Portal talk:Current events/Archive 5

This is an archive of past discussions. Do not edit the contents of this page. If you wish to start a new discussion or revive an old one, please do so on the current talk page.

Archive 1

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Archive 3

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Sanjay Dutt

Sanjay Dutt is a leading Indian Film Actor. His case of RI was in the court for few years and the court has given RI judgment. I think this news is of great interest considering a celebrity of his stature is given an RI by the court. 59.93.126.80

Turmoil in Iran?

The UN's recent report in Iran indicates that the Iranians aren't working to decrease uranium enrichment activity, but are increasing it. Worse yet, some parts of the nuclear facilities aren't even being shown to investigators. I'm pretty sure that something as important as this should at least have its own spot in the news, if not the headlines (I mean, a burning boat even got in there).

German army racist remarks

To me that sounds like a very unremarkable, hardly newsworthy incident. Although the omnipresence of racism is sad, it's not really news if it does not have some broader impact.

I actually agree. Jmlk17 21:34, 22 April 2007 (UTC)

Ya its right even i agree,,,

Florida Withs!!

The story about the NCAA Basketball Championships states that Florida is the only school to with titles... adw 12:26, 3 April 2007 (UTC)

Huh? Are you saying that Florida is the only team to win two NCAA championships in two different sports in the same year? Jmlk17 21:33, 22 April 2007 (UTC)

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

How about some objectivity? This is Gitmo we're talking about. Not like we can automatically trust what comes out of there, and allegations of torture and censorship of transcripts by the US government have some bearing on the story. Remember, neutrality isn't pandering to mainstream or both sides of an issue, its staying objectionable to the facts at hand. Fifty7 19:45, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Neutrality is staying OBJECTIVE. "Objectionable" means being offensive.Cuddlyable3 11:16, 10 July 2007 (UTC)

What on earth is a de facto heterosexual or homosexual?

Just curious. Trau

Think they were referring to the status of unmarried homosexual couples. Potatoswatter 21:44, 11 March 2007 (UTC)

What on earth is a de facto couple? Is this something to do with Italian law? People can't be considered couples unless they get official recognition as such? Trau

Look up the term wiktionary:de facto. Potatoswatter 03:25, 12 March 2007 (UTC)

I know what de facto means. It just doesn't seem at all applicable to relationships between human beings. Two people are either a couple or they aren't. De facto is to contrast with de jure, and neither seem applicable here. Trau

I admire your innocence, but... Potatoswatter 04:05, 13 March 2007 (UTC)

Actually, I see Trau's point. One can't be a de facto heterosexual or de facto homosexual, although it is possible to have de facto or de jure relationships. Despite it's frequent use in common speech, de facto is a legal term and should probably not be used otherwise in an encyclopaedia. No court can RULE that an individual is a specific sexuality BY LAW, although they CAN rule that the relationship a specific couple enter into is valid IN law. Hence "de facto/de jure heterosexual/homosexual" would be an erroneous distinction, although "de facto/de jure heterosexual/homosexual relationship" would not. - 81.5.170.199 02:14, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

What's to say what exists legally when nothing comes before the court. I forget what the article was now, but if gay couples were getting some benefit denied to single people, presumably it would be possible for someone to get denied and have to prove their de facto relationship status. In other words, as you said there are de facto and de jure relationships. Which is what I said, and what you said and not what Trau said. A de facto homosexual would be a (possibly married) person who's convicted of deviance in some other part of the world. Potatoswatter 02:22, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

Oops, yes I see what you mean. I was going by the original section header ("What on earth is a de facto heterosexual or homosexual?"), but on looking again I see Trau later rephrased his/her question to "What on earth is a de facto couple?", which as we both agree, could be a perfectly legitimate description of a relationship. - 81.5.170.199 03:56, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

I have no idea about Italian law but in NZ law, couples can be in a de facto relationship if they've lived together in a relationship like marriage for 2 years or something of that sort. Most laws & policies covering people in marriages and civil unions apply to such relationships as well (inheritance, beneficiary, tax) Nil Einne 19:08, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Europe current events

Im interested to know where is that section.I think its gonna be quite fair if someone makes that section too.There is for each continent current events but for Europe there isnt.Please fix

Hi, in my humble opinion, I think it (this request) makes much sense.Historianism 07:04, 15 March 2007 (UTC).

yeah - this is really weird that there is no Europe link in the "Regions" bar at the top of the page. Witty lama 17:29, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

Ditto.

Captain America death

I added the death of Captain America to the Current Events portal and it was delated with the claim that it lacks international merit, which I believe is unfounded since the story is posted on many news outlets including international ones, specifically CNN and their website, the AP, Variety, and numerous others, but Marvel themselves also publish worldwide. The recent unmasking of Spider-Man was included in the portal and though Cap may not be as popular, he is still known internationally who have never read comic books. This is on par with the death of Superman in 1993 which received international coverage, though was promoted muchly beforehand. In short order this story will surely be as widely circulated, yet is already prominent enough an event to merit inclusion.

Heck, I'm Canadian, and I'm posting this. It's of international interest, and I would like to see support in having it returned to the Current Events for March 7, 2007. CyclopsScott 23:10, 7 March 2007 (UTC)

The user who deleted it conceeded on my talk page that my argument for including it is indeed valid, but also dismissed it as just some 'comic hero dies! big deal' which is a personal trivialization that's getting in the way of objectivity. Major news outlets covered this and its a noteworthy addition, and as such I'm returning the information to the main page, though will trim it down a bit as the article itself holds many details. CyclopsScott 00:08, 8 March 2007 (UTC)

I'm rather frustrated as it was deleted again, with the claim that AP cannot be sourced. I had also sourced Newsarama and CNN, but on my talk page the user also claimed the death of a fictional character is not news. Contradictory the death of Superman was news, but its not the death itself that's the story per se, but the fact that Marvel published it that is the news. I still hold the Spider-Man unmasking and Superman death as precidents that should merit this being included. Neither user that deleted it has yet responded here concerning their reasoning against mine either. CyclopsScott 03:20, 8 March 2007 (UTC)

I support putting comic characters' deaths on here. Nescio sed Scio 18:20, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

I support it as well. RobertAustin 09:10, 31 March 2007 (UTC)

Yeah I mean, what with a war in Iraq and all the political upheaval, death and destruction, famine, mass genocide and all the cricket I've got to say, as an Englishman, that I couldn't care less about some bloke from the USA dying even if it was Bush. The fact that people are even considering Captain America as an international icon just goes to show the vast naivity of some people. World news, not "North American + a few other places". —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 90.152.12.130 (talk) 15:21, 13 April 2007 (UTC).

It would be like if a there were only four major ice cream companies and one of them decided to stop selling strawberry. Marvel is a major circulation comic book company and Captain America is an old and profitable franchise and historically interesting as a character that embodies early American propaganda. The world is going to hell and I also don't care about fictional characters, but it's still news. YohoLungfish 13:14, 5 August 2007 (UTC)

Logic behind the astronaut headline?

Why is this investigation on INT? Any other American murder investigation in and of itself would most likely not pass ITN muster....why would suspicion of an astronaut change that? If there is some significance to this case I fail to see, please let me know, because as it is this is very puzzling to me. --Fsotrain⁰⁹ 18:40, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

No one was murdered in relation to the astronauts. --Holderca1 19:58, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

Just mush talk really!

liverpool fc

Does any one think that the liverpool foootball club - take over by gillett and hick should be noted as a rather big story on both sides of the atlantic —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 86.42.91.111 (talk) 21:39, 7 February 2007 (UTC).

No, this story makes the front page only in USA and UK. Elsewhere, it's only sports news, and not the most important one. --Nitsansh 22:01, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

You are incorrect - any news about English Premiership football makes it all the way to India, lot's of fans over there :) Waffle247 15:52, 8 March 2007 (UTC)

Awakening of Nevado del Huila

A mayor volcano in Colombia is awakening. This news have gained importance in Colombia since what happen in Armero, almost 2 decades ago.--ometzit<col> 20:58, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

helicopters?

Is the helicopter north of Baghdad a different one than the army acknowledged was shot down last week? If it's getting difficult to tell the airborne casualties apart these days, maybe they're unfortunately not front page news any more. Potatoswatter 06:22, 22 February 2007 (UTC) From the linked article: "Insurgents have shot down seven helicopters in Iraq since 20 January, with many of the 28 killed in those incidents being US soldiers." So that's about two a week. Ugh. Potatoswatter 06:26, 22 February 2007 (UTC)

Vietnam III - this time America might win! Waffle247 15:53, 8 March 2007 (UTC)

Three more to go. What with who makes the decisions in Washington, how could democracy ever fail? Potatoswatter 20:02, 8 March 2007 (UTC)

Exaclty, I mean the american system is clearly perfect, requires no ammendments or changes to it's original philosophy and is completely uncorrupted by modern politicians. Anyone who disagrees is clearly only doing so because they are being oppressed by fundamentalists or sympathetic terroist groups - it's the only logical answer (on Mars). Oh and one more thing, if I ever decided to emigrate to the USA - please shoot me out of a cannon through a salad slicer. Waffle247 15:10, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

this should be updated faster

I've been seeing that Turkish court news here for a week now.This should be updated every 48 hours,not left here.If you go to Yahoo or ggoel,their news is updated evey few hours.We should strive for the same thing here.--Nadirali نادرالی

Wikipedia is not a news service, in the way that Google News and Yahoo News are. We have Wikinews for that – Qxz 07:04, 25 February 2007 (UTC)

Eh, current events + Wikipedia's general articles tend to have a lot of advantages over Wikinews. Either way, wikipedia:be bold! Potatoswatter 10:38, 25 February 2007 (UTC)

Upcoming trial of Mordechai Vanunu

Mordechai Vanunu's trial opens the upcoming trials box since the portal was created. [1] Such a trial is not mentioned in his article or anywhere else I looked. Do you happen to know if this trial is still upcoming? Lior 04:32, 27 February 2007 (UTC)

If you can't find any sources that say so anywhere, it's probably best to remove it – Qxz 08:22, 28 February 2007 (UTC)

again

Vandal put: "Thomas came out of the closet". I don't know how to revert it and can't find who did it in the History.Therequiembellishere 20:03, 28 February 2007 (UTC)

Whatever it was, I can't see it now, so I guess it was fixed – Qxz 23:06, 28 February 2007 (UTC)

National People's Congress

Last year, the 2006 National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China received a place on the front page current events template. I suggest that this be done again for the 2007 National People's Congress, which opens tomorrow. Colipon+(T) 06:22, 4 March 2007 (UTC)

A New Discovery

On March 8th 2007, scietists discovered something very important. On April 4th, they are expecting for all of the planets to line up which will end up in dramatic changes in the tides and the gravitational pull to be much higher. This is the first time it has happened in 50,000 years. This is truly an exciting event!

Which appeared to go off with not so much as a blink of an eyelid. I think you would be more correct in saying "This is a truly exciting event, as far as I am concerned" rather that caliming we're all astrology geeks. 90.152.12.130 15:24, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

Although there was no significant tidal effect, ( i.e. the moon being counter to the alignemt ) it is a significant event for astronomy, and planet viewing. but:

It is on May 7th,

Ummm It will happen again in 2040 and 2100

BUT ITS EXCITING FOR ASTRONOMY!

Refrence:

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/solarsystem/planets_align_020402-1.html

I would recommend, and request that you post informational items about planetary alignments in terms of the science of astronomy. Let the astrologiers make of it what they may. 67.188.118.64 04:42, 12 July 2007 (UTC)

increased activity => categories?

Lately there are occasional days with an entire screen's worth of headlines. It's getting a bit cumbersome. Maybe we should introduce an organizational template? We can have commented-in headings for different categories of news, and editors can uncomment when the first news item appears.

Economy & Development

Politics & Scandals

Tragedies & Celebrities

These headings seem too long... if every pair could be boiled down to a single word?

Anyway, it would be nice to have things organized as above... from most to least true relevance. Potatoswatter 01:46, 9 March 2007 (UTC)

Single word?

Economy & Developemt -> Money,

Politics & Scandals & Celebrities -> Idiots

Tragedies -> Diasters

A friend of mine, years ago, seperated his news into stuff, more stuff, same stuff, diffrent day, diffrent stuff same day, holy stuff, hot stuff and ... stuffing ::)) ( He did actually use a more perjoritive term.... ) 67.188.118.64 04:46, 12 July 2007 (UTC)

Who's deleting FA Quarterfinal scores?

Please do NOT remove FA Cup scores as they have reached the sixth round proper (quarterfinals). Otherwise, I will report vandalism! NoseNuggets 5:44 PM US EDT Mar 1 2007.

great website

i love this website. I get so much info on it.keep up the good work. thank you bye —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 76.166.51.57 (talk) 22:43, 11 March 2007 (UTC).

Thanks for the kind words, and don't forget you can help with the good work yourself! the wub "?!" 18:24, 13 March 2007 (UTC)

HEY! I have this website, specifically the current events, a first day's read.

I love this web site too, even with all the limitations, bickering, contriversy.

but the best... source of humor... your going to really love this:

Wikipedia Bad jokes and other deleted nonsence. [[2]]

Nothing, no comedic movie or comeidan or joke has caused me more uncontrollable laughter, for hours.

Artoftransformation 04:52, 12 July 2007 (UTC)

New Portal

Is there a process whereby you propose a new current events portal, or do you just go ahead and create one? 08:17, 13 March 2007 (UTC) — [Unsigned comment added by Dev920 (talk • contribs).]

No procedure as far as I know. I suggest you explain here what the new portal is intended to cover, and wait a few days to get some feedback.-gadfium 18:18, 13 March 2007 (UTC)

No, just go ahead and make one. Be sure that there are at least a few people prepared to regularly update it, though, as an out-of-date Current Events page isn't a lot of use to anyone – Qxz 15:43, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

Roger. Dev920 (Have a nice day!) 22:51, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Wikinews links

I don't know if this has been brought up before, but should we link to appropriate Wikinews stories? I have been doing this on Portal:Current events/Britain and Ireland, linking Wikinews like another source but only when there are other sources as well. I think it would help in both promoting Wikinews and driving home the fact that Wikipedia isn't a news service. the wub "?!" 18:29, 13 March 2007 (UTC)

I don't see any harm in it if the Wikinews article is well-written and references more reliable journalistic sources (i.e. definitely don't link to one if it's purely original research). Probably better to link directly to another source as well, as you're already doing – Qxz 04:30, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

Why does Wikinews need sources? It's a journalistic site with peer review. Potatoswatter 05:50, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

It doesn't. But since anyone can edit it, we can't use it as a source, because it isn't a reliable one. At most, we can use an article there as a tertiary source if it cites reliable primary or secondary sources, which is the point I was trying to make – Qxz 15:42, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

Deaths

Do we follow the ITN criteria for deaths? Or do we list in appropriate subcategories even if deaths likely meet ITN criteria for inclusion Nil Einne 19:48, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Provincial Election result on Main Page

The election result for Quebec makes it to the Current Events on the Main Page, but last Saturday's state election in New South Wales did not. Clearly there is a regional bias at work here. 58.169.33.31 00:07, 31 March 2007 (UTC)

Apologies, was not logged in when posting that. Darcyj 00:08, 31 March 2007 (UTC)

Only you can prevent [...] bias... by fixing it yourself! 68.39.174.238 07:21, 4 July 2007 (UTC)

Phelps old news

The 2007 World Aquatics Championships ended April 1 - not really current news anymore. Not a dog 15:02, 6 April 2007 (UTC)

Nigerian Oil Crisis

Nigerian Oil Crisis is listed under Ongoing armed conflicts but the article only gives information for 2004. Is this crisis still ongoing, and is it still a current event? If not, it should be removed. Article needs updating in any case.--mikeu 19:32, 8 April 2007 (UTC)

Why are you asking us? Go look! Do it yourself! 90.152.12.130 15:26, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

South America region

Is not South America part of the world ? Why is it not listed as an option in the regionals ?

Gigas

Because no one has volunteered to create and maintain the page. Several of the regional pages are infrequently updated, and adding another one seems pointless unless there's someone with a good track record of wikipedia edits willing to keep it up to date. I thought about doing so, but my experience of maintaining the Oceania regional page for over a year with little interest from anyone else convinced me that there were more useful places on Wikipedia to spend my time.-gadfium 20:23, 15 April 2007 (UTC)

anti-imperialist march in turkey

An anonymous user keeps adding the word 'anti-imperialist' to the description of the marchers in Turkey (4/15). If you add it back, can you update with a cite to a news source that mentions anti-imperialism, or contains any text at all that can possibly be interpreted as suggesting the marchers have a cause other than secularism and opposition to the perceived Islamist tendencies of the Erdogan government, or discuss somehow why the Erdogan government is "pro-imperialist"? Willhsmit 17:52, 15 April 2007 (UTC)

Inclusion of Cho Seung-hui on recent deaths

Can someone provide justification, in terms of Wiki guidelines and policies, of Cho's exclusion from the recent deaths column? Christopher Connor 13:40, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

I removed his name, I don't know if anyone else did. I see several arguments against it:

Redundancy. The Virginia Tech massacre is already in several places in current events, including the front page. Cho himself is linked in most of them.
Simplicity. The Recent deaths column is pretty clearly intended for people whose deaths are not in themselves notable "events" -- an obituaries listing. There's probably little reason for duplication in almost all cases, but this doesn't seem like one where there's a need. Are we assuming people won't find out about his death if it is excluded?
Fairness. If we include Cho, we should include all the victims who have articles now (which includes some that are on AFD).
Precedent. If we do that, then we should by precedent include all notable persons who are killed, or who commit suicide, during the course of notable events. That's a lot of people.

I would rather have anyone desiring inclusion to be forced to justify themselves, as isn't that where the burden of evidence lies by policy?

These seem reasonable arguments to me. I also would probably not be alone in suspecting its inclusion was a type of provocation, but I would rather take the high road. One could respectfully disagree with these arguments, but disregarding intent, I think these are good reasons for exclusion. To date this feature has survived, as far as I can determine, without a formal policy governing its use. I think it can continue to do so as long as it isn't used in a way that, intended or not, is potentially disruptive. --Dhartung | Talk 18:04, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

I would have argued either way, but Dhartung...quite convincing. Jmlk17 06:59, 22 April 2007 (UTC)

Johnson Space Center (NASA)

Keep an eye on this event. It is loosely commented about on the NASA and Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center articles. --'oac' (old american century) | Talk 20:45, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

It seems to have sorta blown over for some reason. Jmlk17 06:58, 22 April 2007 (UTC)

Can't Edit the 'Headlines' section.

As one cannot edit the 'Headlines section, please note that the following headline: "The U.S. Supreme Court upholds the constitutionality of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act in the decision of Gonzales v. Carhart." should read: "The U.S. Supreme Court, in the decision of Gonzales v. Carhart, upholds the constitutionality of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act." Duncan.france 10:28, 23 April 2007 (UTC)

Please note that the 'headlines' section is the same as ITN on MainPage. The best way to suggest minor tweaks like that over there would be to post a note at WP:ERRORS. I've fixed this now, but please go there next time. Response is usually quicker there. Thanks. --PFHLai 13:31, 25 April 2007 (UTC)

Nigerian Election

The Nigerian election should be featured in the headlines section. Nigeria is the most populous nation in Africa, and an important regional power. If the French election is listed, so should the Nigerian election. Inkan1969 21:09, 23 April 2007 (UTC)

I agree. Jmlk17 21:10, 23 April 2007 (UTC)

Please note that the 'headlines' section is the same as ITN on MainPage. Relevant articles must be updated to qualify. To suggest items on ITN, please go to WP:ITN/C. Thanks. --PFHLai 13:59, 25 April 2007 (UTC)

Iggy Pop's 60th birthday

Stooges frontman James Osterman, aka Iggy Pop, turned 60 yesterday. Thought it was interesting... 69.232.85.118 22:51, 23 April 2007 (UTC)

I know this is way late, but I don't think that was very noteworthy though. Jmlk17 05:26, 18 May 2007 (UTC)

Guarding history

By chance i'm going trough some of the older events pages (like May 2006 for instance). If i diff to the versions that were originally archived, i find a LOT of changes. broken links, self promotion, vandalism, adding unimportant information etc etc. This is really starting to become a problem in my eyes. It's a lot of pages of course, but apparently few people keep this on their watchlist or something. Perhaps we need to setup a system to tackle this issue a bit more thoroughly ? I don't have any direct ideas, but I see it as a problem that needs dealing with. --TheDJ (talk • contribs • WikiProject Television) 23:46, 23 April 2007 (UTC)

You may want to post a message about the vandalism and other problematic edits at Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard and ask admins to put those pages on their watchlists. Hope this helps. --PFHLai 14:03, 25 April 2007 (UTC)

Man cutting off penis

I don't see anything internationally noteworthy in putting this story up there. It won't have any broader impact, in Britain or abroad. Human interest stories like that just take up space. Unless we are going to post every story on snowboarding dogs or Darwin Award winners, there's no reason to have something like this up there. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by EtTuMercader (talk • contribs) 15:14, 2007 April 24 (UTC).

Good cutting. Such pseudo-news has no place in an encyclopedia. --PFHLai 14:06, 25 April 2007 (UTC)

"Good cutting." - An unintentional pun or you just couldn't resist that line? ;) - 81.168.40.231 01:00, 14 May 2007 (UTC)

Virginia Tech massacre moved to recent events

I just moved this link from ongoing to recent events. I don't think any new news is coming out from this and it's been more than a week. Any objections? JHMM13 16:33, 25 April 2007 (UTC)

Think this is a good move, I support it EtTuMercader 20:14, 25 April 2007 (UTC)

Kenneth John Freeman

I haven't checked to see if there's even a page on this guy, but he was recently caught in Hong Kong. Kenneth John Freeman was the creator of the most downloaded child pornographic video. --72.201.41.48 22:40, 2 May 2007 (UTC)

There doesn't appear to be an article; there's a Kenneth Freeman, but that's a different person. You can start the page yourself if you create an account first, or submit the text of the article at Wikipedia:Requests for creation and someone with an account will create it for you. Alternatively, you may add it to one of the lists of wanted articles at Wikipedia:Requested articles – Gurch 16:11, 5 May 2007 (UTC)

Kenya Plane Crash

Is there any chance of getitng the Kenya Airways plane crash onto the main current events list on the home page?? Thanks --81.129.44.180 11:44, 5 May 2007 (UTC)

This page is for discussion of the Portal:Current events page, rather than the Main Page itself. Ask at Wikipedia:In the news section on the Main Page/Candidates – Gurch 16:07, 5 May 2007 (UTC)

Herod tomb

Would it be better for the link on Herod I to link to Herod the Great#Reported tomb discovery?

Idea to help maintenance of the historic events pages.

I think we should add something like [3] to Portal:Current events/DateHeader2. We can then use Special:Recentchangeslinked/Category:Current events of 2007 to more easily track vandalism and vanity edits in the older pages. I haven't fully decided on a Category name. Does anyone have any good ideas for that ? --TheDJ (talk • contribs) 02:00, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

Sounds like it would be OK, if you can make it work – Gurch 06:50, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

I think the better category name would be Category:2007 by day . I don't see any problems and will make the edit request on the template, and create the category. If problems will result, we can easily revert it. --TheDJ (talk • contribs) 00:01, 17 May 2007 (UTC)

Old current events pages

We have a ton of pages from 2003 all the way trough to 2005. It might be a good idea to move these pages to our current "Portal:Current events/year month date" format and remove or redirect (to "month year" pages as is the practice for dates outside our old current events pages) the old pages names. It would be a lot of work, and there are some pages which contain content that might not fully belong in the current events history and ought to be moved to normal article space. Regardless. for consistency it would be better I think. --TheDJ (talk • contribs) 22:26, 18 May 2007 (UTC)

Wolfowitz away...

How long do we have to keep looking at this guys mug? Please change it.—Gaff ^ταλκ 18:40, 20 May 2007 (UTC)

Lol...not a bad idea. Jmlk 1 7 22:16, 26 May 2007 (UTC)

Cutty Sark

The wording for the Cutty Sark bit seems wrong

The clipper Cutty Sark catches fire in a dry dock in Greenwich in London where it is being renovated.

This makes it sound like it has been moved to the dry dock for renovation. This is where the ship is kept all the time. So the wording could do with changing. Jimmmmmmmmm 12:35, 21 May 2007 (UTC)

I agree. I have changed the entry a bit to better reflect the historic importance, and removed the renovation part. people can read that from the article if they want, it's way too confusing to be in the short entry. --TheDJ (talk • contribs) 13:25, 21 May 2007 (UTC)

News link for Irish general election

I've replaced the BBC news link as it actually explains from an outside perspective as to what the background is. The RTÉ story says little more than that there's an election underway, as the Irish media are under a moratorium/blackout on election analysis. zoney ♣ talk 11:55, 24 May 2007 (UTC)

Always a good idea for the POV issues. Jmlk 1 7 22:15, 26 May 2007 (UTC)

Helicopter

What's the bullshit with very very brave soldiers in helicopter?

It was just pov vandalism. Thanks for reverting it.-gadfium 20:57, 5 June 2007 (UTC)

How are News articles picked?

Simple Question... Who decides? I assume someone is bieng paid for this part of wiki, and what are their motives for picking one story over the other?

No one is being paid. Suggestions can be made at WP:ITN/C. -- tariqabjotu 12:46, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

HA HA... I know wiki is a nonprofit org... the company dosn't profit, but somone has a job to maintain this page, I'm sure!!!! I would love to know their motives... John Doe or Jane Doe 12:51, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

No, it really is just volunteers. That accounts for our sometimes rather uneven coverage of news events.-gadfium 20:36, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

Actually, WP:ITN/C is just for those news items which appear on the front page. On this page, anybody can edit. Though others may remove what they consider not newsworthy, or not newsworthy in a global perspective. Those of us who edit here do try to keep it to international notability. There are also subpages for regional news items. Corvus cornix 17:36, 12 June 2007 (UTC)

Emily kicked off Big Brother UK for racism

This seems to be a pretty big story in the headlines, especially in the UK. It has been on the front page of most tabloids this week: http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6729673.stm

That might be better suited to Portal:Current events/Britain and Ireland. Corvus cornix 17:38, 12 June 2007 (UTC)

International Space Station

A lot of news stories have been reporting about a massive computer failure aboard the International Space Station during the Space Shuttle's mission STS-117. I believe Wikipedia and Wikinews should watch this closely as a current event. This is far from over.Spongefan 21:09, 15 June 2007 (UTC)

Removed

62th Birthday of Daw Aung San Su Kyi.

[4]

Not of international intrest 82.113.39.26 11:58, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

Edit intro feature enabled

See Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2007-06-18/Technology report and Bug 5175. It mentions this page as an example. Could anyone implement this to show us how it works? Carcharoth 12:17, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

I decided to try it out, using "&editintro=test". This gives the page test as the intro text before the edit box. – Chacor 12:32, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

The feature exists for input boxes (see m:Help:Inputbox) and for links to edit a page. For instance, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Sandbox&action=edit is a link to edit the Sandbox; http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Sandbox&action=edit&editintro=Main_Page is a link to edit the Sandbox with the Main Page shown before the edit box. So far, I've used the feature on 'click here to edit' links on the Help Desk and on my own User Talk page. --ais523 16:20, 19 June 2007 (U T C)

Ah. So it only works for manually constructed edit links. Those clicking "edit this page" will still get the normal edit window, and there is no way to have the normal introductory HTML comments (such as present in Portal:Current events) appear as the introduction for those clicking "edit this page"? Only that was what I read the bug report and discussion as providing. Carcharoth

Specifially, quoting from here: "This request is to enable the editintro feature for existent pages. Many pages at Wikipedia, such as Current events, include fairly lengthy HTML comments at the top to instruct newcomers on how to edit the page correctly. This feature would eliminate the need for lengthly comments like that and make it possible to include wikilinks in the instructions." Carcharoth 17:33, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

The current implementation, in the Inputbox extension, expects the page to be edited via a link or button-click rather than via the edit-this-page button. To add an editintro for every edit to a page would require a change in either the site JS to add the link or a change in the software. --ais523 09:50, 22 June 2007 (U T C)

I have implemented this feature here; the instructions are located at Portal:Current events/Edit instructions. I've fully protected the page, but perhaps that's unnecessary and it can be downgraded to semi-protection. I'll leave that for others to decide, however. -- tariqabjotu 02:59, 25 June 2007 (UTC)

Leadership Changes

I recommend a new sidebar header - Leadership Changes

This would be different from Elections and would deal with actual changes in Leadership of a country (or organization). For example, currently the UK is undergoing leadership changes in Prime Minister. France and Israel has recently undergone leadership changes in the office of President. Once could also include a leadership (or regime) change in the Gaza Strip (in a de facto sense).

Ongoing would be a period where the a new leader has been elected or appointed but has not yet taken office.
Recent would be where the leadership change has been completed in the last month.
Future would be a situation where we know that a leadership change will take place, but we don't yet know who it is. (i.e. The US will have a leadership change on January 21st, 2009)

user:mnw2000 17:46, 24 June 2007 (UTC)

June 2007 United Kingdom floods and its presence on this page

I noticed that June 2007 United Kingdom floods wasn't listed under ongoing natural disasters on this page. Is there a particular reason for this? It seems noteworthy enough. I've been bold and added it. --Oldak Quill 08:44, 28 June 2007 (UTC)

optsioon

Tuletisväärtpaber, mis annab selle omanikule õiguse, kuid mitte kohustuse osta optsiooni väljaandjalt või müüa optsiooni väljaandjale finantsvara varem kindlaksmääratud ajal ja hinnaga.

Current events in Hong Kong

I haven't been involved in this Portal, and I'm not familiar with the standards here. I've been maintaining Current events in Hong Kong for a while now, and it's basically been a one-person job. So I've kept the format simple and easy for myself. I personally read The Standard online on a regular basis, and I just add notable news items onto the page. My question is, does this Portal have room for the Hong Kong current events page to be integrated into it? If so, would it get a space on Portal:Current events/News Browser? Hong Qi Gong (Talk - Contribs) 00:24, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Why are the calendar, events, recents deaths etc. currently under July 1?

rather than running alongside all the current events? Gotyear 18:47, 6 July 2007 (UTC)

On 1 July template, the |} was removed. I've fixed it now --TheTall One 20:52, 6 July 2007 (UTC)

Thank you! I checked the Current Events history and glanced at the Edit for July 1, but for some reason it didn't occur to me to check July 1's history. Gotyear 21:29, 6 July 2007 (UTC)

Summorum Pontificum

Where can I put Summorum Pontificum in to this? It's been released today. JASpencer 14:41, 7 July 2007 (UTC)

Just add an entry to the 7 July section. Copy the format of an existing entry, and link to a major news source carrying information on its release. If you don't get the format quite right, someone else will tidy it up for you.-gadfium 20:38, 8 July 2007 (UTC)

Suggest removal of July 6 NYC Radio Station entry

I'm fairly new to Wikipedia and thus I am not prepared to be editing content until I am familiar with the rules. However, it seems to me that announcing a new radio station format for a single station in New York City is hardly of world-wide importance. Comments?

I agree, and someone else has already removed it.-gadfium 20:38, 8 July 2007 (UTC)

this page is changing

Israel's Nuclear Program

Um, can someone please explain how Israel's nuclear program is an ongoing news story? I did a Google News search and all I got was stuff about Iran's program. If there is no appropriate justification I'll remove it,ʈ unless someone beats me to it. - Pyro19 05:57, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

Hmmm, case of an anti-israel editor thinking this was needed. Totally stupid, thanks for reporting it. --TheDJ (talk • contribs) 11:21, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

Press TV

Can stories from Press TV be included here? I linked one today and it was removed by User:Perspicacite [5] (who then left an angry message on my talk page [6]). Press TV is a new, government run english language TV news station. It thus joins the ranks of BBC News 24, France 24 and other government run news stations. Perspicacite seems to believe that because the government in question is Iran, we can't reference it. Is this correct? ... Seabhcan 21:06, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

I'm going to assume this[7] was an honest mistake on your part. Press TV is the Government of Iran. Please refrain from sourcing your contributions to Press TV in the future. It's not a reliable source. In addition, if the Iranian government makes an accusation notable enough to be included in the current events page then a third-party source, which should be available, is preferable. The Iranian government has been saying the U.S. supports PJAK, PMI, and Jundallah for months. This is not new. Perspicacite 21:13, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

Your edit to the current events page borders on vandalism. Perspicacite 21:13, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

If you had bothered to read the article on Press TV before deleting it, you would see that it is only funded by the government, and not run by them. This is the exact same model as that used by the BBC. Your critique has no merit. mms://217.218.67.244/presslive is the link with which you can watch Press TV if you want to learn about them. --Vitalmove 23:30, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

For future reference, Press TV and IRNA are not reliable sources. CNN, whether you like it or not[8], is. Perspicacite 21:22, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

Why is Press TV not reliable, but BBC and France 24 are? All are government run. ... Seabhcan 21:25, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

Uh, no. BBC and France 24 are partially funded by the British and French governments respectively. Neither of them are run by their respective governments. BBC does not take orders from PM Brown. Perspicacite 21:29, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

And why do you think that Press TV does? Further, I've seen China's CCTV referenced here before. China's press is far more controlled than Iran's. Russian media sources are also often quoted... Seabhcan 21:30, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

Are you asking me why I think Press TV is state-run? It's common knowledge. [9] Perspicacite 21:35, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

So your saying there is a ban on media deemed 'state-run'. Is there a list of banned sources somewhere? ... Seabhcan 21:41, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

You need to read Wikipedia:Reliable sources. Perspicacite 21:43, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

I don't see Press TV mentioned there. Which point do you believe covers it?... Seabhcan 21:45, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

Seabhcan, I would like to point out that the site you link to (http://www.mebusa.org/presstv.html) is not a Web page connected with the event described in your edit. – Zntrip 22:05, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

? I didn't link "mebusa.org" anywhere. What are you talking about? ... Seabhcan 22:08, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

It seems that this vandal [10] altered the link. ... Seabhcan 22:09, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

In that case, I would also like to say that the information is relevent. It has been reported by other sources (here, the source is Stratfor). – Zntrip 22:32, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

Do you have a source that does not require membership? Perspicacite 22:46, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

Wherever news covered is an iranian issue, PressTV might be a reliable source. For other world news I'd rather see more independent sources than PressTV. And so should be the opinion of any Iranian if you ask me. Most of all, the things referenced here so far by PressTV are simply just not world news. They are quotes of Iranian government officials playing poker with the rest of the world. Totally uninteresting, and as childish as bullies on a schoolyard. --TheDJ (talk • contribs) 23:06, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

If anyone wants to view Press TV please type this link mms://217.218.67.244/presslive into internet explorer. I think Press TV is going to have a hard struggle getting a fair treatment on Wikipedia, based on the strong presence of editors who some suspect are employed by Israel. However, I think this is unfair. As anyone who watches Press TV will see, it seems to offer credible news stories, not just on Iran but on the world in general. Two of the shows I like are "The American Dream" hosted by Mark Levine in the United States and "Between the Headlines" hosted by a charming gentleman in the United Kingdom. I definitely give it a thumbs up. --Vitalmove 23:28, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

Uh... okay thanks for that. Anyway the artilce I was refering to is called "Iraq: Pejak Leader Directs From Germany". Just search it and it should display without a login. – Zntrip 23:30, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

I'm not interested in that particular article thank you. I hope that insignificant article isn't what you tried to add to current events. --Vitalmove 23:32, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

You are being very annoying at most. It's simply not a reliable source. Al Jazeera is many times more reliable and independent, and would be much more acceptable as a newssource. --TheDJ (talk • contribs) 23:54, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

Do you mind at least watching the channel for a day or so before drawing that conclusion? Type mms://217.218.67.244/presslive into your internet explorer. --Vitalmove 00:05, 12 July 2007 (UTC)

Vitalmove, you do realize that Wikipedia is a collaborative encyclopedia and is not a place to ramble about your favorite TV shows? I was responding to Perspicacite comment about the link I provided. I didn’t mention the article just so you can reiterate your frivolous comment. If you have nothing constructive to contribute to this discussion I suggest you leave, as you are being very disruptive. – Zntrip 01:29, 12 July 2007 (UTC)

It's a week old. It has no history of being a reliable source for a project such as an encyclopedia. It will either become reliable such as the state-owned BBC or French stattions or turn into a Soviet TASS disaster. --Tbeatty 06:24, 12 July 2007 (UTC)

Disaster is a pretty flippant way to describe a 100+ year old and massive and global news agency. TASS has bureaus in over 60 countries. http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/ --Vitalmove 07:00, 12 July 2007 (UTC)

itar-tass is not Soviet TASS. --Tbeatty 07:23, 12 July 2007 (UTC)

Tbeatty, I'm curious about your reasoning here: [11] You replaced a Press TV article with a CBS article, saying the CBS one was more reliable. However, the two articles say almost exactly the same thing - how can you say that one is more reliable when they are identical? ... Seabhcan 09:24, 12 July 2007 (UTC)

Because the channel is a week old, so it has no reputation on the quality of it's work yet. Now this PressTV discussion is closed, please use other sources, and come back when the thing is a year old and no longer located in Iran. All Iranian news-agencies are heavily censored and therefore not independent and unacceptable sources. We are not anti-iran, we are just anti-bad sources and we are sorry if anyone feels offended. --TheDJ (talk • contribs) 09:47, 12 July 2007 (UTC)

Ok. So what other sources are banned? Can we use CCTV? Its not from Iran, so it passes your first test, but it is from a heavily censored country? And how about Russian media? Also, you said above that Press TV may be suitable for stories on Iran. Does this still stand? The current discussion is about an Iranian terrorist group. Is this not "about Iran" enough? How much "about Iran" must a story be so that Press TV may be used? ... Seabhcan 10:19, 12 July 2007 (UTC)

CCTV is old enough, but it's reliability is also notorious. It has clearly misinformed about a lot of things. And I don't think russian sources are much better these days. And the thing about "about Iran" still stands, were it not that the channel is a WEEK OLD. I have no idea how you can possibly think that a WEEK OLD source is acceptable. I can start my freaking own website and say whatever I want, no one would believe me in the first week. If I had that website and posted there for years, and other people quoted my work and stuff, then my website MIGHT be a reliable source. That's where this is. WEEK OLD gives something as much credibility as the dustbin. Besides, a source is never banned, it just doesn't fit reliable sources. --TheDJ (talk • contribs) 10:31, 12 July 2007 (UTC)

So its the age of the source that is key! Although, I seem to remember people quoting France 24 right from the start. Maybe its a combination of "Iranian" and "New" that makes it unreliable? By the way - which point in WP:RS applies to Press TV? ... Seabhcan 11:10, 12 July 2007 (UTC)

I should point out the the Press TV website has been around longer than the television station actually has, so any complaints about its age are irrelevant. Granted, I do agree that it should be avoided when trying to source news that may be United States- or Israel- (etc) related for obvious reasons - a quick glance at the website already shows to anti-US headlines along the side. – Chacor 11:19, 12 July 2007 (UTC)

Agreed, Just as we should avoid US and Israeli news media for stories relating to Iran (I remember a 'story' last year in the US and Canadian media about Jews in Iran being forced to wear yellow stars. It was completely fictitious, and was withdrawn following a complaint from a Jewish member of the Iranian parliament) ... Seabhcan 11:46, 12 July 2007 (UTC)

Be careful Wikipediaers. As a result of my participation in this debate, and my attempt to improve the Press TV article, User:Perspicacite has (1) tried to ban me by vandalizing the article, and accusing me of 3RR for reverting his vandalism, (2) followed my edit history and targetted my other articles, for example Mark Levine (journalist)[[12]] and having failed at those attempts is now (3) threatening to have me permanently banned for "uncivility." At this point I feel stalked, and although I am glad my identity is protected, I am still somewhat creeped out by his behavior. Be careful. --Vitalmove 07:13, 13 July 2007 (UTC)

welcome to wikipedia, an online community like any other. --TheDJ (talk • contribs) 08:40, 13 July 2007 (UTC)

Let me see if I can address all the inaccuracies in that post... "Wikipediaers" is not a word, I am not an administrator and therefore cannot ban users, the dispute over PRESS TV is over content and not vandalism, multiple users have acknowledged you violated 3RR, targeted does not have two consecutive 't's and my edit was a minor correction, I warned you would be blocked by an administrator if you continued to be uncivil - insisting that all users who disagree with you therefore work for the Israeli government, and there is no verbal form of the word "creep." If I missed anything, please feel free to let me know. Perspicacite 08:43, 13 July 2007 (UTC)

Enouph Pope

have we looked at the Pope for long enough yet? He's really kinda creepy. --Thespian 21:23, 12 July 2007 (UTC)

Two die, over 200 injured in strong quake in Japan

Has anyone gotten this one yet? It seems very similar to the 2004 Chuetsu earthquake. more stories -Theanphibian ^{(talk • contribs)} 06:06, 16 July 2007 (UTC)

plane crash

The plane crash was on here as "breaking news" but someone took it off saying breaking news doesn't deserve a place one here. But it should be on here but not as "breaking news" I suppose. Fineric 02:17, 18 July 2007 (UTC)

Steam pipe?

Can I be the first to ask a really dumb question? Whats a Steam Pipe? and how come thats a red link? ... Seabhcan 09:18, 19 July 2007 (UTC)

Harry Potter is not news.

Harry Potter

I was going to restore Harry Potter to today's current events. I initially agreed it wasn't news and thought it incongruous in In The News, but the news sources indicated global cultural impact. Since what's in ITN is (as far as I know) always mirrored on Current Events, should it be relisted here? TransUtopian 16:45, 21 July 2007 (UTC)

It's a book. Is it a special version of the Bible or the Qur'an? Does it affect society in a way that The Protocols of the Elders of Zion or The Satanic Verses have? No. It should not be listed on the front page. There are wars going on. 67.68.155.209 23:54, 21 July 2007 (UTC)

Should Harry Potter really be up there?"

Its a sale of a book, I feel that it should not be up in the wikipedia headlines.

PLease give reasoning a sign your posts. Buc 19:15, 21 July 2007 (UTC)

Why is the release of Harry Potter listed, but not the fact that Pratibha Patil becomes the first woman president of the Republic of India? --EncycloPetey 08:51, 23 July 2007 (UTC)

Content can take several days to appear. Since you posted, both have been listed. Also, Harry Potter is considerably bigger in America and Europe (where most of the readers/editors come from), than Pratibha Patil (sadly). Matt/TheFearow (Talk) (Contribs) (Bot) 21:32, 29 July 2007 (UTC)

Spanish royal sex cartoon banned

Could you please add it to the headlines? I think it's quite important (BBC). Thanks. --Micru 04:59, 23 July 2007 (UTC)

UK Floods

Should somone update the uk flood dangers, for there are now warnings of floods in london (Thames)

Mohammed Zahir Shah

News of the former Afghan king's death, Mohammed Zahir Shah, should be posted on the front page "in the news" section due to the importance of the country over the last few years. Thanks!Scanlan 20:21, 23 July 2007 (UTC)

Tour de France

Is the doping scandal really front-page news? The TdF has always been full of drugs. The latest stuff is just a case of "here we go again". Totnesmartin 07:55, 27 July 2007 (UTC)

It's a quite big thing, because of the size of the sport. And not many other ones have been quite so publicised. Matt/TheFearow (Talk) (Contribs) (Bot) 11:04, 28 July 2007 (UTC)