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I've had this idea for the last few days and I was wondering if anything like it has been implemented anywhere before. Basically, there would be a database of people who, while they may have a few extra dollars every week, are essentially living paycheck to paycheck. And if they could get maybe one credit card bill or car loan paid off, then they would be able to have a bit more breathing room and maybe even have some savings. So, they'd sign up and pay in to the system maybe $5-10 per month. And each month, the organization would choose one person to be paid all this money. So, say you had 100 people in the group and each paid in $10. So, that month a person gets chosen and receives the $990 (not including their $10 since it was their month). Then the next month, it goes to the next person on the list and so on. Granted, there would have to be more rules and regs but basically, I think you get my idea. And of course, the groups would have to remain relatively small otherwise it might take years for someone to get to "their month". Even at 100 people, that would be a while to go all the way around. But anyway, has anything like this ever been done? Dismas| (talk) 02:48, 26 January 2010 (UTC)
This system probably doesn't make sense where you have access to banks (it would be more efficient if everyone just pay the $10 to their bank account every month). It can be a good idea where access to other types of saving does not exist, though, as the system does not have to "store" the money anywhere. For an abstract discussion of systems looking somewhat like your idea, including the problem of people leaving the system, see this academic paper. Jørgen ( talk) 08:29, 26 January 2010 (UTC)
Exactly how much money was raised to help Hurricane Katrina victims on the 2005 Larry King Live three-hour special "How You Can Help"? 24.90.204.234 ( talk) 05:56, 26 January 2010 (UTC)
How can I get printed on my screen the verse of Twas the night before Christmas? Thank you Gerald Buckley <contact info redacted> —Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.189.32.54 ( talk) 07:09, 26 January 2010 (UTC)
He also asked this question (under a different IP, but same city) at the Help Desk. Probably best to keep it here. ← Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 07:48, 26 January 2010 (UTC)
Somebody told me that the Joseph camp in Vavuniya actually had nothing to do with somebody or something called "Joseph", but that it referred to "joint operation" something. I could not find much reliable confirmation on the web, but here is a reference to "the Joseph camp (Note: the reference is to the former JOSFH or Joint Operations Security Forces Headquarters) in Vavuniya". However, this 2008 report from the French asylum agency uses the name "camp Joseph" and says that nobody knows its meaning, but that there is a "Joseph Lane" in the vicinity of the camp. There are also references to a JOSSOP (Joint Services special operation) camp [1] [2]. Is there any reliable source on the correct name of this camp and its origin ? Apokrif ( talk) 16:03, 26 January 2010 (UTC)
Pl help me identify the nation
1. It was once part of a much larger group, it continually fought outsider control and finally became independent 2. It actually received significant financial assistance for a number of years but the assistance is again under review by its major benefactor. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 59.93.74.9 ( talk) 13:03, 26 January 2010 (UTC)
Having watched Band of Brothers, I was impressed by the first episode, Currahee, which showed the members of the 101st ready to embark for that unfortunate debacle ( not their fault ) in Nomandy. They showed Englishmen dressed up as German SS and other such. Good idea to familiarise the men as to whom they would be coming up against, but did this really happen, given that although the miniseries is based on fact, the article states there were some historical inaccuracies and licences. I have tried to look everywhere to find out, but nothing. I also realise this could be considered an Entertainment question, but ultimately I am asking about a possible historical fact. And if this was true, and say the Germans had captured the south west of England, would they have shot the cockney gent in question, considering his intention in wearing the uniform was not to spy, but to educate ? Not that legal details like that ever concerned the Nazis, considering Hitler's Commando Order. Thanks, The Russian Christopher Lilly 13:08, 26 January 2010 (UTC)
I guess, if the cockney portrayed on Band of Brothers had been captured before taking off his uniform by a more decent German, I suspect they would hold a court martial to determine if his intention had been as a spy - which in the context shown on the programme in question, it was not. I wondered about whether some of his own side might shoot him, mistaking him for the real thing, but I think ( although maybe unreasonably ) that the allies would have thought the thing through before getting the man to don the uniform.
I assume this really did happen as shown at Upottery, which as I said, was a good idea. As for spies, they get what they deserve if caught, as the Geneva Convention itself says - I have seen photos of the executions of the SS men who caused mayhem at the Battle of the Bulge - as long as there is a proper trial. Sometimes a bit much to hope for on the side of the Nazis especially, considering the kangaroo courts Freisler ran in the name of the Fuhrer, but then, Nuremberg itself should have dealt with all war crimes - not just those of the enemy. Not that I would have wanted allied spies to be shot, but if those are the rules, the spy should know them, then they can't complain when caught.
One interesting thing was a documentary I saw about a British officer who tried to escape Colditz Castle by dressing up as one of the more famous German guards all the men knew. The ruse was spotted, and he was marched back to his cell, but was not shot as a spy. I suspect his intention in wearing the faked German uniform was not to spy, but to escape, but I assumed the Germans would not see the distinction. It appears in this case they did. But then, with the Great Escape, the Germans did execute others who were clearly not spies. Thank You all for Your help. The Russian Christopher Lilly 12:33, 27 January 2010 (UTC)
The British could make the claim also that since the uniform was not real, there was no actual " wearing of enemy uniform ". I assume more organised SOE units would used captured uniforms, as the character in Band of Brothers said his was. But this is just a game of semantics, since the point of wearing either a real uniform, or one that looked real, was the same - to deceive. I have always been intrigued by the German Paratroopers in The Eagle has Landed, with regard to their insistence on wearing their Fallschirmjaeger gear underneath the captured British/Polish ones they had on for their trip to Norfolk. They said it was to avoid a firing squad, but my thought on that, was that the British would likely have shot them anyway, because, regardless of what they wore underneath, they were still wearing enemy uniform in order to deceive. By their rationale, the SS men at the Battle of the Bulge could claim that, yes, they were captured in American clothing, but did they not still have the SS tattoo indicating their blood group under their armpit ?
Of course, The Eagle has Landed is fiction, trying to make itself look like fact with Higgins' use of the false document technique, but this is an interesting question - would the British have shot them ? I would have. In the end, ironically, their very insistence on wearing their uniform is their undoing, when one of them is killed in the mill saving the little girl from drowning, when his Iron - or Knight's - Cross is exposed. Had they decided not to do something which might not have made a difference anyway, they may have gotten away with their plan. Again, though, a story - although I am sure that similar things did for real occur in the War, which had such an effect. Yes - I forgot about each side's regard for the others' officers - as shown at Andersonville during the US Civil War, where the South sent the enlisted Northern prisoners. I guess the nobs all stick together, and always will - get every one else to fight their wars for them, and play friendly among themselves. The Russian Christopher Lilly 11:50, 28 January 2010 (UTC)
Hello fine folks! I have a homework assignment where I have to chart the export import data for india over the years and compare it to the exchange rate over those years and see any correlation and match that to theory. I am not entirely sure what exchange rate figures I should use because the exchange rate fluctuates daily whereas export import figures are yearly. Should I use the mean? Or something else? What will be the best metric for this comparision? Any help will be deeply appreciated. -- ReluctantPhilosopher ( talk) 15:20, 26 January 2010 (UTC)
I’m afraid Marco polo is leading you astray. Using an index is going to give you nonsense results, and December only data will distort the actual results from all previous months. Given that the question is about trade, which is overwhelming conducted in US dollars, the relevant exchange rate is Rs:US$1. And, as you are looking at several periods, the proper rate to use is the period average. So, for 2004, don’t use the year-end (single hour or day) rate, but the average for the entire year. There’s a nifty calculator (free) at http://www.oanda.com/currency/historical-rates. Oh, and full disclosure: this is all original research, or as my boss calls it, “doing your [i.e., my] job.” DOR (HK) ( talk) 10:25, 27 January 2010 (UTC)
Thanks. 66.65.139.33 ( talk) 18:40, 26 January 2010 (UTC)
I am fairly certain that what I am looking for exists. I am probably using the wrong search key or search criteria.
I am looking for a summary page of the known vital statistics of mankind down through time.
I want to look up things like: How tall was the average ancient Roman? How much did he probably weigh? What was the life expectancy of an adult? What might have been the infant mortality rate? What diseases and other causes of death were most common? How does that compare to Chinese, Gauls etc. of the same period, of later or earlier periods?
Surely someone has assembled this kind of speculative reference based on skeletal remains etc. for the use of archaeologist. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bill Case ( talk • contribs) 20:42, 26 January 2010 (UTC)
Humanities desk | ||
---|---|---|
< January 25 | << Dec | January | Feb >> | January 27 > |
Welcome to the Wikipedia Humanities Reference Desk Archives |
---|
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current reference desk pages. |
I've had this idea for the last few days and I was wondering if anything like it has been implemented anywhere before. Basically, there would be a database of people who, while they may have a few extra dollars every week, are essentially living paycheck to paycheck. And if they could get maybe one credit card bill or car loan paid off, then they would be able to have a bit more breathing room and maybe even have some savings. So, they'd sign up and pay in to the system maybe $5-10 per month. And each month, the organization would choose one person to be paid all this money. So, say you had 100 people in the group and each paid in $10. So, that month a person gets chosen and receives the $990 (not including their $10 since it was their month). Then the next month, it goes to the next person on the list and so on. Granted, there would have to be more rules and regs but basically, I think you get my idea. And of course, the groups would have to remain relatively small otherwise it might take years for someone to get to "their month". Even at 100 people, that would be a while to go all the way around. But anyway, has anything like this ever been done? Dismas| (talk) 02:48, 26 January 2010 (UTC)
This system probably doesn't make sense where you have access to banks (it would be more efficient if everyone just pay the $10 to their bank account every month). It can be a good idea where access to other types of saving does not exist, though, as the system does not have to "store" the money anywhere. For an abstract discussion of systems looking somewhat like your idea, including the problem of people leaving the system, see this academic paper. Jørgen ( talk) 08:29, 26 January 2010 (UTC)
Exactly how much money was raised to help Hurricane Katrina victims on the 2005 Larry King Live three-hour special "How You Can Help"? 24.90.204.234 ( talk) 05:56, 26 January 2010 (UTC)
How can I get printed on my screen the verse of Twas the night before Christmas? Thank you Gerald Buckley <contact info redacted> —Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.189.32.54 ( talk) 07:09, 26 January 2010 (UTC)
He also asked this question (under a different IP, but same city) at the Help Desk. Probably best to keep it here. ← Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 07:48, 26 January 2010 (UTC)
Somebody told me that the Joseph camp in Vavuniya actually had nothing to do with somebody or something called "Joseph", but that it referred to "joint operation" something. I could not find much reliable confirmation on the web, but here is a reference to "the Joseph camp (Note: the reference is to the former JOSFH or Joint Operations Security Forces Headquarters) in Vavuniya". However, this 2008 report from the French asylum agency uses the name "camp Joseph" and says that nobody knows its meaning, but that there is a "Joseph Lane" in the vicinity of the camp. There are also references to a JOSSOP (Joint Services special operation) camp [1] [2]. Is there any reliable source on the correct name of this camp and its origin ? Apokrif ( talk) 16:03, 26 January 2010 (UTC)
Pl help me identify the nation
1. It was once part of a much larger group, it continually fought outsider control and finally became independent 2. It actually received significant financial assistance for a number of years but the assistance is again under review by its major benefactor. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 59.93.74.9 ( talk) 13:03, 26 January 2010 (UTC)
Having watched Band of Brothers, I was impressed by the first episode, Currahee, which showed the members of the 101st ready to embark for that unfortunate debacle ( not their fault ) in Nomandy. They showed Englishmen dressed up as German SS and other such. Good idea to familiarise the men as to whom they would be coming up against, but did this really happen, given that although the miniseries is based on fact, the article states there were some historical inaccuracies and licences. I have tried to look everywhere to find out, but nothing. I also realise this could be considered an Entertainment question, but ultimately I am asking about a possible historical fact. And if this was true, and say the Germans had captured the south west of England, would they have shot the cockney gent in question, considering his intention in wearing the uniform was not to spy, but to educate ? Not that legal details like that ever concerned the Nazis, considering Hitler's Commando Order. Thanks, The Russian Christopher Lilly 13:08, 26 January 2010 (UTC)
I guess, if the cockney portrayed on Band of Brothers had been captured before taking off his uniform by a more decent German, I suspect they would hold a court martial to determine if his intention had been as a spy - which in the context shown on the programme in question, it was not. I wondered about whether some of his own side might shoot him, mistaking him for the real thing, but I think ( although maybe unreasonably ) that the allies would have thought the thing through before getting the man to don the uniform.
I assume this really did happen as shown at Upottery, which as I said, was a good idea. As for spies, they get what they deserve if caught, as the Geneva Convention itself says - I have seen photos of the executions of the SS men who caused mayhem at the Battle of the Bulge - as long as there is a proper trial. Sometimes a bit much to hope for on the side of the Nazis especially, considering the kangaroo courts Freisler ran in the name of the Fuhrer, but then, Nuremberg itself should have dealt with all war crimes - not just those of the enemy. Not that I would have wanted allied spies to be shot, but if those are the rules, the spy should know them, then they can't complain when caught.
One interesting thing was a documentary I saw about a British officer who tried to escape Colditz Castle by dressing up as one of the more famous German guards all the men knew. The ruse was spotted, and he was marched back to his cell, but was not shot as a spy. I suspect his intention in wearing the faked German uniform was not to spy, but to escape, but I assumed the Germans would not see the distinction. It appears in this case they did. But then, with the Great Escape, the Germans did execute others who were clearly not spies. Thank You all for Your help. The Russian Christopher Lilly 12:33, 27 January 2010 (UTC)
The British could make the claim also that since the uniform was not real, there was no actual " wearing of enemy uniform ". I assume more organised SOE units would used captured uniforms, as the character in Band of Brothers said his was. But this is just a game of semantics, since the point of wearing either a real uniform, or one that looked real, was the same - to deceive. I have always been intrigued by the German Paratroopers in The Eagle has Landed, with regard to their insistence on wearing their Fallschirmjaeger gear underneath the captured British/Polish ones they had on for their trip to Norfolk. They said it was to avoid a firing squad, but my thought on that, was that the British would likely have shot them anyway, because, regardless of what they wore underneath, they were still wearing enemy uniform in order to deceive. By their rationale, the SS men at the Battle of the Bulge could claim that, yes, they were captured in American clothing, but did they not still have the SS tattoo indicating their blood group under their armpit ?
Of course, The Eagle has Landed is fiction, trying to make itself look like fact with Higgins' use of the false document technique, but this is an interesting question - would the British have shot them ? I would have. In the end, ironically, their very insistence on wearing their uniform is their undoing, when one of them is killed in the mill saving the little girl from drowning, when his Iron - or Knight's - Cross is exposed. Had they decided not to do something which might not have made a difference anyway, they may have gotten away with their plan. Again, though, a story - although I am sure that similar things did for real occur in the War, which had such an effect. Yes - I forgot about each side's regard for the others' officers - as shown at Andersonville during the US Civil War, where the South sent the enlisted Northern prisoners. I guess the nobs all stick together, and always will - get every one else to fight their wars for them, and play friendly among themselves. The Russian Christopher Lilly 11:50, 28 January 2010 (UTC)
Hello fine folks! I have a homework assignment where I have to chart the export import data for india over the years and compare it to the exchange rate over those years and see any correlation and match that to theory. I am not entirely sure what exchange rate figures I should use because the exchange rate fluctuates daily whereas export import figures are yearly. Should I use the mean? Or something else? What will be the best metric for this comparision? Any help will be deeply appreciated. -- ReluctantPhilosopher ( talk) 15:20, 26 January 2010 (UTC)
I’m afraid Marco polo is leading you astray. Using an index is going to give you nonsense results, and December only data will distort the actual results from all previous months. Given that the question is about trade, which is overwhelming conducted in US dollars, the relevant exchange rate is Rs:US$1. And, as you are looking at several periods, the proper rate to use is the period average. So, for 2004, don’t use the year-end (single hour or day) rate, but the average for the entire year. There’s a nifty calculator (free) at http://www.oanda.com/currency/historical-rates. Oh, and full disclosure: this is all original research, or as my boss calls it, “doing your [i.e., my] job.” DOR (HK) ( talk) 10:25, 27 January 2010 (UTC)
Thanks. 66.65.139.33 ( talk) 18:40, 26 January 2010 (UTC)
I am fairly certain that what I am looking for exists. I am probably using the wrong search key or search criteria.
I am looking for a summary page of the known vital statistics of mankind down through time.
I want to look up things like: How tall was the average ancient Roman? How much did he probably weigh? What was the life expectancy of an adult? What might have been the infant mortality rate? What diseases and other causes of death were most common? How does that compare to Chinese, Gauls etc. of the same period, of later or earlier periods?
Surely someone has assembled this kind of speculative reference based on skeletal remains etc. for the use of archaeologist. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bill Case ( talk • contribs) 20:42, 26 January 2010 (UTC)