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Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2016 December 12

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December 12[edit]

For any legally inclined users[edit]

As part of my disseration for my Law Degree, I am to discuss whether or not an action can be made against the Defamation (Slander, Libel etc for non Scottish users) of a deceased person. The idea of posting this is to gather in a few opinions which will make up results of a questionnaire asking the above question.--JanitorioMacG (talk) 12:58, 12 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not a lawyer of any kind, but perhaps the suing of the producers of Trail of the Pink Panther for tarnishing Peter Sellers' reputation might be of interest. I can't find an article on it but it is mentioned in the background section of the film article. -- Q Chris (talk) 13:16, 12 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]
That unsourced section reads like it was lifted from elsewhere, including editorial comments such as "unfortunately". ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 13:22, 12 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]
It appears to be a cut and paste from here. --jpgordon𝄢𝄆 𝄐𝄇 22:45, 12 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]
It's going to vary depending on where you are. Have you read Libel and Slander? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 13:17, 12 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, I am aware of the content in these pages. As I am Scottish and therefore study Scots Law, my focus is Defamation, though I can use Slander or Libel as a cross-comparison.--JanitorioMacG (talk) 13:32, 12 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]
I can't quite see why you're doing a questionnaire like this for a law degree. It makes me slightly worried about the content of the course at your Scottish university. No-one here is an expert on Scottish law - not to the extent you should be yourself by this point. We come from all over the English speaking world: USA, England and Wales, Ireland, Australia... If you were studying sociology or psychology and wanted to investigate the general state of knowledge, that would be different. In case that is what you are doing, note that you should pilot your questionnaire before you make the final draft. Writing good questions is harder than you might think. 14:13, 12 December 2016 (UTC)
You might be able to spin something together with the concept of a tort causing damages to personality rights, a subclass of property rights. --Tagishsimon (talk) 14:38, 12 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]
A deceased person can't be defamed.
Sleigh (talk) 15:43, 12 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]
According to Q Chris' link, that's incorrect. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 17:27, 12 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]
At the top of this page are these bullet points
  • We don't answer (and may remove) questions that require medical diagnosis or legal advice.
  • We don't answer requests for opinions, predictions or debate.
  • We don't do your homework for you, though we’ll help you past the stuck point.
I've seen posts on this desk that violate one of these and, occasionally, two of them. This one violates all three and that is the first time I can remember that happening. MarnetteD|Talk 16:57, 12 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]
"Legal advice" would mean we were giving advice for which a lawyer would typically be paid, not helping with homework. StuRat (talk) 22:33, 12 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]
To me, the heart of the matter is whether damages can be said to be done. Whether the deceased himself is damaged would rather depend on your conception of the afterlife, if any. However, those still alive, whether family, friends, business associates, etc., most definitely may be damaged, and thus have legal standing. This could either be material damages, such as if the company the deceased founded and his family inherited lost sales, or intangible, say if they feel badly due to the defamation. Whether Scottish law recognizes such damages, I can not say. StuRat (talk) 22:33, 12 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Hurricane Sandy: Why did so many cabbies leave their cars close to sea level?[edit]

[1]. Why not drive inland till you find somewhere to park it? Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 13:43, 12 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

They weren't operational taxis, they were new vehicles "awaiting shipment to a Manhattan dealership." See City’s final fleet of Crown Victoria taxis destroyed by Sandy. Alansplodge (talk) 13:49, 12 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]
But the Q is still valid. If you have expensive, mobile inventory on hand, and a hurricane is headed your way, why not move it out of harm's way ? If I worked for the insurance company, I'd be tempted to argue that they failed in their due diligence to protect the insured property, and deny the claim. Or I could just go with the "Act of God" defense. StuRat (talk) 22:26, 12 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Let's see. 200 cabs. A hurricane is coming. The cabs haven't actually been delivered to the dealership; they're not owned by drivers or taxi companies yet. Who is supposed to move them -- and to where? --jpgordon𝄢𝄆 𝄐𝄇 22:43, 12 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]
The employees of whoever is in possession at the time moves them, and if nowhere else can be found, any Walmart on high ground will work. If Walmart has them towed, that will cost a lot less than replacing them all. Maybe they don't have time to move them all, but they sure can move some. StuRat (talk) 00:36, 13 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]
What happens if you move them to Walmart (or wherever) and they are still damaged? The dealer's insurance policy might well pay zero for vehicles stored anywhere other than the dealer's property. Also, some of the flooded area in Hoboken was more than 15 blocks from the shoreline. I don't know where the lot in question was, but if they were somewhat inland then they may not have appreciated the storm surge risk. Dragons flight (talk) 01:06, 13 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Also, please cite references showing that the company had enough staff available to move the vehicles to a suitable location after it was determined to be necessary and without endangering themselves. ---76.71.5.45 (talk) 03:23, 13 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]
"Hi. There's a hurricane coming. I know you're supposed to evacuate, and it's your day off, but would you please come to work instead and move some cars so the insurance company doesn't think we've been negligent?" --jpgordon𝄢𝄆 𝄐𝄇 04:25, 13 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Also, just because the cars are there doesn't mean they are driveable - they may not be stored with fuel, they may not be registered for driving on the road, and they may not be insured on the road. Never mind the logistics of actually moving 200 vehicles to safety (there's probably an interesting logic puzzle there about the number of trips needed given a certain number of drivers and the seating capacity of the taxis). MChesterMC (talk) 09:39, 13 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

"Section 5 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act contains the "general duty clause." The "general duty clause" requires employers to 1) Maintain conditions or adopt practices reasonably necessary and appropriate to protect workers on the job". Alansplodge (talk) 11:10, 15 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Which banknote color scheme is closest to casino chips?[edit]

  • 1 - white
  • 5 - red
  • 25 - green
  • 100 - black
  • 500 - purple
  • 1000 - orange [2]

Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 19:07, 12 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Perhaps I'm confused. What makes you think there is a standard color set for casino chips? --jpgordon𝄢𝄆 𝄐𝄇 19:17, 12 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]
The article on casino chips makes it very clear that there is no standard set of colours. Wymspen (talk) 20:52, 12 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Indeed, they often aren't just a single color, either. StuRat (talk) 22:23, 12 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]
They Many have a majority color. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 00:43, 13 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Here's a pic of the poker chips for the former Dunes (hotel and casino): [3]. They are ALL majority white, with a mix of other colors to distinguish them. StuRat (talk) 15:24, 13 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Very well. You can't play blackjack etc. with poker tournament chips though. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 18:21, 14 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]
My link says those colors are more common. This says those denominations have standard colors in Atlantic City. 5000 is grey apparently. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 22:45, 12 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Other than the United States Dollar, I can't think of any major world currency where "1" is a bill instead of a coin. Both the 5 Euro note and the Bank of England £5 note are mostly blue, as is the Canadian five-dollar note. The 5 Renminbi note is a violet color. The Australian five-dollar note lacks any predominant color (it's a rainbow of pinks and blues and yellows), as is the New Zealand five-dollar note (orange and blue and green). The 5 ruble Russian banknote is greenish, but has a wide array of colors. The 5 Singapore dollar note is greenish as well. In many other currencies, there also isn't a "5" bill; The Swiss franc, Japanese yen, Hong Kong dollar. Furthermore, I know of NO currency which is denominated in the equivalent of 25 units for a coin or bill, the only counter example being the quarter dollar in Canada and the U.S. which is a 25 cent coin. Most countries follow the standard patterns of "1-2-5", other denominations are rare. So the answer to your question is at least through the "5" the answer is "no one I can find" and the "25" doesn't exist in bill form anywhere, or in coin form almost anywhere. In summary a) 1-value notes are very rare b) there are no red 5-value notes anywhere that I can find c) the 25-value note doesn't exist anywhere. I'm not sure it's worth checking the rest, there's so many things wrong with the question that it doesn't strike me as answerable with what we have left. --Jayron32 12:13, 13 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]
The Bank of England no longer issues £1 notes, but one Scottish bank (RBS) does, and so do Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. These are all green (as was the BoE note). There is also still an Egyptian £1 note (brown). Wymspen (talk) 13:08, 13 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]
I wouldn't really describe the Manx pound as a major world currency. While there's probably some variance as to the meaning of the world "major", the Isle of Man's economy would fit exactly zero of those definitions. --Jayron32 13:11, 13 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Actually, before the introduction of the Euro, the Dutch guilder had coins of denominations of 5, 10, and 25 cents, and 1, 2.50, and 5 guilders, and notes of 10 (earlier 5), 25, 50, 100, 250, and 1000 guilders. I once found myself in posession of two 250 guilder notes and wondered how on earth I'd manage to spend them, though in the event they paid for several nights' stay in a hotel. On another visit, I was in the queue to pay the 25 cent fee to use the toilet at Amsterdam Centraal station when the tourist in front of me insisted on paying with a 100 guilder note; I think he got most of his change in 25 cent coins, which were very fiddly little things.... -- Arwel Parry (talk) 22:14, 13 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]
And Britain once had a coin valued at 1.05 pounds sterling. Historical currency was all over the place. The fact remains that in the current world we live in today, currency denominated in any value except 1-2-5 (and multiples of ten thereof) is rare. --Jayron32 03:53, 14 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]
  • Thank you! I had an almost-memory of handling a 25-unit note somewhere on a tour of Europe in 1975. —Tamfang (talk) 06:40, 14 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]
The Chinese Renminbi (which is used in a few different countries, even as a reserve currency in the US) has 1 yuan bills (and coins). Heck, there are 1 jiao notes (imagine a 0.1 Euro, Pound, or Dollar note!). Ian.thomson (talk) 04:05, 14 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Resolved. Let's just put this behind us
It also doesn't have a color scheme to match the OP's color scheme, so while being true, your note is irrelevant. But thanks for sharing! --Jayron32 04:26, 14 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]
It was in re Other than the United States Dollar, I can't think of any major world currency where "1" is a bill instead of a coin. Ian.thomson (talk) 04:38, 14 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]
You continue to be correct, and I continue to have been wrong when I wrote what I wrote. Arguing further will not change that, so I do not know what you hope to gain. You cannot change facts by continuing to argue, and you cannot make my original incorrect statement, which was absolutely wrong, suddenly become correct by arguing with me. I'm not sure what you are going for here. --Jayron32 12:27, 14 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Wow, you sure are an encouraging member of the refdesk, calling people's contributions irrelevant when they do expand upon something said in the thread; assuming that it's about arguing for points instead of just collaboratively making sure information is complete (as is the case with the rest of the encyclopedia). Ian.thomson (talk) 23:02, 14 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, that was very rude of me and you did not deserve for me to call your contributions irrelevant. It is indefensible. I apologize for doing so. It was not a helpful comment and it would have been better had I never said it. I did say it, for which I offer no defense, because there is none, but I do apologize because you and the others here did not deserve it.--Jayron32 23:46, 14 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Your link doesn't exactly sound reliable particularly in an international context. Our article sounds much more reliable and suggests as noted before there's no universal or even most common colour scheme. It also mentions that colours in New Jersey are mandated in law as confirmed by the ref provided [4], so the situation in Atlantic City isn't surprising but it's only one of a large number of places with casinos. Nil Einne (talk) 13:39, 13 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]
It is also no longer a major casino hub: [5]. So he's picked a color scheme from a few casinos in one city and is claiming some kind of universality? --Jayron32 14:30, 13 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]
See Netherlands Antillean guilder to add to Commemorative coins of Australia and Coins of the Philippine peso mentioned earlier. The guilder is one of the currencies where the sign (in this case f for "florin") is placed in the middle of the price, i.e. in front of the cents. 62.30.204.247 (talk) 17:23, 14 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]