Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2012 February 2

= February 2 =

Passing bad checks
Is passing bad checks a Federal offense? What could be the penalties?--Christie the puppy lover (talk) 00:13, 2 February 2012 (UTC)


 * In which federation? The USA? You may find Cheque fraud useful, although it doesn't seem to mention the laws of any specific countries. There is a limit to how much help we can be in answering this question without violating our policy on not giving legal advice - if you are asking out of anything more than idle curiosity, I suggest you speak to a lawyer. --Tango (talk) 00:26, 2 February 2012 (UTC)
 * Almost certainly yes, but unless there was large amounts involved or there was federal involvement in some way, the feds would let the state prosecute.--Wehwalt (talk) 02:18, 2 February 2012 (UTC)


 * Wehwalt, please, please cite references here on the Reference Desk. They help the querent research further, and they reduce errors like the error you made in your response. Passing a bad check, like most crimes in the United States, is a state offense.  There are some exceptions, like if the bad check is sent through the US Mail, in which case the crime of mail fraud is also committed, and in a case where the same act breaks both a state and a Federal law, the matter is taken up in the Federal courts, normally.  Here's a site listing penalties, both civil and criminal, by state.  Comet Tuttle (talk) 05:15, 2 February 2012 (UTC)
 * I am correct in my answer. Most check fraud cases contain some element which could make it a federal offense.  In practice, the Feds are content to leave most such to the states.--Wehwalt (talk) 09:57, 2 February 2012 (UTC)
 * On what basis do you say "I am correct in my answer ... In practice ..."? Are you a justice of the Supreme Court? If so have you consulted your other fellow justices? --PalaceGuard008 (Talk) 10:39, 2 February 2012 (UTC)
 * I'm a lawyer, who routinely looks at statutes. Federal jurisdiction has grown so, that I suspect if the Feds were sufficiently motivated, they could try any bad check case due to jurisdiction over the mails and interstate commerce.  That being said, the feds will leave most such to the states so they don't have to deal with it and for reasons of comity.--Wehwalt (talk) 10:45, 2 February 2012 (UTC)
 * Still not supplying references. Please start.  Comet Tuttle (talk) 20:54, 2 February 2012 (UTC)
 * Some exceptions which make it (US) federal include passing it at a post office or military base. Dru of Id (talk) 08:21, 2 February 2012 (UTC)

Socialist place names in and around the People's Republic of Fife
I saw the play Gagarin Way, and one of the characters in it talks about the working-class and communist history of the part of Scotland that the play is set in. Gagarin Way is a real street, named after Yuri Gagarin. Are there any/many other "red"-themed place names in Fife or elsewhere in Scotland? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Superiority (talk • contribs) 01:49, 2 February 2012 (UTC)
 * I think it's a bit of a stretch to describe Gagarin Way as "red-themed." Surely it was named for him as being the first person in space, with no thought whatever as to the politics of his country. If Alan Shepard had beat him, would you describe "Shepard Way" as "capitalist-themed" or even "American-themed"? (The poster [and former Fife resident] previously known as 87.81.230.195} 90.193.78.57 (talk) 05:16, 2 February 2012 (UTC)

Ruskie. — Kpalion(talk) 10:34, 2 February 2012 (UTC)


 * There's a 'Stalin Avenue' in Chatham: but it's right next to Churchill Avenue, Roosevelt Avenue and Montgomery Avenue. Hull has a Leningrad Road but it's amongst a load of other streets named after cities on the Baltic. Sam Blacketer (talk) 10:55, 2 February 2012 (UTC)
 * Yikes, though. OK, a wartime ally and all that, but Stalin, really?  Does it intersect Pol Pot Place? --Trovatore (talk) 08:13, 3 February 2012 (UTC)
 * Maybe that commemorates the siege rather than the actual city? There is a Boulevard Stalingrad in Nantes, but that is named for the battle, as are many other streets. Adam Bishop (talk) 11:10, 2 February 2012 (UTC)
 * I think the rue de Leningrad in Paris was formerly named rue de Berlin. I can think of a reason for changing the name... -- Arwel Parry (talk) 18:35, 2 February 2012 (UTC)
 * According to the French Wiki the present name of this street (since 1991) is rue de Saint-Pétersbourg, and formerly rue de Léningrad from 1945 to 1991, rue de Pétrograd from 1914 to 1945 and initially rue de Saint-Pétersbourg (1828 — 1914) — AldoSyrt (talk) 07:58, 3 February 2012 (UTC)

What about ACTA?
I'm interested in your answers to the questions I posted at the link above. Especially the legal and political ramifications. The Transhumanist 02:38, 2 February 2012 (UTC)

Did India issue a military medal for Operation Polo (capture of Hyderabad) in 1948?
I'm trying to find a military medal for Operation Polo, if one was actually issued. It was a very short (5 days) but significant campaign by the Indian military, and generally every such conflict has a commemorative medal of some sort attached. Thanks for any help you can provide. The Masked Booby (talk) 06:53, 2 February 2012 (UTC)


 * You might do better asking one of our editors active in military history matters, such as User: Ed!.--Wehwalt (talk) 09:54, 2 February 2012 (UTC)
 * I couldn't find anything on Google. Alansplodge (talk) 00:06, 4 February 2012 (UTC)

Speculative detective
I want to write an article about a detective in Speculative fiction (eg Isaac Asimov). But we need resources, consider these phenomena. Thank you in advance. Странник27 (talk) 09:52, 2 February 2012 (UTC)
 * List of fictional science fiction and fantasy detectives? (A bit redundant to say fictional in the title.) Clarityfiend (talk) 10:20, 2 February 2012 (UTC)
 * Bored SF writers aren't above appropriating a real-life detective and dropping him into a story.--Wehwalt (talk) 12:49, 2 February 2012 (UTC)


 * I need the name of the source, considering this phenomenon, and not the list of works. Странник27 (talk) 13:31, 2 February 2012 (UTC)
 * Can you tell us a little more what you are looking for, Странник27? I am not sure I fully understand.--Wehwalt (talk) 13:38, 2 February 2012 (UTC)


 * http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A4%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%82%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D0%B4%D0%B5%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%B2 - - Must be saved by removing. Странник27 (talk) 14:59, 2 February 2012 (UTC)


 * As far as I can see from Google Translate you are looking for the genres Occult detective fiction, science fiction detective fiction, fantasy detective fiction and supernatural detective fiction? After googling the terms (I must admit to never having heard of either of them before), it does seem to be very difficult finding any reliable secondary sources for those genres. It seems mostly to be blogs and discussion forums. I guess the definition of those genres is still so new that there haven't been much in the way of scholarly sources on the subject. --Saddhiyama (talk) 15:10, 2 February 2012 (UTC)


 * There's Lord Darcy (character), set in an alternate history. I don't know what sort of references you're looking for.  The Mark of the Beast (talk) 19:54, 2 February 2012 (UTC)
 * The most prominent ones, Elijah Bailey and R. Daneel of Asimov's works (though if you ask me, he should have left off after the second one, or possibly the first) you are aware of. There are a number of books which discuss Asimov's works, you may be able to find secondary sources.--Wehwalt (talk) 11:34, 3 February 2012 (UTC)

Il Salone dei Cinquecento, the Hall of Five Hundred does not seem to exist?
I dont know how to edit wiki and Im scared to try. I cant find nything on The Great Hall of Five Hundred. Il Salone dei Cinquecento. It is located in the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence. I know the Leonard o Di Vinci worked on the paintings. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Battle_of_Anghiari_(painting) Is there nay way someone could creat an article for this? I would really love see more about the wall on Wiki than outside sources.

Thanks! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 142.177.27.36 (talk) 12:45, 2 February 2012 (UTC)


 * The fastest way is for you. WP:WIZ is how we make it easiest.  Or go to WP:RA which will allow you to request it but it may take a long time.--Wehwalt (talk) 12:48, 2 February 2012 (UTC)


 * It should be easy enough to translate the short Italian article. (Or the Dutch version maybe.) Adam Bishop (talk) 12:57, 2 February 2012 (UTC)


 * There is a long section (with pictures) on the room in the Palazzo Vecchio article.--184.147.126.96 (talk) 18:34, 4 February 2012 (UTC)

First biography
Who is the first known Homo sapiens whose biography doesn't involve anything magical or supernatural? (someone of this category I guess?)--80.28.202.253 (talk) 12:50, 2 February 2012 (UTC)


 * We get this question a lot! Here are some answers from a similar question that was asked last year (which in turn points to a similar question from 2008, which points to one from 2006). Adam Bishop (talk) 13:00, 2 February 2012 (UTC)


 * The two questions are slightly different: there are lots of historical figures we're certain existed but whose biographies were still supernatural/magical (as recently as the 18th century, Kings in Britain and France believed that their touch cured scrofula, and held massive touchings for sufferers, and even Kim Jong-Il's biography claims his birth was heralded by a double rainbow, a talking swallow and a new star in the heavens). The god kings of countries like Egypt and Babylon, usually your best bet for earliest historical figure, would be ruled out, as is anyone for whom our main source of knowledge is myth (such as the kings of Athens). I was going to suggest Homer, but apparently he was believed to be divinely inspired (and we're not actually sure whether he was a real person, or a name given to multiple separate authors). Smurrayinchester 18:24, 3 February 2012 (UTC)

South Sudan independence referendum
What was the wording of the South Sudan referendum question? It's not included in Southern Sudanese independence referendum, 2011 and I can't find it online. -86.143.74.161 (talk) 14:34, 2 February 2012 (UTC)

The exact ballet was this I believe: 99.245.35.136 (talk) 15:04, 2 February 2012 (UTC)

State leaders who were tortured to death
Please mention the names of state leaders who were tortured to death. Some names I know are Samuel Doe, Mohammad Najibullah, and Gaddafi. --SupernovaExplosion (talk) 15:54, 2 February 2012 (UTC)
 * Gadaffi was shot to death. --Saddhiyama (talk) 15:59, 2 February 2012 (UTC)
 * Gaddafi was captured alive, severely beaten and then shot. As can be seen in this video, people are dragging him shouting "Allah-hu-Akbar" and his cloth is wet in blood. --SupernovaExplosion (talk) 16:06, 2 February 2012 (UTC)


 * I think you need to distinguish between torture (which is almost always the act of an organized group, like a government or a revolutionary force) and brutality (which is often just the action of a mob). Gaddafi had a brutal death, but he wasn't explicitly tortured; state leaders are rarely tortured because they are usually at the head of the organization inflicting torture, or heavily protected from other organized groups that torture.  -- Ludwigs 2  17:57, 2 February 2012 (UTC)
 * Supernova, what do you mean by "tortured to death" — tortured until they died of the torture, or tortured substantially before they were killed otherwise? Saddhiyama has a good point.  Nyttend (talk) 18:05, 2 February 2012 (UTC)
 * The second, tortured substantially before being killed. Actually I can't find any other example from modern history, maybe examples can be found from ancient and medieval history. There is a category Category:Executed heads of state and List of former heads of regimes who were sentenced to death. But that is generally a normal execution after a trial. Even Mussolini's body was hung upside down after being shot. I am trying to find examples where they were tortured/severely beaten before being killed. --SupernovaExplosion (talk) 18:26, 2 February 2012 (UTC)
 * Going back quite a bit, the Byzantine Emperor Romanos IV Diogenes lost his throne while he was being held prisoner by the Turks in 1071. When he was released, his opponents had him blinded (a Byzantine custom for retired Emperors) in such a brutal way that he died a few weeks later. Maybe not deliberately tortured to death though. Alansplodge (talk) 19:17, 2 February 2012 (UTC)
 * The deaths of some of the Russian royal family after the revolution were rather brutal, but they weren't really tortured. I think the Tsar himself was just shot. I think you'll find that is quite common - once you have the head of state under your control, you just kill them quickly and efficiently. You might be a bit rough with some minor members of the old regime, but there isn't much point torturing anyone. You've already won, you don't need any information out of them, you don't need to scare their followers, etc., so why bother with torture? --Tango (talk) 19:45, 2 February 2012 (UTC)


 * One of the most colorful stories would be that of the third-century Roman emperor Valerian, who after being captured by the Persians, was used as a human footstool, and then after Shapur grew weary of using him that way had him flayed alive, stuffing his skin with straw and keeping him as a trophy of Persian might versus Rome. It was generally a bad idea to be captured in Persia if you were a Roman emperor. Antandrus  (talk) 19:43, 2 February 2012 (UTC)
 * Lactantius isn't always considered a trustworthy source... 92.80.37.236 (talk) 22:39, 2 February 2012 (UTC)
 * "Never let the truth stand in the way of a good story". Alansplodge (talk) 09:14, 3 February 2012 (UTC)

Old Mortality
I'm working on a project to research post-Glorious Revolution perspectives on the Covenanter movement from 1660 to 1688 (when adherents were being persecuted, more or less vigourously) held by those who saw themselves as heirs of the Covenanters (e.g. Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland). Part of what I'm seeking is publications by non-"heirs" that discuss the writings (or monuments, such as the grave inscription for Margaret Willson of Wigtown) of the "heirs" about this period, and someone recently suggested that I consider Sir Walter Scott's Old Mortality. Having never encountered this book before, I'm curious — does Scott demonstrate evidence of having examined accounts that were written by people who saw themselves as Covenanter heirs? Or does he simply set his book in the period without discussing the perspectives of the "heirs"? Nyttend (talk) 18:03, 2 February 2012 (UTC)


 * Scott's point-of-view of the Romantic movement of the C19 might not be the most accurate view of the history of later Stuart Scotland.--Wetman (talk) 18:28, 2 February 2012 (UTC).
 * I understand; I'm not trying to use him as a source for what actually happened. I'm only interested in using him as an example of what later writers thought of "Covenanter heirs", if he discusses them at all.  Nyttend (talk) 19:51, 2 February 2012 (UTC)

Ryuichi Sakamoto translate lyrics
''Moved to WP:RD/L. Nyttend (talk) 23:20, 2 February 2012 (UTC)''