Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2013 January 8

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January 8

Campaign medals

Why do two WWII campaign medals extend eligibility to March 2, 1946. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.130.78.13 (talk) 12:00, 8 January 2013 (UTC)

I assume that you're referring to things like the American Campaign Medal. The obvious answer is that war-related activities (and thus service) did not cease immediately upon the formal end of the war in September 1945. A date of six months after the formal Japanese surrender on September 2 was apparently thought appropriate. Deor (talk) 12:11, 8 January 2013 (UTC)

They probably thought it was long enough for returning POW's and soldiers to get back home. Unfortunately (as was the case with my father) it took years for some people to return from some theatres of war.--TammyMoet (talk) 14:00, 8 January 2013 (UTC)

I have created a header for this question. Matt Deres (talk) 14:06, 8 January 2013 (UTC)

The draft system for WWII continued until Oct. 1946[1] although the numbers drafted fell off rapidly. Soldiers were required for occupation duties in several countries - the American sector of Germany, Japan, Korea, etc. Rmhermen (talk) 15:16, 8 January 2013 (UTC)

Another point is that, while VE Day and VJ Day were widely celebrated as "the end of the war" (but even with just those two, we already have room for confusion), a number of countries remained technically at war with other countries for some years after 1945. -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 19:45, 8 January 2013 (UTC)

Worth mentioning is that neither of those dates marks the actual end of combat operations. In Europe, the Battle of Poljana took place a week later, while in the Pacific, the last combat involving an organized Japanese force took place in March of 1947. --Carnildo (talk) 03:10, 9 January 2013 (UTC)

As usual, the British requirements were more rigorous (or parsimonious depending on your viewpoint). The end date for qualification for the Atlantic Star and France and Germany Star was 8 May 1945 (Victory in Europe Day exactly), and for the Burma Star and Pacific Star it was 2 September 1945 (the exact day when the Japanese Instrument of Surrender was signed). Alansplodge (talk) 17:17, 10 January 2013 (UTC)

The Moment of Truth unaired episodes

Are they gonna show those 5 unaired episodes of The Moment of Truth ever on TV? Or continue series? 62.72.230.103 (talk) 15:10, 8 January 2013 (UTC)

We really couldn't tell you, I'm afraid. (Although, that said, the Entertainment Desk would have been the place to ask this question anyway. AlexTiefling (talk) 15:20, 8 January 2013 (UTC)

data entry job

Is the infobuzzle website is fake or real ? please tell me that.I want to join to work . they want Rs. 500/- as registration fees. please help.Rikisupriyo (talk) 16:15, 8 January 2013 (UTC)

I don't know how genuine the site is but a piece of practical advice is that most job offers that ask for cash in advance are scams. There may be exceptions but it is a safe general rule. If they won't deduct your registration fee from your first pay, then there is something wrong. Gurumaister (talk) 16:41, 8 January 2013 (UTC)

Looks real but could so easily be scam. In many countries, asking for this kind of registration fee is illegal, but I don't know what the situation is in India. To earn Rs.500 (about US$ 9) you need to fill 250 forms and, if each takes a minute to do, that'll be over 4 hours solid work at a keyboard with no breaks for lunch, refreshments, smoking, chatting, facebook, email, toilet, etc; note that the infobuzzle home page has an earnings chart which suggests this would be around 2.5 hours work, but the maths simply doesn't add up. You might be able to do that in a day and it is above the minimum daily wage in New Delhi, but you would be laying yourself open to RSI and it all assumes there is enough work sent your way to do that many forms in a day. A better way of earning Rs.500 would appear to be getting people to register with your website for Rs.500 each. Astronaut (talk) 17:10, 8 January 2013 (UTC)

You could search for infobuzzle fake or infobuzzle scam ... —Tamfang (talk) 19:50, 30 June 2013 (UTC)

Medals

Getting an official medal for something is a very important event. But other than the honour, prestige, and reputation, is there any practical benefit in being given a medal? I know that some medals, such as the Nobel Prize or the Fields Medal, carry monetary prizes, but is this true for all medals? What about military decorations? JIP | Talk 18:39, 8 January 2013 (UTC)

It depends, but usually "not much". In some countries, there are incidental benefits - highly decorated military veterans are given small legal privileges, or a nominal annual payment as a supplement to a service pension. In India, holders of a number of military decorations are exempt from national highway tolls. (The signs for this are great - towering outside the tollbooth, and starting with i) THE PRESIDENT, just in case they were coming by and happened to forget they didn't need to pay)

In the UK, the Victoria Cross carries a small pension, instituted in the late nineteenth century to stave off the embarrassment of ex-soldiers appearing on music-hall stages to capitalise on the fame associated with the award. It's tax-exempt, and that particular exemption mentions a number of other military decorations where related payments are explicitly exempted from income tax. Our articles don't mention annuities for several of these, though (eg the Military Cross) so it's possible that this is something now discontinued. Andrew Gray (talk) 19:03, 8 January 2013 (UTC)

In sports, having a medal, especially an Olympic gold medal, could greatly increase your earning potential, provided it was in the right sport. Such people were highly sought after as coaches and performers, in shows like the Ice Capades and it's successors. Similarly, Nobel prizes and such could make the person more marketable on the lecture circuit. Also, some medals themselves can be sold for quite a bit of money, if it comes down to that. StuRat (talk) 21:44, 8 January 2013 (UTC)

In many branches of the U.S. military (and, I suspect, in other nations' armed forces, too) decorations count directly toward the scores used to determine promotions among enlisted personnel. For instance, the Air Force uses the Weighted Airman Promotion System (WAPS) for promotions to grades E-5 through E-7; up to 25 points are scored for the soldier's decorations. (The Achievement Medal is worth 1 point; the Medal of Honor is good for 15 points; other awards fall somewhere in between.) While the soldier doesn't receive a direct monetary reward for possessing the decoration, eligibility for earlier and/or more rapid promotion (with associated increase in pay grade and ultimately in pension) is certainly a substantial indirect financial benefit. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 23:48, 8 January 2013 (UTC)

U.S. military enlisted may enter at a higher grade if they earned Eagle Scout, Quartermaster Award, Silver Award, Gold Award or Billy Mitchell Award. --— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 00:04, 9 January 2013 (UTC)

Winning a Newbery Medal or Caldecott Medal will certainly lead to extra sales and, therefore, bigger royalties. Rmhermen (talk) 00:35, 9 January 2013 (UTC)

@ Gadget, do you have a source for that? It seems unlikely that an award like that of Eagle Scout available only to heterosexual religious males would stand as a preferential criterion for enlistment nowadays. μηδείς (talk) 04:31, 9 January 2013 (UTC)

A source is given right on the Eagle Scout page. Open it and search for "Eagle Scout". Regards, Orange Suede Sofa (talk) 04:38, 9 January 2013 (UTC)

I see they have a Girl Scout award too, but the religious part of the Boy Scout oath and whatever their stance on homosexuality is this week seems to make preferential treatment to those given an award from a private "moral" institution an endorsement of religion. μηδείς (talk) 04:46, 9 January 2013 (UTC)

sale date

What do a sale date on your house mean — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jrvision (talk • contribs) 19:38, 8 January 2013 (UTC)

The date when the house became yours, usually when you passed papers on it. This can be important, especially for tax purposes, where it comes to calculating who owes what in property taxes. --Jayron32 21:00, 8 January 2013 (UTC)

Where? HiLo48 (talk) 23:19, 8 January 2013 (UTC)

Somewhere. --Jayron32 23:19, 8 January 2013 (UTC)

Ha! DRosenbach ^{(Talk | Contribs)} 02:53, 9 January 2013 (UTC)

Missing your inauguration

So Chavez will [miss] his inauguration as President of Venezuela. Have there been other examples of the same situation and how were they resolved? Rmhermen (talk) 23:13, 8 January 2013 (UTC)

You've missed a "miss", Miss.  :) -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 00:21, 9 January 2013 (UTC)

fixed Rmhermen (talk) 00:30, 9 January 2013 (UTC)

In the US, at least, the President elect only has to say a brief pledge to uphold and protect the Constitution. There's no requirement that they stand outside in the cold to do so, that's just tradition. If they weren't able to say the pledge even from a hospital bed, then that would bring up the Q as to whether they are able to perform the duties of office. StuRat (talk) 03:20, 9 January 2013 (UTC)

The President can be sworn in anywhere, especially if the previous President croaked. Coolidge was sworn in at home by his own father, who was a judge; LBJ did it on an airplane. I doubt very much if the early presidents, especially the notoriously shy Jefferson, gave a speech out in the cold. Harrison gave the longest speech and had the shortest presidency, as a direct result. Someone, possibly Richard Armour, defined the inauguration as "a ceremony where the president stands out in the cold and rain without a hat on." ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 06:29, 9 January 2013 (UTC)

The best part in the US is the President doesn't even need to mean it. μηδείς (talk) 06:46, 9 January 2013 (UTC)

They don't have time to read it, they're too busy defending it. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 07:13, 9 January 2013 (UTC)

Here's a situation very similar to what is happening in Venezuela: In Brazil, Tancredo Neves was elected President in January 1985, but became severely ill the day before his scheduled inauguration (which was to take place on March 15). Vice President-elect José Sarney took the oath of office as Vice President and immediately became acting President. Neves never recovered and died before he could be sworn in, on April 21, at which point Sarney was sworn in as President. --Xuxl (talk) 10:00, 9 January 2013 (UTC)

So why not travel to Cuba and get the whole inauguration done from Chavez's hospital bed; or does the inauguration have to take place in the home country? Just the bare minimum needed to make it legal - maybe the Vice President, church and legal representatives, and someone to carry out the inauguration - plus some hangers on like relatives and the press core. It'll be a bit like getting your relatives to that caribbean island for your wedding ceremony) Astronaut (talk) 13:51, 9 January 2013 (UTC)

As I understand it, Venezuela's Supreme Tribunal of Justice (which is appointed by a legislature where Chavez's party holds a majority) has held that the Chavez government can continue even without an official inauguration ceremony. In other words, not having an inauguration has no real consequence, at least in the short-term. Of course, if he is unable to lead, then power devolves to the vice president, which seems to be the more salient point at the moment since it is unclear if Chavez is ever going to recover. Dragons flight (talk) 12:45, 10 January 2013 (UTC)