchill and King George VI are forced into exile in Canada, and instead, Edward, Duke of Windsor, is crowned as king.
In 1945, much as in original history, the United States obliterate two Japanese cities with atomic weapons, and Japan surrenders. In 1946, a V-3 missile is sent to explode above [[New York City]] as a demonstration to the US. The US and the German Reich sign a peace treaty. The [[Holocaust]] happens just as in original history, but its existence is only speculated by the Allies, and no solid evidence ever surfaces.

==The World of 1964==
In 1964, the European Union allows Germany to control the nations of Europe, and a [[Cold War]] as developed between Germany and its satellites and the US and its allies. [[Joseph Kennedy]], an appeaser, and anti-semite, is elected President, leading to a thawing of relations between Washington and [[Berlin]]. The USA continues to fund Soviet guerilla fighting on the Eastern Front, causing a huge death toll amongst Wehrmacht soldiers. This has caused [[Adolf Hitler]] to try and ease relations; Germany can no longer sustain the massive losses to Soviet forces, despite Hitler's comments some years earlier about "welcoming" twenty years of war. In prepartion for the birthday of Adolf Hitler (the "Fuehrertag") and President Kennedy's visit, the Gestapo have become a campaign to elimate those with knowledge of the Holocaust.

==Characters==
*Xavier March: Xavier "Zavi" March served during the Second World War as a U-Boat captain, and later joined the Kriminalpolizei ("Kripo") in Berlin as a homicide detective. He was at one point married, but is now divorced, and has one son, Paul "Pili" March, who lives with his mother.
*Max Jaeger: Max Jaeger is an obsese detective working alongside March in Berlin. He is told by the Gestapo to not investigate the death of Buhler too thoroughly, to "lose the file for a few days", as March puts it. However, he misses his shift, and instead, March gets the Buhler case, leading to the events of the novel.
*Charlotte Maguire: An American journalist who becomes involved with March, and helps to uncover the conspiracy to hide the Holocaust.

Oswald Mosley

2008-07-02T18:34:52Z

KarlJaeger:

'''Sir Oswald Ernald Erwin Mosley''' (1896 - 1980) was a [[British]] politician and [[fascist]]. Originally a conservative MP, he became independant, then a Labour MP, before resigning from the Cabinet after his policies were rejected. He formed his own "New Party", but this did not last a significant amount of time. Finally, he founded and led the [[British]] Union of Fascists during the 1930s and advocated pro-[[Nazi]] policies. Interned during the war, he later made two unsuccessful attemps to re-enter [[parliament]]. He later settled in Paris near the home of his close friend, the former King [[Edward VIII]]. Despite his pro-[[Nazi]] politics, Mosley is widely reported as having described [[Adolf Hitler]], to his face, as a jumped up little corporal. He was on much closer terms with [[Joseph Goebbels]].

[[Category:World War II]]
[[Category:England]]
[[Category:Political People|Mosley, Oswald]]

Oswald Mosley

2008-07-01T18:11:36Z

KarlJaeger:

'''Sir Oswald Ernald Erwin Mosley''' (1896 - 1980) was a [[British]] politician and [[fascist]]. Originally a conservative MP, he became independant, then a Labour MP, before resigning from the Cabinet after his policies were rejected. He formed his own New Part, but this did not last a significant amount of time. Finally, he founded and led the [[British]] Union of Fascists during the 1930s and advocated pro-[[Nazi]] policies. Interned during the war, he later made two unsuccessful attemps to re-enter [[parliament]]. He later settled in Paris near the home of his close friend, the former King [[Edward VIII]]. Despite his pro-[[Nazi]] politics, Mosley is widely reported as having described [[Adolf Hitler]], to his face, as a jumped up little corporal. He was on much closer terms with [[Joseph Goebbels]].

[[Category:World War II]]
[[Category:England]]
[[Category:Political People|Mosley, Oswald]]

Yes Minister

2008-06-29T20:21:53Z

KarlJaeger: /* Sir Humphrey Appleby */

'''Yes Minister''' is a [[British]] satirical television comedy about the workings of a fictional department of the British government; the Department of Administrative Affairs. Much of the humour is derived from the fact that Jim Hacker, despite being the Minister of the DAA is severely limited in his power; indeed, his Permanent Secretary, Sir Humphrey Appleby insists that it is his job to run the Department, and Hacker's is only to provide a public face for it.

Through the course of three seasons of '''Yes Minister''', Hacker establishes himself in the DAA, and then in a Christmas episode "Party Games" succeeds in becoming the [[Prime Minister]], backed by Sir Humphrey and the Civil Service, who believe he will be easily manipulated. A sequel series, '''Yes, Prime Minister''' ran for a further two series.

==Characters==

===James "Jim" Hacker===
After backing the loser in a bid for the leadership of his party (it is deliberately ambiguous and to which one), James Hacker (Paul Eddington) is given the Department of Administrative Affairs after spending around seven years as Shadow Minister of Agriculture. Although considered around tenth highest in the Cabinet, it has a reputation for being a political graveyard, much like the Home Office. Hacker has never worked in government before, and is constantly surprised and frustrated that he holds little real power, and that regardless of his promises made in opposition, all policies tend towards maintaining the status quo thanks to the intervention of his Civil Servants. As the series goes on, he starts to become more politically skilled, and in a small number of episodes, succeeds in outwitting Sir Humphrey.
Hacker has an unfortunate tendency to say things that are open to other, unintended interpretations. He mentions once that "ministers... are chosen expressly because they know nothing."
Hacker can be seen as an exaggeration of the typical cabinet minister; he is initially concerned with doing what is right, but then avoids making any decision that can be seen as controversial in fear of losing votes. When asked whether, when he said he wanted to do something about local government, he meant "do" something or "seen to do" something, he hastily affirmed that he meant "seen to do".

===Sir Humphrey Appleby===
Just as Hacker is a cariacture of a government minister, the Permanent Secretary of the DAA, Sir Humphrey (Nigel Hawthorne) is a satire of the civil servant. He is arrogant and elitist and considers it ''his'' job to run the department on a common ground, regardless of which party is in power or the minister's own policy. He is shown to have little understanding of the world outside his upper-class, grammar-school educated bubble, but believes that what is best for the Civil Service is honestly best for Britain. He constantly lampoons the fact that Hacker has an "inferior" education from London School of Economics (compared to his own degrees in Greek and Latin from Oxford) and generally talks down to Hacker (and often Bernard).
A lot of Sir Humphrey's humour comes from the euphemisms he uses when advising the Minister:
* "A controversial decision, Minister" ''(That'll cost you votes.)''
* "A courageous decision, Minister" ''(That'll cost you the election.)''
* "Have you considered all of the implications?" ''(That's a bad idea.)''
Although Humphrey can be callous and overbearing, he is not without a form of respect towards Hacker and Bernard; in one episode he forces Hacker to protect Bernard from his mistakes, and occasionally helps Hacker to survive his ministerial career, usually in return for dropping a policy that Humphrey is against.

Sir Humphrey explained the roles of Bernard Wooley and himself to Jim Hacker in the first episode:
:'''Jim:''' Who else is in this department?
:'''Sir Humphrey:''' Well briefly sir I am the Permanent Undersecretary of State known as the Permanent Secretary. Wooley here is your Principle Private Secretary. I too have a Principle Private Secretary, and he is the Principle Private Secretary to the Permanent Secretary. Directly responsible to me are ten Deputy Secretaries, eighty-seven Undersecretaries and two hundred and nineteen assistant secretaries. Directly responsible to the Principle Private Secretaries are Plain Private Secretaries. The Prime Minister will be appointing two Parliamentary Undersecretaries and you will be appointing your own Parliamentary Private Secretary.
:'''Jim:''' Can they all type?
:'''Sir Humphrey:''' None of us can type Minister, Mrs McKay types, she's the secretary

Sir Humphrey was big on verbosity:
:'''Hacker:''' When you give your evidence to the Think Tank, are you going to support my view that the civil service is overmanned and feather-bedded, or not? Yes or no? Straight answer!
:'''Sir Humphrey:''' Well Minister, if you ask me for a straight answer, then I shall say that, as far as we can see, looking at it by and large, taking one thing with another in terms of the average of departments, then in the final analysis it is probably true to say, that at the end of the day, in general terms, you would probably find that, not to put too fine a point on it, there probably wasn't very much in it one way or the other as far as one can see, at this stage.

===Bernard Woolley===
Hacker's Private Secretary, Bernard Woolley (Derek Fowlds) is trusted by both Hacker (who is supposed to be loyal to) and Sir Humphrey (who he depends on for his future in the Civil Service). This means that both characters confide in him, and thus the audience. Bernard is shown to be extremely pedantic, pointing out the shortcomings in Sir Humphrey's and Hacker's metaphors. For example, when Hacker announced that the idea was to "cut through red tape with a sledgehammer" he points out that it is not possible to "cut" tape with a sledgehammer. Bernard often acts very childlike; when Humphrey insists that an inert compound is one that doesn't "ert", Bernard adds that it "wouldn't ert a fly". However, Humphrey considers him to be a "high flyer" and the novelisations of the series reveal that he eventually becomes head of the Civil Service itself.
Although sometimes ally of Humphrey, he also takes pleasure in conspiring with Hacker against him.

:'''Bernard''': But, you only need to know things on a need-to-know basis.
:'''Sir Humphrey''': I need to know ''everything''. How else can I judge whether or not I need to know it?
:'''Bernard''': So that means you need to know things even when you don't need to know them. You need to know them not because you need to know them but because you need to know whether or not you need to know. If you don't need to know, you still need to know so that you know that there is no need to know.
:'''Sir Humphrey''': Yes!
:'''Bernard''': Good. That's very clear!

==Department of Administrative Affairs==
The (fictional) department that Hacker leads is the DAA, the Department of Administrative Affairs, whose job it is to help administer all the other departments and to reduce needless administration and red tape. Ironically, the idea of having a department whose sole purpose is to check up on other departments is itself needless administration. The DAA's unique purpose means that the programme can use ideas for episodes that would normally fall under the jurisdiction of various other ministries, such as the Foreign Office or the Home Office.
The DAA was founded in 1964, when Sir Humphrey joined the department, but the forerunner of the department was founded by [[William Gladstone]] (so, presumably somewhere between 1868 and 1894).

==Portrayal of the British Government==
Within the programme, the elected officials and ministers are portrayed as being controlled almost exclusively by the civil servants, who have been in their posts for much longer as they are not elected. The Civil Service is portrayed as being hideously overstaffed and overpaid and resistant to change anything about itself. Virtually all of the [[civil servant]]s are upper-class with a grammar school/Oxford education but with little real understanding of the common people.
Politicians in general, and in particular the Cabinet, are portrayed as being relatively ignorant and reliant on their Civil Servants. A running joke in the series in that the Foreign Office does not reflect the views of the British people, or even the government. At one point, after being told that the elaborate reception is to "show the Arab nations whose side we're on", Hacker replies that "this may come as a suprise to the Foreign Office, but you're supposed to be on '''our''' side. Former British Prime Minister [[Margaret Thatcher]] commented that the portrayal of government was surprisingly accurate.

== External links ==
=== IMDB links to actors and characters ===
* [http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0001329/ Nigel Hawthorne] ([http://us.imdb.com/character/ch0030014/ Sir Humphrey Appleby])
* [http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0248844/ Paul Eddington] ([http://us.imdb.com/character/ch0030013/ James Hacker])
* [http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0288621/ Derek Fowlds] ([http://us.imdb.com/character/ch0030015/ Bernard Woolley])

[[Category:Broadcasting]]
[[Category:Television Shows]]
[[Category:Satires]]

Marcus Brigstocke

2008-06-29T20:00:56Z

KarlJaeger:

'''Marcus Brigstocke''' is an English comedian who is perhaps best down for the Now Show and the News Quiz, both broadcast at 6:30 pm on [[BBC]] Radio 4. He is known for strong left-wing political views and a tendency to criticize those in power, particularly the United States Bush administration and the pro-American British government.

At one point, Marcus wrote a joke mocking the anti-video games movement: “If Pac-Man had affected us as kids, we'd all be running around in dark rooms, munching pills and listening to repetitive electronic music.” This joke has become an internet meme and been ascribed to various people such as the CEO of Nintendo or Bill Gates; those who have heard of it are generally unaware that it was created by Marcus. Marcus expresses irritation at this, but claims that he’s given up the fight.

{{quotebox|I am gutted that it has been claimed and passed around by so many people. Intellectual property law will not save me, the false claims will continue until I am man enough to give it all up. - Marcus Brigstocke <ref>http://www.marcusbrigstocke.com/pacman.asp</ref>}}

==Appearances==
Marcus is a regular comedian on the Now Show, a topical satirical comedy. Generally, his piece on the show is a five or six minute long monologue on various subjects that he feels strongly about, though generally exaggerated for comedic effect. Some of these are relatively serious political issues (religion, the occupation of Iraq) whilst some are more light-hearted (the state of the Post Office, David Blaine), but all are generally subject to Marcus' "anger".
Marcus performed a stand-up routine which was put onto DVD called "Planet Corduroy". Most of the show was comprised of material re-used from his pieces on the Now Show, with a number of new sections added. This show, however, featured a good deal of profanity that was not present in the original Now Show episodes.
Marcus has also appeared a number of times on Have I Got News For You, the British comedic panel game.

==Political Views==
Marcus' comedy tends to be strongly political, and is generally consistent with his left-wing views.
* The War on Terror: Marcus insists that Saddam Hussein was dangerous and that Iraq was a bad place to live, but also points out that conditions have heavily deteriorate since the coalition occupation, at one point commenting: "How do you make Iraq worse?"
* The Bush Administration: Marcus is deeply critical of the current United States government, at one point referring to them as "the hawks and neo-con murderers in the [[White House]]. However, he says that he finds America to be "a brilliant idea", but claims that it's "broken".
* Immigration: Marcus is critical of those who complain about immigration and "stealing our jobs", pointing out that they generally only take peoples' jobs because they are generally prepared to work harder and for less.
* United States gun laws: Marcus is also critical of the current United States gun laws, insisting that the Second Amendment is being misinterpreted by missing out "a well regulated militia". He humorously argues that very few people need assault rifles and armour-piercing bullets for "hunting", and satirically asks: "just how big do American deer get?"
* Religion: Marcus is critical of all major religions, but generally respects (or at least steers clear of) faith itself. He is an atheist, and is deeply against the current religious conflicts over the world. At one point, Marcus satirically asks whether “the rest of us can have our planet back”.
* Climate change: Marcus is an environmentalist, and points out that around 80% of the scientific community are concerned about climate change, and that the anti-climate change lobby's arguments are relatively weak.

==Personal Life==
* Marcus is dyslexic, and says that he often has difficulty with using autocue systems due to this.
* Marcus is an atheist, and is part of Richard Dawkins’ “Out Campaign” supporting atheism. He generally restricts his attacks to religious practice or dogma, rather than at faith itself.
* Marcus has two children and is married.
* Marcus enjoys snowboarding.

==References==

<References/>

Only Fools and Horses

2008-06-29T19:58:02Z

KarlJaeger:

'''Only Fools and Horses''' is a [[British]] [[television]] [[comedy]] about a working class pair of brothers, Derek "Del Boy" Trotter ([[David Jason]]) and Rodney Trotter ([[Nicholas Lyndhurst]]) and an elderly relative, Grandad Edward Trotter([[Lennard Pearce]]) and later Uncle Albert Trotter([[Buster Merryfield]]). The two run a company, Trotters Independant Traders (the humourous initials are intentional), which sells virtually anything that he thinks can make a profit.

The title "Only Fools and Horses" comes from the opening [[music]] for the show, in which the singer asks rhetorically "why do only fools and horses work?"

Although no longer in original production, the show is seen on reruns.

[[Category:British Comedy]]

User:KarlJaeger/Mortal Engines Quartet

2008-06-29T19:56:27Z

KarlJaeger:

The '''Mortal Engines Quartet''' (known as the Hungry Cities Chronicles in the USA) is a series of books by British author Philip Reeve set in an apocalyptic far future, after a global war known as the Sixty Minute War.

==Books==
*'''Mortal Engines''': Originally written as a stand-alone novel, Mortal Engines introduces the characters of Thomas "Tom" Natsworthy, a citizen of London, and Hester Shaw, a scavenger. The novel focuses on the traction city of London, which has uncovered an energy weapon called MEDUSA from the Sixty Minute War.
*'''Predator's Gold''': Set two years after Mortal Engines, Predator's Gold is more of a direct sequel to the original than the two books that follow, and features the same main characters. The plot takes place around the traction city of Anchorage, which is making an exodus across the ice of the north Atlantic in an effort to reach the "dead continent" of North America.
*'''Infernal Devices''': The next book expands the range of characters, with the introduction of the Aleutian engineer Oenone Zero and the daughter of Tom and Hester, Wren as viewpoint characters. Infernal Devices takes place during a drawn out war between the Green Storm, a revolutionary Anti-Tractionist movement and the Traktionstadts, an alliance of German traction cities formed in response. Much of the plot takes place on the raft-city of Brighton.
*'''A Darkling Plain''': In the final book, Oenone Zero, now named Naga ceases to be a viewpoint character, and becomes a background character. She is replaced by Theo Ngoni, the African aviator introduced in Infernal Devices

==World of Mortal Engines==

===Sixty Minute War===
The Sixty Minute War is a global conflict (though damage seemed to have been worse on the North American continent) whose details are left vague. It is known that a power called the "American Empire" (this is possibly an in-universe historical mistake, and it refers to the United States) was involved, and it is implied that a power called "Greater China" was as well. Very little other information is known, except that both energy weapons and orbital weapons were used. Virtually all old technology was lost during the war, and the resulting tectonic instabilities lead to the rise of traction cities. Occasionally, a weapon from the war is revealled to have survived, such as MEDUSA (acronym unknown) in Mortal Engines, and ODIN (Orbital Defence INitiative) in Infernal Devices and A Darkling Plain.

===Anti-Traction League===
The Anti-Traction League was formed by the nation of Shan Guo for mutual defence against hungry cities. The western frontier of the League was marked by the Shield-Wall, Batmunkh Gompa, a gap in the mountains barricaded by a huge steel wall and city. Formerly, the African statics in the south were members of the League, but
they withdrew following the military coup by the Green Storm.

===Green Storm===
The Green Storm is a radical and extremist anti-tractionist group that seizes power in the Anti-Traction League. It turns the League into a totalitarian control state, restricting all freedoms and focussing on arms production for a war against the cities. The rise of the Green Storm helped form together the Traktionstadtsgesellschaft to defend Municipal Darwinism from the radical Storm. The Green Storm's revolutionary military focus means that its economy suffers, and when General Naga takes power, he struggles to repair the damage caused by years of radical government. Ultimately, the Storm is dissolved and replaced with the New Anti-Traction League.
The Storm frequently used airships, in particuarly the Fox Spirit fighter-bomber.

===Traktionstadtsgesellschaft===
The Traktionstadtsgesellschaft or Traktionstadts, German for "Traction Town Society" is an alliance of German-speaking Traction cities, formed to oppose the Green Storm. The main fighter airship used is the Super-Gnat.

==Characters==
===Tom Natsworthy===
Viewpoint Character: ME, PG, ID, ADP

===Hester Shaw===
Viewpoint Character: ME, PG, ID, ADP

===Katherine Valentine===
Viewpoint Character: ME

===Wren Natsworthy===
Viewpoint Character: ID, ADP

===Oenone Zero/Naga===
Viewpoint Character: ID

===Theo Ngoni===
Viewpoint Character: ADP

===Caul==
Viewpoint Character: PG

Progressive taxation

2008-06-29T19:40:03Z

KarlJaeger: Before I get banned for putting the left-wing note back in, please note that the Conservapedia article on "Liberal" specifically says "Income redistribution, usually through progressive taxation".

'''Progressive taxation''' is a typically [[Liberal]] [[tax]] policy whereby the rich are taxed more heavily than the poor. They are placed into ''progressively higher'' [[tax brackets]].

[[Category:Finance]][[Category:Government]]

Fascism

2008-06-28T20:56:18Z

KarlJaeger: /* Modern Times */

'''Fascism''' is an [[totalitarian]] economic and political ideology that arose in early twentieth-century Europe and came to dominate the social and political systems of a number of European and other nations. The last European fascism-related regime, that of [[Francisco Franco]] in Spain, came to an end in 1975.

The name "fascism" derives from an ancient Roman symbol, the ''[[fasces]],'' a group of birch rods bundled together with an axe. It symbolizes strength in unity; the rods are weak by themselves but strong when bundled together. Fascism is at the extreme right of the political spectrum. <ref>George Lavan Weissman, [http://marx.org/archive/trotsky/works/1944/1944-fas.htm ''FASCISM What It Is and How To Fight It'',]</ref>

== Beliefs ==

Fascists believe that all actions should be done for the good of the state (rather than [[classical liberalism]], which focuses on the good of the individual). This definition expands to [[economic]] policy as well, with [[government]] and [[business]] working together for this end - this is called "corporatism." Modern "public-private partnerships" have their roots in corporatism, though they are not necessarily oppressive.

Characteristics of fascism include a belief that the state is more important than the individual; a leaning towards authoritarian government and centralized [[economic planning]]; an emphasis on [[nationalism]] and national traditions; militarism; information control and censorship; media propagation of the Great Leader which demonizes and trivializes his critics; and a rejection of both free enterprise and [[Social democracy]] in favor of [[corporatism|corporatist]] economic policies.

Fascist regimes have often concentrated on a "scapegoat" to push their agendas, such as the [[Jewish]] people in [[World War II]].

The fourteen characteristics of fascism also include rampant [[cronyism]] and [[corruption]], as well as rigged elections and a general disdain for human rights.<ref>Dr. Lawrence Britt "Fascism Anyone?," Free Inquiry, Spring 2003, page 20</ref>

== Examples ==

The prototypical fascist regime was that of [[Benito Mussolini]], who ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943. Other regimes which included corporatist elements are those of [[Francisco Franco]] in Spain (1936-1975) and [[Antonio Salazar]] in Portugal (1932-1968). German [[Nazism]] referred to government mandated corporatist entities as industrial cartels and added an obsession with [[race]]. Austrian economist [[Friedrich Hayek]] observed in the final stages of [[World War II]], "the rise of fascism and [[Marxism]] was not a reaction against the socialist trends of the preceding period but a necessary outcome of those tendencies. Yet it is significant that many of the leaders of these movements, from Mussolini down (and including [[Laval]] and [[Quisling]]) began as socialists and ended as fascists or Nazis. <ref>Friedrich A. Hayek, [http://www.iea.org.uk/files/upld-publication43pdf?.pdf ''Road to Serfdom'',] Reader's Digest Condensed Version, April 1945, pg. 31 - 32.</ref>

== World War II Era ==
Fascism as an ideological theory was comprehensively discredited in the eyes of most Westerners because of the defeat of the [[Axis]] powers in [[World War II]], however fascist economic theories of government mandated combines, wage and price controls, [[economic planning]] boards which set production requirements, and regulated monopolies were characteristic of the [[New Deal]] era and government efforts to spend its way out of the [[Great Depression]]. [[Class warfare]] and a hostile stance toward legitimate business and profit is another characteristic feature fascism retained from it's [[Socialist]] roots.

== Modern Times ==

"Fascist" is today frequently used as a term of abuse both on the left and on the right against one's political opponents. While few people are willing to describe themselves as fascists or endorse the fascist regimes of the past, fascist parties and parties descended from fascist parties (such as the [[Alleanza Nazionale]] in [[Italy]]) continue to be a minor force in European politics. Fascism seems not to flourish in countries with an Anglo-centric heritage: America, Australia and Canada have never had significant fascist movements, and the [[British Union of Fascists]] was never an important force in UK politics; though it was significant enough for the government to consider its leader, Sir Oswald Mosley, dangerous enough to intern during the war.

Of the Fascist movement, Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. wrote:
{{Cquote|The Fascists, for example, were not [[conservative]] in any very meaningful sense. They did not wish to preserve the existing order, or even to turn back the clock to some more stable century. They purposefully planned to transform the existing order into a new and all-absorbing authoritarianism, based upon the energies and frustrations of modern industrialism. The Fascists, in a meaningful sense, were revolutionaries. Yet their totalitarian ideal hardly fitted into the pattern of the Left, which had been the traditional home of greater freedoms and more generous aspirations. So, after boggling and uncertainty, they were assigned positions on the far Right. <ref>Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., ''New York Times Magazine'', April 4, 1948. [http://www.writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/50s/schlesinger-notrightleft.html Not Right, Not Left, But a Vital Center]</ref>}}

==See Also==
*[[Nazism]]

==References==
<references/>

[[category:Forms of Government]]

Marxism

2008-06-26T14:16:34Z

KarlJaeger:

'''Marxism''' is an revolutionary movement developed by the German historian/economist [[Karl Marx]] and by the German political scientist [[Friedrich Engels]]. Marx's approach is indicated by the opening line of the Communist Manifesto (1848): “The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles”. Marx believed that [[capitalism]], like previous socioeconomic systems, would produce internal tensions which would lead to its destruction. Just as capitalism replaced [[feudalism]], capitalism itself will be displaced by [[communism]], a classless society which would emerge after a transitional period in which the state would be nothing else but the revolutionary dictatorship of the proletariat.

[[Communism]], in a broad sense, is the political manifestation of Marxist philosophy. Communism was never firmly defined outside of the communist manifesto, allowing leaders such as [[Lenin]] and [[Mao]] to specifically tailor it to their expediant political needs. Communism grew in popularity in the late 19th century western industrial democracies before taking revolutionary root in Russia. However, rising working standards coupled with a growing middle class severely stunted the communist movement in Western Europe and North America. A world communist state like Marx envisioned was never realized.

==Soviet experience==

According to the formal ideology of Marxism, private ownership in industry is to be eliminated--control is to be wrested by the masses as a whole. The crucial revolutionary act, therefore, would presumably be the actual taking of control in industry by the workers themselves. In the course of the [[Bolshevik]] revolution the workers ousted not only the owners but all the directing staff and supervisors. The workers thought, in their own way, that the revolution was designed to rid them of all rulers and exploiters. They recognized that the managers as well as the owners were among the rulers and exploiters both of the past and, above all, of the future. The workers set about running the factories themselves.

This state of affairs did not, however, last long. Two issues were at stake. In the first place, the separate factories and other instruments of production were not run very well under workers' control; and there were even greater difficulties in the co-ordination of the efforts of various factories. It was even harder for them to collaborate in the theory of [[economic planning]] effectively to direct entire branches of industry. Workers' control would also mean the elimination of all privilege, or a 'classless society". The drive for class power needed to get rid of workers' control, and found justification in the inefficiency of workers' control.

Hence workers' control was replaced by Lenin, Trotsky, and Stalin by the ''de facto'' managerial control in a new kind of state. The technical direction of factory operations was turned over to "specialists", or managers, with the Factory Committees remaining in existence and still exercising substantial control through a veto power over the managers and jurisdiction over labour conditions. Meanwhile, bureaus and commissions and individuals appointed from above by the Soviet regime were beginning to take over the job of co-ordinating the efforts of various factories and branches of industry. The powers of the managers and technicians increased at the expense of "workers' control" and the Factory Committees. The Factory Committee lost their veto powers. Their prerogative, labour conditions, became more and more narrowly interpreted. The Committee composition was changed to include one state representative, one managerial representative, and one man nominally representing the workers. Finally, even these Committees lost all their real power and remained as mere formalities, to be dropped altogether in during the [[Great Purge]] of 1938.

==Nomenkatura==

The freedom and end of privilege, which the oppressed thought the revolution was to bring, was giving way to a new form of class rule by the [[nomenklatura]]. At each decisive step, the "workers' socialist state" under Lenin and Stalin, backed not the workers but the managers. A wide campaign of "education" was undertaken to show the people why "workers' rule" meant, in practice, managers' rule. Where necessary, the education by the word was supplemented with education by [[firing squad]], [[concentration camp]] or [[slavery|forced labour]] battalion.

Lenin and Trotsky, both, in the early years of the revolution, wrote pamphlets and speeches arguing the case of the specialists, the technicians, the managers. Lenin, in his forceful way, used to declare that the manager had to be a dictator in the factory. "Workers' democracy" in the state, Lenin said in effect, was to be founded upon a managerial dictatorship in the factory.

Lenin as the head of the state, helped to smash workers', popular, control over those instruments and to substitute for it control by the managers. And, of course, the managers of individual plants became subordinate to the big managers, to the boards and bureaus directing entire sectors of industry and governing industry as a whole. The managers under the new state included many who had been managers under the old "capitalist rule". Lenin and Trotsky poured scorn on "infantile leftists" <ref>[http://www.marx2mao.com/Lenin/LWC20.html V. I. Lenin, ''"Left-Wing" Communism, An Infantile Disorder''] (1920) V. I. Lenin, Selected Works, English edition, Foreign Languages Publishing House, Moscow, 1952, Vol. II, Part 2.</ref> who were against making use of the "services" of the "bourgeois specialists.". Favourable terms were given to foreign "bourgeois specialists" who were willing to come to work under the new regime. <ref>James Burnham, ''The Managerial Revolution'', Indiana University Press, Bloomingham 1966.</ref>

The control, and the social rule which goes with it, when it leaves the hands of the capitalists, goes not to the workers, the people, but to the managers, the new ruling class. A parallel of the Russian process can be observed with particular clarity in connection with the events in [[Loyalist]] territories during the [[Spanish Civil War]], above all in Catalonia. There, just as in Russia, the workers and peasants began taking over direct control of the factories and railroads and firms. There too, not at once, but during the course of the first two years of the Civil War, the ''de facto'' power slipped from the workers' hands, sometimes voluntarily given up at the persuasion of a political party, sometimes smashed by arms and prison. It was not the troops of [[Franco]] who took control away from the people of Catalonia; they had lost control well before Franco's army conquered.

== Ideology ==

A Marxist society does not allow an individual to gain wealth; instead, that wealth belongs to the people as a collective. In a 'pure' marxist society, the state is a democratic system that manages all aspects of production--essentially making the state the head of all industry. However, this was never realized due to power grabs by the eventual managers of the factories, as well as many practical limitations. Marx dreamed of a society where a man could be "A farmer in the morning, a laborer in the afternoon, and a philosopher in the evening"--essentially, a world without specialization and stark divisions of labor. Again, this tennant of his philosophy was never realized, mostly due to practical reasons.

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:politics]]
[[Category:Sociology]]
[[Category:Communism]]
[[Category:Worldviews]]

Talk:Robert E. Lee

2008-06-21T11:56:30Z

KarlJaeger: /* Lee sure did live longer than I thought */ new section

I've rolled back the edits of everwill, because I caught him copying an article from wikipedia, and most of his edits seem to be almost word for word from wikipedia.--[[User:Elamdri|Elamdri]] 09:07, 1 April 2007 (EDT)

Doing it over, starting from scratch, etc etc etc. Should be done tomorrow or Monday. [[User:Karajou|Karajou]] 01:22, 8 April 2007 (EDT)

==In progress==
Yes, the article is in progress; will let everyone know when done. [[User:Karajou|Karajou]] 02:47, 8 April 2007 (EDT)

==Done, but==
There are views of Lee as a man which I didn't include yet, and these are views on him regarding slavery, his relationship with God, with Grant, etc, and these should be included on the page in a subheading titled "Assessment", which I will do later. [[User:Karajou|Karajou]] 17:09, 12 April 2007 (EDT)

:Just added to it. It could use a little more. [[User:Karajou|Karajou]] 01:57, 13 April 2007 (EDT)

== Veracruz==

It is Veracruz, not Vera Cruz.

--[[User:Joaquín Martínez|Joaquín Martínez]] 09:49, 17 April 2007 (EDT)

:Back in the 1840's, the U.S. used the two-word "Vera Cruz" for this city, instead of the modern, "Veracruz". I have corrected the entry for the modern name, but left the spelling in Scott's dispatch quotation exactly as it was. [[User:Karajou|Karajou]] 18:02, 17 April 2007 (EDT)

Hi

Could be beetter?: Vera Cruz (actually Veracruz).

Also R. E. Lee better than L.E. Lee?

--[[User:Joaquín Martínez|Joaquín Martínez]] 17:52, 23 April 2007 (EDT)

==Assessment==

What's this section for? It does not seem encyclopedic, nor does it add anything to the piece. I think it should be deleted. [[User:PhilScheur|PhilScheur]] 14:25, 5 May 2008 (EDT)
:Lots of encyclopedias, such as Britannica, contain assessments of famous individuals. It stays. [[User:Karajou|Karajou]] 15:09, 5 May 2008 (EDT)
:I've never seen one, but will take your word. Are these generally understood to be editorial in nature? Should this be seen as Conservapedia's assessment of General Lee? [[User:PhilScheur|PhilScheur]] 15:15, 5 May 2008 (EDT)
::They are more like a conclusive summary of the article itself. [[User:Karajou|Karajou]] 01:02, 6 May 2008 (EDT)

== Lee sure did live longer than I thought ==

It says that Congress approved war with Mexico in 1946 in which Lee fought as a Captain. Ignoring for the moment that I remember no such war, surely Lee would be a little dead by that point? I presume it's meant to say 1846. :) [[User:KarlJaeger|KarlJaeger]] 07:56, 21 June 2008 (EDT)

Southern Victory

2008-06-20T19:48:45Z

KarlJaeger: New page: '''Southern Victory''', also known as "Timeline 191", is a series of alternate history novels (eleven in all), written by American author Harry Turtledove. They are set in a world wher...

'''Southern Victory''', also known as "Timeline 191", is a series of alternate history novels (eleven in all), written by American author [[Harry Turtledove]]. They are set in a world where [[General Lee]]'s offensive into Maryland succeeds, ending the [[American Civil War]] much earlier and allowing the Confederacy to win a decisive victory. Although on the surface an alternate history, the series is really a retelling of real-world history, with the United States loosely representing Russia and the [[USSR]] and the Confederacy as [[Germany]].

Progressive taxation

2008-06-13T13:18:47Z

KarlJaeger: New page: '''Progressive taxation''' is a typicaly left-wing tax policy whereby the rich are taxed more heavily than the poor.

'''Progressive taxation''' is a typicaly left-wing tax policy whereby the rich are taxed more heavily than the poor.

User:KarlJaeger/Mortal Engines Quartet

2008-06-13T10:54:24Z

KarlJaeger:

The '''Mortal Engines Quartet''' (known as the Hungry Cities Chronicles in the USA) is a series of books by British author Philip Reeve set in an apocalyptic far future, after a global war known as the Sixty Minute War.

==Books==
*'''Mortal Engines''': Originally written as a stand-alone novel, Mortal Engines introduces the characters of Thomas "Tom" Natsworthy, a citizen of London, and Hester Shaw, a scavenger. The novel focuses on the traction city of London, which has uncovered an energy weapon called MEDUSA from the Sixty Minute War.
*'''Predator's Gold''': Set two years after Mortal Engines, Predator's Gold is more of a direct sequel to the original than the two books that follow, and features the same main characters. The plot takes place around the traction city of Anchorage, which is making an exodus across the ice of the north Atlantic in an effort to reach the "dead continent" of North America.
*'''Infernal Devices''': The next book expands the range of characters, with the introduction of the Aleutian engineer Oenone Zero and the daughter of Tom and Hester, Wren as viewpoint characters. Infernal Devices takes place during a drawn out war between the Green Storm, a revolutionary Anti-Tractionist movement and the Traktionstadts, an alliance of German traction cities formed in response. Much of the plot takes place on the raft-city of Brighton.
*'''A Darkling Plain''': In the final book, Oenone Zero, now named Naga ceases to be a viewpoint character, and becomes a background character. She is replaced by Theo Ngoni, the African aviator introduced in Infernal Devices

==World of Mortal Engines==

===Sixty Minute War===
The Sixty Minute War is a global conflict (though damage seemed to have been worse on the North American continent) whose details are left vague. It is known that a power called the "American Empire" (this is possibly an in-universe historical mistake, and it refers to the United States) was involved, and it is implied that a power called "Greater China" was as well. Very little other information is known, except that both energy weapons and orbital weapons were used. Virtually all old technology was lost during the war, and the resulting tectonic instabilities lead to the rise of traction cities. Occasionally, a weapon from the war is revealled to have survived, such as MEDUSA (acronym unknown) in Mortal Engines, and ODIN (Orbital Defence INitiative) in Infernal Devices and A Darkling Plain.

==Anti-Traction League==
The Anti-Traction League was formed by the nation of Shan Guo for mutual defence against hungry cities. The western frontier of the League was marked by the Shield-Wall, Batmunkh Gompa, a gap in the mountains barricaded by a huge steel wall and city. Formerly, the African statics in the south were members of the League, but
they withdrew following the military coup by the Green Storm.

==Green Storm==
The Green Storm is a radical and extremist anti-tractionist group that seizes power in the Anti-Traction League. It turns the League into a totalitarian control state, restricting all freedoms and focussing on arms production for a war against the cities. The rise of the Green Storm helped form together the Traktionstadtsgesellschaft to defend Municipal Darwinism from the radical Storm. The Green Storm's revolutionary military focus means that its economy suffers, and when General Naga takes power, he struggles to repair the damage caused by years of radical government. Ultimately, the Storm is dissolved and replaced with the New Anti-Traction League.
The Storm frequently used airships, in particuarly the Fox Spirit fighter-bomber.

==Traktionstadtsgesellschaft==
The Traktionstadtsgesellschaft or Traktionstadts, German for "Traction Town Society" is an alliance of German-speaking Traction cities, formed to oppose the Green Storm. The main fighter airship used is the Super-Gnat.

User:KarlJaeger/Mortal Engines Quartet

2008-06-03T16:03:51Z

KarlJaeger:

The '''Mortal Engines Quartet''' (known as the Hungry Cities Chronicles in the USA) is a series of books by British author Philip Reeve set in an apocalyptic far future, after a global war known as the Sixty Minute War.

==Books==
*'''Mortal Engines''': Originally written as a stand-alone novel, Mortal Engines introduces the characters of Thomas "Tom" Natsworthy, a citizen of London, and Hester Shaw, a scavenger. The novel focuses on the traction city of London, which has uncovered an energy weapon called MEDUSA from the Sixty Minute War.
*'''Predator's Gold''': Set two years after Mortal Engines, Predator's Gold is more of a direct sequel to the original than the two books that follow, and features the same main characters. The plot takes place around the traction city of Anchorage, which is making an exodus across the ice of the north Atlantic in an effort to reach the "dead continent" of North America.
*'''Infernal Devices''': The next book expands the range of characters, with the introduction of the Aleutian engineer Oenone Zero and the daughter of Tom and Hester, Wren as viewpoint characters. Infernal Devices takes place during a drawn out war between the Green Storm, a revolutionary Anti-Tractionist movement and the Traktionstadts, an alliance of German traction cities formed in response. Much of the plot takes place on the raft-city of Brighton.
*'''A Darkling Plain''': In the final book, Oenone Zero, now named Naga ceases to be a viewpoint character, and becomes a background character. She is replaced by Theo Ngoni, the African aviator introduced in Infernal Devices

==World of Mortal Engines==

===Sixty Minute War===
The Sixty Minute War is a global conflict (though damage seemed to have been worse on the North American continent) whose details are left vague. It is known that a power called the "American Empire" (this is possibly an in-universe historical mistake, and it refers to the United States) was involved, and it is implied that a power called "Greater China" was as well. Very little other information is known, except that both energy weapons and orbital weapons were used. Virtually all old technology was lost during the war, and the resulting tectonic instabilities lead to the rise of traction cities. Occasionally, a weapon from the war is revealled to have survived, such as MEDUSA (acronym unknown) in Mortal Engines, and ODIN (Orbital Defence INitiative) in Infernal Devices and A Darkling Plain.

User:KarlJaeger/Mortal Engines Quartet

2008-06-03T15:58:34Z

The '''Mortal Engines Quartet''' (known as the Hungry Cities Chronicles in the USA) is a series of books by British author Philip Reeve set in an apocalyptic far future, after a global war known as the Sixty Minute War.

==Books==
*'''Mortal Engines''': Originally written as a stand-alone novel, Mortal Engines introduces the characters of Thomas "Tom" Natsworthy, a citizen of London, and Hester Shaw, a scavenger. The novel focuses on the traction city of London, which has uncovered an energy weapon called MEDUSA from the Sixty Minute War.
*'''Predator's Gold''': Set two years after Mortal Engines, Predator's Gold is more of a direct sequel to the original than the two books that follow, and features the same main characters. The plot takes place around the traction city of Anchorage, which is making an exodus across the ice of the north Atlantic in an effort to reach the "dead continent" of North America.
*'''Infernal Devices''': The next book expands the range of characters, with the introduction of the Aleutian engineer Oenone Zero and the daughter of Tom and Hester, Wren as viewpoint characters. Infernal Devices takes place during a drawn out war between the Green Storm, a revolutionary Anti-Tractionist movement and the Traktionstadts, an alliance of German traction cities formed in response. Much of the plot takes place on the raft-city of Brighton.
*'''A Darkling Plain''': In the final book, Oenone Zero, now named Naga ceases to be a viewpoint character, and becomes a background character. She is replaced by Theo Ngoni, the African aviator introduced in Infernal Devices

User:KarlJaeger

2008-06-03T15:56:53Z

KarlJaeger:

Don't be dense.
[[User:KarlJaeger/Mortal Engines Quartet]]

User:KarlJaeger

2008-06-03T15:56:42Z

KarlJaeger:

Don't be dense.
[[User:KarlJaeger/Mortal_Engines_Quartet]

Only Fools and Horses

2008-06-03T15:42:26Z

KarlJaeger: New page: '''Only Fools and Horses''' is a British comedy about a working class pair of brothers, Derek "Del Boy" Trotter (David Jason) and Rodney Trotter (Nicholas Lyndhurst) and an elderly relativ...

'''Only Fools and Horses''' is a British comedy about a working class pair of brothers, Derek "Del Boy" Trotter (David Jason) and Rodney Trotter (Nicholas Lyndhurst) and an elderly relative, Grandad (Lennard Pearce) and later Uncle Albert (Buster Merryfield). The two run a company, Trotters Independant Traders (the humourous initials are intention), which sells virtually anything that he thinks can make a profit.

The title "Only Fools and Horses" comes from the opening music for the show, in which the singer asks rhetorically "why do only fools and horses work?"

Talk:World History Lecture Twelve

2008-06-03T10:39:50Z

KarlJaeger:

The paragraph "Victory" reads like the USA won the 2.WW all on theire own.
The US armed forces only lost about 170.000 men in europe. If you compare that to the 13.000.000 soldiers, who died fighting for the soviet union, this is hardly anything.
The USA might have done a big chunk of the work, when it comes to financial help for the the allies, but claiming that American soldiers defeated Germany without mentioning all the other nations lossing millions of lives in the struggle against the third reich, is just wrong! - [[User:MolotoK|MolotoK]] 14:27, 30 April 2007 (EDT)

== Italy ==
'' In October 1922, the Fascists or “Black Shirts” protested in Rome, demanding that King Victor Emmanuel abdicate in favor of Mussolini. The king did step down and Mussolini became Il Duce, the leader of Italy.''

This is incorrect. The March on Rome did not seek the abdication of Victor Emmanuel, nor did he abdicate; but he did makle Mussolini head of government. VEII was still on the throne and dismissed Mussolini in 1943. [[User:Pachyderm|Pachyderm]] 09:55, 30 August 2007 (EDT)

== China ==

''In 1937, Japan invaded China, and Japan invaded northern and central China. It sacked the Chinese capital of Nanjing, killing thousands of soldiers and civilians. Jiang Jieshi fled to the west while Mao Zedong’s guerilla fighters stayed to combat the Japanese.''

Tut, tut, tut. I'm surprised at you of all people peddling this line. That the CCP stood and fought the Japanese while the Nationalists either fled or held back waiting for the post-war conflict is a staplke of Communist historiography. Objective assessments have found that both Communist and Nationalist forces fought bravely against the Japanese (there were Nationalist guerillas as well as 'conventional' forces), with successes and failures, but that the Nationalists were more successful and more active than the 'conventional wisdom' has it and the Communists less so. The Communists were just better at getting their message across. There was also an element of both sides holding back forces to face each other rather than the Japanese - ''vide'' the New Fourth Army incident of 1941. [[User:Pachyderm|Pachyderm]] 10:03, 30 August 2007 (EDT)

==Britain not England==
We live in the United Kingdom. Occasionally, it is called Britain. "England" however, is merely one part of the union, and is incorrect. I don't refer to the US as Texas, although sometimes it seems like it. [[User:KarlJaeger|KarlJaeger]] 06:39, 3 June 2008 (EDT)

Spanish language

2008-06-01T17:08:14Z

KarlJaeger:

The '''Spanish Language''' is a member of the [[Romance language]] family, the group of languages descending from [[Vulgar Latin]], the dialect spoken by the soldiers and provincial officials of the [[Roman Empire]]. Originally spoken in the northern regions of what is now [[Spain]], Spanish also draws some influence from the regional languages of its area. Spanish also draws heavy influence from [[Arabic]], due to the [[Moorish]] [[Umayyad|occupation]] of Spain lasting from 711 to 1492.

Today, the majority of its speakers live outside of Spain, with large numbers in [[Central America|Central]] and [[South America]]. It is one of the most-spoken languages in the [[world]]. It is spoken as a first language by about 350,000,000 people, or by 417,000,000 if non-native speakers are included. The Spanish language is the second-most common language in the [[United States]], as well as the second-most natively spoken language in the world, after [[Mandarin Chinese]].

It is more difficult for native Spanish speakers to learn English than it is for native English speakers to learn Spanish, due to the complexity and inconsistency of English [[grammar]] and pronunciation compared to Spanish grammar.

==Distribution==
*[[Spain]]
*Former Spanish colonies in the [[Caribbean]] - ([[Dominican Republic]], [[Puerto Rico]], [[Cuba]])
*[[Latin America]] (with the exceptions of [[Portuguese]]-speaking [[Brazil]], [[French]]-speaking [[French Guiana]], [[Dutch language|Dutch]]-speaking [[Suriname]], and [[English]]-speaking [[Guyana]])
*[[Hispanic]] populations in the [[United States]]
*former Spanish colonies in [[Africa]]
*a distinct dialect is spoken in the [[Philippines]]

[[Category:Romance languages]]