Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2013 November 28

= November 28 =

Leased Vehicles crossing US border
I recently leased a vehicle, and the terms of the lease contain a provision that the vehicle is not to be taken out of the United States. As such, I wonder one thing: is this vehicle's position constantly being monitored? In that case, if I were to drive it to the US/Canada border, would that trigger an alarm and/or a red flag from the monitoring system? 24.47.140.246 (talk) 09:47, 28 November 2013 (UTC)


 * I don't see that monitoring the vehicle's position would be necessary. More likely you would be caught out by some form of automatic number plate recognition at a border crossing, then penalised when you return the car. Gandalf61 (talk) 10:38, 28 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Even more likely, nothing will happen if nothing happens, but if the car is stolen or damaged, real trouble will ensue. --Stephan Schulz (talk) 10:58, 28 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Hiring a car in Texas had even scarier warnings. It said that you were not covered by insurance and the car would be subject to seizure by the Mexican authorities who may also bring criminal charges, and that you would be liable for the full cost of the vehicle! -- Q Chris (talk) 11:53, 28 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Actually, rental (and presumably leased) vehicles sometimes do come with GPS units that record or transmit their position. People have faced huge penalties for driving rental cars out of the area specified in the rental agreement.  Marco polo (talk) 02:30, 30 November 2013 (UTC)

Recruitment during war and peace
According to the CEO of the company engaged to oversee UK armed forces recruitment, the number of applicants has fallen because there are no wars on, and soldiers would have nothing to do. Is that really how it works? I would have assumed that recruitment would rise during peacetime, when the forces can be seen as a steady job with training useful for a later career, and no immediate prospect of getting shot at. Maybe that's just my arrant cowar prudent self-preservation talking. Rojomoke (talk) 09:56, 28 November 2013 (UTC)
 * The guy is blaming a 35% drop since his firm took over the job in march of this year on "not enough wars"? One of the lamest excuses I've heard ...
 * Not that recruitment was booming before that, last year a report revealed that the recruitment fell with two thirds in the last decade. Ssscienccce  (talk) 14:04, 28 November 2013 (UTC)
 * It may be a lame excuse, but it's not totally implausible that the prospect of "real action" might encourage recruitment among people who are inclined to join the forces in the first place. The idea of joining up in order to have a quite life and learn a trade sounds like something that only people like me, who would never join up in a million years, would consider an advantage. It would be interesting to see whether there any numbers to confirm this one way or another, but I can't find anything from a quick search. AndrewWTaylor (talk) 14:35, 28 November 2013 (UTC)


 * (EC) ObPersonal, but derived from my Father (an ex-Regular) having been an Instructor for the British Army for around 30 years – a significant proportion of recruits do join with the hope of seeing action, and equally not a few soldiers opt to leave if there is little prospect of it (which might depend on their specialism as much as the general situation). It must be frustrating for some people to train intensively for activities they never get to carry out. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 212.95.237.92 (talk) 14:39, 28 November 2013 (UTC)
 * I remember seeing TV coverage of queues forming outside recruiting offices when Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands in 1982. Conversely, I used to work with a former Guardsman who had been posted to the Berlin garrison during the Cold War. He claimed that when the balloon was about to go up (see Martial law in Poland), a number of the Royal Corps of Transport drivers made themselves scarce, having only joined-up to get their Class 1 Heavy Goods Vehicle Licences on the cheap. This suggests differing motivation between those that join the fighting arms and those who opt for logistic support; if you want to learn a trade, then you're not going to join the Parachute Regiment. I'm afraid that I couldn't find references to support either of these anecdotes. Alansplodge (talk) 17:13, 28 November 2013 (UTC)

the lynx
is the lynx endangered or what status? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Whirlwind780 (talk • contribs) 16:23, 28 November 2013 (UTC)
 * The Iberian lynx is listed by the World Wildlife Fund as "the world's most endangered feline species" . The Canada lynx is considered threatened in the United States ; it is however quite abundant in Canada . --Xuxl (talk) 16:46, 28 November 2013 (UTC)
 * To clarify, there are four separate species of lynx. Three are classed as Least Concern, while the Iberian lynx is Critically Endangered.  Ghmyrtle (talk) 09:46, 30 November 2013 (UTC)
 * If they do go extinct, they'll qualify as the missing lynx. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 15:05, 30 November 2013 (UTC)

When will an article of "The Economist" become a public domain piece?
It looks like that the copyright duration in UK is 70 years from the death of the author. But what if the author was an organization? For example, when will an unsigned article published in "The Economist" become a PD piece? 112.105.52.20 (talk) 17:11, 28 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Our article List of countries' copyright lengths seems to indicate that it's either 70 or 50 years from publication (I would think it's the second column, hence 50 years, but I'm not sure what governs this). However once the EU directive has been ratified (or possible from three weeks ago, I'm not sure) it's 70 years in either case. --ColinFine (talk) 22:11, 28 November 2013 (UTC)
 * It's 70 years from death of the author (the fact that the copyright was transferred to the Economist does not matter, if multiple authors, it is counted from the last one to die). For an unknown author (presuming that the Economist themselves don't know, since asking them would be a "reasonable enquiry" under S9(5)), it would be 70 years from publication. I don't think anything specifies that the author must be a natural person (i.e. not a company), but it must be the person who had creative input, which I think would prevent a company from being considered the author.
 * The 50 years from release is for broadcasts, sound recordings and published typographical arrangements (i.e. the way the words are arranged on the page, not the words themselves, such as a new edition of a old translation of the Bible). Sound recordings (the recording itself, e.g. someone singing a PD song would have a 50 year copyright on that recording, but none on the song if someone else sung it), are currently 50 years, but will be extended to 70 once the directive is implemented. The act doesn't appear to have been amended yet, and EU Directives are not automatically effective once ratified. MChesterMC (talk) 11:04, 29 November 2013 (UTC)

Emperor Franz Joseph I's Cause of Death
Does anyone know what the cause of death for Franz Joseph I of Austria was? Thank you very much. Futurist110 (talk) 21:05, 28 November 2013 (UTC)
 * According to a newspaper account of the time, his death "was caused by a cold which the aged monarch caught while walking in Schoenbrunn Park ten days ago with the King of Bavaria, according to a Zurich dispatch to the Parisien, Paris. The cold developed into pneumonia of the right lung". AndyTheGrump (talk) 21:49, 28 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Thank you very much for this info. I will add this info to his article later on today. Futurist110 (talk) 22:16, 28 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Pneumonia used to be called "the old man's friend" because it provides a quick exit for infirm elderly people. Alansplodge (talk) 08:22, 29 November 2013 (UTC)