Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2014 April 28

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April 28

Request to add photo of eminent Economist

Hello,

I was wondering if it would be possible to include a photo of Paul Ormerod on his homepage - I tried to read through the steps but found it difficult to follow,

there's a good one here:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XeUuBx5mKuU/UcG829tln3I/AAAAAAAAAn8/CgsT3eDe9QY/s1600/ormerod.jpg

He has written three very highly acclaimed economics books so far, and I think it would be right to put a face to his page.

Thanks,

Liam.

159.134.232.43 (talk) 01:57, 28 April 2014 (UTC)

This isn't a reference desk question. Please use the Wikipedia:Teahouse/Questions for assistance in uploading images.--Maleko Mela (talk) 02:04, 28 April 2014 (UTC)

"Eminent" might be a bit much. How about "better known than average"? RomanSpa (talk) 05:44, 28 April 2014 (UTC)

Whatever. If he's notable enough for an article, he's notable enough for a mugshot. —Tamfang (talk) 05:57, 28 April 2014 (UTC)

"Eminent economist" has a certain eloquence that "better known than average money guy" lacks. There are more important things than absolute truth. But the truth is, there's still no picture. InedibleHulk (talk) 22:50, 4 May 2014 (UTC)

You'd probably get better help at either the WP:Teahouse or the WP:Help Desk, for these sorts of questions about Wikipedia.

To put a picture in an article, it must first be uploaded to Wikimedia. To do that, you need to be logged in to an account. Anyone can create an account for free, without even the email verification that many websites use.

Be aware that there can be WP:Copyright issues when it comes to pictures, which is why articles on people don't always have the greatest possible picture: we can only use free (as in copyright, not cost) images, which often means someone has to go to an event, take a photo of the person, and upload it to Wikimedia, selecting the option to release the image under an appropriate licence. 86.146.28.229 (talk) 06:02, 28 April 2014 (UTC)

Or argue fair use on things that meet the criteria. InedibleHulk (talk) 22:52, 4 May 2014 (UTC)

Russian Air Force

According to our Russian Air Force article, it is commanded by a lieutenant general. Why so low a rank? For instance the much smaller RAF is commanded by an air chief marshal (=full (four star) general). SpinningSpark 12:52, 28 April 2014 (UTC)

It isn't that low a rank. Lieutenant general is a three-star level rank, so he would be only one rank below an Air chief marshal. This is to be expected as the Russian Armed Forces have a unified structure under the command of a four-star general. (The same structure, for instance, exists in Canada where the Canadian Forces are commanded by a four-star General and the Royal Canadian Air Force is under the command of a Lieutenant General.)

(It does get a bit confusing that a Major out ranks a Lieutenant, but a Lieutenant General outranks a Major general.) - Eron^Talk 16:20, 28 April 2014 (UTC)

The present incumbent is one Viktor Bondarev, who is indeed a Lieutenant General (equivalent to NATO rank code OF-7 or RAF Air Vice-Marshal. However, his predecessor was Alexander Zelin who was a Colonel-General (NATO OF-8 or RAF Air Marshal), so it looks as though it isn't set in stone. Zelin was sacked but nobody knows why - how very Russian. Alansplodge (talk) 17:46, 28 April 2014 (UTC)

Post-World War I Plebiscite (Referendum) Requests Which Were Rejected

I know that shortly after World War I several plebiscites (referendums) took place in order to help determine the borders of various countries. I also know that requests for plebiscites in Alsace-Lorraine and in South Schlewsig got rejected. My question here is this: Were there any other cases shortly after World War I where there were requests for plebiscites which got rejected? Futurist110 (talk) 19:58, 28 April 2014 (UTC)

This book mentions Austria (anschluss with Germany), the Åland Islands, and the Vilnius Region. jnestorius^(talk) 20:37, 4 May 2014 (UTC)

Syrian Civil War

Is this is the first war in human history for which so many first-hand video footage from the warfront are available in the internet for public viewing? Is there any previous war which saw such wide number of videos? --EditorMakingEdits (talk) 20:56, 28 April 2014 (UTC)

Well, Taliban in Afghanistan/Pakistan just love to post pics they take of their bombs going off and killing people. StuRat (talk) 22:02, 28 April 2014 (UTC)

Another question, can members of US military make videos using smartphone cameras while in the battlefiled? Is it legal? --EditorMakingEdits (talk) 22:30, 28 April 2014 (UTC)

I'm sure it's not encouraged, in light of recent incidents of photos being released and causing severe PR damage, but it may or may not be illegal. I'm not familiar enough with military law to comment on that. StuRat (talk) 00:15, 4 May 2014 (UTC)

Basdeo Panday

Hi I am from Trinidad in the West Indies. Recently I read the profile on Basdeo Panday and saw his birth place being that of Trinidadian. To my knowledge he was born in Guyana. Could you please verify this and contact me or make relevant changes if necessary.190.213.37.76 (talk) 21:57, 28 April 2014 (UTC)

Thank you for raising this, though a better place to do so would be on the talk page Talk:Basdeo Panday. His birthplace, like most of the information in the article Basdeo Panday, was unreferenced (which means it is a very poor article, and I have added an appropriate tag) so could have been removed; however, I have found this, saying that he was born in Princes Town, which seems to be in Trinidad, and have therefore added the town and the reference to the article. If you have a reliable source that says he was born in Guyana, you should bring this up on the talk page; but if it is your own knowledge unsupported by published sources, I think the Parliament of T&T wins! --ColinFine (talk) 14:54, 29 April 2014 (UTC)

Is blue hair a "thing" in England for older women?

I saw today's featured article and noticed the picture in it and it seems to me I've seen other older English women with blue hair watching some shows and movies but I couldn't swear how many times or pinpoint where. I was just wondering if it's a thing in England and if so its origins?--108.46.109.33 (talk) 22:07, 28 April 2014 (UTC)

Blue rinse is the stuff. AlexTiefling (talk) 22:09, 28 April 2014 (UTC)

It's not just England. Google a song called "Blue Hair Driving In My Lane". ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 22:14, 28 April 2014 (UTC)

Don't forget Marge Simpson. StuRat (talk) 22:16, 28 April 2014 (UTC)

The origin is surely that people with greying (or fully greyen) hair sometimes feel the need to not look like they're grey (and by extension, old). So, they add a colour to enhance the impression of relative youth. The bags and lines and cracks in their faces do tend to give the game away, though. Marge is a much later comer. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 22:22, 28 April 2014 (UTC)

• You might also watch A Clockwork Orange. μηδείς (talk) 22:18, 28 April 2014 (UTC)

It's very easy for grey hair to develop a yellow tinge and this doesn't flatter older skin, so the blue rinse is used to reduce or remove the yellow tones. You're welcome. --TammyMoet (talk) 10:31, 29 April 2014 (UTC)

Purely anecdotal evidence, but I don't recall seeing any elderly ladies with a "blue rinse" in London since the 1980s, but then again, I haven't been looking too hard. Alansplodge (talk) 14:48, 29 April 2014 (UTC)

The blue rinse lives on in New England (USA), though it may literally be dying out. I don't often see it on women under 80. Marco polo (talk) 15:17, 29 April 2014 (UTC)

• In case it isn't clear to some: the goal of using blue rinse by many people is NOT to turn their hair visibly blue. The objective is usually to change a yellow-gray to a silver-gray. The picture posted above is someone who did it "wrong", at least probably in the eyes of her peers. SemanticMantis (talk) 16:33, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

Actually, I am certain that some elderly women in the United States want their hair to appear pale blue. Typically, they apply the rinse to hair that is mostly white, rather than gray. Marco polo (talk) 19:35, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

Corporal Punishment

Recently there was a video on facebook where a mother beats her 12 year old daughter for posting unfit pictures. This happened in Trinidad in the West Indies. The mother's name is Helen Bartlett. Could you please verify this information?190.213.37.76 (talk) 22:29, 28 April 2014 (UTC)

Verify that such a video exists, or that it's not fake ? StuRat (talk) 22:40, 28 April 2014 (UTC)

For some reason, I am not surprised that the OP's IP geolocates to Trinidad. AlexTiefling (talk) 22:43, 28 April 2014 (UTC)

Neither appear to be actresses. So whether the strop stung or not: it is pretty good acting. The follow up however, suggests this was not done for the benefit of the camera. So I'd say, what you see is what she got.--Aspro (talk) 00:41, 29 April 2014 (UTC)