Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2013 May 17

= May 17 =

Accuarcy of a story about anti-Vietnam War protest at White House
There is a quite popular story in Chinese forums saying that a man named Moseti (or pronounced similar to that) protested near White House during the Vietnam War to illustrate that "I can not change this country, but the country can not change me as well." I find it hard to believe, because some variations of this story even say that he did it every day. And I tried to search for some English sources about it but found nothing. Therefore, is this story an exaggeration of a real one? Or a hoax made up by someone? -- Make  cat  09:04, 17 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Probably A. J. Muste. See the penultimate paragraph under "Return to pacifism" in the article. Deor (talk) 11:09, 17 May 2013 (UTC)
 * What's so difficult to believe here? Lots of one-man protesters abound, for the most diverse reasons, for a pretty long time period. OsmanRF34 (talk) 11:18, 17 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Yes. For one long-term protest at the White House, see White House Peace Vigil, in which Concepcion Picciotto has been protesting continuously for nearly 32 years. Deor (talk) 11:24, 17 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Thanks for your help. -- Make  cat  13:49, 17 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Our article on Muste says he was "critical of communism" after 1936, and just acting as a Christian, but his activities after 1936, just as those before 1936, sound like a model of what J. Edgar Hoover or the House Unamerican Activities Committee would view as typical Communist or Fellow-traveller actions, such as a friendly visit to Ho Chi Minh during the Vietnam War. Is there a released FBI file on him, and do reliable sources agree he was really opposed to Communism? Edison (talk) 19:31, 17 May 2013 (UTC)
 * I hope that you aren't suggesting that we'd take a Hoover-era FBI file as a reliable source on such matters. AndyTheGrump (talk) 19:41, 17 May 2013 (UTC)
 * I'm wondering if there are other views from the US government, mainstream news magazines, or other sources which run counter to the present blanket assertion that the rather red-acting man was opposed to communism, while many of his activities coincided with those of the CPUSA and other communist organizations and front groups. (Looks like a duck, walks like a duck quacks like a duck, but said he was opposed to ducks, so he clearly wasn't a duck). The FBI and Congress are probably as balanced a source as books by admirers and followers of Muste. Edison (talk) 19:53, 18 May 2013 (UTC)

Global Employment in Driving?
Are there any estimates for the number of people employed as drivers in the US, UK or preferably globally? This would include all taxi drivers, bus drivers, UPS delivery men, private limo, etc. This exclude those for whom driving is an essential element but not the main purpose of their jobs, such as travelling sales representatives, Mobile/cell phone antenna riggers/repairers, etc. --213.86.80.228 (talk) 09:42, 17 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Presumably truck drivers as well, which you did not mention. This page gives an unsourced figure of 3.5 million truck drivers in the USA, so that's a start. --Viennese Waltz 09:47, 17 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Truck driving is more common in the US, that has lots of manufacturing industry (still), lots of miles, but no good railroad network, than in other places. So, expect the global proportional number to be much lower than in the US. OsmanRF34 (talk) 10:35, 17 May 2013 (UTC)


 * They all will lose their jobs, when the time is ready for the driverless vehicle. Humans are getting deprecated. OsmanRF34 (talk) 13:05, 17 May 2013 (UTC)
 * All? The OP included courier delivery agents. You'd need either a change in operating method, e.g. the truck or van pulling up and honking or phoning and the person collecting the parcel themselves, or an additional robotic delivery agent besides simply a driverless vehicle. And the former would still require either some internal robotic system to segregate the parcel or relying on people not stealing a parcel that doesn't belong to them (combined with recording and I guess RFID and reporting anyone who does try to do so). Note that in addition, school bus drivers in a number of places are expecting to do more than simply drive the bus safely, in particular keep an eye out on the children as they leave the bus sometimes including after they leave, and as they enter. General bus drivers also have to do this to some extent, there's generally less monitoring needed, but they do need to know when all people waiting to board or exit have done so, which may include disabled people and others with mobility issues e.g. some elderly people. And they should usually not take too long to do so. (It's going to get rather annoying if the bus keeps taking 30 seconds to realise everyone has boarded/left at every stop.) General bus drivers also often have to be able to interpret signals from people outside the bus which indicate they wish to board, signals can be unclear although education would reduce the problem. Taxi drivers and to a much lesser extent bus drivers are also expected to be able to communicate with passengers about their destinations. While some of these could potentially be replaced by a touch screen or other input device and computer, it would have to be rather good to be as effective at least for the taxi driver who would likely have to deal with people uncertain of precisely where they want to go, tourists with poor command of the language, etc. Similarly voice recognition on a GPS system may work well for someone who knows the precise address and doesn't mind repeating it a few times if necessary, whether it can replicate a decent taxi driver is another question. (For all their glory, systems like Siri etc are still quite far from the AIs promised in all those scifi shows.) It could of course be that the alternative works well enough for most people, and is cheaper enough that the alternative dies out anyway. Nil Einne (talk) 15:45, 17 May 2013 (UTC)
 * When the railroads get built... and the panama canal is finished, that'll be the end of us all. Shadowjams (talk) 16:48, 17 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Busses that don't interpret signals and collect tolls will soon be supplanted by this new subway system I've been hearing about. Get off my lawn! Shadowjams (talk) 16:51, 17 May 2013 (UTC)
 * As for an actual answer to the OPs question, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has some fantastic stats on this question,  as does the Department of Labor. Will robots replace human drivers anytime soon? No. Will you get a friendly cabby anytime soon? Consult a magic 8 ball. Shadowjams (talk) 16:57, 17 May 2013 (UTC)

Public school is different from private school but how?
dear wikipedia i know that public schools are different from private school but i want to know in what ways are they different.not only school i also want to know about public facilities difference from private facility. — Preceding unsigned comment added by The wizkid of earth (talk • contribs) 16:00, 17 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Can you clarify what country you're talking about, and what tier of education you mean by "school"? These terms can have quite different meanings in different places.  State school, Public school (United Kingdom), Independent school, Public university and Private university are all articles whose subject matter could be related to your question, depending on the context. -  Ka renjc 16:17, 17 May 2013 (UTC)
 * In the UK at least, despite the name, a public school usually refers one of several old privately run schools, which charge for education. A private school is an Independent school, that exists without government money.  So a public school is in fact "private" — and a private school may refer to a public school, but not necessarily so.  Hope that isn't too confusing! -- Hillbillyholiday talk 16:18, 17 May 2013 (UTC)
 * In the USA public schools are funded with local taxpayer dollars and also federal funds with the obligation to adhere to federal and state education and integration standards. Private Schools are any not financed with taxpayer funds.  Market St.⧏  ⧐ Diamond Way   20:35, 17 May 2013 (UTC)

In most of the UK the term "public school" refers to a subset of private/feepaying schools, though beyond now normally taking pupils from age 13 and up (a tier that doesn't have a standard name) there's huge disagreement over just which schools are and aren't correctly termed "public schools". In Scotland the term "public school" traditionally meant a state school but the term has largely fallen away in use. Confusingly some of the private schools in Scotland follow traditions elsewhere in the UK and do call themselves "public schools". Timrollpickering (talk) 13:40, 21 May 2013 (UTC)

Record Regents
Who has served the most monarchs as regent in history?--The Emperor&#39;s New Spy (talk) 16:25, 17 May 2013 (UTC)


 * The number must be at least three; Empress Chu Suanzi, Brunhilda of Austrasia and Catherine de' Medici each exercised regency powers during the reigns of three kings/emperors each. 184.147.137.171 (talk) 18:50, 17 May 2013 (UTC)

Hi! question on relative of Jeffrey Dahmer
I came here to ask whether or not police inquired her possible involvement in her grandson's murders. I think it as impossible for a person to not notice three murders being committed in her own house and have no idea on what was going on. I am not accusing Dahmer's grandmother, she's dead since 1992 but just it's a curiosity. Monteithh (talk) 20:44, 17 May 2013 (UTC) close unsupported speculation regarding non-notable third party
 * It's reasonable to assume that (1) it would not have occurred to her that her grandson was committing murders; and (2) he would have taken steps to keep her from suspecting. Also, you don't know what her health was. Maybe hard of hearing, no sense of smell, etc. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 02:18, 18 May 2013 (UTC)


 * We really don't need to be speculating here, see talk. μηδείς (talk) 02:22, 18 May 2013 (UTC)


 * Wikipedia doesn't comment on innocent parties whose only notability would be through the crime of another, see WP:CRIME. μηδείς (talk) 02:18, 18 May 2013 (UTC)


 * Myra Hindley's grandmother was in the house during the courtship of Ian Brady and Myra Hindley (see Moors murders). Jonathan Goodman wrote of her that she was "a woman in her seventies whose lack of interest, let alone inquisitiveness, in what went on under her own roof was, to say the least of it, unusual. Night after night the grandmother sat in the kitchen, the television turned on, her mind turned off, while upstairs two sane people conditioned themselves to commit insane acts; she ignored even the racket of marching songs and nazi speeches" ('The Trial of Ian Brady and Myra Hindley', David & Charles, 1973, p. 15.) Later, at the time of the murder of Edward Evans, she was in the upstairs front room immediately above the scene of the murder but still said nothing. Sam Blacketer (talk) 15:10, 18 May 2013 (UTC)


 * After three days and a talk page debate we still have no sources. μηδείς (talk) 03:45, 21 May 2013 (UTC)

HMS Illustrious (87) Officers
I'm looking for information on the crew complement, specifically bridge officers, of the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious while it was stationed in the Mediterranean. Time-wise, I'm interested in the period when Denis William Boyd was in command.2600:E00F:4004:13:0:0:0:38 (talk) 21:34, 17 May 2013 (UTC)
 * What do you mean — simply how many officers and men it carried, or are you hoping to find a list of them by name, or something else? Presumably you'd be able to get the raw numbers from Jane's Fighting Ships, but it definitely wouldn't include a list of the names.  Nyttend (talk) 02:05, 18 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Whoops, should have clarified. I'm looking for a list of names. At the very least, just the name of Boyd's second-in-command, or one or two other bridge officers. 2600:E00F:4004:13:0:0:0:36 (talk) 02:24, 18 May 2013 (UTC)


 * I don't know what a bridge officer is, but did find some potential names for you.
 * Second-in-command might have been Seymour Tuck; see the caption in, page 34. "Safe in Alexandria". It's a shot of all the officers of the Illustrious but only names two - Boyd and one other: "he was succeeded in command by Captain Tuck (at his left)."
 * Seaman (?) Jeffrey Dawson.
 * Pilot (?) AWF 'Alfie' Sutton (see also his obituary.)
 * (Pilot?) Lieutenant Commander M. W. Williamson; also mentioned in our article Battle of Taranto.
 * That site for Williamson mentioned another (flying?) officer, JW Hale. 184.147.137.171 (talk) 03:46, 18 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Oh, excellent! Those should do nicely, thanks!2600:E00F:4004:11:0:0:0:3D (talk) 14:24, 18 May 2013 (UTC)


 * K Williamson RN, (Lt-Cdr) was the Commanding Officer of 815 Naval Air Squadron who led the Toranto attack. Awarded the DSO. "Taken POW, after being shot down during strike on Taranto, 11.11.1940 (815 sqdn, HMS Illustrious)"
 * 819 Naval Air Squadron was commanded by Lt-Cdr J. W. Hale.
 * A full list of aircrew at Taranto is shown on this page. It also mentions a US Navy observer, Lt. Cdr. Opie, who was attached to Illustrious at the time.
 * Rear Admiral Lumley Lyster was in command of the whole operation from Illustrious. The Commander (Flying) - the officer in charge of all air operations in a carrier - was James Robertson. Alansplodge (talk) 17:48, 18 May 2013 (UTC)

middle east politics in the 1800s
what was the middle east like in the 1800s please? not homework just intersted. --178.48.114.143 (talk) 21:39, 17 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Most of that area would have been within the Ottoman Empire. That would be a good place for you to start reading.  Rojomoke (talk) 21:47, 17 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Outside of the interior of the Arabian Peninsula, it was basically all Ottoman Empire, depending on your definition of the "Middle East", if you consider Iran to be the Middle East as well, that portion was part of Qajar Persia. Most of the Arabian Peninsula wasn't really part of a state society, it was nominally part of a series of independent petty Arabic monarchies, but it was basically unorganized territory occupied by some Bedouins.  Start at the Emirate of Diriyah and follow the trail forward through various successor states to get the history of what is now Saudi Arabia.  The rest of the middle east would have been governed by the internal politics of the Ottoman Empire, so articles like State organisation of the Ottoman Empire and Vassal and tributary states of the Ottoman Empire and Administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire.  -- Jayron  32  00:16, 18 May 2013 (UTC)
 * 1800-1899 is a rather massive expanse of time, consider England in 1800 and then in 1899 or the United States being a backward, in debt, 3rd world nation of 1800 and then a world power spanning a continent in 1899 having gone through the wars of 1812, Mexican-American and Civil etc. Although Jayron32 and Rojomoke have answered this well I'd just point out that in the 1880s and 1890s you also had heavy European colonization and "spheres of influence" also don't forget about the politics of the Suez Canal (although that is bordering the region it did have a sort of domino effect on parts of the region) going back to Napoleon.  Market St.⧏  ⧐ Diamond Way   06:09, 18 May 2013 (UTC)