Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2008 May 11

= May 11 =

Current Affairs
Who is the present minister of external affairs in India? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 123.201.79.8 (talk) 07:53, 11 May 2008 (UTC)


 * Pranab Mukherjee.--86.145.248.3 (talk) 07:57, 11 May 2008 (UTC)

Will the Feds shut down Wikipedia?
I've seen matter that says that "Conservapedia" has charged that the FBI is probing Wikipedia about the posting of a photo of a female subject that may be considered "kiddie porn", Does this mean that Jimbo Wales will be arrested and Wikipedia shut down? If I did not ask, someone else would have and be really nasty about it. 205.240.146.247 (talk) 07:59, 11 May 2008 (UTC)


 * I think the best course of action is to take everything Conservapedia takes with a pinch of salt. It does intrigue me though how these people have JUST noticed that sex and nudity exist on wikipedia. I'm fairly certain those were about the first articles to be created. Damn internets. -mattbuck (Talk) 10:03, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Conservapedia has previously threatened to report people who vandalise it to the FBI, so I think they're being a trifle optimistic again.-- Diniz  (talk)  21:10, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Frankly, no. The image in question was used 32 years ago as an album cover (and despite the ravings of the right-wing fundamentalist organisation which precipitated the current debate, there is no evidence that the image was ever "banned" in the US by any legal authority - it was replaced by an alternate image on grounds of taste, but that appears to have been the decision of the record label, not any legal/judicial body); it has been reproduced all over the place since, so there are plenty of other people who would be sued/prosecuted first, but there is no chance of this happening anyway as in no way does it meet the definition of pornography determined by the US Supreme Court in 1989. It would be hypocritical in the extreme if Wikipedia removed this image as offensive to some Christian fundamentalists when we have already (rightly in my opinion) refused to remove the Jyllands-Posten cartoons of Mohammed or the medieval "images of Mohammed" which have been considered offensive by a far larger number of Islamic fundamentalists. -- Arwel (talk) 21:27, 11 May 2008 (UTC)


 * Some crank website complaining to the FBI about nonsense does not = "the FBI is probing".  Corvus cornix  talk  21:19, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
 * And even "The FBI is probing" does not = "The FBI will press charges against." Given the complaints, I suspect that the FBI has probed this, an investigation which likely consisted of an agent in an office looking at the image, doing a little research about its history, saying, "Nope, not child porn," and closing the file. -FisherQueen (talk · contribs) 23:11, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Lets all go run and hide because conservapedias angry, lol, dont like only 3 people edit that site. Realist 2  ( 'Come Speak To Me' ) 06:46, 12 May 2008 (UTC)
 * All this fuss over Virgin Killer? This world had gone oxymoronic, with all the things that touted to be trustworthy are actually completely untrustworthy. --antilivedT 07:27, 12 May 2008 (UTC)


 * In this case the Feds would also have to close Amazon first. GoingOnTracks (talk) 08:38, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

platinum
 Please undo if doesn't suit. Julia Rossi (talk) 09:43, 11 May 2008 (UTC)

Joseph Fritzl's statements
Re the Austrian incest case, it seems unusual to me that a person charged and in prison (especially before trial) can release statements to the public which could influence a jury. I had the impression people had to wait until their court appearance or legal defence spoke on their behalf during a trial. Is this a first? or is this allowed in Austria? Julia Rossi (talk) 09:53, 11 May 2008 (UTC)


 * Checking the Austrian papers / el. media indicates:
 * The statement you are referring to seems to originate from interviews the legal counsel of Josef F. (his full surname must not be mentioned by the media) has given to a sensationalist tabloid (which, however, is widely read). This lawyer appears to be a rather controversial practitioner, who - inter alia - has publicly speculated on the potential insanity of his client and has demanded psychiatric experts to evaluate his client´s capacity to stand trial.
 * Your question, presumably, must be rephrased as: "Can a lawyer publicly quote privileged information entrusted to him by a client?" to which I know no answer.
 * Josef F. has, as yet, not been charged nor is he in prison. As the prime (and hitherto only) suspect in the case he is in police custody (de: Untersuchungshaft / remand) but must be assumed to be innocent (de: Unschuldsvermutung / presumption of innocence) until he is found guilty by a court of justice.  This period of custody was prolonged today (11.05.08) by one month, as Josef F. still is a suspect and, if released, may manipulate the evidence or flee the country.
 * Also bear in mind that any questioning of the victims / witnesses is in the far future, as they must first learn to cope with daylight, with mobility, with wider and open spaces, with humans and, of course, with their own reality. I can not imagine a trial to take place in the intermediate future.
 * It may be possible that the counsel´s strategy is to prolong such a period, it may be his aim to reach a time when statutes of limitation come into play (they may have done so already) or when the health of the suspect / defendant has deteriorated to make him unfit to stand trial. His statements, almost certainly, serve a legalistic purpose which can only be speculated upon.
 * --Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 15:52, 11 May 2008 (UTC)


 * I guess the rules on this are different in every country, Julia. In the U.S., under the First Amendment, both the accused and the police/prosecutors can say whatever they want to the press before, during and after the trial. A thorough jury selection procedure is supposed to weed out potential jurors who have been tainted by pre-trial publicity. If a trial is covered extensively in the media, the judge can order that the jury be sequestered, or kept away from TV and newspapers, during the trial. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 16:34, 11 May 2008 (UTC)


 * No Western legal system that I know of prohibits public statements by the accused about his case. Also, Austria (like several European nations) may not provide for trial by jury any more. Sandstein (talk) 17:31, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
 * The last part of the above should probably read "...may not provide for trial by jury." Period. I'm fairly certain that there are jurisdictions where trial by jury has never been used. /Kriko (talk) 20:13, 11 May 2008 (UTC)


 * Also, Austria, as with a number of European countries has a Civil law (legal system) system so even if they do have a jury, it's likely the jury is part of a tribunal including judges and therefore are advised by and discuss the case with judges probably making it far more difficult for the jury to simply ignore the case and be influenced by out of cour statements. And in any case, the standard of evidence allowed to be presented in court is usually a lot lower, for example what would usually be consider hearsay in a Common law system is likely to be allowed to be presented in court but given little bearing, making the issue of out of court statements probably somewhat moot Nil Einne (talk) 21:39, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
 * How different it all is in Europe... Here in Australia afaik we still have trial by jury served by members of the public. Media figures face charges when they make statements deemed likely to affect due process (I forget the term) and when people are arrested and held over in preparation for trials etc, they seem to be silent. My impression anyway. It's interesting that the defendant through his lawyer can make self serving statements (without evidence even) that from here appear to be part of a strategy to manipulate public opinion among other things. Thanks all for clarifying, Julia Rossi (talk) 22:57, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
 * It's my impression that, as a general rule, competent defense lawyers will say as little as possible pre-trial (and will certainly not permit their client to release statements), because the downside is just a lot larger than the upside. Or at least they must think so, and they're in a better position to judge that than I am. At most, and fairly rarely, they will say something like "Mr. Doe vigorously affirms his total innocence of all charges, and looks forward to his day in court". --Trovatore (talk) 01:25, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

I need help, sorry.
I don't usually talk to anyone about this sort of stuff, but now I have to, and you're the only people I can think of that could help.

Now, I'm really shy, I find it very difficult to say anything to anyone, even my family. And this has been the cause of one of the biggest problems between me and my girlfriend. She is a bit annoyed that I don't talk much, and is worried because, well it's hard to explain really, but she doesn't see much future in us being together, something like that. I can't be bothered to try to find out her exact words. Anyway, I was sitting and thinking yesterday about this, and about why i am the way I am, and sort of worked out it was mostly due to the way I acted at school, hiding from myself, just getting through each day without really thinking much or bothering to do anything. I was going through a rather rough time back then. I'm past that it now, but can't seem to break the habit of hiding all the time. There was some other stuff too, but that's most of it. Anyway, I am getting better now, and i think it might be largely to do with her influence on me. But our relationship is suffering at the moment, and I'm not sure what'll happen. She blames herself for a lot of what's wrong, but I'm sure I'm much more responsible for our problems. Anyway, that's enough background for now.

All the time I was thinking this I couldn't stop thinking about her either, and afterwards I went and listened to music for some reason i'm still not quite sure of and anyway long story short it affected me a lot and I knew I had to do something to fix the mess we're in. Now, anyone that has been stalking me and memorising everything I say here probably already knows that we live a long way apart and mostly communicate through the internet at the moment, which obviously makes my not talking a little bit less of a problem for now. So, I somehow got the idea that I could record myself singing one of the songs i had listened to and send it to her, along with a message explaining basically everything i've just said here but a bit differently. it made sense at the time. But the main problem that I have is that I don't know if this is a good idea. Is it? what might happen? is there anything else i can do? You know, that sort of stuff.

I also don't know what to sing. I've narrowed it down to probably either 'sorry' by Chris Daughtry or 'temporary insanity' by The Weekend. I think the first one is more relevent to my problem, but the second one, for a few reasons is sort of 'our song'. And i say sorry to her rather a lot and she sometimes seems a bit annoyed that it doesn't mean as much as it should. But I'm not sure 'our song' should be used to make up for something like this, and it doesn't really get my point across. So, any advice on which one I should choose? Or are there any other songs anyone here knows of that are even better?

That's about it, I think. So yea, which song should I choose, will it work, what else is there I could do, just someone help me with this, I don't know what to do.

Yes, I'm aware that this isn't what this site is for, but it's the only place I can think of that might be able to help, and I really need help. I don't have any experience with this sort of thing, I don't even know what quesions to ask you. I'm hoping people reading this might be able to help me with that too.

HS7 (talk) 14:08, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Have you considered writing your own song? Reciting someone else's lyrics may not be the thing, and no matter what the song is it can never say exactly what you want to say (or that would be what I have found).  a s e nine  say what?  17:55, 11 May 2008 (UTC)

I would like to, but I would be absolutely terrible at it. I really fail at writing poems and songs, for some reason :(.HS7 (talk) 18:02, 11 May 2008 (UTC)


 * It's pretty common, actually universal, to sing someone else's song (or play it for the hearer) to express your feelings. I thought that's what musicians and music is for, best  Julia Rossi (talk) 22:44, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Addition: It's nice when someone sends you the lyrics, somehow it gets across in a meaningful way. The song that moved you sounds like it has the right touch. (PS I hope she doesn't want you to be something you're not -- wasn't that who she liked in the first place? Maybe you could ask her about that sometime. ) JR

It looks like I'll be singing 'sorry' then, so if anyone knows where I can find the lyrics for it, it'll make it a lot easier than listening to it over and over again. I'm not trying to change to something I'm not, I'm trying to dig the real me out from under the mess I've made of myself. And hardly being able to talk makes a lot of things really difficult, so it's something I want to change about myself too.HS7 (talk) 19:25, 12 May 2008 (UTC)


 * Well you talked about digging the real you etc... try giving "Dig" by Incubus a chance... listen to the song a search for the lyrics on google... it's pretty neat. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 201.224.139.247 (talk) 03:11, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Radio in the US like BBC channel 4
What is the equivalent of BBC 4 in the US? (I mean a sender that talks about culture). 217.168.0.149 (talk) 14:22, 11 May 2008 (UTC)


 * National Public Radio. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 16:26, 11 May 2008 (UTC)

BBC4, or BBC Radio 4? Ninebucks (talk) 02:49, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

What type of bird is this?
I am going to add this picture to an article, but I am not sure what exactly the bird is. Any input would be much appreciated. '' a s e nine  say what? '' 15:47, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
 * I know I have put the title to 'Baby Dove' as of now, but it might not be.  a s e nine  say what?  17:56, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Feel free to close, identified. :)  a s e nine  say what?  18:29, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
 * So are you going to let us know? Dismas |(talk) 20:04, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Baby pigeons appear in google images. All those pinfeathers and a pigeon kind of beak... Julia Rossi (talk) 23:11, 11 May 2008 (UTC)

Will there ever be peace on earth?
Where humans of all races, boa constrictors and butterflies all frolic together creating energy that generates rainbows, an end to disease, and permanant "we are all one, lets love each other bullsh*t" euphoria?--Dr. Carefree (talk) 16:29, 11 May 2008 (UTC)


 * Honestly, if you think that everyone loving one another is bullshit, why bother asking such a question? But in case you were serious, we unfortunately have no more insight into the future than anyone else, and this isn't the place to go into speculation about such a matter.  --  JackofOz (talk) 16:39, 11 May 2008 (UTC)


 * My crystal ball says: There will be peace on earth. But not while humans are still on it. In the meantime, we might end up with periods of greater stability and wealth than others. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 16:50, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
 * There would be peace on earth after some interesting events occurs. Too bad no human will able to see it.-- Lenticel ( talk ) 00:17, 12 May 2008 (UTC)


 * There is peace on earth. Just not everywhere. -- Q Chris (talk) 07:19, 12 May 2008 (UTC)


 * If your definition of 'peace' is a lack of activity, only after you destroy all life on the planet with nukes. Or somehow nudge it into a black hole. etc. Ilikefood (talk) 00:47, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

One day, technology will reach such a point that energy is too cheap to meter, automatic production will become so sophisticated, agricultural production will become so efficient and the exploitation of other planets will become so profitable that, effectively, the problem of scarcity will basically be removed. After that, there'll be very little reason for anyone to fight over anything. Ninebucks (talk) 02:54, 15 May 2008 (UTC)


 * But people often fight over other things than food and energy, many countries fight because they are different, or want to prove they are better than others, and people will still want power, still want to control other people.HS7 (talk) 17:43, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

Name all the songs

 * Moved to Entertainment desk Think outside the box'' 18:19, 11 May 2008 (UTC)

What is this?
Could someone tell me what this peculiar looking object is? http://img367.imageshack.us/img367/4655/whatisthisrw0.jpg Mr Beans Backside (talk) 17:07, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
 * I am reliably informed by my civil engineer father that this is a Petrol interceptor. You don't normally see these bad boys above ground. Fribbler (talk) 17:14, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
 * A giant bong. Ninebucks (talk) 02:56, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

Breach of trust?
Would it be wrong for a parent to plant a GPS tracking device on their 16 year-olds car - without their knowledge - in order to track their whereabouts and driving speed - or would that be considered a breach of trust? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mr Beans Backside (talk • contribs) 17:10, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
 * That may be illegal in certain jurisdictions. Seek professional legal advice. Angus Lepper(T, C, D) 17:26, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
 * As for the ethical portion of the question (which is what I think is really being driven at here, pardon the pun), that's a matter of personal opinion. There are plenty of editorials and articles in the media that may help inform your decision.  &mdash; Lomn 17:57, 11 May 2008 (UTC)


 * If you are planning to do that, there is nothing the breach anyway since the trust is non-existent. --antilivedT 06:05, 12 May 2008 (UTC)


 * Yes, it's wrong. A simple test: How would you have liked it if your parent planted a tracking device on your car? Specifically, it is a violation of the right to privacy and interfering with another's property. Not only is it a breach of trust, it's a breach of the Heisenberg uncertainty principle :) --WikiSlasher (talk) 11:06, 14 May 2008 (UTC)

No clothes
If you had absolutely no clothes in the house, what household items would you use to cover yourself so you could go out and get some? (Extra points for creativity) Mr Beans Backside (talk) 17:22, 11 May 2008 (UTC)


 * Wear the sheets off your bed, then you wouldn't need to go out and buy any. Or order them online and have them delivered.HS7 (talk) 18:05, 11 May 2008 (UTC)

I am going to say that I would make a dress out of a spatula and some wooden soup spoons I use for stirring.71.142.222.245 (talk) 19:46, 11 May 2008 (UTC)Cardinal Raven My cat.hotclaws 00:07, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

I wouldn't Hotclaws.You might get arrested for showing your pussy in a public place :D Lemon martini (talk) 13:39, 12 May 2008 (UTC)


 * Yow! I need to start my collection of Ref Desk zingers.  bibliomaniac 1  5  01:03, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Birth of a calf
Last week I witnessed the birth of a calf. I have seen this many times in my life time but was curious as to just how many have also seen this. So my question is have you seen any animal give birth? Mr Beans Backside (talk) 17:23, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
 * This isn't a question, it's an attempt at a poll. Some people here might not like it, sorry.
 * Sorry I'll refine my question; how common is it for humans to witness animals giving birth? Mr Beans Backside (talk) 18:09, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
 * If you're a farmer, breeder, researcher of various disciplines, owner of an intact female cat that you allow to go outside, etc., it's very common. I doubt very much that any research or surveys have gone into this at all.  Dismas |(talk) 20:01, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Are you only counting mammals? What about a chick hatching? Nil Einne (talk) 21:30, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Well if we throw that in, we can count the several hundred thousand that have seen a chick hatch in the kid's barn at various state fairs. Dismas |(talk) 21:35, 11 May 2008 (UTC)

More common than answering pointless questions on here,..hotclaws 00:08, 12 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Yep troll alert. Sandman30s (talk) 14:49, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

The one time I saw a cat give birth was a few hours after an earthquake. I wonder whether the quake hastened it. —Tamfang (talk) 21:31, 14 May 2008 (UTC)

living expenses
How much are living expenses if you live cheap in Los Angeles? Mr Beans Backside (talk) 17:27, 11 May 2008 (UTC)

In San Diego which is near to L.A. you would pay about $700 to rent a room,and might have your own bathroom or have to share.Then in SD you would need a car,paying gas/insurance/repair costs/services etc and food plus going out,I was earning $19 an hour in 2005,now in 2008 you would need to make about $22 or more an hour to keep up with the cost of living. Earning $10 an hour does not cut it in SD or L.A. and you will find it hard to live on that salary probably needing to get another job so you would be spending a lot of time in work.Also forget ever being able to own any property with the high prices in L.A. or San Diego.Best of luck! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 170.86.15.15 (talk) 14:59, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

Pokerstars account
Can somebody make me a pokerstars account please? It won't let me make one on my computer. The username I want is: aakkqqlol. Make the password: password. You can just make up the biographical info. Thank y'all so much!!!!!--Stolevel (talk) 17:32, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Wikipedia is not Pokerstars and we will not be parties to fraud. Stifle (talk) 09:25, 16 May 2008 (UTC)

What to do now (any advice?)
This seems to be the right place to ask all manor of questions, so here goes... I'm sitting at home on my computer and I'm very bored. I playing with the idea of vandalizing Wikipedia, but I'm holding back in the hope that someone can suggest something betting for me to do. Preferably something on the internet. I've had a look around this website and its all a bit highbrow for me, and encyclopedia editing isn't exactly my strong point. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.35.162.18 (talk) 17:40, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Please look at Community Portal. We need help with lots of stuff, If you want excitement, try doing anti-vandal work. If you are of a calmer disposistion, help with other stuff. If you think you don't know enough to help, you are wrong: you were able to edit this page and ask a coherent question, so you can edit an article to improve it, if only for spelling and grammar. You should create an account if you are going to do much, though. -Arch dude (talk) 20:57, 11 May 2008 (UTC)


 * If you want "low-brow Wikipedia" Uncyclopedia may be a good bet. Everything2 and H2G2 may also fit the bill. -- 128.104.112.147 (talk) 17:05, 14 May 2008 (UTC)

You have a computer, internet access and you're bored?hotclaws 00:09, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

Etiquette
If you saw a garage sale sign and looked for the sale but couldn't find it, would you take down the sign? This happened to me. I found the house, but nothing was going on so I rang the bell and was informed that sale had been last week. What is the etiquette on this? Mr Beans Backside (talk) 17:42, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Personally, it would depend on where the sign was. If it were placed in a public place I might take it down, whereas if someone has it in their front garden or on their gate it would be ruder to touch it. D  aniel  (‽) 18:07, 11 May 2008 (UTC)

Suicide
While walking in a wooded area that is known for black bears, I wondered why more people who want to commit suicide don't go off into the woods and taunt black bears so they get mauled to death. Did you ever think anything close to this? Mr Beans Backside (talk) 17:44, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
 * That would be such a sweet way to go. If I ever get suicidal again, I won't race cars on the highway, I'll fight fucking bears!
 * Cause it would be very painful? Most people want the quick and easy way to get something done.It could work,but it seems like too much effort.Unless of course,you're wearing a pork chop necklace,which could speed the process along ;) Makey melly (talk) 17:49, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Isn't there such a thing as suicide by policeman that's almost the same as this, just with police instead of bears? I'm sure I read about that somewhere.
 * And there's no bears here, so we can't. And the zoos all have signs saying Don't feed the animals.HS7 (talk) 18:10, 11 May 2008 (UTC)


 * Where do you mean here when you said here? 217.168.0.149 (talk) 18:58, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Mr. B. B. has said before that he's Canadian. And the use of the police for suicidal purposes can be found at suicide by cop, though I've always heard it referred to as "death by cop".  Dismas |(talk) 19:56, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Where did he say that? Who said that there are no bears in Canada? 217.168.0.149 (talk) 22:41, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Somewhere on the Comp. Ref. Desk. Dismas |(talk) 23:23, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Indeed if you do want to do this at a zoo, may I suggest something like a tiger instead like these guys did? Likely to be faster then with a bear Nil Einne (talk) 22:20, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
 * It isn't very reliable. Most people go into the woods and never even see a bear.  Maybe we should recommend this as a suicide technique; after a week of fresh air, exercise, and change of life that would come with trying to get mauled by a wild bear, many suicidal people might well be feeling much better. -FisherQueen (talk · contribs) 23:25, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Attacking humans, even ones who taunt, is not normal behavior for Black bears -- they usually run away. See American Black Bear. Gizzly's are a little different. See Grizzly bear. In Grizzly country, the gift shops often sell walking sticks and other items with little bells on them to decrease the chances of surprising a bear.  Bear droppings are called scat.  Do you know how to tell the difference between Black bear scat and Grizzly bear scat? Grizzly bear scat has little bells in it. WTucker (talk) 23:41, 11 May 2008 (UTC)


 * You guys might notice that the question isn't really about suicide or bears, but about whether you ever end up thinking about something like that. It's not really a reference desk type of a question. -- Captain Disdain (talk) 23:36, 11 May 2008 (UTC)

Nohotclaws 00:11, 12 May 2008 (UTC)


 * I can only advise against these items with little bells on them. Grizzly bears are able to learn and they tend to associated humans with food. Ringing the bell will just make them salivate. GoingOnTracks (talk) 08:49, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Is this real - Read first BEFORE clicking the link!
I was just searching around the internet for stuff and I found this picture - I warn you, its a bit freaky. Seriously, I can't believe this is natural, he must have had some sort of operation to get that. Or am I wrong? On one hand I feel at bit inadequate if it is real, but on the other is just looks ghastly. Could someone please clarify the situation. Many thanks. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.35.162.18 (talk) 19:11, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
 * It's fake. If you look at other pics from the series,  you'll see that they never show the base of it very well at all.  Notice how the pants obscure it in that pic.  It's basically just a plastic/rubber/whatever prop that is held in place somehow.  That "somehow" is what isn't shown.  Dismas |(talk) 19:54, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
 * From a Google, the largest penis on record was 13.5 inches long, 6.25 inches around, as measured by Dr. Robert Latou Dickinson. However it doesn't make sense to feel inadequate by this any more then it makes sense to feel inadequate from being shorter then Robert Pershing Wadlow. You may also be interested in human penis size Nil Einne (talk) 21:24, 11 May 2008 (UTC)

Avril's New Album
is there any news on when avril lavigne will be releasing a new album? is she working on one now? i can't find anything on google about her upcoming works. Jibbersayer (talk) 20:36, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
 * I wonder why Avril Lavigne is mentioned here on the RefDesk nearly everyday? :-) 89.236.214.174 (talk) 07:33, 12 May 2008 (UTC)
 * I think right now she is touring - although she has lost her voice - hope it gets better soon! I don't think she is working on an album right now, but you never know she might scribble down a few songs while on the road. I can't wait! xxx User:Hyper Girl 08:56, 12 May 2008 (UTC)


 * This question should be moved to the Entertainment desk. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 17:18, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Style changes
I didn't really like Avril Lavigne's preppy look, but I didn't know why she suddenly went from skater chick to totally preppy. My friend (who loves Avril) didn't know why Avril suddenly made the change to preppy. Does anyone know? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jibbersayer (talk • contribs) 20:38, 11 May 2008 (UTC)


 * I do, but if I told you, I'd have to kill you.  hotclaws 00:12, 12 May 2008 (UTC)


 * You think that's drastic? Charlotte Church used to sing opera! People change, get over it. --antilivedT 06:00, 12 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Avril's style changed because she is happy. Nobody seems to understand that. People call her a "poser", but she is happy now and why can't people see that? When she started dating Deryck Whibley she started acting more preppy because her marriage made her happy, yet nobody understands that, and they are all hating her for being happy. No offense to the asker, but why can't you just leave her alone to be happy? xxx User:Hyper Girl 08:52, 12 May 2008 (UTC)


 * She's a pop star. Her image is carefully manicured to whatever her and her handlers think is going to sell more records and t-shirts. Holding out for something like "authenticity" with a pop star marketed towards teens and pre-teens is rather silly. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 15:12, 12 May 2008 (UTC)


 * This question should be moved to the Entertainment desk. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 17:18, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Longest wikipedia article
I know you've probably been asked this a million times already, can you answer it?. Someone should post it somewhere or create an article about it. The Vandal Warrior (talk) 20:46, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
 * But is it notable? Mr Beans Backside (talk) 20:53, 11 May 2008 (UTC)


 * I don't think it merits its own article, but if you just want to know which article is the longest, Special:Longpages sounds like what you're looking for. Most of the longer ones are lists, but there are some articles there as well. AlexiusHoratius (talk) 20:55, 11 May 2008 (UTC)


 * Thanks! The Vandal Warrior (talk) 21:00, 11 May 2008 (UTC)


 * Bear in mind readable prose is usually considered a better measure of article length nowadays then pure byte size Nil Einne (talk) 21:12, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Yes, that page is very long but has no prose. Yetmotega (talk) 21:54, 11 May 2008 (UTC)


 * I think London has the largest amount of prose. The Vandal Warrior (talk) 21:57, 11 May 2008 (UTC)


 * It looks like Critical philosophy might be the largest article that isn't a list (from a quick scan of LongPages). I don't know how much that Bibliography is inflating the figure, though, and it needs a whole lot of cleanup. Confusing Manifestation (Say hi!) 04:41, 12 May 2008 (UTC)
 * I found that Hillary Clinton's Presidential campaign was the biggest non-list article. That's a shame, having a little thing like that at the top. When this was asked a few months ago it was the Second World War that was longest, but that apparently seems to have mysteriously shrunk rather a lot since then. And there is the rather odd case of one article apparently much longer than any other even though it looks tiny, so i'm not sure what's going on there.HS7 (talk) 18:25, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Goatse
Does anyone know how Mr yopyopyop got hold of a code for this act of vandalism? Not that I'm planning on doing so, I find it repulsive. The Vandal Warrior (talk) 20:55, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Presemuably using a program like this Nil Einne (talk) 21:08, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
 * I tried it out and it works. It lags your computer really bad. I had to alt+F4 it. The Vandal Warrior (talk) 21:27, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Doesn't seem to cause problems for me. What image are you using? Perhaps it's your browser? For reference I'm using IE7. It wouldn't surprise me if IE6 for example doesn't handle it well at all Nil Einne (talk) 22:13, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
 * , I'm using Internet Explorer 7 too. The Vandal Warrior (talk) 22:27, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Seems fine for me using Safari 3.1. Dismas |(talk) 23:21, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
 * I just wish it wasn't so fine with Firefox 2.0.0.14!! :-) Fribbler (talk) 00:07, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

Racism
Why doesn't Wikipedia have a policy on racism? Either that or I haven't found one. The Vandal Warrior (talk) 22:12, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Why do we need one? WP:NPA and WP:Civility covers every single problem that would arise from racism that I can think of. Nil Einne (talk) 22:14, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Because racism is a ridiculously ambiguous issue.--WaltCip (talk) 14:41, 12 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Well, it's not too ambiguous for many countries to have laws outlawing vilification or inappropriate discrimination on racial grounds. But Nil Einne is right - those 2 policies cover it so we don't need a further policy.  --  JackofOz (talk) 23:57, 12 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Wikipedia is supportive of all races. ··· 日本穣 ? · Talk to Nihonjoe 04:08, 13 May 2008 (UTC)