Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2010 March 18

= March 18 =

Looking for a science book...
I read somewhere a while back about a book written by wither a journalist or a scientist that described what the earth would look like if humanity suddenly disappeared off the face of the planet. I believe it described how long buildings would take to fall, land to be reclaimed, wild animals to come back and breed, that sort of thing. I'm also fairly certain it was quite popular/well-known and got a lot of reviews. Could anyone help out? Skinny87 (talk) 06:57, 18 March 2010 (UTC)
 * The World Without Us? Clarityfiend (talk) 07:09, 18 March 2010 (UTC)
 * Cheers, thats the one! And a Featured Article to boot! Skinny87 (talk) 07:37, 18 March 2010 (UTC)
 * There's a similar TV series on the History Channel titled Life After People. -- Jayron  32  14:14, 18 March 2010 (UTC)

traditional Francophone elite
How is Egypt a traditional Francophone elite? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.64.53.214 (talk) 15:23, 18 March 2010 (UTC)
 * This site refers to "the deep anchoring in Egypt of French cultural presence", and states: "Relations between Egypt and France date back to Napoleon Bonaparte's Expedition in 1789 which left its imprints on all aspects of Egyptian life. As time went on and with the ascension to power of Mohammad Ali The Great in 1805, ties of friendship deepened between the two countries. Egyptian missions were sent to France to specialize in modern sciences and fine arts." But there must be more to it than that.  Ghmyrtle (talk) 15:39, 18 March 2010 (UTC)
 * Doesn't mention the Suez canal which dominated Egypt's relations with France and Britain from the 1850s until the Suez Crisis of 1956. It's probably still a touchy subject in Egypt. Alansplodge (talk) 17:16, 18 March 2010 (UTC)
 * As for the original question, I don't understand it. An elite is usually a group, particularly a group of people. I don't see how a single country can be a group of any kind. Beyond that, it is unclear what "a traditional Francophone elite" might be (as opposed, for example, to other kinds of Francophone elites). As recently as the 19th century, one might, I suppose, have referred to the European aristocracy as "a traditional Francophone elite", but I can't think of another way to apply that phrase.  If the question is really "Does Egypt have a tradition of a Francophone elite?", then the responses above might help to answer that question.  However, Egypt was dominated by Britain, not France, from 1882 until the 1950s, and Egypt's current elite are much more likely to speak English than French.  Marco polo (talk) 17:56, 18 March 2010 (UTC)
 * I believe the question comes from the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie article. See Egypt's entry in the membership table. I don't understand that particular statement either. Maybe the original author there meant "ally". --Kvasir (talk) 18:17, 18 March 2010 (UTC)
 * This thread may be of interest. Apparently, up until the mid-1900s, the Egyptian elite tended to learn French (perhaps in addition to English and of course Arabic). This seems no longer to be true.  So one could say that Egypt had a traditional Francophone elite, but an elite that had learned French as a second or third language.  Marco polo (talk) 19:30, 18 March 2010 (UTC)

fishing sector of Canada
Is there a website where I can find all the aspects of the fishing sector in Canada like the present situation: facts and figures, economic strengths or successes, problems faced, main issues and controversies, policies adopted and implemented by the government and the extent of sucess and failure of these policies? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.64.53.214 (talk) 15:31, 18 March 2010 (UTC)
 * The Fisheries and Oceans Canada site would be a good place to start: http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/index-eng.htm --Kvasir (talk) 15:37, 18 March 2010 (UTC)
 * A couple Wikipedia pages include: Fishing industry in Canada (really poor article), Cod and No More Fish, No Fishermen Rmhermen (talk) 15:49, 18 March 2010 (UTC)

Jeffrey Dahmer's mugshots

 * Question has been moved to Help Desk. Comet Tuttle (talk) 23:44, 18 March 2010 (UTC)