Wikipedia:In the news/Candidates/January 2015

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January 31

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Disasters and accidents

Politics and elections

Sports

RD: Lizabeth Scott

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Article: Lizabeth Scott (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): LA Times Yahoo! News
Credits:

Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNRD.

Nominator's comments: Death announced recently, iconic noir film actress AmaryllisGardener talk 00:26, 7 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Kenji Goto allegedly beheaded

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Articles: Kenji Goto (talk · history · tag) and ISIL beheading incidents (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant releases a video allegedly showing the beheading of Japanese journalist Kenji Goto. (Post)
News source(s): NBC News, ABC News The Guardian, BBC News
Credits:

Nominator's comments: Lead story on the BBC and NBC News, also lots of coverage from elsewhere in the world as indicated by other links above. Video has not been confirmed to be authentic, hence use of "allegedly". Everymorning talk 23:15, 31 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

RD: Geraldine McEwan

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Article: Geraldine McEwan (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): BBC
Credits:

Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNRD.

Nominator's comments: McEwan had a long career on screen and in the theatre, she won a BAFTA and was perhaps best known for playing Miss Marple in recent years. JuneGloom07 Talk 18:22, 31 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Be aware, please, that's not what I said. I said her face was recognizable to Americans, not that she was solely identified with Miss Marple. Again, I'd like to hear more from our friends acrost the pond. μηδείς (talk) 22:24, 31 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Weak oppose along the likes of TRM. One BAFTA may be significant, but the current shape of the article doesn't give an impression of how important she was as an actress - it's all rote details like rolls and the like. While her key role is memorable, I don't think that's sufficient alone here. --MASEM (t) 22:17, 31 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose as she doesn't seem to meet the criteria. 331dot (talk) 03:45, 1 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Weak support. Had she accepted the damehood that she reportedly turned down in 2002, her notability quotient would presumably be higher - but, in any case,a very well known and respected actress to UK TV, film (Wallace and Gromit, etc.) and theatre audiences. Article not the greatest, though. Ghmyrtle (talk) 14:59, 1 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose Does not seem to be significant enough to her field. No "must watchs" in her filmography. Zwerg Nase (talk) 18:39, 2 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose I am not seeing where she is particularly influential or important in her field. She appears to be an actor (a term I use without gender) of very long experience, but not among the most lauded or the most well-known or widely-regarded. Challenger l (talk) 02:33, 4 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose. Although I acknowledge her as a stalwart of the British acting world, in my opinion she doesn't quite make the grade. Rhodesisland (talk) 10:50, 7 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]

[Posted] Sergio Mattarella

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Articles: Sergio Mattarella (talk · history · tag) and President of Italy (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: Constitutional Court judge Sergio Mattarella is elected 12th President of Italy, following retired long-time president Giorgio Napolitano. (Post)
News source(s): NYT, WSJ
Credits:

One or both nominated events are listed on WP:ITN/R, so each occurrence is presumed to be important enough to post. Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article and update meet WP:ITNCRIT, not the significance.

Nominator's comments: A newly elected President of Italy is international top news. PanchoS (talk) 16:21, 31 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

You do realize that these two nominations are of two different types, one is ITNC and the other is RD? ;) I agree that it would help to have better references though the president part is fine in principle. --Tone 22:41, 31 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Well, in the distant future, when Mattarella has some accomplishments as president, we can look at them. Otherwise, it's a ceremonial post, and we should never have posted the resignation of the prior holder of this office. And where's the discussion by which this became a part of ITNR? μηδείς (talk) 23:48, 31 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
It was unilaterally added here, as a result of this "discussion"Mogism (talk) 23:57, 31 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I'm wondering why you are now questioning the posting of changes in head of state when it has been done somewhat consistently the entire time I have been here. I in no way am suggesting any nefarious motive but I am just curious as to why now. 331dot (talk) 03:47, 1 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I assume you are questioning me? So far as I can tell, "presidents" in Europe are like Vice Presidents in the US. Stand-ins when trhe Prime Minister is too busy. Kind of like how Joe Biden attended the Charlie Hebdo unity march, because president Obama was too busy campaigning in Berlin. μηδείς (talk) 04:44, 1 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The President of Italy is not like the Vice President of the US, and it is not just a ceremonial post. Among the other things he dissolves the Parliament and names the PM: please note that, while in some cases he has "hands tied" in other cases he has not, and he can decide whether or not to dissolve Parliament, and who to name as PM (as it happened e.g. with Mario Monti a few years ago). Anyway, Mattarella is going to be sworn on February 3rd: we may wait for Tuesday to write something like Sergio Mattarella is sworn as the 12th President of Italy. --Jaqen (talk) 10:30, 1 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
There shouldn't be any need for support as this is on ITNR, but for some reason people are questioning this. It's the succession of a new head of state, ergo should be posted. I am agnostic on whether we should post now or when he actually assumes the office. Modest Genius talk 18:51, 1 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Better referenced than when I first looked. I questioned it because it was sub-standard, nothing else. The Rambling Man (talk) 21:08, 1 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]

[Posted] RD: Carl Djerassi

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Article: Carl Djerassi (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): Sueddeutsche.de Handelsblatt
Credits:

Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNRD.

Nominator's comments: Austrian-American and Bulgarian chemist, novelist, and playwright who is known for his contribution to the development of oral contraceptive pills  - The Herald (here I am) 14:04, 31 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Switched this to Attention needed, since I feel more people should chip in their opinion. Zwerg Nase (talk) 21:02, 3 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Please note that "attention needed" doesn't normally equate to "please can more people come and look at it", it's usually to alert an admin in the event that an article is ready to be assessed for pushing to the main page. The Rambling Man (talk) 21:10, 3 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Oh, I see. Thanks for clearing that up! Zwerg Nase (talk) 22:27, 3 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Per the header instructions at top, the proper term is [Ready] rather than [Attention needed]. In any case, this isn't ready so I've removed that header. Mamyles (talk) 16:04, 4 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Its now ready per the requirements.  - The Herald (here I am) 14:57, 5 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]

[Posted] RD: Richard von Weizsäcker

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Article: Richard von Weizsäcker (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): BBC WSJ
Credits:

Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNRD.

Nominator's comments: Former German President  - The Herald (here I am) 13:58, 31 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

What referencing issues are you referring to? 331dot (talk) 03:52, 1 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Sorry, I thought you might have looked at the article. For instance, the entire "Early life" section is completely unreferenced. "Other activities (selection)" section is entirely unsourced. "List of state visits" section has not one single reference. I apologise, I thought it was obvious what the referencing issues were. The Rambling Man (talk) 09:40, 1 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I did look at it, as I look at each nominated article; please don't assume that what is obvious to you is obvious to everyone else. I saw many references at the bottom of the page so I initially thought that was sufficient. 331dot (talk) 11:26, 1 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, that's a problematic approach, just basing a decision on sheer volume of references. The Rambling Man (talk) 11:55, 1 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for the unsolicited opinion about my approaches. That isn't what I solely based my decision on but I don't really think this page is for analyzing my decisions. 331dot (talk) 12:11, 1 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
No, but worth admins closing ITN candidates understanding that your support isn't based on whether an article is correctly referenced, just has lots of references. Certainly significant here. The Rambling Man (talk) 19:12, 1 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I'm sorry I'm not as familiar with referencing as you are. Frankly I didn't think the sections without references were just made up and that perhaps the references were just not properly placed or something. Perfect should not be the enemy of good. 331dot (talk) 22:03, 1 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Nobody mentioned perfect. Someone mentioned whole sections without a single reference. Your frankness is laudable but doesn't help improve the content of Wikipedia, does it? The Rambling Man (talk) 22:15, 1 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Your sarcasm toward other, especially new users, hardly helps improve Wikipedia. I don't see a need to comment further. 331dot (talk) 22:18, 1 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Then why did you? I called you out for supporting a sub-standard article and now you get all pissy? Noted. The Rambling Man (talk) 22:24, 1 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Everyone has their opinions on what the standard is for article quality to be ITN. Keep in mind that mine and yours focus on referencing especially. --AmaryllisGardener talk 22:29, 1 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Good work on the sarcasm. I am quite new to editing Wikipedia. If in the past 13 years that Weizsäcker was alive and Wikipedia was around no one cared to produce a decent article about one of the world's major leaders than maybe I am not to blame if my references that I put together in a couple of hours are not up to highest standards. I still feel that the article is now in a shape that allows it to go on the Main Page. Zwerg Nase (talk) 21:26, 1 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Don't let other users get you down; thanks for your work. 331dot (talk) 22:03, 1 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
it wasn't sarcasm, the improvement is good, but there are plenty of other tags to fix. The Rambling Man (talk) 22:21, 1 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Zwerg Nase, Leider typisch hier herum. Keine Sorge. Sca (talk) 14:40, 2 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Conditional Support the article has been quite nicely updated, 5kb of new text. There remain just a few cn tags--I'll change to support from my oppose once these are addressed.

μηδείς (talk) 22:32, 1 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for the tags! I believe I got them all. Concerning the state visit table: I believe it could simply be erased from the article, but I did not want to make that decision by myself. If it stands in the way of him going to RD because it is not referenced, we might just kick it out for the moment until I can find references for every trip? But that might take some time and I believe we should put him in RD now since it's already quite embarassing that it takes Wikipedia 2 days to put him on the Main Page... Zwerg Nase (talk) 23:01, 1 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I hid the section by commenting it out. The nomination can go forward and the section can be easily restored once we have sources. (Marked Ready). μηδείς (talk) 03:42, 2 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
So when will it appear? Zwerg Nase (talk) 09:20, 2 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]

January 30

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Armed conflicts and attacks

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Science and technology

[closed] RD: Geraldine McEwan

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The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.


Article: Geraldine McEwan (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): BBC The Guardian
Credits:

Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNRD.
Nominator's comments: English actress known for Miss Marple, the Agatha Christie sleuth and a BAFTA Awardee.  - The Herald (here I am) 12:46, 1 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

RD: Zhelyu Zhelev

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Article: Zhelyu Zhelev (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): Novinite, Fox News, Yahoo
Credits:

Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNRD.

Nominator's comments: Former head of state. Very notable for a RD tag --TDKR Chicago 101 (talk) 22:42, 30 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

There is no obligation to fix tags before a nomination. In fact, nominations often motivate improvements. --331dot (talk) 03:49, 31 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I think we do need to include additional references at least to a degree where it is reasonable to remove the orange tag. That doesn't necessarily mean creating an impeccably referenced article. There's also some material under "Author" which looks to me like original research. Someone should investigate that and remove it if it is. Formerip (talk) 13:15, 31 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I don't disagree; my only point was that tags do not need to be fixed in order to be nominated as Seattle's rationale suggests. 331dot (talk) 13:58, 31 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
OK, my misunderstanding. Formerip (talk) 14:13, 31 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I might work on it tomorrow. That said, opposes based on article quality usually say something like "Oppose, until the article is improved.", not blaming the nominator. --AmaryllisGardener talk 04:22, 31 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

[Closed] Election of the AU Chairperson

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The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.


Article: Chairperson of the African Union (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is elected as the Chairperson of the African Union. (Post)
News source(s): Reuters, ABC News, Bloomberg, BBC News
Credits:

Article updated
Nominator's comments: President Mugabe is elected as the new Chairman of the continental union at the age of 90. He had also led the AU's predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity (in 1997-8). I believe this is a Recurring Event under the Elections section - the EU acts as a precedent. The event is significant as evidenced by its coverage in the major media houses. Ali Fazal (talk) 12:41, 30 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • This strikes me as a weak reason to oppose. Regardless, I do oppose as well because the actual head of the African Union, like in the European Union, is the head of the Union Commission, not the chairperson. Bzweebl (talkcontribs) 20:00, 30 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
@Mjroots:I agree that is a poor reason to oppose; very little would be posted if we only posted things about good people or good events. Publicity and legitimacy are not our concern; only what meets criteria for posting. 331dot (talk) 22:08, 30 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
That's a completely irrelevant and invalid reason to oppose. We are not here to make judgments about Mugabe or attempt to deny him publicity. There are good reason to oppose this, but that isn't one. Neljack (talk) 22:23, 30 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Comment. I totally disagree with Mjroots. Whilst the editor is entitled to his/her own opinion; I believe it goes against the grain of Wikipedia's NPOV policy. It may appear thus as untoward and biased - given the fact that Zimbabwe was a former colony of this editor's country of residence and therefore not befitting. The fact of the matter is that Mugabe has been elected by the continent's leaders and will serve his mandate. I have made a proposal at the ITN/R talkpage and would appreciate if you could take a look. Ali Fazal (talk) 23:44, 30 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Maybe the reason is a weak one, but the opposition is still strong. As for Mugabe being elected, that is only because he rigged the last election that enabled him to be in a position to be the head of state elected to chairman of the AU. Mugabe is an international pariah, and should be treated as such, even by Wikipedia. Doing so does not break NPOV because Wikipedia would merely be following the rest of the world. Mjroots (talk) 07:53, 31 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Wikipedia should not be used to make judgements of any kind. We can certainly tell people what RS state, but we aren't here to add or detract from any status Mugabe has. 331dot (talk) 10:53, 31 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • I haven't denied the opposition from other editors to this nomination. Forgive my digression, but I'd like to state this for the record. What I meant regarding the NPOV was that both extreme views ought to be included on Wikipedia without bias i.e. his status as a nationalist hero and the other controversies. And that is why I disagree with your rationale of giving him "publicity or legitimacy; and Wikiepdia treating him as such" Why should Wikipedia ONLY follow the "rest of the world?" By saying this, you exclude those who disagree with your POV. As for the 2013 elections, the AU declared it as free whilst others questioned its legitimacy. Therefore, from an NPOV both views ought to be expressed here. Since yesterday's announcement, the page hits on both these articles: AU Chair and Mugabe increased by 394% and 196% respectively. This shows the level of interest of our readers has increased. Numbers don't lie and I hope these statistics will enable you all to re-consider your prior decision. Ali Fazal (talk) 13:12, 31 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

January 29

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Armed conflicts and attacks

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[Posted] RD: Rod McKuen

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Article: Rod McKuen (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): NY Times Billboard The Independent
Credits:

Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNRD.

Nominator's comments: Prolific songwriter, poet, author, twice nominated for Academy Award, once for Pulitzer Prize, including theme "Jean" to The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and lyricist for number 1 hit and record selling (more than 10,000,000) single "Seasons in the Sun" μηδείς (talk) 05:18, 31 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Marked ready per above comments. Marked FriarTuck1981, Rothorpe, Bede735 as updaters. μηδείς (talk) 19:23, 31 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

[Posted] Sinai attacks

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Article: January 2015 Sinai attacks (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: Attacks by Islamist militants in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, kill 32 people. (Post)
News source(s): Reuters The Guardian The Japan Times Sydney Morning Herald Zee News
Credits:

Nominator's comments: One of the deadliest attacks in the Sinai insurgency so far. The last one (which was the deadliest) wasn't posted for lack of attention even though the article was in good shape. This one may need some expansion, but I won't work on it until tomorrow, if no one gets there. Fitzcarmalan (talk) 23:52, 30 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

  • I don't want this to die out like the previous Sinai nomination, and therefore I've marked it. Three more sections were added to the article: casualties, damage and reactions (domestic and foreign). Any further recommendations? Fitzcarmalan (talk) 19:07, 1 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Sorry, still oppose, the majority of the article and its bytes is a seriously over-heaped section on the reaction. Without the super-heavy reaction section, you have 270 words about the event itself. That's sub-stub. The Rambling Man (talk) 21:17, 1 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Marked header again. To be honest, this may be the first time I hear that "bytes" defined article quality (it's just that there are many refs in the reactions section), but I think it looks fairly good now. Now I hope you don't expect me to build a B-class, or even C-class, article so soon, do you? This is still a developing story, despite being two days old. I'm currently fishing for details to add, and this is all I can find for now, unless you want to discuss the merits. Fitzcarmalan (talk) 01:31, 2 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Well until recently, a B-class article was the minimum expected from most articles to be posted at ITN. I advocated that it be removed, which it duly was, but not because the principle of a quality article should be maintained, more because nobody, reviewers nor posting admins, paid any attention to the class. In any case, the article is in a far better state now than when I reviewed it. The Rambling Man (talk) 15:26, 2 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]

[Posted] RD: Colleen McCullough

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Article: Colleen McCullough (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): New York Times, CNN, CNBC
Credits:

Article updated
Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNRD.

Nominator's comments: According to the New York Times, The Thorn Birds "became an international best seller and inspired a hugely popular television mini-series". It also sold 30 million copies worldwide (see CNN link). This seems to indicate that McCullough was a very important figure in her field. Everymorning talk 20:39, 30 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

[Close] Gunman storms Dutch TV station

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The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.


Article: Nederlandse_Omroep_Stichting#2015_gunman_incident (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ A gunman claiming to represent a 'hacker collective' stormed Dutch TV station Nederlandse Omroep Stichting demanding air time before submitting to Dutch Police. (Post)
Alternative blurb: ​ Gunman storms Dutch TV station Nederlandse Omroep Stichting.
News source(s): NOS, BNR, Express, NBC, etc.
Credits:
Nominator's comments: Temporally significant as violence in the context of European media following the Charlie Hebdo shooting in Paris earlier this month. prat (talk) 00:06, 30 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose, no deaths as far as we know, and the hostage/shooting situation is already over with. --AmaryllisGardener talk 00:14, 30 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    • You seem to be opposing on two points, but I don't understand your argument. First, you say you oppose because there were no deaths... but death is not a requirement for news! Second, it is not ongoing news. However, I don't think 'ongoing' is a requirement either? Therefore, I cannot follow your argument. prat (talk) 00:22, 30 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • There is significant global media coverage... certainly the US, across Europe, and even here in Australia. Remember, this event is only a few hours old. The question of fatalities still seems irrelevant to me. prat (talk) 00:38, 30 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose While interesting, the event is rather insignificant in that there is virtually no national or international repercussions. But thank you for putting forward the nomination - we definitely don't get enough around here lately. Mamyles (talk) 00:49, 30 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • What is required is for an event to be judged as significant by the community. I'm not sure if you have or not but please review WP:ITN for some general guidelines. National and international repercussions certainly help; merely being in the news is not sufficent. --331dot (talk) 02:13, 30 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • OK, WP:ITN states under Purpose the following points, all of which I believe suit this nomination very well.
  • To help readers find and quickly access content they are likely to be searching for because an item is in the news.
  • To showcase quality Wikipedia content on current events.
  • To point readers to subjects they might not have been looking for but nonetheless may interest them.
  • To emphasize Wikipedia as a dynamic resource.
This is the real spirit of the thing... and the nomination suits it. prat (talk) 02:29, 30 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
That is the purpose, not the criteria, which is further down that page. --331dot (talk) 02:52, 30 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Right, the criteria is presently an unstructured waffle that self-reports as subjective. Its main two points, 'quality' and 'significance' are inherently POV. prat (talk) 02:59, 30 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

January 28

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Armed conflicts and attacks

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Science and technology

[Ready] RD:Yves Chauvin

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Article: Yves Chauvin (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): NYT RSC
Credits:

Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNRD.

Nominator's comments: French chemist and 2005 Nobel Prize laureate  - The Herald (here I am) 16:50, 31 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Looks a lot better! Consider me a supporter. Zwerg Nase (talk) 16:18, 3 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
May be the infobox added can let it go.  - The Herald (here I am) 03:54, 4 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]

January 27

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Arts and culture

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Science and technology

Sports

2015 Corinthia Hotel attack

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Article: 2015 Corinthia Hotel attack (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: A terror attack at a hotel in Tripoli, Libya kills ten people. (Post)
News source(s): Christian Science Monitor, Wall Street Journal, CTV News, BBC
Credits:

Article needs updating

Nominator's comments: An ISIS-affiliated group has claimed responsibility for the attack (see CS Monitor link above). The event itself has received coverage from around the world. Everymorning talk 16:03, 28 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

support but it would be nice to see an actual article about the event and not the hotel. It would probably be considered part of the Libyan Civil War (2014–present) and it looks like there's additional text and references here[1]Monopoly31121993 (talk) 16:54, 28 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Here you go. APK whisper in my ear 17:06, 28 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
support - definitely. notable attack.--BabbaQ (talk) 22:38, 28 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Suppprt but think the article's a bit too thin at this point (even considering the expansion after Monopoly's comment above). --MASEM (t) 22:43, 28 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Suppprt - major terrorist attack. -Zanhe (talk) 03:26, 29 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • The article is handsome, but light on prose, especially the body text, and has only three sources, so I am marking unupdated for now, but it really should go up as soon as it can be a little improved. μηδείς (talk) 19:31, 31 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

[Closed] Michelle Obama refuses to wear veil in Saudi Arabia

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this was oddly a really big thing in the news for about an hour; happily withdrawn, and collapsing for the sake of space μηδείς (talk) 19:28, 31 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it.

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.


Article: Michelle Obama (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ In a show of feminist solidarity, Michelle Obama refuses to veil herself on a state visit to Saudi Arabia. (Post)
News source(s): Yahoo News (AP)
Credits:
Nominator's comments: An American First-Lady refuses to bow to misogynistic Saudi custom μηδείς (talk) 04:57, 28 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

[Posted] RD: Charles Hard Townes

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Article: Charles Hard Townes (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): Berkeley University News Center
Credits:

Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNRD.

Nominator's comments: A Nobel Prize-winning physicist. Very notable for a RD. --TDKR Chicago 101 (talk) 01:28, 28 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, the article has been improved somewhat, but things like the unsourced "2012 - Boy Scouts of America named their Webelos SUPERNOVA award for Townes" don't help. μηδείς (talk) 03:21, 28 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Okay I removed that information because I found it unmeaningful. --TDKR Chicago 101 (talk) 04:10, 28 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Precedent here seems to suggest that it is not. 331dot (talk) 11:48, 28 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

[Closed] January 2015 nor'easter

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The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.


Article: January 2015 nor'easter (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ A nor'easter cripples the Northeastern United States. (Post)
News source(s): NPRWaPo
Credits:
Nominator's comments: The predictions were for a blizzard of historic proportions. It looks like that we won't get it quite that badly, but it's still a significant disruption. States of emergency are underway. There were travel bans overnight. And we have our first death. – Muboshgu (talk) 13:35, 27 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Naming a winter storm is a construct of The Weather Channel, and the use is discouraged among meteorologists. It's more a marketing ploy than an encyclopedic reference, but we still could use it somewhere for identification. Mamyles (talk) 16:36, 27 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
"...but we still could use it somewhere for identification." But not on the Main Page, please. -- tariqabjotu 17:06, 27 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Wait, per Epic Genius. --Rsrikanth05 (talk) 16:34, 27 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose for now This storm was well-forecasted, and everyone that had power to took steps to reduce risks to residents (eg the entire shutdown of NYC yesterday). Yes much of the NE is shut down, but it is not like a surprise of the like. If the storm hit, stranded thousands and risked serious loss of life, that would be different. I agree with the wait comments that if something serious does happen, we can include it then --MASEM (t) 16:35, 27 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose this was a huge bust in comparison to the predictions of NYC's "biggest storm ever". The current headlines are "snow job", "meteorologists apologize", "analyse modesl". Thery're getting 12" in Boston, which happens regularly during what is called winter.
  • Support There's a state of emergency in several states. This should be seen as comparable to a large hurricane, thus the new naming attempts. Busy Moose (talk) 18:46, 27 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    • While there is a state of emergency, it is not because they were unprepared, but to make sure critical services like fire/ambulances/etc. have the necessary priority/rights of way to deal with emergencies or the like (take the street parking ban NYC enacted), as well as to restore life to normal as soon after the snow has stopped. --MASEM (t) 18:49, 27 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose - Not only is the language in the blurb melodramatic, it's also not true. The snowmageddon has failed to materialise. AlexTiefling (talk) 18:55, 27 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Your assessment might be correct in certain areas (NYC) but many places are getting large amounts of snow. 30 inches in Massachusetts for example. 331dot (talk) 19:12, 27 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
There is also no power on the entire island of Nantucket along with significant flooding and near-hurricane force winds. [2] 331dot (talk) 19:18, 27 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
But ultimately it's just unpleasant weather, something that the US and many other parts of the world see regularly. This is in no way more notable than any other snow storm that might put a few people out. Moreover, it now looks like the powers that be are being criticised for overplaying the whole thing. The Rambling Man (talk) 19:31, 27 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
That (the criticism at the overreaction) might be the story for ITN at the end of the day , but damned if you do, damned if you don't. It's winter, blizzards happen, this is nowhere close to the worst blizzard the NE has seen. --MASEM (t) 19:35, 27 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
You both might be totally correct and I'm not saying this should be posted. I was only saying that some areas have indeed gotten what was initially predicted. 331dot (talk) 19:37, 27 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Alberto Nisman (slight return)

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Articles: Secretaría de Inteligencia (talk · history · tag) and Alberto Nisman (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ Argentine president Cristina Kirchner announces the dissolution of the Secretaría de Inteligencia, following the suspected murder of Alberto Nisman. (Post)
Alternative blurb: ​ Argentine president Cristina Kirchner announces the dissolution of the Secretaría de Inteligencia, following the death of Alberto Nisman.
News source(s): BBC
Credits:

Both articles need updating

Nominator's comments: "Suspected murder" may now be fair, based on statements from government officials, including the president. But, for the morbidly cautious, I have added an altblurb anyway. We seriously under-represent Latin America on ITN. Formerip (talk) 00:05, 27 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

January 26

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Arts and culture

Business and economy

Disasters and accidents

Law and crime

Politics and elections

Religion

Sports

[Posted] RD: R. K. Laxman

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Article: R. K. Laxman (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): TOI India Today IBN
Credits:

Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNRD.

Nominator's comments: Most notable Indian cartoonist  - The Herald (here I am) 14:01, 26 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

[Posted to RD] RD Demis Roussos

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Article: Demis Roussos (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): Le Figaro Telegraph (UK)
Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNRD.

 EugεnS¡m¡on(14) ® 11:25, 26 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Could you clarify what you think needs doing? And/or even add appropriate template(s)/tag(s)? Thanks. Martinevans123 (talk) 17:30, 26 January 2015 (UTC) [reply]
Well, the two sections covering his career are completely unsourced. Formerip (talk) 17:47, 26 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks. It gets a bit lonely in the Valley of Sadness.... Martinevans123 (talk) 19:40, 26 January 2015 (UTC) [reply]

January 25

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Arts and culture

Disasters and accidents
  • A massive blackout strikes Pakistan, leaving as much as 80 percent of the country without electricity at its height as officials rush to restore power. (AP)

International relations

Politics and elections

Sports

[Posted] 2015 Mamasapano clash‎

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Article: 2015 Mamasapano clash‎ (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ The Bangsamoro peace process is halted following clashes during a Philippine National Police raid. (Post)
News source(s): AP BBC
Credits:

Article updated

Nominator's comments: A total of 54 people are killed in the incident and hundreds are displaced in the follow up.This puts an end to the Bangsamoro peace process and threatens an escalation of the conflict. --Catlemur (talk) 21:42, 26 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

  • Support An incident with both many fatalities and significant consequences. Neljack (talk) 22:21, 26 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Wait Support - the following issues have since been addressed >>> I think that the article is unreasonably biased toward the police. From current information from reliable sources like BBC, I see a lack of evidence to call this an "ambush." It seems more like a case of mis-communication. I am adding an orange WP:POV tag to the article which will need to be worked through prior to posting. Mamyles (talk) 23:11, 26 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    • (In my opinion) An ambush is a surprise attack with the surprise element often coming from mis communication of the victims, I can't fathom the reasoning behind the POV tag.Should we also put POV tags on every article describing a victory as pyrrhic?--Catlemur (talk) 23:28, 26 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    • It's normal for an article to be sourced by more than one source, and include multiple points of view. Besides for a possible lack of opposing viewpoints and a POV title, the article is otherwise written quite well, and once it is expanded I will likely support posting to ITN. Mamyles (talk) 23:32, 26 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose as a rather inscrutable rationale--help out we who are unfamiliar with the underlying story and why it should be posted. Words like "incident" and "displaced" are too vague to evaluate. μηδείς (talk) 02:10, 27 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
In essence, 392 Philippine special operations police set out to arrest two terrorists and were attacked by a rebel group during the operation. The clash resulted in at least 54 dead, 49 of them police. This event is significant both because of the high death toll for a police operation, and that a peace treaty with the rebels was postponed/cancelled as a result of this incident. Mamyles (talk) 16:07, 28 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

[Closed] RD: Joe Franklin

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The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.


Article: Joe Franklin (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): NBC News, USA Today, New York Times
Credits:

Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNRD.
Nominator's comments: The NBC News link above describes him as "pioneering". Everymorning talk 15:34, 26 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

[Closed] Winter X Games XIX

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The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.


Article: Winter X Games XIX (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ The Winter X Games Nineteen conclude with the United States leading the medal count with thirty-one medals. (Post)
News source(s): NBC Sports ESPN Newsday ABC News
Credits:

Article needs updating
Nominator's comments: As far as I know, the X Games have never been featured in ITN. I believe they are notable enough to be posted to ITN. Today is the final day of the Winter X Games in Aspen. I did not include a blurb as the event is not finished yet and the medal count will change one more time. Andise1 (talk) 01:16, 26 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • I would support this if the article had any actual prose. Nergaal (talk) 05:07, 26 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose The criteria describe two main grounds for inclusion. The first is the quality of the updated content, which, as noted by Nergaal, is close to zero in this case. The second is the significance of the developments described. The fact that almost half the medal winners are redlinks is a fair indication of which way this one leans. Looking for extra information in the X_Games article doesn't help, as it reads like an advertisement for ESPN. AtHomeIn神戸 (talk) 05:53, 26 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose solely on article quality grounds. Article is a mess, FAR from updated sufficiently, not something I would be proud to put on the main page. I'm generally in favor of posting almost anything which meets quality standards. This isn't it. --Jayron32 10:44, 26 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose The X Games are basically an advertisement for ESPN regardless of how this article is written. Busy Moose (talk) 00:08, 28 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

[Closed] RD Toller Cranston

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The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.


Article: Toller Cranston (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): CBC Globe and Mail NYTimes Fox Sports Der Spiegel (Germany) Le Figaro (France) New Straits Times (Malaysia)
Credits:

Article updated
Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNRD.
Nominator's comments: One of figure skating's brightest stars and most influential innovators. Was a living legend in the figure skating world, both for his innovative artistry on ice and for his later work. He never won the Olympics due to the compulsory figures components - which are no longer compulsory. He is considered one of the driving forces behind modern artistry in free skating. (Edited nomination to add core US and worldwide sources which equally acknowledge his importance.) Tenebris 198.91.170.20 (talk) 19:28, 25 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Tags have been dealt with, and were tangential to his core career in any case. - Tenebris 21:53, 26 January 2015 (UTC)
It's not usual for the nominator to respond to comments and votes, but everyone seems to be overlooking that Cranston did repeatedly win world "best" medals for free skating in the World Figure Skating Championships. These were separate medals given out for the free skating component of the scores, which today makes up the entirety of the judging. At that time, the other major component was compulsory figures. Public and judging demand after Cranston's continual 3rds and 4ths, especially after winning the free skating component, was a major factor in why compulsory figures were removed from the modern Worlds and Olympics. - Tenebris 198.91.170.20 (talk) 21:53, 26 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Dealt with. - Tenebris 198.91.170.20 (talk) 21:53, 26 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
See earlier comment. - Tenebris 198.91.170.20 (talk) 21:53, 26 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Comment I took care of all the tags (which did not relate to his core career in any case); so I will try one more time. Toller Cranston was far more influential to his sport on a worldwide basis than Ernie Banks was to his. Modern figure skating changed in large part because of him. Consider that Toller Cranston was inducted into the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame (located in the US) in the company of various repeated Olympic and world gold medal winners -- in spite of never having won an Olympic gold medal himself. That was the value other figure skaters put on him.
Influential - a large part of the reason compulsory figures no longer exist as part of worldwide figure skating competition is because both the audience and the judges felt that Cranston deserved higher results than his repeated bronzes at world levels, but was held back by compulsory figures. World-class figure skaters today are no longer judged on the basis of compulsory figures, but that change did not happen until after Cranston retired from competitive figure skating. His wish to put an adult-level "theatre on ice" also made him one of the seminal figures in the gradual recognition that high caliber non-competitive figure skating performance could be hugely popular (and profitable). This legacy is visible in the existence of (eg) Stars on Ice. (Before that, non-competitive performances were much lower caliber and targeted a less knowledgeable audience, eg. Ice Capades.)
Oh, and Cranston was also awarded the Order of Canada, Canada's equivalent to the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Both this and the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame induction were already in the article when I first nominated it. - Tenebris 198.91.170.20 (talk) 16:01, 26 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The Figure Skating Hall of Fame thing is a little misleading, after all several inductees (e.g. Herbert Clarke, Sheldon Galbraith, Josef Dědič, Janet Lynn, Maribel Vinson, Jutta Müller etc etc) didn't win Olympic gold medals. And when I looked at the Order of Canada, it said it had been awarded to over 6,000 individuals, while the Presidential Medal of Freedom was handed out about 11 times a year, are they really comparable? The Rambling Man (talk) 16:07, 26 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
(edit conflict) The Order of Canada is not the equivalent of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The Order has three ranks: from highest to lowest, these are Companions, Officers, and Members. Up to 15 Companions can be appointed each year, subject to a total maximum of 165; up to 64 Officers, and up to 136 Members (no limit on the total in the lower two classes). [3] On 26 December 2014 [4] 3 Companions, 13 Officers and 79 Members were appointed - and similar numbers are appointed in each group twice a year. Obama has awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom a mere 79 or 80 times since taking office, in comparison [5]. According to his article, Cranston was a Member of the Order of Canada - that is, the lowest grade. No comment on your other arguments, but your comparison to the Presidential Medal of Freedom is a bad one. BencherliteTalk 16:08, 26 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Your listing of people from a different era completely is genuinely misleading. Five of the six people you list are figure skating pioneers from the 1920s-40s, all of whom retired from competitive skating before 1950. The last, Janet Lynn, is still the youngest person ever to compete at the highest level for the US (age 11); to the point of landing a triple salchow jump at age 13 -- five US national titles and a World silver at her retirement. Incidentally, Lynn was another person whose competitive scores were lowered to non-gold levels by compulsory figures, although for her it was less obvious. - Tenebris 198.91.170.20 (talk) 16:22, 26 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
It's not misleading at all, it's purely factual. None of those that I listed won a gold medal, that was your claim to significance of his induction, wasn't it? In fact, I probably only found half or so of the inductees had won a gold. The Rambling Man (talk) 16:27, 26 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Precisely. People are inducted into the Hall of Fame based on their contribution to the sport -- which is not limited to their competitive contribution. However, to compare accurately, you really should choose to compare people from the same era. (Look up how early Olympic competitors were chosen sometime. It is quite entertaining.) Two other people were inducted at the same time as Toller Cranston: Midori Ito and Jutta Müller. Midori Ito never won higher than silver, but she was the first woman to complete seven triple jumps in a free program -- consistently the same jump content as the men. Jutta Müller's competitive skating successes were limited to the national level, but she coached her students to three Olympic gold medals and ten world champion titles.
Yet you seem to be saying that neither of these people are "really" RD or even Hall-of-Fame material because they never actually won Olympic gold themselves. By that same standard, Ernie Banks should not be Hall-of-Fame or RD-notable, since he never won the World Series. - Tenebris 16:57, 26 January 2015 (UTC)
As to the Order of Canada, you may have slightly misunderstood both the award and that ranking. Even at their very best, a sports figure in Canada -- any sports figure in Canada -- would never be awarded anything other than the Officer level of the order of Canada, no matter how exceptional they are. That is the maximum a sports figure can achieve, where achievement does not go outside the field of sports -- because the "Member" level specifically acknowledges regional contribution, "Officer" level specifically acknowledges talent on an international level, and the "Companion" specifically acknowledges the "humanity" of the contribution (must extend beyond a single professional field). For example, astronauts Roberta Bondar and Chris Hadfield both received the "Officer" level of the Order of Canada. The Presidential Medal of Freedom is equally intended to recognize truly exceptional people, but it has no similar ranking to acknowledge different types of exceptionality. Canada also does not have any additional award equivalent to the Congressional Gold Medal -- the Order of Canada is pretty much it at that level.
Probably not a good idea to compare actual numbers of people given the medal (even if # of people awarded the Congressional Gold Medal are added in), since that way lies a very slippery slope examining each country's assessment of its own citizens, or even whether one country does genuinely produce more internationally exceptional individuals per capita than another. - Tenebris 16:44, 26 January 2015 (UTC)
It was you who made the initial comparison. I know nothing about either award yet it seems freely available in Canada compared to its US counterpart with which you equated it. The Rambling Man (talk) 21:48, 26 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Weak oppose I'm not confident that he meets the criteria of "very important figure in his field." He may have been the best in Canada for a string of years, but that falls short of "widely recognized" or "very important." Mamyles (talk) 16:45, 26 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Except that he was the best in the world in figure skating artistic expression for many years running, and had *those* medals (the free skating medals at the World Championships) to prove it. He also had a long string of perfect 6.0s in artistic expression judging, both at the World Championships and at the Olympics. Athletes have been previously included in RD simply for being among the best in their own country, Ernie Banks being a direct example. While we don`t use precedents to decide RD priorities, we should at least not apply double standards. - Tenebris 198.91.170.20 (talk) 20:24, 26 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I find it hard to believe that you think holding a Bronze medal makes him the best in the world. I understand your point of view, that he is well respected in Canada and the sport, but I maintain my opinion that the bar for ITN:RD is not met here. Mamyles (talk) 20:43, 26 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
He holds specific free skating world medals, given for the best in that area in the same competition, in addition to the bronze he earned which is based on three types of skating. This is also made clear in the article. Compared to, say, baseball, it would be like being the best pitcher in the world, but never once having won the World Series and only coming in third overall in all baseball skills averaged.

For those for whom it isn't clear, the respect for Toller Cranston's influence goes far, far beyond Canada. NYTimes calls him the "Nureyev of figure skating". Fox Sports calls him a "figure skating legend". I edited the nomination to include these and other international major media eulogies from Europe and even as far abroad as Malaysia (not a figure skating country!). So no, his reputation is not just about Canada. ... Although I can't help but notice that the same "local only" objection was not made for the RD for Ernie Banks, not even by one person. Again, could we please try not to have a double standard in how we judge nominations? - Tenebris

Is that the same Fox broadcasting network that used an expert to claim that Birmingham was a no-go zone for non-Muslims and where Muslim police beat non-Muslims?? Just checking. And is this the Banks who is widely regarded as one the best baseball players of all time, fourteen-time All-Star and member MLB all-century team? Not sure I caught that same feeling about Cranston. The Rambling Man (talk) 21:55, 26 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

[Posted] Greek legislative election, 2015

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Articles: Coalition of the Radical Left (talk · history · tag) and Greek legislative election, 2015 (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ Exit polls indicate Alexis Tsipras' leftist SYRIZA party has won today's Greek legislative election by a large margin. (Post)
Alternative blurb: ​ The Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) wins plurality/majority of seats in the parliamentary elections in Greece
Alternative blurb II: ​ Leftist SYRIZA party wins Greek legislative election, needs partner for coalition government.
Alternative blurb III: ​ Leftist SYRIZA party wins Greek legislative election, agrees to form coalition government with Independent Greeks.
News source(s): Ministry of Interior, BBC
Credits:

One or both nominated events are listed on WP:ITN/R, so each occurrence is presumed to be important enough to post. Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article and update meet WP:ITNCRIT, not the significance.

Nominator's comments: Today's Greek elections have been a particularly hot news item throughout Europe. The blurb should be updated as soon as final results are available. --PanchoS (talk) 17:15, 25 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Actually, whatever the precise result is, it will still matter quite a lot. Formerip (talk) 22:27, 25 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support for later Post the actual results, not exit polls. Redverton (talk) 22:19, 25 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support for later: as soon as the actual, official results come through (if they haven't already) then this news should definitely be posted. I would advise tweaking the blurb somewhat; no need for "today's" or "large margin". Perhaps mention could be made of the fact that this is Greece's first leftist government in sixty years, although that is not essential by any means. Midnightblueowl (talk) 23:08, 25 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Papandreou's PASOK is center-left. SYRIZA is purely left-wing, even far-left. --Երևանցի talk 23:43, 25 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I don't think this needs to be in the blurb. Abductive (reasoning) 01:06, 26 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

[Posted] Zambian presidential election, 2015

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Articles: Edgar Lungu (talk · history · tag) and Zambian presidential election, 2015 (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: Patriotic Front candidate Edgar Lungu is elected President of Zambia. (Post)
News source(s): ABC News
Credits:

One or both nominated events are listed on WP:ITN/R, so each occurrence is presumed to be important enough to post. Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article and update meet WP:ITNCRIT, not the significance.

Nominator's comments: Any Zambian president is automatically news to everyone. George Ho (talk) 07:12, 25 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

I've expanded the results section. How does it appear now? Ali Fazal (talk) 18:20, 27 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

January 24

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Business and economy
  • Subsequent to the January 15 announcement that Target Canada would close all 133 stores, they announce the layoff of 17,000 employees. (CBC)

Health
  • The measles outbreak at Disneyland (Anaheim), which originated on December 28, 2014 (patient zero being an unvaccinated California woman who apparently transmitted the virus through airports and the theme park), but was unreported until January 7, spreads from California to six other states, including Nebraska, and Mexico. It now involves at least eighty-five cases. (AJC) (CBS)

Politics and elections

Sports

[Added to Ongoing] Offensive on Mariupol (January 2015)

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Article: Offensive on Mariupol (January 2015) (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: Rocket fire in Mariupol, Ukraine kills at least 30 people. (Post)
News source(s): Washington Post, CBC News, Fox News
Credits:

Nominator's comments: Significant number of deaths, coverage around the world. Everymorning talk 13:14, 25 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

  • Comment. I'm not sure that 30 deaths in a long conflict where thousands have died is 'significant'. 331dot (talk) 13:23, 25 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose – There is no way we can post this. We didn't post Donetsk airport, which was much more important strategically and symbolically (and resulted in hundreds of deaths). Shelling has been happening daily for months across the combat zone. Plenty more people have died in Kyivsky district of Donetsk from shelling than in this relatively minor incident in Mariupol. Put things in proportion, please. This is not a "significant number of deaths" in this conflict, where at least this amount of people is dying each day, at present. RGloucester 15:44, 25 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I strongly disagree that Mariupol (around 900 000 people) is less strategically important that ruins of Donetsk Airport. Also this was peaceful part of country since July. So the fighting is spreading. --Jenda H. (talk) 18:18, 25 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
It is less important, because government forces have had no problem holding onto Mariupol, despite a DPR offensive in September, and a variety of other assaults. Donetsk airport was the last part of Donetsk that government forces held, and this present "offensive" would not be possible without the loss of Donetsk airport by government forces. As you may know, Donetsk airport had hugely symbolic value to Ukrainian forces, with the "cyborgs" and all. Fighting is spreading, but Mariupol is where it is spreading least, other than this one barrage of rockets. As I said, as far as shelling is concerned, Kyivsky and Kirovsky districts of Donetsk have seen much heavier shelling for months, but no one cares about them, apparently. Much heavier fighting is going on in Delbatseve, and parts of Luhansk Oblast. This particular event simply isn't significant in proportion. RGloucester 18:24, 25 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Wow. Is there anything more wikipedia:pointy than a user who asks for himself to be blocked to oppose a nomination on a topic because his own nomination on the exact same topic hasn't been posted? RGloucester, your actions here are shameful. μηδείς (talk) 03:16, 26 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Shameful? I believe it is shameful to strike at a person's weak points, for no apparent reason other than to have a bit of sport. That's shame, fellow, and it lies squarely on your own shoulders. I happen to be quite familiar with this topic area, and have written many of the articles we've got on the subject. It has nothing to do with whether "my nomination hasn't been posted". As I said, I have no strong opinion about whether that is posted or not. However, the idea that this should be posted, and not that, ignores the context of the war itself, and shows a lack of knowledge on the part of those proposing it. As the nominator cited "significant number of deaths" as his only reason for the nomination, it was quite clear that he is not aware that live are being lost at an insane rate in this war, and that underreporting and obfuscation mean that the situation is even worse than we know. As it stands, many more people are dying in Debaltseve (currently under assault) at this very moment than died in Mariupol. Donetsk airport, itself, was the most significant loss for Ukrainian forces since government forces retook much of the insurgent-controlled territory in the summer. Combined with the hundreds of deaths at that airport, the symbolic nature of the "cyborgs", its position as the last government position in Donetsk, and the huge amount of civilian deaths in Kyivsky and Kirovsky districts (caused by Ukrainian shelling of DPR forces who hide in apartment blocks), Donetsk airport could've been worth posting (comparable to the Battle of Ilovaisk). This, on the other hand, is a minor event in the context of this war. Shelling is everywhere, constantly, at the moment, whether in Debaltseve, or in Shchastya (convinently meaning "happiness"). No significant military operation has taken place in Mariupol, at yet, making this even more insignificant, and somewhat WP:CRYSTAL. RGloucester 03:33, 26 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Weak points? That's between you and your wellness provider. My point is clear and I won't further this with you in any way. μηδείς (talk) 04:05, 26 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I'm glad, given that the sharpness of your cheddar is clear. At least I have an argument, whereas you've got very little. It isn't as if you supported posting this event, either. RGloucester 04:07, 26 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

[pulled] Ebola ongoing review

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I would like to review the listing of Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa under the ongoing section. The article is no longer getting as many updates as it was a few months back when it was listed; this is the extent of updates over the past week. -- Calidum 17:12, 24 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

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[Closed] Recent death: Arafat Rahman

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The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.


Article: Arafat Rahman Koko (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
Credits:

Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNRD.
Nominator's comments: Arafat Rahman is the younger son of Former Bangladeshi Prime minister Khaleda Zia and Former President of Bangladesh Ziaur Rahman.
Sources: The Hindu, Prothom Alo, Business Standard, HONOLULUMagazineRahat (Talk * Contributions) 13:44, 24 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

[Closed] Klay Thompson scores 37 in a quarter

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Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors scores 37 points in a quarter, breaking a NBA regular season record set in 1962. -81.129.160.174 (talk) 11:04, 24 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

  • The quarter-scoring record isn't even a "major" record. If someone ties or surpasses the 100 points set by Wilt Chamberlain, perhaps it could be considered. –HTD 02:44, 25 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
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[posted] RD: Ernie Banks

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Article: Ernie Banks (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): Chicago Sun-Times CBS ESPN
Credits:

Article updated
Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNRD.

Nominator's comments: Hall of Fame baseball player affectionately known as Mr. Cub. Banks was a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian honor. -- Calidum 04:05, 24 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

January 23

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Disasters and accidents

International relations

Law and crime

Politics and elections

Sports

[Closed] Doomsday Clock

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The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.


Article: Doomsday Clock (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: Doomsday Clock moves 2 minutes forward, leaving only 3 minutes from midnight (Post)
Alternative blurb: Doomsday Clock moves 2 minutes forward, leaving only 3 minutes from midnight due to the threat of global nuclear war and climate change
News source(s): The Guardian Independent Washington Post
Credits:
Nominator's comments: A rare event, last happened three years before.  - The Herald (here I am) 12:12, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support. This is getting significant coverage, and although it is just a symbolic act it is a notable and rare one. Thryduulf (talk) 12:17, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose - really? If it does reach midnight, that *might* be big news. —Brigade Piron (talk) 14:03, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Weak oppose. Yes, a worldwide nuclear war would be big news, I think, if we were still alive to talk about posting it to Wikipedia- or a global climate disaster. That said, this clock is purely a judgement call; if it was the closest ever to midnight, then maybe it would be more notable(two minutes is the closest it has been). 331dot (talk) 14:09, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose. Sorry, but this just seems like a bit of a parlour game and not even an interesting or meaningful one. A clock that spends half a century dancing about slightly before midnight is basically just a broken clock and if it was in my house, I'd have long since started ignoring it. Formerip (talk) 14:15, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Please be more logical and scientific. Is this a kind of joke or a nomination page. A lame argument for all those who wrote OPPOSE.. - The Herald (here I am) 14:18, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

To what are you specifically referring? 331dot (talk) 14:19, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose, seriously? This is nothing important. --AmaryllisGardener talk 14:21, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Comment - If you want to talk about science, I don't quite see the correlation between an arbitrarily-managed clock and the impending doom of Earth.--WaltCip (talk) 16:29, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose. I fail to see how this is different than something like Time magazine's man of the year of Sports Illustrated's sportsman of the year. Both of those get a lot of attention and neither are posted here (and rightfully so). -- Calidum 16:57, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Alt I think something along these lines is better: The DM clock is set for the first time since 1988 at 3 mins from midnight. Nergaal (talk) 17:22, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Re-Opened I am reopening this, since it was only open from 7am-noon on the US East Coast and 4-9am on the west coast. The doomsday clock was a huge thing during the Cold War, with updates to it getting multi-minute segments in the nightly news. Those to young to remember the fall of the Berlin Wall may not remember the angst of the era. That the world seems to have returned to chaos not seen since the 70's, this seems a reasonable nomination. Count me as a support. μηδείς (talk) 19:23, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Perhaps this nomination could be closed right at the last minute (or two). Is this just a wind up? Martinevans123 (talk) 19:39, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
With all due respect, what gives you the right to revert an admin closure?--WaltCip (talk) 19:44, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The fact that I can edit this page, Walt? I explained my reasons. Admins' sole privilege here is posting an article. Non-admins can do anything else in good faith. PS, it won't bother me at all if isn't posted, but it was up for less than six hours, when most Americans who were even awake were just starting their commute or working day. μηδείς (talk) 21:05, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
@WaltCip: No offense but, "what gives you the right to revert an admin closure?" *facepalm* admins are only needed for the posting like Medeis said. @Medeis: I don't blame you for re-opening this, but it doesn't look like it's done much good for you. --AmaryllisGardener talk 21:09, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Me? It has nothing to do with me. I think the clock is leftist nonsense that was mostly publicized during Republican administrations, particularly the Reagan administration, to further the goal of unilateral disarmament, for which see also nuclear winter. That being said, I don't think we should be closing nominations because a lot of anti-corporate (!) British editors who have never heard of the topic oppose it before most Americans have even gotten home from work. I'll close this myself if need be once they start going to bed in California (where they have now just started dinner), no offense to Australia and New Zealand. μηδείς (talk) 02:06, 24 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I didn't mean to offend you, I just meant, that while it was closed a little early, it was very unlikely to be supported enough to get on ITN. The reason I said "it doesn't look like it's done much good for you." is because you said "count me as a support". --AmaryllisGardener talk 02:15, 24 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I just came here to close this, but see Jayron's done so--no offense on my part has been taken from any party. μηδείς (talk) 04:30, 24 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose This is a media device that is being used to get media attention. It is not so much news as a public service announcement. I don't think this would even qualify if Wikipedia existed when it was a new idea. Chillum 19:53, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose All that has really happened here is that someone has issued a press release and we shouldn't be in the business of churnalism. So far as climate change is concerned, the 2014 record which was suggested down below, would be a better entry. The Atomic Scientist clock also relates to the modernisation of nuclear weapons (and developments in the life sciences !?) but it's not clear that we have a new arms race or that upgrade programmes are increasing risk rather than lowering it. What article do we have which will explain the weapons issue to our readers? Nuclear holocaust is suggested in the nomination but the graph in the article does not seem at all alarming. Andrew D. (talk) 20:10, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose - We make Sydney hostage crisis totally news against our will. Doomsday announcements should never be in the Main Page, although corporate-owned media will spin this announcement as "such" without a second thought. Perhaps more aggressive opposition should prompt a re-closure on this nomination. --George Ho (talk) 20:21, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Apparently you haven't read the article. The "clock" is maintained by the board of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists including 18 Nobelists, and whose "contributors have included: Morton Grodzins, Hans Bethe, Anatoli Blagonravov, Max Born, Harrison Brown, Stuart Chase, Brock Chisholm, E.U. Condon, Albert Einstein, E.K. Fedorov, Bernard T. Feld, James Franck, Ralph E. Lapp, Richard S. Leghorn, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Lord Boyd Orr, Michael Polanyi, Louis Ridenour, Bertrand Russell, Nikolay Semyonov, Leó Szilárd, Edward Teller, A.V. Topchiev, Harold C. Urey, Paul Weiss, [and] James L. Tuck, among others." — Preceding unsigned comment added by Medeis (talkcontribs)
That's quite a list. You'd think by now that they'd have worked out between them how to fix that broken clock. Formerip (talk) 21:11, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Note that they're mostly scientists, while the clock is a geopolitical indicator. They are less qualified than most international relations experts. Moving the clock is entirely arbitrary guesswork. Mamyles (talk) 21:15, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
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[Posted] Hakuhō Shō

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Article: Hakuhō Shō (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ In sumo, yokozuna Hakuhō Shō wins his 33rd top division tournament championship, breaking the record held by Taihō Kōki since 1971. (Post)
Alternative blurb: Sumo wrestler Hakuhō Shō wins a record-breaking 33rd makuuchi championship.
News source(s): Wall St Journal

Japan Times

Yahoo News
Credits:

Nominator's comments: Significant achievement in breaking a 44 year old record held by the legendary Taiho who was regarded as the greatest sumo wrestler of the postwar period. Pawnkingthree (talk) 13:50, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

January 22

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Business and economy

Disasters and accidents
  • Edgewater Police Chief William Skidmore says that workers doing plumbing work accidentally started the January 21 fire in The Avalon at Edgewater apartments in Edgewater, New Jersey that caused the destruction of 240 units and displaced 1,000 residents. (AP)

Politics and elections

Sports

[Closed] RD: Wendell Ford

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Article: Wendell H. Ford (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Reuters
Credits:

Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNRD.
Nominator's comments: Was the Democratic Party Whip in the Senate for 8 years and governor of Kentucky from 1971 to 1974. After 1974 he was in the Senate for four terms. Article is a FA so no quality issues. Everymorning talk 00:42, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
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[Posted] Dissolution of current Yemini cabinet

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Articles: Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi (talk · history · tag) and Khaled Bahah (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi (pictured), Prime Minister Khaled Bahah, and the Yemeni cabinet resign. (Post)
Alternative blurb: ​ Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi (pictured), Prime Minister Khaled Bahah, and the Yemeni cabinet resign during the Shia insurgency.
News source(s): CNN Times of IndiaWPBFBBC
Credits:

Both articles updated

Nominator's comments: I don't know which is huge, the dissolution of Yemini government or the succession of Saudi Arabian king. The future of Yemen is grim at best. George Ho (talk) 00:07, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Added altblurb. --George Ho (talk) 00:16, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

[Posted] Death of Abdullah of Saudi Arabia

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Articles: Abdullah of Saudi Arabia (talk · history · tag) and Salman of Saudi Arabia (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia dies, and is succeeded by his brother Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (pictured). (Post)
News source(s): BBC, CNN
Credits:

Article needs updating

Nominator's comments: Death of a sitting ruler + change of power MASEM (t) 23:33, 22 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Yes. I've taken the liberty of amending the blurb in this way. 00:04, 23 January 2015 (UTC)

[Posted] RD: Leon Brittan

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Article: Leon Brittan (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): BBC
Credits:

Article updated
Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNRD.

Nominator's comments: Former UK Home Secretary (one of the four Great Offices of State) during his tenure he was a very prominent figure in the miner's strike. Also a former vice president of the European Commission. I'm not certain whether he rises to RD level or not, but as we're not overflowing with nominations at the moment I think it's worth discussion. Thryduulf (talk) 15:50, 22 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

January 21

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Arts and culture

Business and economy

Disasters and accidents

Health

International relations

Law and crime
  • Italian police seize 5,361 ancient artifacts worth $64 million from a Swiss-Italian trafficking ring. The discoveries come after various raids on warehouses against Italian art dealer Gianfranco Becchina, who owns an art gallery in Switzerland. (AFP via ABC.Net.AU)

Science and technology

[Closed] Microsoft Hololens

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Article: Windows Holographic (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ Microsoft announces Microsoft HoloLens, an augmented reality device that seamlessly projects 3D objects onto the real world. (Post)
News source(s): Wired (1) Wired (2) Engadget The Register Venture Beat
Credits:
Nominator's comments: Along with the personal reason that this device blew my mind, I have no seen any article on it where it did not blow the minds of everyone who has used it. This device, or other like it, may very well change how we interact with computers. This appears to be a large step forward in augmented reality technology. Zell Faze (talk) 09:18, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
In my nomination I mentioned that the device has, as far as I can tell, blown the minds of everyone who has used it so far within the press. I think the following quote from The Register illustrates this nicely: "Reporting on technology will make anyone a bit grizzled and cynical over time, but occasionally something comes along that just blows you away. HoloLens is the fourth such creation to make this hack say 'Holy f**k!' (in a good way) in the last two decades." Zell Faze (talk) 09:57, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
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[Closed] Ukrainian forces withdraw from Donetsk airport

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Article: Second Battle of Donetsk Airport (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ Ukrainian forces withdraw from Donetsk International Airport after months of fighting with separatist insurgents. (Post)
News source(s): The Daily Telegraph, BBC, Kyiv Post, The Guardian
Credits:

Article updated
Nominator's comments: We've not posted anything on the whole Ukrainian situation for a while, and this defeat is a major blow to Ukrainian forces, who had been holding out at the airport for months. It had become the main battleground of the war in Donbass. Modify the blurb as appropriate. I wouldn't be opposed to a posting. RGloucester 18:01, 22 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I don't think "ongoing" is appropriate. The conflict happens in bursts, so-to-speak. I only suggested this battle's conclusion for a blurb because of how much of a major blow it is to Ukrainian forces, symbolically and strategically. RGloucester 18:18, 22 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The main terminal building was the last significant building they had been holding on to. They still hold the village of Pisky, on the outskirts of the airport, and a scattered few people remain in outbuildings. However, the sources say what they say. For example, the International Business Times says "Ukraine Army Retreats From Destroyed Donetsk Airport", the Kyiv Post article says "Kremlin-backed insurgents have taken over Donetsk Airport", The Guardian article says "Ukraine forces admit loss of Donetsk airport to rebels". I'll modify the blurb for you, though, to mention the terminal building. The BBC article says "The loss of the main terminal is a major blow to pro-Kiev forces and will send political shockwaves back to the capital". It definitely is "big news". RGloucester 20:40, 22 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
OK. This is now factually correct, except I am not sure how significant. My very best wishes (talk) 21:12, 22 January 2015 (UTC) Someone changed blurb back, so this is now factually incorrect. My very best wishes (talk) 19:09, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
It isn't factually incorrect. New sources say that Ukrainian forces withdrew. I provided them below. These include The Daily Telegraph, Yahoo News, and The New York Times. RGloucester 19:15, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I am still unconvinced how important that was in the military, rather than psychological perspective. According to Ukrainian sources, Russian army and rebels still continue storming this airport and have significant losses.My very best wishes (talk) 17:31, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
There is no difference between practical and symbolic importance. They have the same effect. Censor.net simply is not reliable for these events, as we've known since the start of the conflict. There is an information war going on, and both sides engage in propagandising. If you want to use Censor.net, we'd also have to use RT and the like. We stick to RS sources with distance, such as The New York Times. This article says "Chaotic Retreat Follows Ukrainians’ Withdrawal From Donetsk Airport". RGloucester 17:38, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
This New York Times article (your link) openly uses Censor.net and Butusov (you criticize) as a source. But my point is different: this NYT article is probably already outdated; there is an ungoing military warfare in and around the airport with something being constantly taken and retaken by sides. My very best wishes (talk) 18:22, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
That's not what RS say, and I'm sorry if you think that. If the Times uses something from such a source, that means they've taken the time to check it, and verify it. That's why they are called an "RS", because they have a reputation for fact-checking. As a secondary source, it is their job to so. However, the Times has not printed anything saying that the battle is still ongoing, or that the separatists have suffered heavy losses. In fact, no RS are printing such a statement. If no RS corroborate a Censor.net statement, we can assume it is unreliable. RGloucester 19:00, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
OK, I would support this if to replace wording "fighting with separatist insurgents" by fighting with Russian Army and separatist insurgents, because that is what actually happening. My very best wishes (talk) 01:26, 24 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose A step in an ongoing conflict, but not one that is particularly decisive in itself one way or another, especially because the control of the building is really more symbolic than strategic and apparently Ukrainian forces "remained in possession of the airport’s control tower and runway" according to the NY Times article.--Yaksar (let's chat) 20:55, 22 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The control tower has been destroyed for weeks, so it is hard to remain "in control" of it. I suppose they are referring to the ruins. I wonder how one retains control of a runway, which is a vast open space. Regardless, The New York Times does not say that. It says that a Ukrainian NSDC spokesman said it. It is clear that this is important. According to the BBC, it is a "major blow", according to the The Guardian, the terminal building was a "hugely symbolic military prize". Symbolic gains are just as important as material gains. RGloucester 21:14, 22 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Oppose ongoing – Nothing of any real importance is ongoing. The only thing of any current significance was the airport battle. Otherwise, it has been mostly calm. RGloucester 21:24, 22 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Umm... I've never been in either Russia or Ukraine before. Have you? The news media can makes us imply that the War is calm. Actually, many international reporters are too afraid to risk their own lives reporting this War. Same for Syrian Civil War and the 2nd Libyan Civil War, whose main combatants declared ceasefire. --George Ho (talk) 21:32, 22 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I've been to Ukraine, but not Russia. Regardless, our coverage is based on what RS report, along with our own encyclopaedic principles. Fighting in Donetsk has been heavy, but everything else has been relatively normal. There are reports now of significant fighting in northern Luhansk Oblast, but that's a sparsely populated region. Nothing has really changed, yet, other than that Ukraine's "cyborgs" have been essentially eliminated after holding on for months. RGloucester 22:24, 22 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support It's the first territorial change since the Minsk agreement standstill, and the battle has been in the news much and for long. Prefer blurb to ongoing sticky. Would skip "the main terminal building of " in the blurb, or at least say last building - current blurb sounds like govt might still control a significant part of the airport. Narayanese (talk) 21:33, 22 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • New source – For anyone that wants more sources, here is a new article with the headline "Ukraine cedes airport on one of bloodiest days of war". It says "Ukrainian forces on Thursday ceded a long-disputed airport to Russian-backed rebels as an upsurge in clashes killed nearly 50 people and punctured Europe's latest push for peace in the nine-month war". I think the significance of this event is clear, despite a certain fellow's claim of a "minor issue". In another article, The Daily Telegraph says that the Ukrainian withdrawal from the airport was a "devastating victory over Ukrainian forces". RGloucester 04:30, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose yet another twist in this rather long story. We should probably wait for some diplomatic breakthrough before posting about this again, instead of having every tactical detail.128.214.53.18 (talk) 08:12, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
That implies that there is going to be a "diplomatic breakthrough". There is no sign of one occurring. Fighting has ramped up across the combat zone, following the withdrawal. We've not had "every tactical detail". In fact, we've not posting any blurbs about this August, as far as I'm aware. RGloucester 14:25, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
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[Closed] Resignation of PEGIDA leader, Lutz Bachmann

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Articles: Lutz Bachmann (talk · history · tag) and PEGIDA (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: Lutz Bachmann, founder of PEGIDA, a German anti-Islamist organisation, resigns as its leader. (Post)
Alternative blurb: Lutz Bachmann, founder of PEGIDA, a German anti-Islamist organisation, resigns as its leader after controversy was sparked by a picture of himself posing as Adolf Hitler.
Credits:

Both articles updated
Nominator's comments: Newly created article, and his resignation is news to the Germans, to Muslims, and to people elsewhere. George Ho (talk) 01:26, 22 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose standing down from a Facebook group created in October is not significant. Stephen 02:06, 22 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose Not convinced this is really of sufficient significance. PEGIDA, despite the attention it has got, does not enjoy the support of most Germans and has not achieved much in terms of effecting its political aims. Neljack (talk) 02:12, 22 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support For this being newsworthy it is absolutely irrelevant whether Pegida does enjoy the support of most Germans or by a large minority. PEGIDA has definitely become newsworthy, it comes up in the evening news every other day, and Bachmann's Hitler selfie was on title pages worldwide. Dozens of news articles focus on Bachmann himself. We should however direct people to our article PEGIDA, which has become quite good, rather than the new one on Lutz Bachmann which we have no photo of. For objectivity, we should also mention the investigations by state prosecutors. I'd therefore propose as an alternative blurb:
    PEGIDA founder Lutz Bachmann resigns as leader of the German anti-Islamic movement following state investigations for incitement to popular hatred
    --PanchoS (talk) 03:20, 22 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Um... I credit you as one of updaters, so there would be conflict of interest (COI). George Ho (talk) 03:45, 22 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
My comments won't become completely worthless because of that, but anyway, may others decide. --PanchoS (talk) 04:11, 22 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I don't think that is generally regarded as a disqualifying COI here. Updaters frequently nominate articles or comment in support of a nomination. And editors who think a nomination is worthy of support often also help to update the article. It would be undesirable to discourage people from working on the article by treating it as a COI precluding them from voting on a nomination. Neljack (talk) 10:42, 22 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Agree; being an updater does not and should not disqualify someone from commenting here. 331dot (talk) 10:44, 22 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Please don't take it as an offense, but I think that your comment particularly highlights an existing general bias against less-institutionalized organizations: it shouldn't matter if something is a company on shares, a legal political party or a ad-hoc association if they otherwise receive the same notability. Neither should it matter whether an organization has a professional homepage (requiring a lot of money or specific skills Bachmann doesn't seem to have even though he's in the low-scale PR business) or a simple blog or a facebook page.
    But I won't contradict to the other aspect of your argument that there are certainly more important personalities than Bachmann which we didn't have in the news. So the outcome is fine for me, I just wanted to raise my observation on this. --PanchoS (talk) 14:22, 22 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
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[Posted] 2015 Congolese protests

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Article: 2015 Congolese protests (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: Three days of protests against President Joseph Kabila, who wants to change the constitution, so he can stay in power longer, leave forty-two people dead. (Post)
Alternative blurb: ​ Forty-two people are killed in protests against President Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
News source(s): Reuters BBC
Credits:

Nominator's comments: It's a potential revolution  - Monopoly31121993Monopoly31121993 (talk) 17:14, 21 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Done so. --George Ho (talk) 01:45, 22 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The process is that nominations will be discussed until an administrator believes that consensus has been reached and the content is ready. Only admins can modify the main page. Though, if you believe that this is ready, you can add [Ready] in front of the nomination header. Mamyles (talk) 16:08, 22 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support had 42 Russians been killed in protests when Putin changed the law to allow him to rule for life, we'd have posted it lickety split. μηδείς (talk) 19:47, 22 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support per Medeis. Neljack (talk) 20:06, 22 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose article quality, it's junk, barely English, references are appalling, please tidy it up, it's certainly not something we want to "showcase" on our mainpage. The Rambling Man (talk) 21:24, 22 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Comment I have just created People's Palace (Kinshasa) to fix the Palais du Peuple redlink. I'll be back in about 3 hrs to see what else needs attention at that point. μηδείς (talk) 22:25, 22 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • [ready] Support- There is no reason that after 48 hours an event which took the lives of 42 people should still not even been mentioned (and I agree that had this been in Russia [ie. white people] it probably would have been). Instead we have kept a week-old story about the Swiss Bank's decision on the new feed. Is that really more newsworthy than popular protests against a corrupt and authoritarian regime which have cost the lives of dozens of people? Can an admin please declare consensus and move this along? The only person to oppose this has called the references (which are overwhelmingly AFP, Bloomberg, Reuters and BBC) "appalling" which strikes of absurdity and stonewalling. I think a vote of 5-1 over 2 days should be deemed consensus for a news item.Monopoly31121993 (talk) 07:54, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
"As nominator", you mean. That would be five to one excluding the nominator. --George Ho (talk) 08:11, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Monopoly, you miss the point. The article has a maintenance tag, two inline requests for quotations, ill-formatted references etc. I didn't ever mention that the quality of the sources were in doubt. I think you claiming that I'm being absurd and stonewalling this nomination is a bit too much. I'm just trying to uphold some levels of quality control around here while all the others just knee-jerk support without really giving a damn about what shape the article is in. The Rambling Man (talk) 08:23, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support - I concur with Monopoly. I question The Rambling Man's rationale here. I don't see how "junk" the whole nomination or the blurb is. Three people killed may be too little, but there have been protests, successful or not. Congo and Zaire became "Democratic Republic of Congo" and "Republic of Congo", but Congo suffers from authoritarian regimes already. Time for at least one news about any African country besides Ebola. George Ho (talk) 08:09, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    Perhaps you mis-read, I said the article was junk, it may have been improved since I last looked. Let's hope so because the more junk we push to the main page, the less likely our readers are to read it. The Rambling Man (talk) 08:11, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    If shown in Main Page, more readers will become aware of this page and will fix the article. That's how things are done to articles, right? --George Ho (talk) 08:17, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    Yes, and equally likely is that 99.9% of those reading the article aren't editors and will take one look and think, "what a load of junk they link to from the main page". The Rambling Man (talk) 08:19, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    Not this 99% vs. 1% philosophy. Have you gotten this from Occupy Wall Street or Tea Party demonstrations? Also, I am sure that the most of "99%" you mentioned are capable of editing unless you want to discredit IPs as useless. --George Ho (talk) 08:24, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    It seems you don't understand the readership of Wikipedia at all. But just address the article quality issues and we'll have full agreement that it's fit for the main page. Alternatively keep supporting articles which are of insufficient quality and slowly but surely degrade the quality of the main page. P.S. The main page is viewed over 300 million times a month. On the flip-side we have around 30,000 editors who make five or more edits a month. So no, not 99% vs 1% at all. Much worse. The Rambling Man (talk) 08:35, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    Isn't that ten million viewing times per day? Umm... the editors stats are misleading. When you said "five or more per month", that seems short. We don't know how many edit five or more per day. --George Ho (talk) 08:43, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    It more than adequately demonstrates the point. Most of our readers do not edit Wikipedia. So if you really care about the article, fix up the issues, improve the method of citation and we're good to go. The Rambling Man (talk) 08:48, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The Rambling Man, I respect that you're interested in improving the quality of the article but your argument here doesn't seem to have any basis in rules regarding what gets posted in the news feed. I have not found any information stating that non-FA,GA, [of good quality], etc. articles should be excluded from the main page. If it's the news then it's the news. Whether Wikiepdians have developed a great/good quality article or not is not part of the criteria for what news exists in the world. That said I think there is clearly consensus here.Monopoly31121993 (talk) 16:57, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Perhaps you missed one of the key purposes: "To showcase quality Wikipedia content on current events." The Rambling Man (talk) 17:09, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The Rambling Man, issues are resolved; will you change your vote? George Ho (talk) 20:26, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Marked Ready I have copyedited the tagged section, which needed a handful of commas and re-phrasing. I've removed comment on any British reaction, since no news I could find in the last week mentions any, perhaps there will be comments in the French press or Chinese. In any case, the nomination is well supported, and the article's in good shape. μηδείς (talk) 18:50, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
If this is not yet ready, an admin should give a specific reason, so that any remaining problems can be addressed. μηδείς (talk) 00:04, 24 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The altblurb seems neutral, is there any other problem? μηδείς (talk) 18:14, 24 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

[Closed] US-Cuba embargo

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The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.


Article: United States embargo against Cuba (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ Officials from the United States and Cuba meet in Havana to discuss lifting the embargo imposed 54 years ago between the two nations. (Post)
News source(s): BBC Havana Times
Credits:

Article updated
Nominator's comments: This event should have serious effects on the international relations between the United States and Cuba. This could be the beginning of more positive interactions between the US and Cuba.  TCMemoire 20:37, 21 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

January 20

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Business and economy

Disaster and accidents

Law and crime

Politics and elections

January 19

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Disasters and accidents

Law and crime

Politics and elections

Science and technology

Sports

[Posted] Yemen coup d'état

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Article: 2014–15 Yemen unrest (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: Houthi rebels have attacked the residence of the President of Yemen and swept into the presidential palace. (Post)
Alternative blurb: Houthi rebels attack and occupy the residence of the President of Yemen.
News source(s): Today) (Al Jazeera)
Credits:

 Olegwiki (talk) 20:23, 20 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

  • Comment. The Guardian is reporting that the rebels are in control of the capital, Sanaa. It's an obviously postable story, but think we should wait for just a little of the dust to settle before deciding what blurb to use. Formerip (talk) 20:38, 20 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Conditional support with additional confirmation, would like to see more affirmation that this is true and the coup has bee completed. The article update is there but again, would like a bit more on affirmation. --MASEM (t) 20:52, 20 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support. I almost nominated this myself; occupying a presidential residence is notable. 331dot (talk) 20:56, 20 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Comment according to the article, this action has been happening since August last year. Is this specific event more newsworthy than all the other actions? Is this more inclined to an "Ongoing" listing? The Rambling Man (talk) 22:02, 20 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Conditional oppose A coup is taking political power, rather than just taking one building and making the occupants flee. The president was (supposedly) allowed to leave. Unless there is an actual overthrow of power, where the president loses political control of the bureaucracy, this news is just one more battle loss for Yemen. This is still developing, and the condition of the president is yet definitive. Mamyles (talk) 22:17, 20 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
To put this in context, the city has effectively been an active war zone for a year. That rebels took control of a government building is not surprising, and has only symbolic significance beyond that Yemen lost another battle. What is significant is that the rebels let the president go free, but I guess they had to or the country would have lost all of its funding from western governments. Mamyles (talk) 15:45, 21 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Added "altblurb" for you. --George Ho (talk) 18:32, 21 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Hard to say, because the last time it happened was a year before Wikipedia started. Formerip (talk) 22:55, 21 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
You work with what you have, 331. Today's news confirms the resignation of the prior government--that's a lot better justification for this nomination than the occupation of one building. μηδείς (talk) 19:43, 22 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • I was thinking about posting this, but the target article doesn't seem to have enough meat, and events are still unfolding rapidly. the latest is that there's been some sort of deal and the rebels are withdrawing. I think we need to wait for the dust to settle. We are not the breaking news. Jehochman Talk 22:59, 21 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Death of Alberto Nisman

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Articles: AMIA bombing (talk · history · tag) and Alberto Nisman (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman, who had accused President Cristina Kirchner of covering up Iranian links to the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center, is found dead at his home. (Post)
Alternative blurb: ​ Argentine federal prosecutor Alberto Nisman is found shot dead a week after accusing President Cristina Kirchner of covering up Iranian links to the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center.
Alternative blurb II: ​ Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman is found shot dead in his apartment a shortly before his testimony on the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center.
News source(s): BBC, The Jerusalem Post, The Guardian
Credits:

Both articles updated

 Cambalachero (talk) 20:44, 19 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Actually, the BBC reports that the prosecutor is waiting for the results of further tests "in order to rule out any other hypothesis". It's good that she's clear about what the purpose of the tests is... Formerip (talk) 22:31, 19 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support This is becoming a national scandal that has international coverage.--Jetstreamer Talk 00:19, 20 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Wait Until foul play is identified as the cause of death, this reads like a conspiracy theory, and we definitely should wait until something more affirmed is given. --MASEM (t) 03:02, 20 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Wait. I think this could be notable enough for ITN, but as Masem said we need some facts here. 331dot (talk) 03:04, 20 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose any blurb that hints at unverified conspiracy. Gamaliel (talk) 04:09, 20 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • NYT: Puzzling Death of a Prosecutor Grips Argentina Daily Beast: Did Iran Murder Argentina’s Crusading Prosecutor Alberto Nisman? No suicide note, no confirmation of a headwound, no one heard the shot, the ten federal police guards assigned to guard his door were called away. This is leading news worldwide. The choice of wording on the blurb is a minor matter, make it how ever neutral possible, but the story should be posted. μηδείς (talk) 04:34, 20 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    • It's still reads like a conspiracy theory; if we treated this like a recent death, the person's "importance" is rather low (not a leader in any field) and while the death is interesting, not sufficient to post. Us posting this this early would be completely improper. --MASEM (t) 05:08, 20 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
      • Of course it reads like a conspiracy theory, but the circumstances are very suspicious--no note, no indication of he might have killed himself, his guard disappear, he was about to give a summary report on a 20-investigation. None of that matters for our blurb. Saying "Argentine federal prosecutor found dead night before releasing 20 year report on attacks that killed 85" is not anything anyone denies. All we need to do is realize this is a huge story even if it was suicide, and it is getting immense worldwide attention. μηδείς (talk) 05:28, 20 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
      • Actually it does not meter whether it was suicide or how exactly he died. It is already an international scandal like Alexander Litvinenko. Remember he was investigated murder of 85 people with international links. --Jenda H. (talk) 08:40, 20 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
        • Mentioning the imminent release of the report in connection to the death/suicide/whatever it turns out to be is implicitly creating original research, or repeating wild speculation from the press. It's a newspaper-worthy eyecatching/reader-drawing headline, but it is far from encyclopedic. --MASEM (t) 05:39, 20 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose it is not for Wikipedia to say that this is suspicious or to act as a tabloid-headline generator/chaser. (There's an old rule of thumb which says that when headlines have question marks in them, such as "Did Iran Murder Argentina’s Crusading Prosecutor Alberto Nisman?", the answer to the question is "no", otherwise it wouldn't be phrased as a question.) He wouldn't fit the bill for RD and, absent a murder, his death is not sufficiently noteworthy to warrant a blurb. BencherliteTalk 09:05, 20 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose I don't usually vote here or know much about this particular story, but this reads like media speculation. I wouldn't support posting unless there's some official verification that the above parties were involved in his death. Otherwise this is a tabloid non-story. Condolences on his death. Fuebaey (talk) 00:02, 21 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Comment. I agree that this shouldn't be posted without something further happening, like the police treating it as murder or significant public protests. But, to those editors who seem to think you need to be a tabloid hack or David Icke to think the death of someone who had predicted their own murder hours before they were due to outline a criminal case against the president might be suspicious: is anyone interested in buying a CD signed by Elvis Presley? Formerip (talk) 00:27, 21 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Altblurb What about: Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman was fond shot dead in his apartment a shortly before his testimony on the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center.? No speculation in blurb. By the way. Argentine president say that she dosen't believe it was suicide. Also there is any gunshot residue on Mr Nisman's hands, according to police.BBC --Jenda H. (talk) 14:24, 22 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support, Argentina's President now says it was not a suicide. Abductive (reasoning) 17:03, 22 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support - It's a major story getting widespread international coverage (at least it's staying near the top of my google news results, and I'm certainly not from Argentina).--Yaksar (let's chat) 20:57, 22 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose While suspicious, ultimately not noteworthy enough; per TRM and Fuebaey. SpencerT♦C 00:24, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Kirchner the Argentine president herself has called this a murder: "Argentine President Cristina Kirchner said Thursday she believes that a prosecutor who died under suspicious circumstances was murdered in a plot to implicate her government in a cover-up of a 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center." Whatever the facts, this story and the reaction to it is notable enough for posting. μηδείς (talk) 19:03, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

January 18

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Arts and culture

Disasters and accidents

Law and crime

Sports

[Closed] AB de Villiers

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The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.


Article: AB de Villiers (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: AB de Villiers (pictured) makes the fastest century in ODI history, reaching 100 off just 31 balls against the West Indies. (Post)
Alternative blurb: ​ In cricket, South African AB de Villiers (pictured) makes the fastest One Day International century in history.
News source(s): BBC News ESPN
Credits:
Nominator's comments: A very important item and a huge record in the field of cricket.  - The Herald (here I am) 17:11, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
This is not an everyday record. It takes years to break one and is considered as one of the most important one.  - The Herald (here I am) 17:33, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose per precedent here and here. – Muboshgu (talk) 17:44, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    Which, of course, is nonsense as one nomination is still open (and is based in history on the other successful sports record posted, such as the century of centuries posted in April last year). The Rambling Man (talk) 18:54, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    Sorry, I forgot about the Brit bias here. Clearly we should post this post haste. – Muboshgu (talk) 21:32, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    Sorry, I forgot you were trying to make a point and failed, massively. Robertson is Australian. Do try harder, or at least do some research before making yourself look so .... unprepared. The Rambling Man (talk) 22:27, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    Oh, come on he didn't know you were going to argue semantics. And if I were a Brit I would be much more interested in this despite not being Australian, Brits have about as much population as Aussies, Kiwis, Canadians and Irish combined so it's slightly lazy shorthand nothing to berate him about and he might've even been thinking the people supporting this are disproportionately British because of the time zone. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 00:41, 19 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Comment. I don't yet know enough about this know if this is significant, but ITN is very skeptical of sports records, as Muboshgu showed. 331dot (talk) 18:28, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    • I didn't even know what sport this was until I clicked on the bolded link. – Muboshgu (talk) 18:39, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
      • Ironically, all Muboshgu "showed" was that he didn't do any research and selectively ignored the fact that one of his two "examples" was still open with support. Brilliant work, the pair of you! The Rambling Man (talk) 18:54, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
        • The nomination clearly takes for granted that everyone knows cricket. That iis not the case. Clearly snooker and cricket are more important than gridiron football, so your inconsistencies are okay. – Muboshgu (talk) 21:32, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
          • Indeed they are, and they span the globe rather than the parochial yet charming grid iron! There's no inconsistency, yet you clearly failed when you made your previous statement, but that's okay. Better luck next time. The Rambling Man (talk) 21:36, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
              • OMG, I think cricket is charming, too! Despite knowing alot about it by American standards. It's just kind of comical and quaint, I wonder how you take it seriously, with batsmen running back and forth for 2 instead of circumnavigating for 1 which makes them look stupid and really athletic fast bowlers hurling the ball like an idiot and making funny faces like they're having a bowel movement. I wouldn't mind to hear the why gridiron is bollocks paragraph but remember the US takes it as seriously as cricket. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 00:41, 19 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
                  • The funny face is of course because you have to run like 25 miles per hour before you even hurl the ball, which would be awesome if you could straighten your elbow (but the batsmen might need gridiron-like padding, lol). It would really help with the way too easy scoring and unnatural motion, though. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 01:32, 19 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
            • So because college football is American, it doesn't get posted. I see. 331dot (talk) 22:45, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
              • It doesn't get posted because it doesn't have much of any global importance and it doesn't get consistent support. But what are you complaining about none of the other sports get any support here either, expect for rock climbing I guess, so it's all fine isn't it? SeraV (talk) 23:04, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
                • There is no requirement of "global importance"- and single-country objections are not valid(as stated on this page). 331dot (talk) 23:05, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
                  • Yes yes, you keep telling yourself that. Oddly that is only ever argument when it comes to american stuff in these pages, rest can be safely ignored because they aren't important or interesting enough for americans, as you can see right here on this nomination. SeraV (talk) 23:12, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
                    • I'm not telling myself or you anything; it's on this page. I support many nominations from other countries than mine. Please don't generalize. 331dot (talk) 23:18, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
                      • Well you make it so very easy with your constant whining about anti-americanism in here. It's not like most of the stuff we post in here comes from the US or anything. SeraV (talk) 23:22, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
                        • I'm not "whining" so I'm not sure why you felt the need to be negative. I don't want there to be anti-Americanism or pro-Americanism. The answer to systemic bias is not to turn it around. 331dot (talk) 23:26, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
                          • Fine but the default state here is pro-american bias, and it is not really helpfull that if some american nomination fails people start instantly screaming about anti-americanism here. It is just annoying frankly and current reality and what you do. SeraV (talk) 23:32, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
                            • When I see someone here try to explain why their rationale for posting cricket items doesn't apply to college football despite similarities between the two, and is totally unwilling to see the other side(and denigrates it) I'm not sure what else I am supposed to think. 331dot (talk) 23:37, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
            • Well now you just aren't assuming good faith and starting to generalize, hardly everyone denigrated other side. How do you explain total lack of supports here if these nominations are so similar in your mind? SeraV (talk) 23:49, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
              • I was referring to the overall subject matter, not these specific issues, which are different (championship game vs. record in the sport). I think you would agree that this discussion should not be tied up between the two of us in this side discussion; if you wish to continue, please use my talk page. 331dot (talk) 00:05, 19 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support easily as significant as a couple of blokes taking two weeks to climb a 1,000 metre tall rock, falling off numerous times, and being supported by a cast of thousands. This smashes the record. Alt blurb added for those who didn't even get which sport was being discussed. The Rambling Man (talk) 18:57, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    • If it was so damn easy it would've been done before, possibly from the same guy who failed 4 times before. It is so hard that just passing every foot of rock without hammering something in and holding onto it is like a world record. All that stuff only adds to the achievement not detracts from it. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 00:41, 19 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose. More of a factoid, ideal for DYK as opposed to In The News. We also did not post Lionel Messi's world record for most goals in a calendar year; therefore, per precedence, this cannot be posted. -- Calidum 20:20, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    • "per precedence, this cannot be posted" is pure nonsense. While precedent can suggest something is more or less likely to be posted, it does not control and cannot prevent (or mandate) something being posted if there is consensus based on the merits of each item. In this case, I don't think a very different type of record in a very different sport is even relevant precedent. Thryduulf (talk) 20:38, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    • Yep, to attempt to compare a season-long scoring record in a specific league with a fundamental cricketing world record just demonstrates the lack of understanding some individuals have here. The Rambling Man (talk) 20:45, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
      • Perhaps in a similar fashion to how some have a fundamental misunderstanding of college American football...? *Cough* not pointing any figures mind you.--Somchai Sun (talk) 20:50, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
        • I doubt it. We all fundamentally understand that there's a thing called "college football" but most, if not all people outside the US couldn't give a monkeys about it. It's fine if it feeds professional sport institutions with good players etc, but otherwise it's just notable for the popularity, like wrestling or watching disasters take place. What we have here is in no way comparable to anything related to college football. This is cricket, which is of interest to English, Australian, South African, Australian, Indian, Sri Lankan, Pakistani people.... etc etc in other words well over a billion or so people know about this sport and some of them care about it. We'll never ever agree, but cricket is far more universal than American football will ever be. The quicker you guys understand that (and I don't expect you to ever understand cricket, far too many laws) the better. The Rambling Man (talk) 20:56, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
          • I understand cricket. But when I first read about it in 2006 I used it for amusement to see how many percent of cricket articles I could read in short random passages while still having zero clue what they're talking about. And for the funny or 19th century sounding names. I also did this for rugby, bridge (card game) and programming articles. I read them in equal quantities so that I could entertain myself with the contest of which would be like reading a foreign language last. Bridge won cause the 4 main articles weren't read to make the game sporting. I still don't get what law prevents the batsman from being continually in danger from a fielder breaking his wicket with the ball/ball arm even though he made his ground. (though I haven't read them all). Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 00:57, 19 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose. I'd probably support this if it were a record for cricket or international cricket rather than just ODI. Formerip (talk) 20:58, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    Clearly you have no idea what you're talking about. It's a record for cricket, it's a record for international cricket.... Wow, worst oppose I've seen ever. The Rambling Man (talk) 21:25, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Erm. No. Google it. Formerip (talk) 21:36, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
What are you talking about? I don't need to "google it". It's a world record, it's a cricket record, it's a one day international record, you probably need to re-read what you wrote and then apologise. The Rambling Man (talk) 21:38, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
From the BBC article linked on this very page: "Chris Gayle's 100 from 30 balls in the Indian Premier League in April 2013 is the fastest century in cricket history." Worst reply to an oppose ever. -- Calidum 21:41, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
However, it is correct to say that it is a record for all international cricket. Perhaps surprisingly, the T20I record is way back at 45 balls, while the test record is 56 balls. Neljack (talk) 21:52, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Oops Calidum and FormerIP! Best to not comment if you're bot clear what you're commenting on! To help, the IPL isn't an international tournament, even though it contains international players. If you need any further info, don't hesitate to ask! The Rambling Man (talk) 22:22, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
We get it, none of us know what we are talking about. Why not just ignore us and post this, then? 331dot (talk) 22:51, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I'm still not clear on whether a record in IPL counts as a cricket record or not. Can help with that, RM?
I guess the thing about international vs domestic records is one of those things where it's up to me to think about whether or not I want to take it into account and re-assess my vote. That's the sort of thing I will often do when I'm feeling well-disposed towards another editor. Formerip (talk) 23:01, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose I'm a big cricket fan, but I don't think this is really one of the most important records. I'd say the highest ODI score by a batsman, which we (correctly, in my view) declined to post when it was broken in November,[12] is more significant. And test cricket remains the most prestigious form of the game. Neljack (talk) 21:47, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose - Speed to a particular score has no particular connotation in cricket; this is one for the stats specialists only. AlexTiefling (talk) 22:49, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

[Closed] 2015 Potiskum suicide car bombing

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The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.


Article: 2015 Potiskum suicide car bombing (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: A suicide bombing in northeastern Nigeria kills at least four people and injures thirty-five others. (Post)
News source(s): Associated Press, Reuters
Credits:
Nominator's comments: This seems to have just happened hours ago. Possibly the work of Boko Haram as per the Reuters link. Everymorning talk 16:33, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Papal visit draws 6 million people

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Article: Pope Francis' visit to the Philippines (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ Six million people gather for a mass on the final day of Pope Francis' (pictured) visit to the Phillippines, the largest papal gathering in history. (Post)
News source(s): NBC News CNN BBC Times of India Sydney Morning Herald
Credits:

Nominator's comments: I think most any gathering of 6 million people, being covered in the news, should at least be discussed. Vatican says it is largest papal gathering in history. Article is not in too bad shape, I think. Some updating, not sure if it's enough. 331dot (talk) 15:18, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

If we give each person 1.5 square feet of space which is just stuffed (I barely cram into 12 x 16, 17 inches of floor with my arms in front) then that's 9 million square feet of people, or a circle of people 3,385 feet across. Does it look like the crowd is .6 miles wide? (I haven't seen pictures). I would've done a circle cause the bread and Francis's head would be invisible if their color resembles the background — even to world record eyesight. 20/20 vision would see 15 centimeter black bread over white clerical shirts as a point. That is the nosebleed view to end all nosebleed views. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 20:18, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Calm down! Calm down! I'm sure no-one wants a nosebleed. Martinevans123 (talk) 20:37, 18 January 2015 (UTC) [reply]
"Trivial" is a poor argument; everything is "trivial" to someone. It is notable enough and got enough coverage to get a decent article about it. 331dot (talk) 18:53, 20 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I'd suggest the event was not seen a "trivial" to the 6+ million people who attended. Nor to all the editors of all the media outlets across the world who reported it. Martinevans123 (talk) 20:23, 21 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

January 17

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Arts and culture

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Law and crime

Sports

[Closed] 2015 Yellowstone River oil spill

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The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.


Article: Yellowstone River (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ According to state officials, up to 50,000 US gallons (190,000 L; 42,000 imp gal) of oil is spilt into the Yellowstone River near Glendive, Montana. (Post)
Alternative blurb: ​ The Yellowstone River suffers another oil spill near Glendive, Montana, since 2011.
Alternative blurb II: ​ According to state officials, up to 50,000 US gallons of oil is spilt into the Yellowstone River near Glendive, Montana.
News source(s): CBS News
Credits:

Article updated
Nominator's comments: Although oil spills are not that shocking, the incident should be featured on the Main Page. George Ho (talk) 04:42, 20 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Added altblurb for you. George Ho (talk) 05:05, 20 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Yeah, well... what about tourism and water supplies? Nature enthusiasts would be devastated by another oil spill. --George Ho (talk) 05:17, 21 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
@Medeis, Mamyles, 331dot: I added "benzene" part. --George Ho (talk) 05:55, 21 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I added the 200 cubic meter (over)estimate to give a visually comprehensible idea. That's 5x5x8 meters, or about 08% of the size of an olympic swimming pool in a river over 600 miles long. We don't have any reports that this will effect the park or the environment long term, and the prior spill was apparently cleaned up, as will be this one. μηδείς (talk) 17:02, 21 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

[Posted] RD: Faten Hamama

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Article: Faten Hamama (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): Variety BBC ABC (Australia) The Malay Mail Fox News Latino Radio France Internationale Deutsche Welle La Libre (Belgium)
Credits:

Article updated
Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNRD.

Nominator's comments: A film icon in the region, who was nicknamed the "Lady of the Arabic Screen". This is major news in Egyptian and Middle Eastern cinema. Hamama was the wife of Michel Chalhoub (who went on to become Omar Sharif after the wedding). She appeared in almost a hundred films, some directed by Youssef Chahine, and often attempted to highlight women's issues in the region, which makes her death important news for Arab feminism as well. Fitzcarmalan (talk) 12:09, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

  • We shouldn't be arbitrarily promoting articles to the main page because no-one can be bothered to do proper sourcing. Who's to say those awards are either real or notable? There are some amongst us here who would agree that more work should and can be done in the native language that would help. DO IT! The Rambling Man (talk) 20:48, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Yep, aware it's "selected" but being an encyclopaedia we normally provide objective rationales to which items are "selected". I have no major beef with the article, but we really shouldn't be hand-picking items in the filmography just because no-one can be bothered to source or write articles about them. The Rambling Man (talk) 17:23, 20 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Frankly, the film that was eliminated from the list appeared to be non-existent. I've managed, however, to find this source (Saudi newspaper Al Riyadh) for the other TV show that was removed. That said, I didn't restore it yet, because it is still unclear whether the show was actually filmed or not. An editor who included this work to the list in December 2006 added the qualifier "TBA" next to it, but this hasn't changed since then. Fitzcarmalan (talk) 00:04, 21 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
One of the difficulties with the red linked articles is that they aren't necessarily red links, just the pipe is misspelt, which was the case with La Tutf'e al-Shams which looked like a redlink due to the inconsistent capitalization of Al-. I considered hiding the redlinks, but this is not just difficult to do without distorting the chart format, it also hides articles that could use finding or creating. Given the items are at least cited, there's no need to delete the immediately. And the hope is that an RD listing will draw helpful attention. I can say that the Mozambique funeral beer poisoning article immediately increased upon publication and is now about three times as good as it was when it was listed, mostly due to the attention of new users. μηδείς (talk) 17:49, 20 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I actually wanted to convert this chart to one or two paragraphs like I did with the awards section. But in order to do so, I must first have a source that highlights her most notable works, so that it doesn't look like I'm arbitrarily deciding what to keep/remove from the summary. Some time ago, the article was surprisingly a GA, despite all the issues it had. I didn't check the reassessment yet, but I plan on bringing it back to that status very soon, if no one gets there first. Fitzcarmalan (talk) 00:04, 21 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The proper place to discuss that now would be the article itself. The standalone filmography article is useless in comparison as almost totally unsourced, and the existing filmography section could probably just be pasted over it. For a selected woks section simply limited to the blue links, and those that can be found like I found the [[La Tutf'e al-Shams article when searching for the redlink, La Tutf'e Al-Shams Sort of a crowd-sourced decision as to what is notable, which is all imdb and rotten tomatoes really are.
I am of quite limited help myself, because although I can muck it through anything in a Latin script (I've sourced articles in Hungarian and Vietnamese, which I don't speak, but can parse with google translate) I simply don't have any mastery of the alphabet. In any case, I think the outcome of this nomination has for RD has been quite well handled. μηδείς (talk) 01:00, 21 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

[Closed] Chunnel closure

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The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.


Article: Channel tunnel (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ The Channel Tunnel is closed as a result of a fire on board a train (Post)
News source(s): BBC, CNN, ABC (Australia), Times of India
Credits:
Nominator's comments: Complete suspension of an international train service, causing a great deal of disruption in the UK and France. There have been fires in the Chunnel before, resulting in long-term closure for repairs (though it doesn't appear to be known at this stage whether that will be the case here). HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 01:15, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.


Article: 2015 African Cup of Nations (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: No blurb specified (Post)
Credits:
Because it's a major competition with much international coverage. - EugεnS¡m¡on(14) ® 16:58, 17 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Can you provide some links to this international coverage? 331dot (talk) 17:01, 17 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
You are asking for an ongoing link. That implies tha each update would be close to being worthy of posting on its own, but we don't want to have 5 separate blurbs at once. Is this African Cup so important that it would have more than one blurb, rather than just the results of the final match? Some sort of explanation along those lines was what I was asking for. μηδείς (talk) 18:21, 17 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose. In the absence of a "current major sporting events" ticker[1], which Ongoing definitely isn't, I see no justification for this. Competitions like the (soccer) World Cup are far more significant and get far more coverage, but unless something exceptional happens we only post the result of the final. Thryduulf (talk) 20:45, 17 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    [1] I'm not proposing we should have one, and I don't know if I'd support someone else's proposal for one. If we did have one though, this is the sort of event I'd consider for it. Thryduulf (talk) 20:45, 17 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Weak oppose it's a major tournament in African football terms, and will be hugely watched, mainly in that continent. It's seen, at least in Europe, as an inconvenience as so many Premier League players disappear for a month and often come back injured. I would advise that we wait for the final and post that as a main ITN item, and not this ongoing proposal. The Rambling Man (talk) 21:01, 17 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose per Medeis, which is really the only argument against that is necessary in this discussion. Since we wouldn't post incremental updates to this event, we won't post it to ongoing. Bzweebl (talkcontribs) 23:35, 17 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
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January 16

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Business and economy

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Environment

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Science

Sports

Tonga island creation

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Article: Tonga (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ Volcanic eruption creates a 1 km island near Nuku'alofa, Tonga. (Post)
Alternative blurb: ​ A new island of 1 km diameter is created near Nuku'alofa, Tonga due to a volcanic eruption.
News source(s): Discovery News ABC Net
Credits:

Nominator's comments: An important event which created such a huge island. Such phenomenon are rarer still.  - The Herald (here I am) 14:47, 21 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

CTV Irish Examiner and ZeeNews also has it.. - The Herald (here I am) 15:26, 21 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The articles you cite are referring to the new island in Tonga, not in Nishinoshima in Japan. I repeat, there is no new island at Nishinoshima. Michitaro (talk) 15:29, 21 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
But this isn't in new item. It was widely reported last year..... The Rambling Man (talk) 15:27, 21 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
OOPS..Sorry.. Can I have some time so as to update it??  - The Herald (here I am) 15:31, 21 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
@Rambling Man, these huge aren't created usually.  - The Herald (here I am) 15:42, 21 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
It's not in the news. It's an old story. By all means update the article, but until you can provide us with evidence that this is in the news now about something that isn't stale, ITN isn't the place for this. The Rambling Man (talk) 15:35, 21 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support in principle. The problem is the insufficient update. But the Discovery News article stating the 1km island was created (and erruptions are apparently ongoing) is dated the 17th, not today. μηδείς (talk) 17:39, 21 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The news was added to the January 16th, so I moved this nomination accordingly. George Ho (talk) 18:59, 21 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I am not sure how one can say this is not interesting, interest is a subjective matter. I am curious if this has been covered with any scientific papers?

[Closed] Shin Dong-hyuk recants parts of his story

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Article: Shin Dong-hyuk (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: Shin Dong-hyuk, who escaped from North Korea, admits that parts of his life story as described in the book Escape from Camp 14 were inaccurate. (Post)
News source(s): New York Times, CBS News, CNN, Time
Credits:
Nominator's comments: Dong-hyuk was described by Time magazine in the link above as "one of the most high-profile survivors of North Korea’s political prisons". Also, according to the New York Daily News, he is "The only known North Korean prison camp escapee". Everymorning talk 20:31, 19 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Record warmth in 2014

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Article: Instrumental temperature record (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ The US's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA announce that 2014 was the hottest year on record. (Post)
Alternative blurb: ​ The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA announce that 2014 was the hottest year on record.
Alternative blurb II: ​ A NASA report estimates that, with a 0.1C margin of error, worldwide temperatures in 2014 rose 0.02C over 2010, indicating a 38% chance 2014 was the warmest year since 1880.
Alternative blurb III: ​ A NASA report estimates that, with a 0.1 °C margin of error, worldwide temperatures in 2014 rose 0.02 °C over 2010, indicating a 38% chance that 2014 was the warmest year on record (1880-present).
Article needs updating

Nominator's comments: No this doesn't happen every year. 1998 was one and I'm guessing 2007 cause of the record sea ice and maybe others but this is one of the most important topics of our century. -- Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 21:29, 17 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

  • Comment. The progression of previous all-time hottest years in the current NOAA and NASA time series are 1998, 2005, 2010. The new average is variously 0.02 C (NASA), 0.04 C (NOAA), 0.05 C (JMA), 0.01 C (Berkeley Earth) warmer than the previous warmest year depending on your choice of reporting agency (with two more research groups yet to report 2014). All of the groups have a reported uncertainty of at least +/- 0.05 C (95% confidence), meaning there will always be a bit of ambiguity about whether this is a true record. (That's true of most record years, as the slow evolution of the climate only very rarely sets a new record by more than our uncertainty in such measurements.) So far, there has been no update at either suggested target article. Dragons flight (talk) 22:04, 17 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    We could wait for the others to report before judging/analysing, or will it be old news by then? Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 22:24, 17 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    The January to November time series for the other two groups suggests that each of these may have 2014 end up being slightly cooler than their previous warmest year (by a few hundredths of a degree C). If they keep to previous patterns, HadCRU will probably release their values middle to end of next week. I can't guess when the CW group will be ready. Dragons flight (talk) 23:12, 17 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    I don't know what those names are, might it be better to post now or never? Also, here is the reason why their 11-month year is colder. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 23:39, 17 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    The HadCRU collaboration involves the United Kingdom's leading climate research group (sort of UK's NOAA, at least when it comes to climate). CW refers to smaller independent collaboration. Also, the possibility that they may have a colder year has nothing to do with ENSO. The 11-month average for HadCRU is colder than the corresponding 11-month average of the other groups, including Berkeley, making a miss somewhat likely. CW on the other hand previously estimated a relatively warmer 2010, making it unlikely that they will set a new record even if they finish 2014 at the same temperature as the other groups. But then we are talking about tiny differences of a few hundredths of a degree C, which shouldn't really be considered significant to begin with. Dragons flight (talk) 00:16, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    So, what are those numbers if all the non-satellite data is removed? Satellites are the only temperature measuring tool that samples everywhere so since we're comparing this to a year in the satellite record this would improve the authoritativeness I think. Maybe change the blurb to "over an XX% chance of being the warmest" if need be? Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 06:36, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    Of the ones mentioned above, only NASA and CW use satellite data, and then only over regions poorly sampled by other methods. The others groups rely strictly on ground (or sea) level observations. Of the two major satellite groups, UAH and RSS, they are placing 2014 as either the 3rd or 6th warmest year respectively. Neither major satellite group thinks 2014 was the hottest year. The satellite-to-land comparison comes with some big caveats though. Satellite accuracy tends to degrade and drift with satellite age, which requires one to estimate and apply a large bias correction. In addition, satellites don't really measure the surface. The current technology measures something analogous to the average temperature of the lowest 5 to 10 km of the atmosphere. Some of the difference between satellite estimates and surface observations is presumably due to actual differences between surface temperature patterns and temperature patterns at a few km of altitude in atmosphere. Despite the coverage issues, I would tend to regard surface observations as much more authoritative for long-term changes in surface temperature patterns than the satellite-only temperature estimates. Dragons flight (talk) 07:04, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    Out of curiosity after which report would you support posting this if the 2 sigma value happened to be 0.01 Celsius over for all four? Would you wait many days for the other two and how would you word it if you didn't? I know little about statistics. Is there a way to rigorously say that this is the most probable value with all the information we have, this is it's meta-standard deviation that follows from basic (undergraduate) math and the studies' SDs? Then you can make a probability of this beating 2010. Though maybe only if you accept the studies as equally good. If you have to weigh them or even discard any in an attempt to get the most accurate value that would seem to introduce non-rigorous human hunches. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 21:04, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    P.S. I changed the section header to something more clear. The previous title was "The latest advancement in the technology of planetary HVAC". Dragons flight (talk) 22:07, 17 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    Yes, that was a slight at the "warmer is good" way to deny. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 22:17, 17 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    I think I'd have put your header if I'd thought of it. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 22:27, 17 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Neutral Not that I'm denying global warming exists, but the average temperature for a single year does not necessary prove anything since there are random fluctuations that will affect that; as the global warming reports point out, it is the trend over many years that's the key to prove of global warming. --MASEM (t) 22:11, 17 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support A notable record that is getting plenty of media coverage. Nobody is suggesting that this - as opposed to all the scientific studies and reports - is what proves global warming, but still having the warmest year ever recorded is something that is likely to be of interest to readers. Neljack (talk) 22:40, 17 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose The earth has been far hotter in the past — see Geologic temperature record for details. Presenting the supposed record with proper context and qualification seems too complex to do in a simple headline. Andrew D. (talk) 23:04, 17 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Actually, I think that could be done quite simply by replacing "on record" (it is true that some temperature data going back millennia is technically "on record") with "since records began". Formerip (talk) 23:15, 17 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
And the last time the climate was significantly warmer horses were smaller and there were all these saber-tooth and giant animals. If your species survived the end of the Ice Age then this: Holocene is normal. Now there's even a talk of the present geological epoch ending by us causing the Anthropocene. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 23:30, 17 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • The story is based on a single press-release from NASA. Their headline is "NASA, NOAA Find 2014 Warmest Year in Modern Record". What they seem to mean by "modern record" is "since 1880" and that doesn't seem to be a big deal in either historical or geological terms. The claim is based on two different datasets maintained by two different organisations - GISS and NOAA - but we don't seem to have articles about those particular datasets. Pointing readers to very general articles such as anthropogenic climate change or instrumental temperature record isn't good enough because they are full of detail about other temperature records such as HadCRUT and Central England temperature and the reader will then have difficulty figuring out what has actually happened. Andrew D. (talk) 09:28, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • I'm sorry I somehow forgot about your ping but of course they didn't know. We have uninterrupted sunspot records going back centuries (Galileo was the first European to know sunspots existed around 1609). See the Maunder Minimum, very well established, actually read Little Ice Age, records of volcanos erupting, all very reasonable. It is obvious that if dim sunlight (Maunder Minimum) and below average temperatures (by pre-CO2 historical standards (3000 BC-1800s)) happened then strong sunlight (a hyperactive Sun) has to happen sometime, too. Hence, the Medieval Warm Period is totally reasonable to happen without extra carbon dioxide. But did you know that if we outlawed fire right now the temperature rise would still eventually double? Now *that* makes the Medieval Warm Period look like an extremely gently rolling and low hill:
     
    This chart was made ten years before. We are well off the scale by now (almost 0.7 °C). Does it look like you want to be several chart heights off the scale? The rise is too steep to show on this graph and that's half as steep as it should be because of how long it takes for a planet to warm up. Does that look like random variation to you?
    There's no way we're getting out of this with anything less than 200 something percent of today's temperature rise, much less if we do nothing for another half-century or two. 5°C in 85 years is possible if we do that, as hot as a prehistoric Ice Age is cold. Pleaaase just read that comic, it's only one frame. Also this is relevant to you: [14] Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 23:13, 21 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, the very small data set alludes to "on record", doesn't it? One is reminded of all the hype about the Ozone Hole (!) which was reported as if it were some dire new development. The secret being of course, that the actual development was the launch of a satellite capable of detecting the Ozone Hole (!) which, as far as we know, may have existed for millions of years before we decided to look at it. Or, to give a simpler analogy, why do babies giggle endlessly at the game of peekaboo? If we had a set methodology, with the same measurements by the same instruments, worldwide, without reliance on models and assumptions, then this would be something to write home about. μηδείς (talk) 18:05, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
No offense but for the love of crap, you sound brainwashed. The ozone hole increased until the 2000s and then decreased, just in line with what would happen if we stopped using century residence time CFCs in the 80s and early 90s. Also there was at least one ground based (spectroscopic?) ozone measurement from 1959 or so. It was fairly mild then and adequate to block ultraviolet so no one noticed. I think there may have been a lower resolution 1970s satellite and it took the decline by the mid-80s to get them worried. Please read the article before making up your mind about things like this, you sound like a creationist in that comment, really. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 02:23, 19 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • @Sagittarian Milky Way: Can we stick to discussing the blurb, and keep from using words like "brainwashed"? But that's nothing next to the statement "you sound like a creationist in that comment, really.", which IMO is a personal attack, making creationists out to be idiots (I'm a Christian, not that it matters here), and I don't know why our religions have anything to do with this, Medeis could be an atheist, Christian, or whatever, it doesn't have a thing to do with this blurbs suitability for ITN. I knew nothing good could come out of this nom. --AmaryllisGardener talk 03:57, 19 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • I only made that comment because I don't think s/he believes creationists and that s/he would see similar arguing style to his denialism/ultrasceptiscism from the outside and might even be led to realize that they're pretty similar. Medeis knows a lot about biology, has shown a good ability to think about it on WP:Reference Desk/Science and doesn't even believe in free will (as opposed to the brain basically being like a machine where billiard balls come in from the world through your senses and billiard balls go out to tap switches that run your body, is how I'd describe determinism to a non-science person) even though a quantum mind is so much more appealing and not scientifically ruled out so Medeis might not even be religious much less creationist. Anyway if Genesis 1-3 happened the Fall of Man gave us this crappy timeline with all the death and sin and corrupted Bibles cause that thing is terrible. All the genocide and marrying your rapist and slavery. The Big Bang happened in this timeline and there is overwhelming evidence for it so that is why people that like science generally think creationism is stupid. If they didn't have the arguing style that they do but instead vehemently believed that the Fall of Man gave us this terrible timeline with the unfulfilling evolution and mortality and corrupted Bibles and so that it is not infallible anymore then they wouldn't object so much. That makes much more sense but they say that it really happened in this universe. I used to believe the Bible and the just the NT and then just the Gospels until without thinking about them much until in 2012 I thought this used to be blasphemous but there's no way this man is God, He was a very good man for His time but He's just not holy enough. I can tell that this Man only seemed like God in a much more horrible world than now but He is not the ultimate man. So I'm not an atheist or anything. There is a God, but bi Scripture. Anyway I'm wondering how a smart user could believe so much about science except when it comes to "doubling the carbon dioxide (it could happen) is bad" and "CFCs are bad". And how Medeis got to be so conservative when s/he's from the East Coast and LGBTQ. I think I'm more wondering what's the reason s/he doesn't believe global warming. Have you ever put a thermometer in a vial of carbon dioxide? And left it in the sun? By what magic is this not going to happen in the atmosphere? Some homeostasis system that'll work this time but can't stop all the ice ages and the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum and Cretaceous hothouse and the 20 feet higher sea level 100,000 years ago and no one that's a climate scientist thinks will happen? Medeis is scientific, I just don't get it. I'll try to be more civil. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 05:30, 19 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • And I like Genesis 1-3, but this universe obeys physical laws and that did not happen in it. You kind of have to be a science person to "get" the creationist "putdown". You know some first-worlders still believe the world is flat, now that is dumb. "Flat-Earther" had a similar meaning several hundred years ago. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 06:54, 19 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Your ranting is hardly relevant, point of this blurb is that last year was found to be warmest year on modern record, just in case you missed that. That is interesting enough record to post this, your personal dislike for it doesn't make it any less important nor does it make it untrue. SeraV (talk) 18:42, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I repeat, this NASA press release is about our record keeping, not about reality, in just the same way peekaboo is about a baby not realizing that you don't cease to exist when it can't see you. My pointing out that this "in 135 years" statistic isn't even objective, since it's based on models and assumptions, not consistent worldwide readings by calibrated devices, is hardly ranting. And I have no idea what you mean by my "personal dislike" or where it's evinced. μηδείς (talk) 20:08, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
And I repeat hottest year in 135 years in interesting enough in itself. And your nonsense is really starting to irk me. I think it quite clear from your irrevelant comparisons (peekaboo, really?) and general annoyance that you have your own agenda here. SeraV (talk) 21:19, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
@SeraV: "And your nonsense is really starting to irk me. I think it quite clear from your irrevelant comparisons (peekaboo, really?) and general annoyance that you have your own agenda here." I don't think that was called for. I think Medeis is right, it's about the record keeping, not about reality, and his peekaboo example was silly, but it explains it well. --AmaryllisGardener talk 22:20, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Of course you do, and I think he is wrong. Reality is that as long as we have been keeping records last year was hottest year "on record". Not many is contesting that here, and that is what the blurb is about. SeraV (talk) 22:39, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Actually it's only down to every 4 years now but yes, it's very frequent. No intelligent unbiased person who's studied this (in a "fan of sports"-like way not a get a PhD in it way) would think a year before true global measuring (and after 1879) has a realistic chance of beating 2014. They might even say that's almost impossible and I wouldn't argue with them. They would know how cold the 19th century and Little Ice Age was and say that the last warm period even close to the post-70s one is the Medieval Warm Period and that that could've been caused by an active Sun (given that we've had a Maunder Minimum and there were huge Medieval sunspots). Trying to obfuscate when this is obvious is not useful. There's no need to play Devil's advocate or show how sceptical and scientific you are on the tiny chance that all the climatologists are wrong. So if Medeis isn't doing this he must want global warming to not be real God knows why despite the 40% extra carbon dioxide and being a biology PhD (I think, or at least he likes science and has a high knowledge of it). Since Venus has a ton of CO² and is 850 degrees hotter than reflectivity predicts, and 400 degrees over a planet with 4 times the sunlight, it's up to the deniers to tell us why it's okay to dump 50 or 100% extra carbon into everyone's air. That's what the deniers want right? Use the fossil fuel reserves till 2100. It's not on the climatologists if they want to pollute everyone's property it's on the deniers to say by what mechanism the Earth will not warm when the greenhouse effect increases. This is paradoxical so it must be a homeostatic mechanism that a legion of climate scientists somehow haven't thought of or disproved. If there was some grand conspiracy more would speak out, scientists don't like falsehood. That is why I said these myths are started by disagreeable (at least) to psychopathic people because it is well known that the fossil fuel industry intentionally manufactures controversy and doubt to keep the con on for as long as possible just like the cigarette industry did. This is exactly what happened before they were found out and forced to pay tens of billions of dollars for it. If anyone went to jail (I don't know) they didn't fear it at the time because psychopaths have almost no fear, high pain tolerance and it would be impossible to punish them (short of literal 16 hour a day torture until death by old age, put a chip in their brain that would do that and increase it if the AI detects suffering and they would stop breaking laws). Though the simpler ones like "the sun is brighter" and "it's volcanos" are probably also started many times independently by people with a knee-jerk reaction to anything that sounds environmentalist. So they don't bother to look up that volcanos actually lower temperatures and the last solar cycle was weak. (2010 was the hottest on record with sunspot average that didn't breach 30, lol. It was near a very weak minimum.) It shouldn't be up to the most reckless and/or selfish and/or cold (both meanings, lol) to tell everyone how much carbon we can have. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 23:21, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
How about those people's property rights? Those people that don't want more acid rain and water and hotter summers and stronger lake effect snow and less rain on their land? There is no such thing as libertarianism, because the atmosphere is not big enough. You're free to burn as much carbon as you want as long as you send it into space or something, though. And don't cause a space junk chain reaction! And seal it so it doesn't come back! And put it thousands of kilometers high so that it doesn't re-enter! Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 23:32, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support. I've delayed voting a bit to see what the oppose votes were like. But, basically, we have "if it can't be proven that it's the hottest year since the Big Bang, then I'm not interested" and "even though an entire academic field thinks historical weather data is meaningful, it isn't". I suppose there is the question of when to post, given that there will be other studies published in the near future, but I can't see how anything other than the first one to call it makes sense - after that, it's old news revisited. I get that some people have eccentric views on climate change and some other people get irritated by that, but I don't see how any of that is very relevant here. The flow chart for whether this should be posted basically consists of "As a news topic, is the weather something that matters to everyday life and interests people?" and "Within the topic of weather, is temperature at all important?". Formerip (talk) 00:45, 19 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • NASA climate scientists: We said 2014 was the warmest year on record... but we're only 38% sure we were right . μηδείς (talk) 01:32, 19 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    • That's just a fancy way of saying this is somewhat over 50% chance of being over 2010 which itself is within the margin of error of 2005. It is still the best candidate for hottest year since 1880. And the recordholder of record, like the winner of the 2003 championship in college football. Should we have not posted that? Did you inherit a ton of Exxon stock in 2009 or something? That's got to make many people convince themselves that 42%+ more CO2 will find a way to not raise the temperature. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 03:16, 19 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    • Even a non-science person who knows nothing about this subject and has common sense could figure this out: more than two error bands overlapped. This is kind of like creationists. Ooh, look at this! Confirmation! Thinking stopped! I don't have to be sceptical anymore! Anti-denialists: Hey, what, you've got evidence, there must be something wrong, I will not stop until I find out something wrong with it, consequential or not. The Earth is not warming/old. (defensiveness, knee-jerking ease of resolving that, being chicken to have a genuine & complete look at the evidence to see which side is really right)
    • And you're not even thinking you're defending the Word of God (in which case this would be good argumentation — if the Bible really was infalliable). What I'm really wondering is why you don't think global warming is real. Are you afraid of paying carbon taxes? It is a fairly small price to get off fossil fuels, less than the cost of not doing so. And you've already experienced extra economic gains from not switching earlier. It will only get costlier to switch the longer we wait to start due to having to do it faster, and the damage that's unavoidable will balloon. Also, I agree that it may have been rational to not start to switch until the end of the manufacturing-based economy, but to vigorously develop renewable energy after that. Then they would be mature technologies by now. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 03:48, 19 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • SMW, I find your wall of text above almost impossible to parse, I see something about belief in God, and your odd attempt to make this about me personally. It's about the facts on one level and on a report by a single US gorvernmt agency on another, and has nothing to do with my preference for warm, dry summers and mild, wet winters.
I assume you are familiar with the three sigma rule for confidence in the physical sciences? In most cases, a likelihood within 3 standard deviation--a likelihood of 99.7% is taken as certainty. In the humanities, that's lowered to a two-standard deviation, 95% likelihood for claims of significance. Even at one standard deviation you're still looking at a 68% likelihood.
In this press release, the certainty is 38%, not above 50%, not 68%, not the humanities' level of 95%, and not hard science's 99.7 percent standard. And the predicted increase over 2010 (The last warmest year) is 0.02•C, while the margin of error is a whopping 0.1•C, five times that amount. From the above linked source:

In a press release on Friday, Nasa’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) claimed its analysis of world temperatures showed ‘2014 was the warmest year on record’.
The claim made headlines around the world, but yesterday it emerged that GISS’s analysis – based on readings from more than 3,000 measuring stations worldwide – is subject to a margin of error. Nasa admits this means it is far from certain that 2014 set a record at all.
Yet the Nasa press release failed to mention this, as well as the fact that the alleged ‘record’ amounted to an increase over 2010, the previous ‘warmest year’, of just two-hundredths of a degree – or 0.02C. The margin of error is said by scientists to be approximately 0.1C – several times as much.
As a result, GISS’s director Gavin Schmidt has now admitted Nasa thinks the likelihood that 2014 was the warmest year since 1880 is just 38 per cent.

Given all this, we are left with an accurate blurb saying something like "NASA researcher's press release suggests 2014 is 38% likely to by one fiftieth of a degree warmer than 2010, with a tenth of a percent margin of error, 5 times greater than the number being "measured". μηδείς (talk) 17:19, 19 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I'll get to the blurb but your ultrascepticism of anthropogenic ozone holes seems to be a mental block against any evidence for it. Don't you think some chemist would speak out in 3 decades if full-strength short-wave UV didn't break down CFCs like it does to any other molecule, or if chlorine doesn't catalyze breakup of ozone which could be tested in any container, or if everyone made the same 4-function calculator errors calculating the quantity required? Or that they measured thick Antarctic ozone by balloon or spectroscope or something around International Geophysical Year (1957-58)? Creationists think they're defending the Word of God. What's your excuse? Not skimming the article before making up your mind on something that affects your worldview? I'm trying to show how that is kind of like creationists. They "know" that they're right, they don't need to test it. What's this? Something inconsequential like the name of the Holocene optimum or obsession with specific winter(s) and days that don't invalidate the core evidence? — Critical thinking stopped! I knew I was right! <post link>. Surprising for someone like that's so scientific (no irony intended). The records are just symbolic milestones, they don't have to be held up to the same standards as more important evidence. We could just write "NASA announces that the most likely value for 2014's average temperature beats the next highest on record by 0.04 °F (0.02 °C).". Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 18:17, 19 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
About the Holocene optimum name fascination/weather obsession, the level of evidence on warming denial sites like Watts Up With That is often just that. It means they have nothing better to post. The ones that sound scientific (non-peer reviewed of course) cannot possibly be made honestly, they know what they're doing, kind of like those false mathematical proofs of 1+1=1 or something like that. People would study how to sound sciency real hard for enough money, for one possible mechanism (of their existence). Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 18:29, 19 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, there are a lot of possible weather records, and you can make even more news by interviewing bookmakers, it's true. But the hottest year ever recorded globally isn't really just a random record from the pack. Formerip (talk) 01:11, 20 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
 
Does this *look* like we haven't been recording long enough? (the dip is from sun-blocking air pollution)
And the people who say "It's cold! Global warming's fake!" are like a Vegas crap shooter that says "Every gambler in the city is ahead since they were born! The house edge isn't real!" every time he wins his throw(s). See global weirding for why global warming makes extreme hot weather *and* extreme cold. (Though at least a bit more of the former). Sagittarian Milky Way (talk)
I think this should be posted now, with 6 supports and 3 opposes, consensus is there. Or if not then this discussion should be closed, since it has degenerated into a horrible ranting on all sides. SeraV (talk) 22:58, 20 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Wait, I thought you didn't have to say you Support to support when you nominated? Shouldn't I be the 7th support? Also I remember that at least one oppose is something like "This is not the hottest year ever", which is ludicrous since the world was molten lava 4.5 billion years ago. That would certainly be notable but is that the bar? Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 23:59, 20 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support - per Nelljack and other supports. Global significance, obviously, and widely in the news. Jusdafax 08:57, 21 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Not Ready until there's an accurate blurb, something like, with a margin of error five times the size of the estimated .02C estimated rise over 2010,ref the last record holder, a NASA scientist estimates there's a 38% chanceref 2014 was the warmest year since 1880. Reporting this in absolute terms, with words like "hottest", is hardly neutral and informative. μηδείς (talk) 17:21, 21 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Nasa says last year was hottest on record still, daily mail says 38% change, why exactly would we believe daily mail over Nasa? Seriously stop messing around with this nomination, you are obliviously not neutral about this. SeraV (talk) 17:54, 21 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
      • Accurate blurb available. Also, most readers can divide 0.1 by 0.02, pointing that it is kind of POV as it doesn't cast doubt on even the less rigorous evidence for CO2 causes global warming, like that freaking chart. The Daily Mail, on the other hand, is tabloid rubbish. Also you made a 0.02C sandwich out of estimated bread, did you notice that? Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 18:09, 21 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
And it should be like 0.02 °C as that is the proper way to write Celsius. Since the real previous warmer year was very likely either Medieval, tens of centuries ago, or roughly 1,000 centuries ago pointing out that the 1880 is because of insufficient data is important. Thus altblurb III. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 18:28, 21 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

I updated Instrumental temperature record. Whether more prose is needed, I don't know. There's not much to say without going into more detail on one single year than that section gives. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 22:06, 21 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

 

2015 Malawi flood

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Article: 2015 Malawi flood (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: Floods in Malawi kill at least 176 people. (Post)
News source(s): ABC News, BBC News
Credits:

Nominator's comments: Very large number of deaths. Confusingly, there were stories about floods in Malawi a few days ago that gave the death toll as about 48, presumably those are the same floods that are the subject of this article. [15] --Everymorning talk 22:24, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

[Closed] SCOTUS to hear same sex marriage cases

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The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.


Article: Same-sex marriage in the United States (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ The Supreme Court of the United States accepts to hear arguments on four cases relating to same-sex marriages. (Post)
News source(s): USA Today, CNN, NYTimes, BBC
Credits:

Article updated
Nominator's comments: I know normal ITN practice is to report on the result of a case, but SCOTUS and same sex marriage has been the elephant in the room for US politics for years, and now that they've actually gone to accept the case(s) that will decide the legality of the marriages across the entire US, is big news, and as the CNN linked article above reports, the fact they will hear it could affect the way the 2016 presidential campaign is run. (The ruling is not expected until June). It should be noted that SCOTUS has had some previous cases but limited to federal gov't recognition and to a specific state law. --MASEM (t) 21:24, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

[Posted] Beagle 2 found on Mars

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Article: Beagle 2 (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ Lost British probe Beagle 2 has been found landed intact on the Mars surface. (Post)
News source(s): BBC News
Credits:

Nominator's comments: It has been found that the landing of Beagle 2 was successful, although the probe did not deploy properly afterwards. It is a major achievement in the history of British and European astronautics. Beagle landed just 5km from the centre of its targeted touchdown zone. Hektor (talk) 16:11, 16 January 2015 (UTC)--[reply]

  • Support with article updates (it's got some, could use a bit of touchup - including what tense to use to describe the probe since it still exists obviously...) --MASEM (t) 16:17, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose seems a little misleading to say "it's been found", as far as I could tell some half a dozen pixels in some "high resolution" images depicted what they believe to be Beagle 2. I'm not suggesting that the story is fake, but I'm just questioning the real significance of finding the probe which isn't doing much. It'd be the same (for me) if something took a picture of the footprints on the Moon (should they still be there), in other words, what's the actual story? The Rambling Man (talk) 18:59, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Weak support. It was kind of a unique mission and a famous failure, and it's interesting that they have found it, so I wouldn't really object to this going up. "Found" isn't really misleading at all. There doesn't seem to be any doubt that the thing that's been located is the robot. If one moment you don't know where something is and the next moment you do, that means you have found it. Formerip (talk) 20:39, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Weak support. What's the big deal? A dog is not just for Christmas, you know. Martinevans123 (talk) 20:45, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose. This story fails the ITN criterion that it have lasting impact (or should I say import?). The discovery does not explain the failure, and is but a historical footnote. Abductive (reasoning) 21:21, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Not that it invalidates your vote, but it seems that the discovery does explain the failure, because they've been able to identify that the robot landed safely but its solar panels didn't deploy properly. Formerip (talk) 21:37, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Really? WHY didn't the solar panels deploy properly? Abductive (reasoning) 00:17, 17 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Mechanical failure. I suppose now you're going to ask me why there was a mechanical failure, so let's cut to the chase and admit that there is never such a thing as a complete explanation. Formerip (talk) 00:21, 17 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

January 15

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Arts and culture

Business and economy

Disasters and accidents

Health

Law and crime

[Closed] RD: Kim Fowley

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The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.


Article: Kim Fowley (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): CNN, Billboard, Los Angeles Times
Credits:

Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNRD.
Nominator's comments: Known for helping form well-known punk rock band the Runaways. Described in the CNN link above as "legendary". --Everymorning talk 14:55, 17 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

[Closed] 2015 Belgian police raids

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The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.


Article: 2015 anti-terrorism operations in Belgium (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: Multiple anti-terrorist police raids are in progress across Belgium. Two people are reported dead. (Post)
Alternative blurb: ​ Two people are reportedly killed during Belgium's crackdowns on terrorism.
News source(s): BBCCBC NewsTelegraphDaily MirrorLe Soir
Credits:
 --Impsswoon (talk) 19:47, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I'd explain it to you, but it'll take me some time to dumb it down. Lugnuts Dick Laurent is dead 12:20, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Instead of using personal attacks against me why not just engage in a constructive discussion about the merits of this item? 331dot (talk) 12:30, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
There, there. Lugnuts Dick Laurent is dead 12:58, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

[Posted] Swiss Franc

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Article: Swiss Franc (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ The Swiss Franc (coin pictured) jumps in value by 30% in less than an hour, after the Swiss National Bank ends its cap against the Euro (Post)
Alternative blurb: ​ After the Swiss National Bank ends its cap against the Euro, the Swiss Franc (coin pictured) gains more than 15% against it.
News source(s): BBC Guardian
Credits:

Article updated

Nominator's comments: Major financial news. This announcement was not expected and has lead to a huge spike in the value of the Swiss Franc. The Guardian source above describes the results as 'Currency and stock markets were thrown into turmoil'. --Modest Genius talk 14:57, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Anybody outside Switzerland who owes a debt in Swiss Francs is having a very, very bad day, as are those in Switzerland who rely on tourists for business. Jehochman Talk 15:05, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I see what you did there. In all seriousness, the currently had been held artificially low for three years (it should have been rising in relation to the steadily devaluing euro), so the rise was instantaneous relative to all other currencies. Thus, the fact that the currency rose is not surprising. Additionally, that the Swiss government did this with no warning is also not surprising, given that with advanced warning the government would lose (even more) billions from speculators. Mamyles (talk) 17:09, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for the explanation. But won't the markets just return everything to an even keel quite quickly? Or does this signal that something has fundamentally and structurally changed in the economy of Switzerland or Europe or beyond? Martinevans123 (talk) 20:18, 15 January 2015 (UTC) p.s. IBT says the peak was "nearly 40% against the euro".[reply]
Trading at the end of the day shows the value of the Euro in Swiss Francs dropped by about 17% at the end of trading. If you read the first source for the target article it explains that Switzerland has also dropped its interest rate from negative .25% to negative .75%, meaning depositors will nominally lose money (pay interest) but in a more stable and highly valuable account. Basically the Swiss National Bank had been propping up the Euro. This means debt owed to Switzerland will become more onerous, Swiss accounts just jumped up 17% in value compared to the Euro (30% was a high during the day, not the ending value), and Swiss exports will become more expensive (this just means the exporters will drop their prices or loose market share) and it is a sign that the Euro will probably begin inflationary quantitative easing to stimulate the economy, with the risk of creating or exacerbating a bubble. Basically, it means Switzerland has recognized reality, and the EU will have to do so next. μηδείς (talk) 20:35, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I'm sure that's all true. But The Economist is just saying "The effect of such a big currency move may be significant..." But that's as far as it goes. No real prediction of dire economic consequences. As with any change in currency valuation, there will be winners and losers. Martinevans123 (talk) 20:48, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Your questions are a bit tangential, but could be relevant to determine the significance. Basically, this is the result of the market keeping "an even keel." The Swiss franc has been getting weaker in step with the euro not because demand for it dropped, but because the Swiss monetary authorities wanted it to stay at the same exchange ratio with the euro (1.2 francs per euro) even as the euro fell in value. As soon as the monetary authorities stopped creating an artificial demand inside Switzerland for euros, the franc went back to roughly the value that it would have been had that artificial devaluation not taken place. The macroeconomic significance of this is simply that the euro has been devaluing significantly faster than the franc. (interestingly, similar devaluations are still occurring with Chinese RMB in relation to USD) Mamyles (talk) 21:37, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Um, my questions, I assume. Thanks for yet another explanation. And again I'm sure it's all perfectly sound. But it's not making it sound any more, kind of, "significant". Yes, it's in the news, all over the place, but it sounds more like a small economic landslide than a notable earthquake? Martinevans123 (talk) 21:52, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support not just a fluctuation in one 'small' country, but a bellwether for the Euro and the world economy. μηδείς (talk) 18:07, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support both on the short-term valuation issues, but also further towards normalization of EU's economy. --MASEM (t) 18:24, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support Of definite significance as a litmus of the EU economy, and far beyond. Challenger l (talk) 20:11, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support. Notable economic news being widely covered. 331dot (talk) 20:41, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose sensationalist blurb that the exchange rate jumped is without dispute, but unless I read the graphs incorrectly, it actually ended trading considerably less than the 30% claimed in the blurb. In fact, any blurb which tries to jump on a trend of a market trade which just so happens to make drastic changes without reporting that the trend is temporary and therefore not actually that relevant needs work. The real story is that the cap has been removed, that'll have a much longer and wider reaching impact than a day of opportunist trading which created the blip. Alternatively, the blurb should be amended to say that the value ended less than 16% up, unless of course we're just aiming for tabloidism and reporting the sensation and not the whole picture. The Rambling Man (talk) 21:10, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    Strongly agree. Martinevans123 (talk) 21:28, 15 January 2015 (UTC) [reply]
    I agree that the valuation change should probably not be stated in an exact number. In regard to your assertion of this as a 'trend,' I will note that, as with any instantaneous change in a dampened environment, some oscillation will occur. That does not mean the change is temporary, and given that this is the result of lifting of artificial devaluation, all evidence points to this not being temporary. Mamyles (talk) 21:41, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    Previous performance is no guide to the future. Unless you have a crystal ball, I suggest you stop trying to predict the future. The Rambling Man (talk) 21:45, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support Significant and sudden financial turmoil which is getting plenty of coverage. But TRM makes a fair point about the blurb, in that it is misleading to refer to a 30% increase in value without noting the subsequent decline to a more modest level of appreciation. Neljack (talk) 23:03, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Marked Ready and posted close of day trading value as an alt blurb, since the 30% figure was a spike upon announcement. It's the cap being raised that matters. μηδείς (talk) 23:34, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    Just those two sentences, with the single source for "turmoil", are enough of an article update? Martinevans123 (talk) 23:38, 15 January 2015 (UTC) ::There were three sentences, with three separate new sources. Someone may have changed that, but a new prose paragraph with three sources is considered cromulent. If we want to wait a few hours I can fudge up something as filler--there's the Swatch price drop. μηδείς (talk) 00:41, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

In what sense is this ready? The update is only three sentences long. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 00:50, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Explain which this is a POV term. It might be imprecise, but it can hardly be said that there has been no significant increase in the value of the Swiss franc recently. Formerip (talk) 21:58, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Okay, let's go back to basic English. "Significant" is entirely dependent on context. Therefore, to claim something as "significant" depends on the point of view of the person claiming it to be "significant". Hell, if we have to go back to giving dictionary definitions of phrases at ITN, we might as well close it down entirely. The Rambling Man (talk) 22:07, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
But, in this case, what's the point of view from which "significant" would not reasonably apply? Unless there is one, there's no POV problem. Formerip (talk) 22:12, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
But in any case, we're an encyclopedia, significant could be 1%, 10%, 100%, depending on the context. Please understand that... The Rambling Man (talk) 22:17, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I understand, but that's nothing to do with NPOV, and I don't really understand why it's a problem, particularly in a case like this where attaching a figure might cause an actual NPOV issue. Formerip (talk) 22:21, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Nah, it's the other way round. If we attached a figure then it would be 100% accurate, NPOV and not sensationalist. Quite why you think attaching an objective figure to a blurb would suddenly "cause an actual NPOV issue" is bizarre. Right now it's just awful. The Rambling Man (talk) 22:26, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Because we would need to choose between various time-points and comparators. 15%, 22% or 30% might all be arguable, but they're also all likely to be controversial and probably not neutral. "Significantly" has the advantage of being undeniable and fair. If I told you that next door's dog was barking loudly, would you object that I'm being biased because I haven't given you a figure in decibels? Formerip (talk) 22:34, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
If you told me you'd be nominating something as nebulous as the volume of your neighbours' dog, I'd object. As I have here. The answer to your question is that the dog is barking loudly, but the answer to this question is nothing like that. We can precisely quantify the issue at hand. Significant is anything to anyone and, as such, is utterly useless in an encyclopedia without provided context. The Rambling Man (talk) 22:41, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
It's not useless, because it doesn't tell us nothing. It tells us enough for our purposes, which are just to communicate that something, well, significant has happened. I do look forward, though, to you demanding rainfall figures be inserted into blurbs about "severe" flooding and precise data from medical reports every time the "seriously injured" are mentioned. Formerip (talk) 23:11, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Seems a bit of a "Swiss miss" to me. Martinevans123 (talk) 22:03, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Hey now! ("Petitsuix Zurix" in the original and also in its English translation ...  :-) ---Sluzzelin talk 22:12, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Or even "Take some Swiss Miss while I pour". Martinevans123 (talk) 22:32, 16 January 2015 (UTC) [reply]

[Closed] Snooker's most centuries record

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The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.


Tone 20:13, 19 January 2015 (UTC) [reply]
Article: Century break (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ In snooker, Ronnie O'Sullivan overtakes Stephen Hendry as record-holder for most century breaks. (Post)
News source(s): EuroSport
Credits:
Nominator's comments: I think this is an interesting record which is difficult to achieve and thereby worth considering for inclusion. Hendry held the record with 775 centuries and given the fact that all active players are hundreeds of centuries behind this number, it's hard to believe that any other player would pass Ronnie O'Sullivan in near future. --Kiril Simeonovski (talk) 14:17, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I'm unsure about this. The amount of professional snooker played - both the number of matches and frames per match - has varied wildly over the last few decades. Players have thus had very different numbers of opportunities to make century breaks. Century break#Players with 100 century breaks notes a huge increase in the number of players reaching 100 centuries over the past ~decade. Is this a meaningful record? Modest Genius talk 15:13, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose - As a snooker fan in general, and an O'Sullivan fan in particular, I think this has no place anywhere near ITN. It's a nice thing to have as a player, but it has no real effect on anything. Fgf10 (talk) 21:23, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose. Other recent sports records have been rejected. I don't see why this one shouldn't be too. -- Calidum 21:25, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support Did you realise that, back in the day, the world championship would be decided not as "best of 33" but "best of 145" (e.g. see 1946 World Snooker Championship)? The opportunity to score centuries is probably the same or less than it has ever been. The major difference these days is that players play more tournaments, but they are much shorter in duration than those conducted historically. This story has been doing the rounds in my locality and some are saying it's the most important snooker record ever, and unlikely to be beaten for decades given the next active players (Neil Robertson and Ding Junhui) have 350 centuries compared to Ronnie's 776. And Calidum's explanation is baffling, without justification and should be immediately rejected as absurd. The Rambling Man (talk) 21:27, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    • Yes, how dare I think we should be consistent when it comes to these things. If we reject Player X breaking a career record in fly swatting, why post Player Q breaking a record in widget washing? -- Calidum 21:30, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
      • Excellent argument. Well played!! (Not to mention we have posted sports records regularly, perhaps just not those you like?) The Rambling Man (talk) 21:31, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
        • When's the last time we posted one? Last nomination I remember was this rejected one [16] that you also opposed. -- Calidum 21:37, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
          • Well we (ironically) posted a century of centuries if I recall correctly, but I really don't have the energy to find it, I'm sure you'll be capable enough to do it! And by the way, just because I opposed one particular sporting story, it doesn't mean there's some kind of logical sequitur that insists I oppose all sporting stories. That's in no way a valid argument, so better off stopping it now. The Rambling Man (talk) 21:40, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Question: In terms of importance within the sport, how does this compare to say # of World Championships won. If it truly is (close to) "the most important snooker record ever", can you provide a source that says so? --ThaddeusB (talk) 22:16, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose - Consistency is key. We have rejected individual records from other more popular sports.--WaltCip (talk) 03:37, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    And posted individual records from other less popular sports. The Rambling Man (talk) 11:27, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Uncertain one way or the other. Every single post needs to be adjudged of its own accords, without comparing to other things which may or may not have been posted in the past for any number of reasons. What we need to know, beyond it being merely a record, is the nature of the record within the sport. There are many records which sports have, and being unfamiliar with Snooker, I don't know whether or not to judge that this is THE RECORD that we should make a big deal about, or instead just a marginal record of little importance over other events in the sport. I can only draw connections to sports I'm familiar with; in Baseball for example, certain gold-standard records are considered newsworthy above the rest. I can't imagine we wouldn't post if someone broke Joe DiMaggio's hitting streak record, given how long it has stood, and how it is often held up as one of the most important records in the sport. But you'd have to know baseball to know the stature of that record; someone unfamiliar with the sport would have no way to judge the record without the historical context to know why that is the most important record in baseball. Since I have no snooker knowledge, what I am asking for is some evidence of that context, provided by those who know it, preferably to some outside press which indicates the importance of the records. Is this the most important record in the game, something people will speak of for decades, or is this merely just another minor statistic likely to have passed unnoticed except for snooker stats junkies (whatever the snooker equivalent of sabermetricians are? If someone could provide that context, it would go a long way towards convincing me (and likely others) of whether or not this is a newsworthy event... --Jayron32 20:49, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    Google News seems to note, by the number of reports, that it's significant. The Rambling Man (talk) 21:32, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Always a good idea to review how the discussion went when Manning broke the NFL touchdown record. –HTD 12:52, 17 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • We're lucky we can actually post the Super Bowl honestly. Of course, that doesn't mean someone won't try to block it from being posted for "not being adequately updated." -- Calidum 15:54, 17 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Gah. You don't know how hard was it for the Super Bowl to be posted prior ITN had ITNR. Whatever the argument against college football was also used lol (except maybe for the "college/amateur" argument). –HTD 17:58, 17 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
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[Closed] Unnoa dead bodies row

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The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.


Article: Unnao dead bodies row (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ More than one hundered unidentified dead bodies were found floating in the Ganges River in Unnao district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. (Post)
News source(s): DNA, TimesOfIndia BBC Daily Mail Sydney Morning Herald
Credits:
Nominator's comments: One of rare incidents.  MehrajMir (Talk) 07:11, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Support per nom, unusual event. - EugεnS¡m¡on(14) ® 10:13, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Comment The floating dead bodies is a common phenomenon in sacred River Ganges, but this time retrieiving of 100+ bodies from a single place and that too of children and unmarried is what makes it one of the rare incidents.  MehrajMir (Talk) 05:57, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support reports say this was bodies of children and unmarried girls--what we used to call virgins. I suspect this is a much bigger story that graves being emptied by a flood, and suggest that users like Jenda H., FormerIP, SeraV, AmaryllisGardener, etc., reconsider the sources and explain why only dependent children and unmarried women appeared in such a mass. Had the bodies not been found in the Ganges, but in one village, I wonder if the vote and rationales given would be different.
I am reminded of John Maxwell Hamilton's Hold the Press: "One Englishman is a story. Ten Frenchmen is a story. One hundred Germans is a story. One thousand Indians is a story. Nothing ever happens in Chile." μηδείς (talk) 22:59, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
In India, when a child or an unmarried woman dies, they are not allowed to be burned or buried, rather their bodies are thrown in rivers or sometimes seas..yes I know its dumb and they do not understand how this could lead to chances of diseases but alas, its India, religion trumps logic there...--Stemoc 23:51, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Well, the increase about 90% is certainly huge and unusual. But still I have no reason to see something sinister behind it. Also local crematorium for poor people is out of order for at least five years.[18] So it is not just religion staff. --Jenda H. (talk) 00:34, 17 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
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[Posted] First free climb of the Dawn Wall of El Capitan

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Articles: Kevin Jorgeson (talk · history · tag) and Tommy Caldwell (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: Kevin Jorgeson and Tommy Caldwell become the first climbers to successfully complete a 2-week, 3,000ft (914m) free climb of the Dawn Wall of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. (Post)
Alternative blurb: ​ In rock climbing, Kevin Jorgeson and Tommy Caldwell are the first to free climb El Capitan's Dawn Wall in Yosemite National Park.
News source(s): CNN, BBC NBC News
Credits:

Both articles updated

Nominator's comments: An interesting accomplishment, looks like one of the highest challenges for free climbers (foregoing any other equipment to help the climb safe for safety ropes). --MASEM (t) 00:37, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Every free climb is rated. This undisputedly the hardest free climb ever completed by anybody. On that basis it qualifies for ITN. Jehochman Talk 05:41, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Yeah, I'm not a climber, but all the sources suggest this is like the tallest and most difficult free climb out there, and consider that Caldwell has been scoping this climb (looking for where all the usable handholds would be, the various safe "stations" where they would "camp" (hanging from safe points) since at least 2008. --MASEM (t) 06:08, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
That's the accepted methodology for free climbing. No human could just scamper up 3,000 feet of nearly sheer granite in one go. Jehochman Talk 13:19, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Um, Caldwell climbed the 914m Salathé Wall (also on El Capatan) in one day. (I've modified the title of this section accordingly...) The Rambling Man (talk) 13:36, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, but that route is not nearly as difficult. The Dawn Wall was deemed to be "impossible". Jehochman Talk 14:01, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I wrote that sentence and am damn proud of it! But you are right, if we don't have more new content, that article should not be a target. Perhaps the articles about the two climbers should be the targets, but if there's not enough new material there, then maybe this isn't the big deal (media circus) that it appears to be. Jehochman Talk 13:59, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
What kinda sucks is i dont see a whole lot on the actual wall that they climbed. Without it its hard to tell how difficult the climb actually was. Only article is El Captain which has bunch of walls. -- Ashish-g55 16:13, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
This NatGeo has a good picture of the climb they took. The Dawn Wall, for all purposes, is nearly vertical, compared to the other sides of the mountain. Unfortunately, not a climber, I'm not able to easily find how the Dawn Wall is rated on a technical merit easily, but it's clear that this climb was significant. Note that I did create the article on Jorgeson so that the the ITC nom was about the two climbers, not so much the mountain. --MASEM (t) 16:46, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
This offers some perspective on the difficulty of Dawn Wall which is both exceptionally hard technically and exceptionally long, making it arguably the hardest free climb in the world. Dragons flight (talk) 21:17, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Comment - Caldwell's article does not appear to be updated. --ThaddeusB (talk) 18:58, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Question Am I correct in thinking this is neither the first climb of this mountain, or even the first climb of this route on this not particularly tall mountain? What is the news value here? Fgf10 (talk) 22:41, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    • It is the first complete free climb of this face of El Capitan. The route's been climbed with traditional climbing tools before, and other routes on different approachs of the mountain have been scaled by free climbing (including by Caldwell), but this specific face was previously considered an impossible route to be free climbed due to the near shear-ness of the face. The two had had two aborted attempts before, once due to an injury, another due to weather. --MASEM (t) 22:49, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose Summed up perfectly here. Meanwhile, in Belgium... Lugnuts Dick Laurent is dead 11:08, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Not a helpful discussion. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 16:03, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it.
  • An offensive and borderline anti-American piece in a tabloid site, clearly written by someone who doesn't understand why this is notable to the climbing world, is not a reason to oppose this. 331dot (talk) 11:14, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Further, if you want to see the Belgium story posted, I invite you to contribute to the discussion above. Posting one doesn't mean the other can't be posted. This isn't just the negativity and anti-terrorism box, it is the in the news box. 331dot (talk) 11:16, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Oh dear 331dot. The Daily Mash is a well known satirical website, and most certainly not a tabloid site. Think The Onion. Even if you didn't know, it would take at best thirty seconds to work out it's satire. How embarrassing. Pedro :  Chat  11:55, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I'm not embarrassed to not be aware of every satire website on the Internet. I'm sorry I'm not as smart as you are, apparently. Thanks a lot. Pedro. 331dot (talk) 11:58, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Oh dear. I understand you're feeling embarrassed but that's no reason to go on the attack. As I clearly said, it's not hard to do the research - you didn't. Whatever. Pedro :  Chat  12:18, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
@Pedro: What I said was not an attack, just a statement; you must be smarter than me and have more time to research every link that is posted. I assume that people post links in good faith absent a reason to research one, which I didn't see here. I say I'm not embarrassed, but you insist that I am. I guess you know me better than I do. 331dot (talk) 12:28, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Embarrassed is the word. Lugnuts Dick Laurent is dead 13:01, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
It's not a tabloid. Only offensive to those with no sense of humour. Like yourself. Lugnuts Dick Laurent is dead 11:19, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Calling these two men arseholes, idiots, and "obviously American" is not humorous, but it really doesn't matter. It's not a reason to oppose this widely covered, notable achievement. 331dot (talk) 11:27, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Hope you don't hurt yourself when you fall off your high horse. Lugnuts Dick Laurent is dead 11:42, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I don't think wanting actual arguments that are not deliberately offensive is being on a high horse. 331dot (talk) 11:51, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Cool your double negatives there, chief. Lugnuts Dick Laurent is dead 12:20, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
This discussion is not unmeaningless. Sca (talk) 13:50, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose because of consistency, those who support this don't seem to think that that snooker story is just as important, personally I don't see much difference. SeraV (talk) 16:46, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support. This is a widely covered story. I can't remember posting anything like this before. -- Calidum 17:08, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose I've read it up, I've thought about it a lot, and I can't really see that this is anything truly ground-breaking. There's a certain amount of synthesis and nostalgia going on when people try to claim that this was "impossible" to climb. It's hardly summiting Everest, and as I noted above, many people will not realise that it was done in a number of "pitches", during which the climbers fell numerous times, saved by their ropes. It's not quite as exciting as the claim appears to be. Don't believe the hype. The Rambling Man (talk) 19:20, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    • As a comment, if this does not go through ITN, with my recent creation of the Jorgeson's article, I can DYK this. --MASEM (t) 19:27, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
      • It's certainly much more appropriate for a DYK than a news item. For the love of God, two people spending two weeks climbing 1000 metres, falling periodically, being assisted all the way, how is that newsworthy? The Rambling Man (talk) 22:19, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
        • Arguably the same can be said for nearly all the sporting news we post, since a bunch of people running and jumping around for a few hours is arguably the same. Again, I'm not a climber, but the fact this was highlighted by many reports (And in the days up to their completion, there's a good deal of coverage on the anticipation) shows that there is definitely a short term interest in it to justify ITN inclusion. --MASEM (t) 16:48, 17 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

January 14

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Arts and culture

Business and economy

Disasters and accidents

International relations

Law and crime

Politics and elections

Sports

[Closed] 2015 Texas prison bus crash

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The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.


Article: 2015 Texas prison bus crash (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: A bus crash in West Texas kills ten people and injures five. (Post)
News source(s): Reuters, Irish Independent, Washington Post, New York Times
Credits:
Nominator's comments: Substantial number of deaths. --Everymorning talk 02:50, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
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[Posted] Giorgio Napolitano ends as president

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Article: Giorgio Napolitano (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: Giorgio Napolitano (pictured) resigns as President of Italy due to his age. (Post)
News source(s): Wallstreet Journal, Euronews, and others...
Credits:

The nominated event is listed on WP:ITN/R, so each occurrence is presumed to be important enough to post. Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article and update meet WP:ITNCRIT, not the significance.

 --Jenda H. (talk) 20:03, 14 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Who is his replacement? If possible the resignation and replacement should go together. Does this office have power or is it purely ceremonial, with the prime minister actually being the head of state? Jehochman Talk 21:27, 14 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
There is an acting replacement; I'm not sure how or when a permanent replacement is chosen; though thinking about it it makes sense to me that we could wait to post the choosing of the permanent replacement as the ITNR item. 331dot (talk) 21:31, 14 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
From reading President of Italy, the position does have power (appointments, pardons, etc), and it looks like the replacement will be chosen after a lengthy (multi-round) election. We will need to decide here whether this resignation is significant in its own right, or whether we should only post the election results of the successor. Mamyles (talk) 21:37, 14 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
It seems like we should wait and post "So and so becomes President of Italy following the resignation of Giorgio Napolitano." Jehochman Talk 01:10, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

[Closed] AirAsia fuselage found

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The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.


Article: Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501 (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ The fuselage of Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501, which crashed on December 28, 2014, is found in the Java Sea. (Post)
News source(s): Christian Science Monitor, CNN, USA Today
Credits:
Nominator's comments: This is controversial because we already posted this shortly after it went missing last month. However this seems like a significant development in the story. --Everymorning talk 16:34, 14 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • I am curious if we should include the initial finding (not confirmed) that the plane effective crashed into the water and broke up (as opposed to a mid-air breakup), even though this is only a working theory. Or if we should wait for a more official statement (prior to the full analysis) of what the failure was. --MASEM (t) 16:41, 14 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Weak support tempted by this as it's been in the news since the disappearance. The Rambling Man (talk) 20:24, 14 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose - While finding the fuselage is important in determining the causes of the crash, I don't think it is a significant enough event that we should post the story back in ITN. It is normal to find the fuselage after an air crash (it is far more noteworthy when they don't find it, as with Malaysia Airlines Flight 370), and in this case it was always expected that they would find it. Since it was expected, it doesn't seem like the sort of major new development that would warrant returning the story to ITN. Calathan (talk) 21:16, 14 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose - Thank you for the nomination. This is an expected development, and the article has already had its days on the home page. I don't think enough has changed to warrant posting the article a second time. Jehochman Talk 21:26, 14 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    I think the fact we're still waiting to find any evidence of MH-17 doesn't make this "an expected development" in the current climate. Moreover, it took a few weeks to do this. The Rambling Man (talk) 22:09, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
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January 13

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Armed conflicts and attacks

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Health

International relations

Law and crime
  • Egypt's highest court overturns and initiates a retrial on the only remaining conviction against former President Hosni Mubarak (a May 2014 sentencing of three years in prison for embezzlement). (Reuters)
  • The U.S. Supreme Court rules 9–0 in favor of homeowners that the Truth in Lending Act clearly states that a simple notice by the homeowner to the bank within three years seeking to rescind their mortgage suffices over an actual court-filed lawsuit. (Reuters)

January 12

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Armed conflicts and attacks

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Law and crime

Science and technology

Sports

[Closed] Centcom hacking

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The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.


Article: United States Central Command (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: United States Central Command's Twitter account is hacked by pro-Islamic State group (Post)
News source(s): BBC
Credits:

Article needs updating
Nominator's comments: Timed to coincide with Obama giving a speech on cyber security..... The Rambling Man (talk) 20:52, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
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[Posted] Mozambique beer poisonings

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Article: 2015 Mozambique funeral beer poisonings (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ 69 people are killed after drinking beer laced with crocodile bile at a funeral in the African country of Mozambique (Post)
Alternative blurb: ​ After drinking contaminated beer, 69 people are killed at a funeral in Mozambique
News source(s): Russian Times, The Guardian, Huffington Post
Credits:

 --Kevin Rutherford (talk) 16:43, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

  • Support because why not. ITN regularly features mass tragedies, and because of the unusual circumstances this one is certainly more notable than a bus crash. Gamaliel (talk) 16:58, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Hoax? Not the deaths, but the cause? This article in Forbes indicates crocodile bile is more poisonous in the imagination, than in fact. μηδείς (talk) 18:53, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support It appears that several dozen people did die, but "crocodile bile" may indeed be a hoax. I've suggested a different altblurb. Samples of beer and blood have been sent in for testing, so let's just call it "contaminated beer" like many sources do. (I have no objection to "poisoned beer" either, if that makes more sense.) WneQ (talk) 19:50, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Poisoning sounds likely, but unless there's some evidence, contamination (i.e., accidental) is possible, So I would stick with contaminated for now--PS that's a Support especially since this is the sort of thing where I would come to WP for factual reporting. Obviously the article needs expansion. μηδείς (talk) 19:59, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
(I'll do some searching in Portuguese later on and see if I can find more detail from the local press. μηδείς (talk) 23:55, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I've read a few Portuguese sources from within the last 24hrs and added the president's declaration of 3-day of mourning. μηδείς (talk) 03:01, 13 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

[Closed] First college football playoff ever

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If the consensus is not clear after ~10k words of discussion, it's never going to be. I know this will disappoint many people, but given the length and quality (or lack thereof) of the discussion, keeping it open is not in anybody's best interests. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 15:15, 14 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it.

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.


Article: 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: Ohio State defeats Oregon in the first top-level college American football playoff of the sport's 146 year history. (Post)
Alternative blurb: ​ In college football, the Ohio State Buckeyes defeat the Oregon Ducks in the 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship, after the first College Football Playoff tournament to determine the finalists in the sport's 146 year history.
News source(s): CNN, The Guardian, SMH
Credits:
Nominator's comments: In 1869 AD, the first championship of the original form of US football was kind-of not really "decided". The game grew more violent until up to 20 players died per year. There were no fouls — you were allowed to just punch or drop-kick a 13-year old or break his bones. There was no padding.

The US President stepped in to prevent American football from being outlawed and it slowly got safer. (non-college American football wasn't popular until around this time)

But they still didn't know who the college champion was some years. The sportswriters just started voting who the winner was in the 1930s. A rival coaches poll started. Eventually the winners were chosen by the Byzantine system that the coaches were contractually obligated to vote the winner of one game set up by a weighting of human and computer polls the winner which wasn't the sportswriters' champion 6% of the time. Three voters once breached their contract. A coach once lobbied and voters were besieged by calls.

Even Obama wanted to end this.

In 2014 a 13-member committee that includes George W. Bush's Secretary of State used advanced methods to decide the top four college football teams the best they could. Finally in 2015 AD they played in the first tournament of college American football and the Final Is today. --Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 03:48, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Changed per Tryduulf below - this is a minor change in the format of the season. The championship itself is not ITN/R and there is nothing significantly unusual about this year's championship to merit posting. GoldenRing (talk) 01:34, 14 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I made a memory mistake. The correct claim is now above. Also if you read the history the claims are not outlandish. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 04:36, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Oh, and it was ungentlemanly to do those things (like break a man's ribs) and some weren't willing anyway (not everyone's a thug), and most players were not bright enough to get into college in their early teens, but both still happened. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 04:42, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Okay, okay and some players wore nose guards or a regular hat, but they didn't even have leather helmets yet. That's hardly what I'd call padding. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 04:47, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I'm still not seeing this line of argument as significant. We still play this game without padding; it's called Rugby Union. GoldenRing (talk) 05:01, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
No padding is not a line of argument, I just thought it was a cool part of the 146 years. And what you can do in rugby is pussy compared to what you can do in football (but there is no padding so rugby might still be the rougher sport). At any rate the football of that time was much tougher than any sport now. Is there any sport where you can signal for a fair catch and have your nose shattered by a punch and simultaneously be given a field goal kick without penalty? And 12-20 players die in two months of play? That's in the linked breakdown of 1905's deaths. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 05:30, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Okay, but I think you've muddied the waters somewhat with all that. So what's the basis of the nomination? That the format of the season has changed? GoldenRing (talk) 05:44, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The sport is significant enough in US culture that it should be in every year but this is a year of historical significance to the sport of American football. The tradition of bowl games (~80 to 113 years old) are a reason why this took so long. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 08:19, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support. Those who oppose this are uninformed. The college football championship is one of the most watched sporting events in the US; it's rating greatly exceed the World Series, NBA finals, Stanley Cup finals, the four tennis majors, and the four golf majors, all of which we post. We also post a half dozen soccer stories each year, but American football gets only one. It's time to change that. -- Calidum 05:09, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Enough with the ad hominem. What you say might well be true, but how is this nomination, of some new fixture in the season, a significant item that should be posted at ITN? I'm not saying it isn't; I'm saying it hasn't been explained why it is, yet. If we start posting changes to the layout of fixtures in sports, where will it end? And we probably post half a dozen football stories each year because, you know, that's a game played by most of the world. GoldenRing (talk) 05:27, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
About half of our readers are American. Why do their bare 6 championships overwhelm the system when the sum of three kinds of footy, three kinds of cricket and two kinds of rugby manage not to? (Two kinds of English football championship, sheesh.) This is one of the last major sports in the world where it's false that enough of the best compete to decide the winner that it's unlikely the best one doesn't get a chance. I think Test cricket might be one (or actually championship-less, even worse), I don't see why the new Test Cricket World Championship shouldn't be posted either. With only two spots, it's highly likely that the best football team will one year be physically unable to win (because there are 3 nearly equal top teams and they can only pick two), that situation happened in 2003. At least you'd need a "five-way tie for first place by acclamation" for this system to screw up which I think is unlikely. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 05:50, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
It's not about overwhelming the system, it's about balance. As for the remainder of this comment: Please take a step back and try to explain this to someone with zero interest of, or experience in, American football. It's currently incomprehensible to me. I am unable to parse the sentence, "This is one of the last major sports in the world where it's false that enough of the best compete to decide the winner that it's unlikely the best one doesn't get a chance." I am sure the fault is all my ignorance; just please try to step back and explain, simply and cogently, to someone who knows nothing about the competition, why the event you have nominated is significant. GoldenRing (talk) 06:11, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Okay, I'll try to show how big college football is in the US. (I think it's unbalanced without college football btw). If the top school stopped spending money on sports they could build a World Trade Center Tower on campus every 8 years with the money. That's a billion dollars spent on sports (mostly football) every 8 years and they still make a profit
The co-founder of Nike wanted one of the two teams playing to win so badly that he gave them $300 million. $70 million for a 1 hectare locker room (with Jacuzzis for the coaches and dehumidified, climate-controlled foot lockers) Who the hell gives a 10 meter square of locker building to every player? You can read more about this here: [19]
Remember that famous speech Kennedy gave about going to the Moon "But why, some say, the moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask why climb the highest mountain? Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic? Why does Rice play Texas? We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too." Rice and Texas are college football teams (mismatched ones). He gave it at a college football-only stadium.
Look at the list of the largest stadiums in America, 15 of the top 16 most capacious stadia are non-professional college football stadiums. There are 8 college football stadiums over 100,000 capacity. The top 3 are college football only. Despite having a smaller field the 110,000 of the largest is I believe larger than any cricket ground on Earth. Many Americans follow their alma mater's team all their life and some non-players even choose which college to go to based on how good their football team is.
And college football is one of the last major sports in the world where the postseason is so small (2 teams) that the best team of the regular season has a good chance of being physically unable to get in that field (and having a chance at winning the championship). That is what the overly complicated sentence meant. There are other postseason games but they were not in the "tournament" (of one game, lol). Now the litany of BCS controversies that got Americans talking shouldn't happen anymore. It's not easy to do seeding with dozens and dozens of teams (only a few can be played - 12/13 game seasons) and varying strengths of schedule, so the pick 4 committee was needed instead of going by win-loss records (and there are many ties in those). If you're wondering why they didn't do more levels of games, they wouldn't have enough time to study for one reason. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 07:57, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The University of North Carolina wanted to win so badly that this happened. You absolutely have to read that. Some research universities are just football teams with universities attached instead of universities with football teams attached. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 07:21, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose Super Bowl is the only notable event in this sports calendar that gets a mention here, this is amateur level and has no following or interest outside of US..--Stemoc 06:13, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose it is unclear outside of the microcosm of US college football what the significance of this is, the blurb provides little indication as to why it would make any sense to anyone else. The Rambling Man (talk) 07:35, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose As said above nobody outside US would understand why this is even remotely important... First reaction by anyone would be why is college sport of any country even on ITN. And if only reason to post it is that a lot of our readers are from US then thats basically the definition of Systemic Bias. -- Ashish-g55 14:51, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose This appears to be a playoff and nothing more. Not the top level of the sport, obscure and downright confusing in the blurb. --86.166.158.112 (talk) 14:54, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • (edit conflict × 2) Oppose. Despite reading the extensive arguments here, I still do not understand why this is significant outside US college football. I get that it is a massive deal for some people who follow this single country amateur sports league, but that doesn't translate into being relevant to the front page of a general purpose encyclopaedia.Thryduulf (talk) 14:54, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    • ESPN, a cable network, paid $7.3 billion for 12 years of games, the majority of which will go the playoff games. $2/yr/American. That's, say $500 million for only 3 games while US television paid $1200 million for 17 days of London Olympics. That's say 68 hours of primetime and 6x12=72 hours of weekends. ~$500 million is for 12 hours of college football on cable. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 15:56, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    • I don't understand comments like this one, asking about relevance outside of the sport. Is the cricket championship relevant beyond cricket? Or any other sport? We post top level sports competition championships, and while the "amateur" may throw people, this is a major sporting event on par with those in ITN/R. – Muboshgu (talk) 16:02, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support College football is a huge deal in the United States, and this is a newsworthy event which crowns a champion, for the first time. In fact, I'd rather the blurb be worded as "in the first college American football playoffs in 146 years" rather than "ending 146 years without college American football playoffs". – Muboshgu (talk) 15:25, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    It makes for a nice factoid, "Did you know that the first ever college playoff took place in 2015...?" I can't really see how it's really "news", just trivia. The Rambling Man (talk) 15:38, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
      • The fact that the playoff was instituted was news when that happened. It's been a big deal here, even Barack Obama has discussed it at length. But I'm not for posting that it's the first championship game to happen in this playoff system, I'm for posting whether it's Ohio State or Oregon that wins the game. We can mention that it's the first playoff in the blurb. I get that college football isn't professional (strictly speaking) throws off the Euros here, but college football in the U.S. is a big deal and in many places its more important than the NFL. – Muboshgu (talk) 15:42, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Comment I note that the more-ordered NCAA basketball playoffs (aka March Madness) which is just as big as college football within the states is not ITN/R, so I don't think we start showcasing the football side here. There is potentially something here about the major change to the structure of the finals, enforcing a better playoff structure, but that's again, only of interest to those that follow the sport at that level, and we've not really included amateur or college/uni-level sports at ITN in the past, this doesn't feel like a reason to start now. --MASEM (t) 16:15, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    • I believe we posted the NCAA basketball championship in 2013, but didn't have the consensus in 2014. I believe that the college football and basketball championships (only) should be added to ITN/R, but obviously there isn't consensus for that (yet?). This "professional vs. amateur" distinction is a false one, and below it's pointed out that some of these European sports events we post that I know nothing about are amateur. Interesting. – Muboshgu (talk) 16:29, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose because ITN doesn't post college sports unless it's the Boat Race, amateur sports unless it's Gaelic football and the the Boat Race, and top-level sporting events unless it's the Premier League and the Boat Race. Long live the Boat Race! (P.S.: GO DUCKS!!!!) –HTD 16:16, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support posting the national championship (though I'm not sure the playoff aspect makes it any more significant than it normally is). College football is a major sport in the United States in terms of news coverage, viewership, and financial significance. Lots of things are listed at WP:ITNSPORTS that are specific to one country, so saying this shouldn't be posted because it is only of interest to people in the US comes off as anti-American bias (though I'm not sure if all the things listed at WP:ITNSPORTS are actually posted every year). The arguments that it shouldn't be posted because the athletes are amateurs and aren't as good as NFL players is ridiculous, as the skill level of the participants isn't what makes a sporting event notable, but rather the degree of interest shown to it. Calathan (talk) 16:16, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • (ec) Support. We post The Boat Race, a single-country collegiate sporting event due to its extensive coverage and notability(it even made ITNR). Single-country objections are not valid, as stated at the top of this page, anyway. Tens of millions follow collegiate football (as pointed out, more than the World Series and other events that are posted) as the nominator has written extensively about on this page. Given its coverage I think it merits posting. 331dot (talk) 16:17, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    Actually the Boat Race is far from a single-country sporting event, it usually has rowers from around the world involved, there's a strong American background to the event as well, many Yale and Harvard rowers have taken part. The Rambling Man (talk) 16:22, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Thank you for the clarification, but it is still fundamentally two UK college teams rowing against each other. I'm sure there are non-American college football players. 331dot (talk) 16:25, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Actually, just to clarify your point, it's the second and third oldest universities in the world racing against each other, having done so since 1829, and is broadcast in around 160 countries. Not sure the college football playoff has that notability or reach. The Rambling Man (talk) 16:30, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
That's not required; we post many single-country events. 331dot (talk) 16:29, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • You got it all wrong. The Premier League is the biggest competition in exclusively in England (except for a few Welsh clubs) of any sport, while the FA Cup is second. In that regard, both the biggest two events are posted. We also used to post the biggest two sporting events in an island less than the size of London but finally ITNR got rid of one of them (LOL). –HTD 16:55, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • A shame you've allowed yourself to be cowed by Howard here. The FA Cup is the oldest association football cup competition in the world and is watched worldwide because soccer is a worldwide sport. We also used to post the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, but as Donald states, Ireland is a small country so therefore why should we post items relating to it? Why should we post minority items of interest, like amateur college "football" which is of interest to one tenth of one thirtieth of the globe? The Rambling Man (talk) 19:17, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Eh, good point, even though I doubt that many Americans like me know what the FA Cup is, much less watch it, but Americans are weird when it comes to sports. Neutral. (I flip-flop on discussions more than any other person on WP, I believe.) --AmaryllisGardener talk 19:23, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support if updated and relevance made clear in the article The fact that it is >100 years ago since this happened, and the play offs selection group is that autoritive; in combination with the large (US) audiences is enough for me. I am always afraid for US bias, but in this specific year it seems notable. However, the article seems in horrible shape and almost a template-produced article, with some headings with only a "main"-link and nothing else. Hardly any text about the relevance; and still using future tense. L.tak (talk) 16:34, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose: "Second most watched [sic] annual US sports final" says it all. By all means we should post the first, but anything more smacks of systematic bias to me I regret. Plus the nom, if I can understand correctly, seems more concerned with political points which, to me at least, seem pretty irrelevant. —Brigade Piron (talk) 16:37, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support if the hook is modified, as the hook right now reads a bit weird, and it makes it seem like there was some sort of conspiracy that prevented playoffs from occurring for a number of years. We can work out the metrics of the viewership later, as these claims are premature in my opinion. Kevin Rutherford (talk) 16:43, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    • Though the BusinessWeek article on this thread says that record viewership numbers are all but certain as semifinal 2 broke the all-time record for viewership of a cable program held by semifinal 1 which surpassed a college football final before that). Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 17:52, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose The World Junior Hockey Championship is massive in Canada, but we don't post as it does not represent the highest level of the sport. I see no difference between that and American college football. Additionally, I do not believe we post the winner of the NCAA basketball championship either. Resolute 16:46, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The World Junior Hockey Championship (links are your friends) is an under-twenty competition. In other words, teams that might include high school seniors who have been held back a year, not but not college-level or -age teams. Juvenile sports has always been deprecated here. μηδείς (talk) 19:55, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Well, thank god we have you here to educate us hockey fans about how hockey works. Gee whiz, Medeis. What would Wikipedia ever do without you? Now, in as much as you don't like it, the comparison is still valid. The WJHC's are of disproportionate interest to one country (though the hockey tournament would have greater international interest, naturally, as an international tournament), is amateur in a sport with pro levels, and does not represent the top tier of the sport. Three good reasons not to post the WJHC champion. Also three good reasons not to post the NCAA championship. The fourth reason is that we haven't posted the NCAA champion in the past, and the fact that they changed the playoff format this year doesn't necessitate a change in that regard. Resolute 16:06, 13 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
To be fair, I don't think the World Junior Hockey Championship is on the same level in terms of scope and popularity as the college football national championship. That we haven't posted the BCS championship in the past is a mistake, in my opinion, and not a reason not to post this. – Muboshgu (talk) 16:36, 13 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Popularity in terms of what? On an absolute scale, perhaps. But relatively? Looks like the NCAA game managed an 18.5 overnight rating, which I believe translates to about 21.5 million viewers. The WJHC gold medal game was watched by 7.1 million Canadians. Given we have 1/10th the population, I would argue that the WJHC is more popular in Canada than the NCAA football championship is in the US. Never mind the fact that about 40% of Slovakia's population watched their medal around games, etc. Resolute 19:52, 13 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
7.1 million when Canada played, [tt_news=8371&cHash=825d9dab9239ac300abbb7a34e5432f8 1 million] when Canada lost last year. The numbers for the Nordic countries are far more impressive, though. But that's a "national team" tournament where a country has, uh, "one" team. This College Football Playoff isn't like that; of course, the Super Bowl is an entirely different beast. –HTD 20:07, 13 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Hopeless, unfortunately even though the USA is the third most populated country in the world, even though the USA makes up the largest block of readers for the EN wiki, even though a number of European soccer stories (but no South American, so much for the worlds most popular sport, I guess it's the oldworlds most popular sport) are on ITN/R, even though lesser interest amateur "sports" like "The Boat Race" are on ITN/R, even though anyone who bothers to scratch even slightly below the surface will realize that NCAA sports in the USA are amateur in name only, even though I doubt there is widespread international interest in Gaelic Football or the Heineken Cup (two countries in Europe each with a population less than California have a kick-off and you get to label it international) it's impossible to nominate a story originating in the USA without overwhelming and unsubstantiated claims of US-centrism, US-bias, and of "no-one outside the USA cares", despite the fact that rule number 2 for ITN/C clearly states "[do not] complain about an event only relating to a single country". I don't watch football, but this was a major story in the USA, not just because of the sports contest but because of a change in a system so broken that the President of the United States took time out of authorizing drone strikes to comment on it. It's utterly absurd the level of vitriol seemingly reserved for the United States. I guess we have to save room for more stories about Lionel Messi!! --12.216.96.52 (talk) 17:17, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Weak support if this is actually for a national title (even if amateur), by analogy with the Boat Race. But the blurb should specify what title has been won, rather than focussing on trivia relating to the format. If this is just a regular match with some technical differences, then oppose. AlexTiefling (talk) 18:16, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    • Indeed the title will be won by winning the game and not by polls/computer programs, this is certainly not a regular match. And the format is a big deal in the US causing record viewership, as is the game and winner. The game is always a big deal. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 19:21, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support college football is hugely popular in the US, with the major networks showing many hours of broadcast play each weekend. A once-a-year mention is certainly justified if we compare it to the viewership of other sports that get listed. μηδείς (talk) 18:58, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Comment regardless of this perennial jingo-fest, the blurb needs serious work. No-one outside the microcosm of US college football could care less or worse, even understands the significance of not having playoffs. Indeed, in many European countries, playoffs are something different from what I assume is meant here. The nomination also seems to be swaying between the significance being the playoffs or just the result itself. Which is it? Oh, and the article sucks, which, despite all the "support", is an overriding factor. The Rambling Man (talk) 19:20, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    • Here is an explanation for the "Which is it" question. The Americans don't need a special justification to post this yearly. But American support is not enough. For the Commonwealth/ESL people in the audience, will this be enough to convince you to support this even once? Maybe not. Also little updating will occur until the game actually happens. A look at the history of the 2014 game should give an idea of when the more prominent 2015 article will be up to snuff. It likely will be good first few hours of Jan 14 UTC or as early as mid-morning Jan 13 UTC. (People have careers tomorrow) Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 19:37, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    • The significance of playoffs is that in 1998 they started this stupid system and it only took till 2003 for there to be three possible best teams and only two spots that can lead to the final (i.e. the final itself). And what was perceived as unfair lobbying in 2004. At least now there will be a two-level tournament. The systems before the 1998 one were even worse. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 19:44, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    • Let's use money. The outright crappy Bowl Championship Series had a revenue of US$202 million in 2012. If you'd compare that to real professional leagues, that's quite low, just below France's Ligue 2. But consider this: in 2013, the BCS had five games. That's US$40 million per game. The Premier League had a revenue of 3,200 million euros at 380 games played, or 8.4 million euros per game. If you're looking at per game averages, the BCS was a lot more profitable than the Premier League, despite the latter's international clout. Don't get me started on the Boat Race. –HTD 20:00, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
        • Compared to your made up criteria out of thin air ("THESE SCHOOLS ARE OLD AND THEY LOVE ROWING!"), this is a start! At least this has something to stand on. All of this money talk means that there's some "interest" in this game. After all, if people would pay to see (this is on cable), that's some interest. –HTD 20:11, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
          • You should focus on this article, not others which have no real bearing on this nomination. And please, refrain from shouting, it's counterproductive. The Rambling Man (talk) 20:17, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
            • Eh, I just said that there's some mad interest to this game. The "SHOUTING" part was the only part that didn't focus on interest, which you apparently focused upon. Sorry if you were distracted on what should you had focused upon. –HTD 20:20, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
              • Listen, you and I have had this debate (and if I remember correctly, it was far too boring to continue, you made up some stats, you challenged the sourced refs I gave you, etc etc). Just support this nomination, and I'll oppose it and we can move on to do better things. Deal? The Rambling Man (talk) 20:27, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
                • Well, that's a first time anyone here has explicitly admitted they'd oppose a blurb no matter what in the name of "made up criteria" and against "made up stats". Congratulations. –HTD 20:34, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
                  • I have no idea what you think you're trying to say. I have said no such thing. I oppose the blurb as it is irrelevant and not ITN-worthy. The reference to made up stats is simply to your own proclivity to try to prove straw man arguments using your own research. I have no more time to deal with your particular line of "argument". Feel free, as you always require, to have the last word. The Rambling Man (talk) 20:37, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Question: Am I following this correctly, that this is a new structure for the sport a sport called football that doesn't actually involve one's feet touching the ball? Or is it a structure that's existed for 146 years but this is the first time it's been needed? I'd support the former, because rule changes in major sports are rare. The latter ... meh. In general, I always thought we used to post too much domestic sport (of whatever national origin). I don't know if that's still the case, I've been less active here until relatively recently, but as a general rule I think we should normally post major international tournaments but typically not domestic tournaments. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 19:43, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Look, let's just close this discussion. This has escalated into absolutely nothing productive. The snipefest above is almost a decent self-made argument for not posting sports at all on ITN.--WaltCip (talk) 20:57, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose obviously. I have trouble believing this is a serious nomination? It's a joke, right? Or is somebody trying to make some point? Fgf10 (talk) 22:36, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Well it seems pretty clear. a) A sport that has essentially zero global impact and b) Nowhere near the top level of that sport, an amateur university competition. Obvious! Fgf10 (talk) 07:44, 13 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support Sports events don't have inherent significance; their significance is cultural. So what that this is a university event? Who cares that it is nominally amateur? It is still an event with huge cultural significance and massive public interest in the US. It may seem strange to us that they care so much about a university tournament, but that's irrelevant. The fact that it is mainly of interest in one country is not disqualifying - we post the Gaelic football championship, which is ITN/R, despite it only being of much interest in Ireland. We do it because of its cultural significance and popularity in that country, and we should post this for the same reason. And frankly this is far more culturally significant and popular that the Boat Race, the one university sporting event that is on ITN/R - that certainly doesn't generate the same level of passion and interest that this does. Neljack (talk) 23:03, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • So If I've read the above correctly, the rationale for posting this is that it's the tournament-decider for a major sports league in the United States. Is that right? And all the stuff about history and format changes is totally irrelevant to the nomination. Am I right? Essentially, the argument is that this final should be ITN/R and there's nothing that makes this year's event more special than other years', except that it's just been introduced. Is that right? If so, then (a) you've done a terrible job of promoting your nomination. Sorry, but it's true. All the trivia has completely put people off. (b) the comparisons to other sports are not very helpful. Eg. the Boat Race has an estimated audience that exceeds the population of the United States and covers more than 3/4 of the nations on Earth, and the claim above that it is more popular than the FIFA World Cup is just ludicrous. So, you're no doing yourself any favours here, either. (c) I'd be persuaded to change my opinion to a weak support; sorry that all the noise about irrelevant trivia above means it will come too late to make a difference. GoldenRing (talk) 23:32, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Billion Dollar Sport the net revenue of the top-10 college football programs for 2013 in the US was over $500,000,000.00. That's only the top 10 schools, and only the net, not the gross. Source quoting US Dept of Ed. μηδείς (talk) 23:34, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • comment . I still don't understand what this nomination is about. Is it about there being national champions in a sport for the first time? = 1st rationally decided ones, yes Is it about rule changes in a sport? = yes Is it about Barrak Obama's support for a sport? = no Is it about this being the 146th (or whatever) season ending game? = yes Is it about how much money has been paid for a sporting event? = shows significance Is it about TV rights? Is it about computer programs? = twas part of the old method Is it about American cultural significance? = yes Is it about something else? The blurb (as TRM has pointed out several times) is basically incomprehensible to someone who doesn't follow the sport, and this discussion doesn't help me understand it either. If you want this posted on ITN you need to be able to explain, clearly and concisely, to people who don't understand the sport why it is significant. I still don't even know whether this is the final match = yes (or simply the deciding match) in a league, the top two teams in a league playing each other again = no, the last match of a knock-out competition = yes, the best two teams in a league (as determined by something other than match results) playing each other = that's the old way, the top teams from different leagues playing each other = no, or something else? Whether this is or is not suitable for ITN, this discussion should be held up as an example of how not to promote a nomination. Thryduulf (talk) 01:29, 13 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose- I'm an American watching this as I write and I don't understand why others are so vehement this be posted. The entire nom comment reads like a very POINTy agenda or, more likely, mocking the supporters of this nomination. This is an amateur level league which purely exists as a feeder league into the actual professional league, the NFL. Bzweebl (talkcontribs) 03:22, 13 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I guess having a little fun and imitating the movie Gladiator's dramatic entrance and the artsy history synopsis method of nominating is confusing and a bad idea. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 03:49, 13 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, I'd have said it hasn't played well. GoldenRing (talk) 03:53, 13 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • We post many single-country events; As it states above, "Please do not oppose an item because it is not on ITNR" and "Please do not complain about an event only relating to a single country, or failing to relate to one. This applies to a high percentage of the content we post and is unproductive". 331dot (talk) 09:44, 13 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • For one thing, I'm making a logical argument, not a simple complaint or misusing something written elsewhere on this page. For another, please read what I said: I used ITN/R as evidence that we haven't generally featured NCAA football (or basketball) champions. I'm just expanding the "not a particularly significant event" by giving background research into what we've done before with comparable events. The burden is on you to justify why we need to treat this championship differently, just because it was achieved through a different process. Nyttend (talk) 12:39, 13 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support with a better update. FWIW, I'm Australian. College football is the equal of any the four US major leagues by just about every measure except player salaries. The amateur status of the competition does not detract from its massive popularity and economic impact. The playoff, as the competition's designated pinnacle event, should be posted, as with other sporting leagues and knock-out tournaments.. IgnorantArmies (talk) 08:46, 13 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose WTF? This American shit cannot go on the main page.--Droneanddrone (talk) 10:01, 13 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    • @Droneanddrone: Do you have a specific reason for that view other than curse words and anti-Americanism? 331dot (talk) 10:04, 13 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
      • You cannot simply recall on the guideline that we don't accept the argument of opposing a nomination relating a single country and its economic impact to throw away its status as an amateur sport. The nomination itself reveals a sport success but not records in all the side effects derived from it. What I want to see here is a sport success that is worth hearing, not a blown commercial story woven within the pride of the people from a single country. Compare with the other stories already appearing on the main page: we don't have Charlie Hebdo shooting because one of its side effects was the effects on the financial markets or the fear among the journalists in other satirical magazines around the world.--Droneanddrone (talk) 10:22, 13 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
        • So I assume you oppose posting The Boat Race, an amateur sporting event(which is ITNR)? For an "amateur" sporting event, college football generated hundreds of millions of dollars a year and is followed by tens of millions(with some collegiate stadiums like Michigan Stadium larger than professional team stadiums). This is no ordinary amateur sport- but I thank you for posting an actual argument. 331dot (talk) 10:25, 13 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • reiterate my previous oppose. Having actually found some articles that explain what has happened here, this is not actually a very significant change. Previously two teams were selected as the best (by a computer using statistics afaict) and played off against each other in a final. Now, four teams are selected as the best (by a committee of 13 people using criteria I haven't been able to find) and play off against each other in two semi-finals and a final. It still isn't sanctioned as official by the relevant governing body. If this was a league or cup final in the sense used by soccer, rugby union, cricket, etc, etc, then I might be convinced. Thryduulf (talk) 12:06, 13 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Saying it "isn't sanctioned as official" is a complete misunderstanding. The best comparison I can think of is the golf majors, where tournaments like the Masters and the U.S. Open aren't run by the PGA of America, but are official events in every sense, and more prestigious than a normal PGA tournament. Likewise, in college football the bowl games are run by organizations other than the NCAA, but are more prestigious than the regular-season games. The bowl games, including the national championship, are official games in every sense (e.g., they count for career statistics, follow all NCAA rules, players or teams ruled ineligible by the NCAA can't play, etc.). The NCAA specifically doesn't run a championship because the teams can play in the bowl games, and instead designates which teams are eligible for bowl games (by classifying them in the Football Bowl Subdivision, the top half of the top division of college football). Also, really, the regular season games aren't run by the NCAA either, but by the conferences . . . the NCAA just sets the rules so that everyone is playing by the same rules. Each conference determines its own champion, and then the bowl games invite teams (with the more prestigious bowls getting first pick of the teams to invite, and with most bowls having an agreement with certain conferences to always invite a team from that conference). You could think of the bowls as a little like the Champions League in soccer, and the conferences as a little like the various European soccer leagues, except that in college football you normally play 4 games outside your own conference in the regular season (out of 12 games, i.e., 8 are within the conference), and the bowl games are only single games, not a tournament. Since the 1990s, the top bowls have had a system in place to try to match up the top two teams, so as to determine one champion. Starting this year, they decided to have the top 4 teams play in two of the top bowl games, then have the winners play in the national championship game, when before that they just put two teams directly into the national championship game. I agree that this isn't really a significant change that makes this year's championship game any more significant than the ones in previous years. But it is actually a championship, run by the agreement of the conferences and the top bowl game committees, with the sanction of the NCAA. Calathan (talk) 18:17, 13 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
This is analogous to a "league or cup final in the sense used by soccer, rugby union, cricket, etc", only that instead of coefficients which are based mostly from past seasons' results, the "committee" uses "this season's results" plus some other metric that they could think of. Granted, this is subjective, but you could argue the same for UEFA coefficients: France is 11 points away from Italy's coefficient, but they both get 3 Champions League berths, but Russia only gets 2, despite being just 2 points away from France. Try doing that in the college football system, and it could produce some bad results if a conference emerges to have a crappy season, but still has many berths due to impressive results in the previous seasons. American college football players can only play for a maximum of four years, so roster turnout is liquid; a best player may leave just as their "coefficient points" were racked up, only to lose impressively because they now suck. –HTD 18:33, 13 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I think you're making the argument against the nomination, here. If its significance is based on such arcana as this, it's ITN material. I've changed my !vote above accordingly. GoldenRing (talk) 01:34, 14 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support. Several good reasons have been given. Theres some bad arguments on both sides. eg the claim we dont post amateur sports is certainly false.--Johnsemlak (talk) 13:26, 13 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support As a keen observer of events here, I have decided to create an account just to support this nomination for In The News. I can clearly see the level of dedication, support, media interest and money that is bequeathed to this particular sports tournament. Whether you don't "get it" seems hardly relevant to the importance of the story at hand. And I don't watch American Football save for the Super Bowl... --Smirking Cat (talk) 13:37, 13 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
8,000 words. Sca (talk) 14:25, 13 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Please can this be closed. I don't think that this is going to come to a consensus and its getting acrimonious now. I have commented above but do not wish this comment to be associated with one side of the argument. 5.179.100.129 (talk) 02:24, 14 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Amen to that, brother IP. GoldenRing (talk) 03:21, 14 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.
  • I disagree with the above closing and its rationale; I'm not sure how most of the oppose arguments are not WP:IDONTLIKEIT and once you remove those I think the consensus is pretty clear. 331dot (talk) 15:02, 14 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    • Sure, and once you remove the WP:ILIKEIT supports, you're back to no consensus to post. Resolute 15:03, 14 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
      • The supports are not ILIKEIT. They are rational arguments related to its significance. Most(not all) opposes are something like "this is amateur level and has no following or interest outside of US", the latter of which is not true(and it is not a valid argument as stated on this page); while it is 'amateur' it generates hundreds of millions of dollars in cash and is a significant cultural influence. 331dot (talk) 15:07, 14 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Further, other arguments are "I don't understand it" which is a reason to read the article or seek an explanation, not a reason to oppose. 331dot (talk) 15:13, 14 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

January 11

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Science and technology

Croatian presidential election

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Article: Croatian presidential election, 2014–15 (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ In Croatia Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović is elected president, defeating incumbent Ivo Josipović by less than 1%. (Post)
News source(s): [21]
Credits:

Article needs updating
The nominated event is listed on WP:ITN/R, so each occurrence is presumed to be important enough to post. Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article and update meet WP:ITNCRIT, not the significance.

Nominator's comments: It seems that Croatia will get its first female president. The election article needs second round results and reactions but these will be coming in a couple of hours. Grabar-Kitarović's article is not updated yet. Picture is available as well. --Tone 18:52, 11 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

  • Support but only when the results are official. Gamaliel (talk) 19:22, 11 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Comment We will definitely have to wait for some more time. It seems that the result is tighter than the exit polls predicted so it will take time to count for sure. Josipović may still win. There's a photo of him available as well. --Tone 19:56, 11 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose never understood the purpose of a premature ITN/R posting, but I guess if it draws in decent editors to fix up poor articles, so much the better. In this case, the article isn't fit to describe the result of the election. Primarily because we don't know what the result of the election is. The Rambling Man (talk) 21:11, 11 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support when updated. The results are now in and the incumbent has been defeated by less than 1%. I've added a blurb to this nomination to reflect this, but it might need trimming. The main election article still needs work (some parts are still in the future tense for example) so it isn't ready yet, I haven't look to see what state the new president's article is in. Thryduulf (talk) 01:39, 13 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support - a presidential election is always notable. --BabbaQ (talk) 19:06, 13 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Comment - article currently has an orange tag for lack of sources in one section. That will need addressed before posting. --ThaddeusB (talk) 20:23, 14 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

[Posted] January 2015 Marches Républicaines or existing blurb update

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Article: January 2015 Marches Républicaines (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ Around 3 million people march to honor victims of Paris attack. (Post)
Alternative blurb: ​ Dozens of world leaders and over 3 million people march in honour of the victims of the Charlie Hebdo shooting.
Alternative blurb II: ​ 40 world leaders and over 3 million people march in honour of the victims of the Charlie Hebdo shooting.
Alternative blurb III: ​ Three million people, including dozens of world leaders, march in France following the Charlie Hebdo shooting.
News source(s): AP, BBC
Credits:

Nominator's comments: French media estimate up to 3 million are taking part, more than the numbers who took to Paris streets when the Allies liberated the city from the Nazis in World War II. EugεnS¡m¡on(14) ® 18:38, 11 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Support due to the huge number of participants. Gamaliel (talk) 19:22, 11 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Do you (pl.) have a source that suggests these millions were out protesting anything except the recent terrorist attacks? If so, the other cause could be included. Otherwise, lets stick to what the sources are saying. μηδείς (talk) 23:55, 11 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I haven't actually seen any sourcing saying that it was specifically a protest against the terrorist attacks (although I suppose you can probably find sourcing for just about anything nowadays). But officially, according to François Holland, the march was intended to support the values of "democracy, freedom and pluralism". Formerip (talk) 00:11, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Suggest caution re crowd estimates. I doubt whether 3 million people ever have gathered at one location anywhere, for anything. Sca (talk) 01:32, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
None of the blurbs say 3 million in one place and even if they said 300,000 in one place we would post this. The delay is unconscionable. 01:54, 12 January 2015 (UTC)
Unconscionable but alas not unusual ici. Sca (talk) 15:17, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

[Posted] RD: Anita Ekberg

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Article: Anita Ekberg (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): [22], [23], [24], [25], [26], [27], [28], [29], [30], [31], [32]
Credits:

Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNRD.

Nominator's comments: Her death has been covered by media worldwide and she has been featured in several notable films. Icon status. --BabbaQ (talk) 11:34, 11 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for your work on the article. Do whatever is necessary to get rid of the maintenance template and then that one can be posted also. Jehochman Talk 16:56, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Posted, I don't know what pained surprise means, and the oppose above doesn't state a valid reason, per WP:OTHERSTUFF. If one decision is wrong, given the benefit of the doubt, that doesn't mean we should continue to make wrong decisions for the sake of consistency. Jehochman Talk 16:22, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    If your referring to my post I don't think my oppose was invalid- I referred to the lack of major awards and limited notable roles. I don't see that much convincing the the supports frankly. That said I think the consensus is to post, though more opinions would be helpful.--Johnsemlak (talk) 01:14, 13 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

January 10

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[Closed] RD: Robert Stone

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The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.


Article: Robert Stone (novelist) (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): NPR, San Francisco Chronicle, New York Times
Credits:

Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNRD.
Nominator's comments: Stone's novel Dog Soldiers won the National Book Award for Fiction in 1975. His book A Flag for Sunrise was nominated for a National Book Award twice (see NPR link). --Everymorning talk 17:45, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

[Posted] RD: Francesco Rosi

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Article: Francesco Rosi (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): Khaleej Times, Deutsche Welle, Hollywood Reporter, Variety, ABC News
Credits:

Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNRD.

Nominator's comments: Highly regarded in his field. Martinevans123 (talk) 15:08, 10 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

  • Weak Support for RD, but the article needs a bit more referencing on some of the non-obvious statements before posting (2-3 at most). The director's films winning a few film festival awards nudges it in the right direction for RD, but I'm also a bit worried that that's all we can say towards his reputation. --MASEM (t) 15:56, 10 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Surprisingly few English sources reporting his death so far. A few now appearing. Martinevans123 (talk) 16:00, 10 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Weak support article goes some way to demonstrating he was top of the field, but the article itself is weak, barely above stub level. Not sure about "Selected filmography" either, selected on what criteria? Is it therefore incomplete? And what references the red-lined movies? The Rambling Man (talk) 08:28, 11 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
IMDb lists 23 titles as writer, 20 as director, 11 as assistant director and other miscellaneous including actor. The article lists all of his 20 as director. Martinevans123 (talk) 11:24, 11 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
It would be highly desireable to list his work in full and not referenced to IMDB which we don't generally consider a reliable source. The Rambling Man (talk) 11:58, 11 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Is this WP:RS: [33]? Martinevans123 (talk) 13:54, 11 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I don't think so. I looked at the "About us" page and saw some reasonable contributors but there seems to be no editorial overview of the content, has it been used in other reliable sources as a reference? The Rambling Man (talk) 21:07, 11 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
What's the best source for film directors? No-one will dispute the facts about any of these films, and I'm sure it.wiki would not get them wrong. It's just a matter of satisfying the policy on sources. I've seen RD articles posted with a lot less, I must say. Martinevans123 (talk) 21:27, 11 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I don't know (but using it.wiki as an example of what to do is probably not your finest hour). Please remember that I've have actually weakly supported this nomination, it's just the article could use a serious polish (not a polish before you ask), which you've done, but then you've now got a bunch of unsourced statements. The Rambling Man (talk) 21:32, 11 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I'm really not sure what other language wiki I'd use to get material on Rosi. Their article looks reasonably good and well supported. I wasn't really after a Navy SEAL medal, thanks. Martinevans123 (talk) 21:37, 11 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Maybe they need updating? Martinevans123 (talk) 16:27, 11 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
They certainly do now, in light of your excellent additions. The Rambling Man (talk) 21:50, 11 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Unsure how much more is "necessary to get rid of the maintenance template". Martinevans123 (talk) 22:29, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Or how much more can now be done. Martinevans123 (talk) 22:49, 13 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • The article has been hugely updated, Rosi's awards that are cited in blue-linked articles don't really need separate citations (we'd have 100 instead of the current 25 sources) when the main article covers them, and the movies themselves are primary sources when he is credited in them, no need for citations in those cases. So I have removed the page-level tag,requested any desired CN's be added directly on the talk page, and marked this as ready. μηδείς (talk) 02:41, 14 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Posted The Rambling Man (talk) 20:18, 14 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

January 9

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Disasters and accidents
  • A 193-vehicle pileup along a snowy Interstate 94 highway in Kalamazoo County, Michigan leaves one motorist dead and 20 injured. A fire among the vehicles which includes a chemical tanker and a truck loaded with fireworks further compounds the disaster. The debris and fire closes the expressway for over 14 hours. Exploding fireworks hit rescue workers injuring an additional three. (ABC News) (CNN)

Law and crime

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Science and technology

Sports

Raif Badawi sentenced

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Article: Raif Badawi (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: Saudi Arabia sentences a human rights blogger, Raif Badawi, to ten years imprisonment and 1,000 lashes after being found guilty of insulting Islam. (Post)
Alternative blurb: ​ Saudi human rights blogger Raif Badawi is lashed 50 times after being sentenced to ten year in prison.
News source(s): [34], [35], [36], [37], [38], [39], [40], [41]
Credits:

Nominator's comments: Reported worldwide, another injustice for free speech. Award winning person. Feel free to change the blurb or suggest other blurbs. --BabbaQ (talk) 13:35, 11 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

France update

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Articles: Charlie Hebdo shooting (talk · history · tag) and Charlie Hebdo (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ After hostages are taken, French police raid two buildings, killing the men suspected of a shooting at the headquarters of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. (Post)
Alternative blurb: ​ The suspected gunmen in the Charlie Hebdo shooting are killed during a police raid after taking hostages after a country-wide manhunt.
News source(s): Associated Press, BBC, New York Times
Credits:

 --starship.paint ~ ¡Olé! 09:32, 10 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

The 3 guys have been subdued in one form or another. Once officials say something the blurb should get updated. Nergaal (talk) 16:35, 9 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Let's confirm if they've been taken alive or not and if there were any other casualities, but I do agree that an update once we've got confirmation would be appropriate. --MASEM (t) 16:36, 9 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Multiple sources seem to confirm that all three perps are now dead and 12 civilians/3 police officers dead. The Rambling Man (talk) 16:42, 9 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
[42] I think the 12 civilians were from the original shooting; while there may have been injuries to the hostages in this latest situation, all the hostages sound like the they were safely rescued. --MASEM (t) 16:51, 9 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
AP, BBC, NYT say Kouachi brothers dead, hostages freed. Sca (talk) 16:53, 9 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
News feeds on twitter's going on that there might be some dead hostages, but I still think that the 12 civs are the number from the original shooting. --MASEM (t) 17:05, 9 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Blurb update suggestion: "The suspected gunmen in the Charlie Hebdo shooting are killed during a police raid after taking hostages after a country-wide manhunt." --MASEM (t) 16:59, 9 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I've made an update. Smurrayinchester 17:00, 9 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Suggest update rephrasing from French police free hostages from two buildings following to "French police free hostages and kill two suspects following...." (NYT headline: French Police Storm Hostage Sites, Killing Gunmen.") Sca (talk) 17:11, 9 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose updating the blurb with this. The main story is the killing of the cartoonists. Hostage crises are quite usual business these days. Furthermore, it appears that not one hostage was harmed during the standoff. The solidarity protests are more ITN-worthy in my opinion. Fitzcarmalan (talk) 17:11, 9 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    • At two hostages were killed, and some were injured. When we contrast this to the Boston Marathon bombing at ITN, we did update when the surviving suspect was captured after a manhunt, so this is of the same order. --MASEM (t) 17:14, 9 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
      • I could have opposed updating the Boston Marathon bombing as well. Sorry, but I am not convinced. The domestic and international reactions to the attack (street demonstrations, social media campaigns, etc) have dominated the news for over two days and appear to be a lot more notable than this minor incident. Fitzcarmalan (talk) 17:23, 9 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Right now the story is killing the gunmen, who (it's suspected) killed the journalists. Sca (talk) 17:16, 9 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

BBC is suggesting four hostages in the kosher supermarket were killed too. The Rambling Man (talk) 17:25, 9 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

I wonder whether it was police, as the blurb says, or GIGN that stormed the buildings. Brandmeistertalk 18:00, 9 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
It was the GIGN, in the case of the siege to the north of Paris, with police support. I think "police" is probably fine as a cultural translation, though. Enough people probably know what a "gendarme", so maybe that would be OK, but I think "soldiers" would be misleading. Formerip (talk) 18:05, 9 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
One report said they were dead before the police arrived (the hostages, that is). --MASEM (t) 18:01, 9 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I'd like to note that an article has recently been created about the hostage crisis. The article is here. Should we post it separately? Everymorning talk 19:50, 9 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
It should be merged, IMHO. – Muboshgu (talk) 19:51, 9 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Yeah, that article is absolutely unnecessary - it's part of the shootings. --MASEM (t) 19:52, 9 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I merged it. – Muboshgu (talk) 19:56, 9 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
What's the rationale for omitting the deaths of the gunmen from the blurb? Sca (talk) 21:59, 9 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I imagine just to prevent the blurb becoming unmanageably long. Of course you're always welcome to suggest an alt blurb. The Rambling Man (talk) 22:01, 9 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I did above, after Smurrayinchester announced his update. My suggestion now would need to say three gunmen stedda two suspects. Sca (talk) 22:21, 9 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
PS: German & Dutch WPs include deaths of gunmen in their ITN blurbs. Sca (talk) 15:03, 10 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Comment with the other events (i.e. the police officer shot, the kosher shop hostage scenario etc), I'd say things have moved on past this suggested update. The Rambling Man (talk) 08:30, 11 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

What about the informal rallies across France on Saturday, 700,000 strong: [43] and the official rally today which will be attended by 40 world leaders: [44]? This is a huge event. Martinevans123 (talk) 10:41, 11 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, and tons of coverage (some of it live at the moment). An eventual update based on Sunday's march seems obvious. Sca (talk) 15:24, 11 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I'd suggest posting as soon as possible.This is quite unprecedented, as the BBC have said. 40 world leaders linking arms and 1.5 million people on the streets. Martinevans123 (talk) 16:48, 11 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I'd support updating to switch the focus to the Paris rally (although not to just tagging it on as a new clause). Formerip (talk) 17:38, 11 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, well all of this is in agreement that things have moved on since this blurb suggestion. We should close this and move along to the next nom. The Rambling Man (talk) 21:09, 11 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

[Closed] Fidel Castro

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The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.


Article: Fidel Castro (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro (pictured) dies at the age of 88. (Post)
News source(s): De Teleraaf (in Dutch)
Credits:
 --Mjroots (talk) 10:49, 9 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

[Posted] Sri Lankan presidential election

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Article: Sri Lankan presidential election, 2015 (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: Maithripala Sirisena wins the Sri Lankan presidential election. (Post)
Alternative blurb: Maithripala Sirisena is elected President of Sri Lanka.
News source(s): NYTimesHindustan TimesThe Guardian
Credits:

Article updated
The nominated event is listed on WP:ITN/R, so each occurrence is presumed to be important enough to post. Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article and update meet WP:ITNCRIT, not the significance.

Nominator's comments: Waiting for official results. President Rajapaksa admits defeat. --Gfosankar (talk) 05:09, 9 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

January 8

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Sports

[Posted] 2015 Baga massacre

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Article: 2015 Baga massacre (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ Several hundred people are killed and over 35,000 displaced following attacks by Boko Haram on the Nigerian town of Baga. (Post)
Alternative blurb: ​ At least 100 people are killed, and 35,000 displaced following an attack by Boko Haram on the Nigerian town of Baga.
Alternative blurb II: A series of attacks by Boko Haram on the Nigerian town of Baga leave at least 100 people dead, 2,000 unaccounted for, and forces over 35,000 to flee Borno State.
News source(s): BBC Reuters AFP NBC
Credits:

Article updated

Nominator's comments: Major attack leaving hundreds, if not thousands, dead. --Varavour (talk) 21:25, 8 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

[Closed] 2015 Europe mosque attacks

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The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.


Article: 2015 Europe mosque attacks (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ Seven mosques attacked across Europe in the last 10 days. (Post)
News source(s): [50], [51], [52], [53], [54], [55], [56]
Credits:

Article updated
Nominator's comments: I am about to create a article on these news. --Moorrests (talk) 20:23, 8 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
These sorts of responses would be covered in the article about the attacks in France. Jehochman Talk 14:37, 10 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

January 7

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International relations

[Posted] New antibiotic discovered

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Article: Teixobactin (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ A new antibiotic for drug-resistant infections, Teixobactin, is extracted from soil bacteria using a novel technique. (Post)
Alternative blurb: ​ Discovered using a promising new technique, Teixobactin is a potent antibiotic that provokes no detectable defence from pathogens resistant to available drugs.
Alternative blurb II: ​ Discovered by a new technique, Teixobactin is an antibiotic for drug-resistant bacteia.
News source(s): [57], [58], [59], [60]
Credits:
Article updated

Nominator's comments: The first new antibiotic discovered in 25-30 years. 2601:D:CB80:F0:A4C0:E35D:7E18:DE54 (talk) 15:37, 11 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Creating a competing DYK nomination 13 minutes after this ITN nomination was posted is highly irregular. μηδείς (talk) 18:18, 11 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I wasn't expecting this much support for this, TBH. I apologize. --AmaryllisGardener talk 18:37, 11 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

I've filled out the template a bit, am not sure if template works with the new IP6 format, and choice of Layzeeboi as updater is based on perusal, others might deserve credit. μηδείς (talk) 18:10, 11 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

The discovery of Teixobactin is announced—an antibiotic with a novel molecular scaffold, from bacteria grown in innovative culture cells exposed to its native soil
The discovery of Teixobactin is announced, the first novel antibiotic found using a new technique providing access to a cornucopia of previously unculturable soil bacteria. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Layzeeboi (talkcontribs) 23:22, 11 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
If your aim was to create unparsable blurbs, well done. I take it though, that amending the altblurb by adding the word "novel" would also work (?). Formerip (talk) 23:31, 11 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Of course not. Did you read the talk page? There have been novel antibiotic drugs representing four new classes released in the last 12 years! Both original blurbs now seem like nonsense, according to antibiotic#classes. But now I remember that another key point is that Teixobactin has been shown to provoke no resistance in its targets. Will adding that point make my blurbs more parsable? Over to you. Layzeeboi (talk) 23:45, 11 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I don't remember Layzeeboi contributing here before, so I welcome his collaboration, and am not too worried about blurb-grammar. We can fix a blurb to fit his concerns. μηδείς (talk) 00:00, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support Not only has a new antibiotic been discovered, but a new means of finding natural antibiotics in soil, and then culturing them, has been discovered. This discovery in biochemisty is of great importance, one that is quite rare. Jehochman Talk 23:51, 11 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks, Jehochman, you have said better what I intended t say above with my support vote. μηδείς (talk) 00:00, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Discovered using a promising new technique, Teixobactin is a potent antibiotic that provokes no detectable defence from pathogens resistant to available drugs. Layzeeboi (talk) 01:25, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

  • Re-marking ready--the blurb is up to the posting admin, and is not a barrier to other criteria.
As for the blurb, I'd just shorten it a little, since the blurb itself doesn't need to be all inclusive, just to suggest the topic clearly:
Discovered by a new technique, Teixobactin is an antibiotic for bacteria resistant to known drugs. μηδείς (talk) 01:48, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Ok, but will the committee read the whole thread to see these proto-blurbs at the bottom, or.... Layzeeboi (talk) 01:54, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
More specifically, incorrect blurbs should not be offered. Since nothing stopped me, I replaced the incorrect blurbs. Layzeeboi (talk) 02:01, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • I am going to post this, even though I commented above, since the two original opposes have now indicated support, so this is essentially unanimous. If any admin feels otherwise, please feel free to modify the blurb or pull the item. Note that the ITN template is protected not to prevent edit warring, but as a security measure. Any reliable editor should be able to post an item marked ready, except that for technical reasons one has to have the admin bit to do it. Jehochman Talk 16:13, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Agree the current posted blurb is quite good. μηδείς (talk) 19:01, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

[Closed] RD: Rod Taylor

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The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.


Article: Rod Taylor (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): CNN USA Today Fox News
Credits:

Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNRD.
Nominator's comments: He was the star of The Birds, and had leading roles in lots of other films (see his Wikipedia page). This seems to indicate he was highly regarded in his field, per RD criterion 2. --Everymorning talk 19:29, 9 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

2015 Sana'a bombing

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Article: 2015 Sana'a bombing (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ A car bomb kills at least 38 people and injures more than 90 in the Yemeni capital Sana'a. (Post)
News source(s): NYT, BBC
Credits:

Article updated

Nominator's comments: I know everyone's attention is on the Paris attack right now, and the bombing in Yemen gets overshadowed, but the Yemeni attack is actually far more deadly. --Zanhe (talk) 20:03, 8 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

  • Support assuming there's a little more expansion to the article. The Rambling Man (talk) 20:06, 8 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • It's getting to the point, tragically, where we maybe should have a combined Islamicist (Jihadist may be a better word) ongoing ticker spot for Al Qaeda, ISIS, Boko Haram, etc. I don't think the purpose of ITN is to highlight these attacks separately. μηδείς (talk) 20:22, 8 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose – These attacks in Yemen are a dime a dozen. Nothing particularly significant about this one, compared to the others, that warrants posting. It may be sad, but this is run-of-the-mill for Yemen at this point. RGloucester 22:05, 8 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support A significant attack that has got plenty of international media coverage. Hardly an everyday occurrence in Yemen, contrary to what is suggested above. Neljack (talk) 11:21, 9 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support per Neljack. Hardly an everyday occurrence. --Rsrikanth05 13:21, 9 January 2015 (UTC)
In the past couple of months, we've had at least four nominations of similar attacks in Yemen. That's about as run-of-the-mill as it gets. RGloucester 17:17, 9 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Given that we see an article with a dozen deaths being nominated everyday, shouldn't all articles relating to people dying be classified as run of the mill? --Rsrikanth05 (talk) 17:38, 10 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Most of examples of the deaths of people are "run-of-the-mill". However, relevance is determined by context. Such an incident in Paris is extremely rare, and in fact, unprecedented. Such an incident in Yemen is near everyday occurrence. One must give WP:DUE weight, as appropriate. RGloucester 17:41, 10 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

[Closed] Price of oil hits $50

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The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.


The brent crude oil price dropped below the psychological barrier of $50 a barrel BBC. The drop in price of oil has had a huge impact on the global economy, from Russia's ruble, EU's deflation, USA's boom, but this story has not gotten featured at all at ITN. The drop has been steep and could have some larger impact in the future. Nergaal (talk) 23:43, 7 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

US$50 is a rather meaningless benchmark, given the dollar is ruled by an inflationary central bank. Do we have any figure in the weight of gold,or something more meaningful than the US regime's monetary policy? μηδείς (talk) 23:51, 7 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
In general I agree about meaningless benchmarks, but in this particular case the price of a MASSIVE commodity has dropped by half and ITN didn't even consider this story. Excluding air and water, humans do not use another single resource on a larger scale. Nergaal (talk) 00:01, 8 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I agree that this is an important story, but I think "why now in particular" does need some sort of answer. I don't agree that we should be looking for something "more meaningful" than dollars, though. For better or worse, if we are dealing in psychological barriers, only dollars count because the price of oil in Green Shield stamps is not generally something that most people ever think about. Formerip (talk) 00:10, 8 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The oil price in dollars is hardly US-specific --Johnsemlak (talk) 00:27, 8 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
It's US dollars. Why no proposal when it passed £50/barrel? (Yes, I know it's a common usage. That doesn't make it less US-centric.) AlexTiefling (talk) 00:29, 8 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Because the dollar value is as you admitted common global usage. I think you know this and are just being slightly Pointy--Johnsemlak (talk) 00:33, 8 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Actually, I'd also oppose barrels as a unit of measurement. I think it would be better to use standard imperial measures. Formerip (talk) 00:38, 8 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Sorry, I am just being slightly pinty. Formerip (talk) 00:39, 8 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose an arbitrary limit based on the passing of a round number of any currency or standard. Perhaps if an actual record was set in some meaningful way (lowest inflation-adjusted price ever, for example), but passing an arbitrary numerical benchmark is no more meaningful. There's nothing particularly significant about the number 50 over numbers like 53 or 54.71 excepting our rather arbitrary attraction to round numbers. --Jayron32 00:34, 8 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose I agree there is some story about oil's price at some point, but I dont' think the crossing-the-50-dollar-mark is it. It's a wait-and-see situation, I think. --MASEM (t) 01:04, 8 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose. I think a time-based milestone would be better instead of dollar-based(lowest price in X years) if we were going to post an oil story. 331dot (talk) 01:07, 8 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

[Posted] Charlie Hebdo attack

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Article: Charlie Hebdo shooting (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ Twelve people are killed in an attack by gunmen on the Paris office. (Post)
News source(s): BBC
Credits:

Nominator's comments: Charlie Hebdo is a satirical French magazine who most recently included a cartoon depicting Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The Rambling Man (talk) 11:29, 7 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

OK. Jehochman Talk 14:57, 7 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
[Re-opened]Addendum: Je Suis Charlie
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Je suis Charlie

I would suggest to put the logo Je Suis Charlie which is now in Commons on the front page of wikipedia as illustration. Hektor (talk) 18:42, 7 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

I strongly oppose that. It would (rightly) be seen as Wikipedia taking a political stance. Just because it's a stance with which our readers and editors will mostly agree, doesn't mean it isn't a violation of NPOV. Mogism (talk) 18:49, 7 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Support. It's a public domain image associated with the story. In any case, I don't see where in NPOV policy it says that Wikipedia has to be equivocal about murder. Formerip (talk) 18:52, 7 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
It's beyond belief that people would consider this as a "political" stance, but there is such an image on Commons, just for info: Formerip (talk) 19:01, 7 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
 
It's not inconceivable that there would be people who, while opposing the attack, might disagree with what this publication did and would not feel like "Je suis Charlie". 331dot (talk) 19:03, 7 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I have much less of a problem with this second image(with the person). 331dot (talk) 19:04, 7 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Formerip, why it is so strange to regard this as a political stance? Freedom of speech is a political value. Some people don't support it, or don't think it should extend to publishing material they consider religiously offensive. Some people think killing those responsible is a justifiable response to the publication of material they regard as insulting to their religious beliefs. These all sound like political stances to me. Neljack (talk) 21:54, 7 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Freedom of speech is a trivial side-issue in the context of 12 people being murdered. People using hashtacks and so on are united in expressing shock and solidarity. It's not really political unless you think not sympathizing with the victims of a brutal and indefensible assassination can ever be a legitimate political position. I can see we're intent on misguided navel-gazing over this, but "neutrality" should really mean that if there's a usable, decent quality, policy-compliant image to go with the top story in the box, then we use it. Formerip (talk) 22:22, 7 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I don't think we're here to make judgments on which political positions are "legitimate". That's what NPOV is all about. It's certainly a political position I strongly disagree with, but it's still a political position. Terrorism is political. Neljack (talk) 23:13, 7 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
What you're suggesting is that "neutral" can consist in positioning yourself halfway between here and batshit insane. Sorry, but I don't have any words with which to respond. Formerip (talk) 23:25, 7 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Most casual observers will see it as nothing but expressing support for it when posted on the main page. I'm also not sure what exactly it is 'illustrating' that can't be done with an image of gatherings of people where this logo might be seen. 331dot (talk) 19:53, 7 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Oppose using ITN as a WP:SOAPbox for advocacy of "free speech". RGloucester 21:16, 7 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support this is about the phrase, not the graphic that represents the phrase. And I think the global outrage is as well supported here as it was when Europeans declared we are all Americans after 9/11.
And it would have been equally inappropriate to post an image saying "we are all Americans" if ITN has existed in this form at the time of 9/11, μηδείς. There were plenty of people around the world who, if not supporting the attacks, felt they were a case of chickens coming home to roost. It would have been quite wrong for Wikipedia to take sides between these respective political positions. The same applies here. Neljack (talk) 22:04, 7 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
 
  • Here is what I would consider to be a fair alternate image to be used for this story without having WP speak to sympathy of the event. It's a rally held in Brussels, it shows the Je Suis Charlie slogan, but gives the size/scope of the solidarity that people are showing for it. --MASEM (t) 23:25, 7 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    • I would trim it to the right 1/2 or 2/3rd for ITN posting, but before I do that, I'd get opinions on inclusion of the crop. --MASEM (t) 23:26, 7 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
      • That's a much poorer quality image, from a different country to the event and no more "neutral" compared to the one posted above. Formerip (talk) 23:38, 7 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
        • It's actually much more neutral; it's showing that there's a worldwide response to this event. It's not showing "just" the logo (and the logo is small but visible in it), which would be seen as a sign of solidarity with the movement, and it's clearly not an image that could be seen as "posed" as the other image above. That said, that's an issue with our ITN image size, it's not going to show a lot of detail. --MASEM (t) 01:02, 8 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose all images proposed. The logo is incompatible with BLP, the second image (person with logo sign) is the best but it does look staged and the sole person featured does not have a notable connection with the story. The third image is too generic at the scale we'd use it and feels very much like "here's a tangentally related image because we have to have an image and this is the best we have" - we don't have to have an image so we only use ones that are directly relevant. Thryduulf (talk) 03:05, 8 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support We shut down the whole site in 2012 to protest the actions of the United States government and that wasn't seen as WP:SOAPbox advocacy of "free speech". Hawkeye7 (talk) 03:12, 8 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    • "We" didn't do that at all. The Wikimedia Foundation did. If The Foundation want's to join the protest by putting a giant "Je Suis Charlie" banner across the top of every page, then more power to them. But that's not what we're discussing here. It's not our job to take a stand on behalf of The Wikimedia Foundation, in fact their rules say that we shouldn't. APL (talk) 16:32, 11 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose any of these images. The first gives the direct impression that WP is not just reporting the campaign but supporting it; the campaign, after all, consists entirely in displaying this image/hashtag. If we were to ever display this image in this way, it would require a much bigger discussion than a debate at ITN/C. As for the others, while they do a better job at reporting the campaign, the campaign is not the story we're posting. It would be rather like posting an image of an AirAsia board meeting to illustrate the story about flight 8501, or a picture of the great pyramid to illustrate Khentakawess III. GoldenRing (talk) 03:21, 8 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I've moved this outside of the archive box, with μηδείς' permission, as it was an inappropriate change to an archived discussion. Please note that μηδείς has made clear elsewhere that she is registering protest at the closure, not attempting to reopen the debate. GoldenRing (talk) 01:48, 9 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Medeis is right, this was a premature closure and I will reopen it, especially considering since an additional image was proposed later in the process. My apologies, SpencerT♦C 19:20, 9 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose the "Je Suis Charlie" logo on WP:NPOV grounds, even though it's a POV I support. The other images don't look so good to me, so I don't think they're beneficial to post. – Muboshgu (talk) 19:22, 9 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • And my sincerest thanks to Spencer.
As for the picture, it is a free image that reflects worldwide reaction to the attacks. For there to be a POV issue as Mobushgu implies, there would either have to be some sort of competitor to the Je Suis Charlie Hebdo logo we were slighting, or, bizarrely, we'd have to take advocating the murder of inncoent journalists, policemen and Deli customers as a POV we need to balance with. A free I'm Charlie image seems perfect, and the image is still in the news today. μηδείς (talk) 19:40, 9 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
To me, the POV issue doesn't have to do with advocating murder. It's about the free speech aspect, and there are clearly plenty of people opposing free speech as it concerns the prophet Mohammed. – Muboshgu (talk) 19:42, 9 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Well, there is some people have criticized that Charlie Hebdo, paraphrasing ,had this coming, in that they felt the comics were purposely anatagonist and were not surprised they were attacked, though obviously not in such a violent manner. As such, they cannot stand being that concept that "we" all support free speech/etc. And while here at WP and ITN, the intent of why we are posting the free logo image is clear (it is what is "in the news", etc.) a random person that may associate with the above critic, unaware of our approach to posting images on ITN, could take that as WP implicitly supporting the cause they dont agree with. WP has been clear in the past that if there is a cause that en.wiki or the Foundation has wanted to support, this is made with a very clear message to show this is not a happenstance that we are supporting it. We've been very careful that we don't use images that without sufficient context might appear to be soapboxing or the like. --MASEM (t) 19:46, 9 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Still definitely oppose considering the events that have occurred today, including many others being killed that aren't Charlie. Tasteless to use a flash in the pan social media phenomenon where Je Suis Ahmed or Je Suis Franck or Je Suis Juif apply. This is no longer about a bunch of satirical cartoonists, it's about policemen, individual shoppers, Jews, Muslims etc. The Rambling Man (talk) 19:45, 9 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • At this point it might make sense to merge this free image with the update nom. There are two issues, reporting the facts, and whether there's a free image. I think there are both, but can understand there might be opposes to one or the other. μηδείς (talk) 22:06, 9 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support It's being covered in the news as Je suis Charlie movement. Symbols are often used as background image for the story. It's not "taking a side" even though no one has suggested there are sides. Showing candles while covering a candlelight vigil is also not taking a side or a POV. --DHeyward (talk) 03:07, 11 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose Using the slogan straight out, or a photograph that's cropped so tightly that the slogan is actually big enough to read in thumbnail isn't providing a relevant news image, it's sloganeering. If the foundation wants to take a stand for free speech they could do that without ITN's help, but it's way beyond the purview of ITN to push slogans or to "show solidarity". APL (talk) 16:29, 11 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Include a montage

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It would have been excusable to include one of the images above, but if people are going to oppose that, then let's have a montage of the cartoonists. The top example omits one and has some extraneous text; the lower one is perhaps not a suitable illustration, but we have a photo of the fifth person, so we certainly can montage them all in a fresh purpose-built image if people are willing to feature it.

Criticism may fairly be made that others were killed, but I think we can distinguish reasonably clearly between the primary targets who were selected intentionally, versus secondary targets who were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Wnt (talk) 15:23, 10 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Tend to agree, although would strongly favour top image. Martinevans123 (talk) 15:27, 10 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Absolutely not. WP is not a memorial, and this would be even more an impression of one commemorating the slain on the front page. (It's fine in the article as part of the response). --MASEM (t) 15:57, 10 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose it would be equally meaningful to feature an image of the muslim policeman they executed in the street. Or the police officers they assassinated elsewhere in Paris. Or the hostages. Or the Hebdo workers who don't happen to have drawn cartoons. Or the dead jews. Plus the photo-montage is tacky in extreme, the cartoon montage a little more tasteful but hardly encyclopaedic. The Rambling Man (talk) 20:33, 10 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Strong oppose – Advocacy is not to be tolerated. This is an encylopaedia, not a WP:SOAPbox for advocacy of the point of view that these dead people held. Wikipedia is not a memorial, either. RGloucester 21:07, 10 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
So doesn't matter there was a crime here? Cartoons are dangerous, right? Martinevans123 (talk) 22:25, 10 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I'm not going to get dragged into a defence of murderers, so please don't try to facilitate such a farce. Advocacy is unacceptable, and that's that. RGloucester 22:50, 10 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
You might just become a "hostage to fortune"? Martinevans123 (talk) 23:09, 10 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Fine, fine then. I change my vote to delete ITN outright including all current text items since WP is not news and does not feature breaking events differently than other encyclopedic data. You want to enforce policy, then by golly let's enforce policy. Wnt (talk) 22:18, 10 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    Yeah, we've all done the "it's my ball and I'm taking it" thing once in a while. The point here is that Wikipedia doesn't have to blindly follow news sources which are generally created to make money by selling stuff that appeals to the masses. Instead, our goal is to create an encyclopedia which is designed to report facts in a factual manner, without resorting to whoring out our main page as clickbait. The Rambling Man (talk) 22:30, 10 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    The problem with images at ITN is that they are given very little context. The montage of the killed cartoonists, in the body of the article on the event, is fine as we have significant amount of room in prose to explain why the image is there. In ITN we have a blurb, and while showing who was killed can be considered a neutral facet of the story, without sufficient room to provide that context, it could easily be taken as endorsing of a memorial for those people or the like. That's why we have to take care in making sure the image does not have unintentional consequences due to lack of context. --MASEM (t) 17:04, 11 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Comment I think the hand-drawn image is misleading. It's misleading because it would be used to illustrate a news event featuring five cartoonists. As ITN does not normally illustrate stories with cartoons, the obvious implication would be that it was drawn by one of the cartoonists in the news, but it's not. It's part of a collection of student works in response to the attacks. APL (talk) 16:48, 11 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • My sole concern here has been that the reaction to the attack is itself notable, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:In_the_news/Candidates#January_2015_Marches_R.C3.A9publicaines_or_existing_blurb_update, and that any good free image would be useful. I suggest that Spencer re-close this discussion, as we have at least two others above, and the recent muti-million rally is the most relevant. μηδείς (talk) 00:09, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

January 6

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Arts and culture

Business and economics

Disasters and accidents

Health

International relations

Law and crime

Politics and elections

Science and technology

Sport

[Close] 2015 Istanbul bombing

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The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.


Article: 2015 Istanbul bombing (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: A suicide bombing in Istanbul, Turkey kills the perpetrator and one police officer. (Post)
News source(s): CBC, New York Times, Sydney Morning-Herald, The Globe and Mail
Credits:
Nominator's comments: There appears to be lots of coverage of this event from major news sources from all over the world. --Everymorning talk 23:31, 6 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

[Closed] Rochester, NY school bus crash

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The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.


Article: Rochester, New York (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ A crash involving two school buses in Rochester, New York leaves one dead and 10 injured. (Post)
News source(s): Democrat and Chronicle, WHEC.com
Credits:
 --Alex (talk) 13:41, 6 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

[Closed] Toyota patents

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The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.


Articles: Toyota (talk · history · tag) and Hydrogen vehicle (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ Japanese automotive manufacturer Toyota announces it will open over-5,000 patents in a bid to promote hydrogen vehicle technology. (Post)
News source(s): TIME, Financial Times, BBC
 61.245.25.11 (talk) 14:14, 6 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Agree with Thryduulf, but suggest we need at least three major independent sources (not green POV ones either) saying this is a big deal with actual economic repercussions. All sorts of things are patented that no one wants the patent to. μηδείς (talk) 02:31, 7 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

[Closed] Fort Bliss Shooting

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The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.


Article: 2015 Fort Bliss shooting (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ A shooting at Fort Bliss, TX, leaves 2 dead. (Post)
News source(s): Washington Post (note that I cited the new article rather well, so there are more sources there to check this one against)
Credits:
Nominator's comments: This got major attention on most of the national US new networks two days ago, and highlights an ongoing problem with the US Veteran's Affairs unit, which has been embroiled in an ongoing scandal for nearly a year now. --TomStar81 (Talk) 23:57, 8 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Nothing wrong with your nomination, but when cities like Chicago have more than 1,000 fatal shootings in a year, two dead who are not inthemselves notable except s victims is not going to merit ITN coverage, especially given the other stories it's up against. Please do nominate others stories in the future. μηδείς (talk) 19:10, 9 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

January 5

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Arts and culture

Business and economics

Disasters and accidents

International relations

Law and crime

Sport

January 4

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Disasters and accidents

Religion

Sport

[Posted] New Egyptian queen

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Article: Khentakawess III (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ The discovery of the tomb of the previously unknown ancient Egyptian queen Khentakawess III is announced. (Post)
News source(s): ABC Online, Express Tribune, Fox News
Credits:

Nominator's comments: According to the reports, she is the possible wife of pharaoh Neferefre and the mother of pharaoh Menkaure. --Brandmeistertalk 23:01, 4 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

I see at this point the article has her as queen consort-not that I hold that against the nomination; it still just needs expansion. μηδείς (talk) 18:49, 5 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I have looked at a number of sources, and none of them suggest that she could have been a queen regnant. Formerip (talk) 18:53, 5 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

[Ready] RD: Stuart Scott

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Article: Stuart Scott (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): New York Times Fox Sports ABC News Sports Illustrated ESPN
Credits:

Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNRD.

Nominator's comments: Notable ESPN anchor who mainly anchored on SportsCenter. He was awarded the Jimmy V award at the 2014 ESPY awards. Andise1 (talk) 19:01, 4 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

  • Oppose per TRM. Gamaliel (talk) 19:35, 4 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support one of the most recognizable sports broadcasters during this generation. 107.72.162.34 (talk) 19:54, 4 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    On a specific programme on a specific channel in America. The Rambling Man (talk) 20:31, 4 January 2015 (UTC)][reply]
    Of the most watched programme of it's genre. Also you can leave off "in America". Things don't become automatically insignificant merely because they happen in the U.S. The U.S. is as valid of a country as any other. Events should not be discounted only because they happen there as opposed to countries you find more worthy. --Jayron32 00:14, 5 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    It appears that his notability is only derived from being recognisable, having won no serious awards at all. The supporters appear to be suggesting he is top of the field because of being so emminently recognisable. This is, of course, only the case in the US. The Rambling Man (talk) 08:03, 5 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support Per carrot and 107.72.162.34.--TDKR Chicago 101 (talk) 19:57, 4 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support. Dismissing him as a "minor sports news broadcaster" is totally wrong. His legacy extends beyond sports; as others have noted, he once interviewed President Obama and the president himself released a statement on his death. -- Calidum 20:05, 4 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    How many people have interviewed the incumbent president of America? Did he win any broadcasting awards? How is he top of his field? The Rambling Man (talk) 20:32, 4 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Weak support Calling Scott a 'minor sports news broadcaster' is effectively admitting to knowing nothing about him. While I'm not quite sure Scott rises to RD level, I have to agree with the IP who above refers to Scott as 'one of the most recognizable sports broadcasters during this generation.' He's a borderline case and it's a shame to see two users opposing per another user's totally inaccurate statement. Mellowed Fillmore (talk) 20:52, 4 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    I guess if his passing was in the news and he wasn't limited to just ESPN Sports Center then you'd have a point. Can you point me to where he's recognised as top of his field, or is the main argument simply that he was recognisable by Americans? I read his article and saw nothing that stated he'd won any awards for being top of his field (e.g. broadcasting awards). Happy to change my view if you can point me to something other than a clear affection for a very popular broadcaster who, as far as I can tell, doesn't meet the RD criteria. Not one single supporter has demonstrated how he meets the criteria. The Rambling Man (talk) 20:56, 4 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    While Scott's passing has been acknowledged by most big US sports outlets (not just ESPN), I think you do have a point that it isn't really in the news. I don't think that Scott earned many awards and my opinion of him as 'head of his field' is primarily based on my own experience and understanding of the American sports arena. The fact that the US President took the time to comment on Scott's passing does suggest some significance. I'm not going to complain at all if this doesn't get posted. I was primarily just taking issue, probably a bit rudely (my apologies), with your use of the word 'minor' in reference to Scott. Mellowed Fillmore (talk) 21:04, 4 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    No worries. The Prime Minister of the UK often comments on those people who are fondly remembered when they die, it's great PR, he's "down with the people". It's not a guide to RD notability as far as I can tell. So, forgetting that, this individual has no claim to being anything other than mildly popular in a small sphere of a small sphere on a large oblate spheroid. The Rambling Man (talk) 21:10, 4 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    Well, I wouldn't quite call it a small sphere. Sports is very big in America and ESPN is pretty big too. Still, I'm not in any way convinced that your stance is wrong, so I won't argue further. Mellowed Fillmore (talk) 21:11, 4 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose Who is he again? --Rsrikanth05 (talk) 21:17, 4 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose. I've never heard of him; I wasn't familiar with Cuomo or Brooke either, but both of those seem to be household names in the States and well-known internationally, both of their deaths were reported internationally, and both had an obvious legacy. Those are the sorts of names whose absence (though the latter is pending article improvement), would leave people scratching their heads. In this case, I imagine people would be scratching their heads if we did post. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 21:28, 4 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    • I really don't think Edward Brooke is a household name. His major claim to fame is much more specific than it may seem at first glance. I'd guess that Stuart Scott is much better known to the average American than Brooke. Zagalejo^^^ 23:38, 4 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Weak Oppose - While this has been announced on many TV stations, I'm inclined to oppose this since my edit on Scott in the 2015 page was reverted. Aerospeed (Talk) 21:40, 4 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    • Don't use that editor's justification. The bar for inclusion on the Year page is pretty high. The one for 2014 doesn't even include the U.S. midterm elections. 22:12, 4 January 2015 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Baseball Bugs (talkcontribs)
  • Oppose There have been other sportscasters that are much more significant in the field than him, fails RD. --MASEM (t) 23:16, 4 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support This is probably a futile argument, but I think a significant percentage of Wikipedia's readers would expect to see Stuart Scott in recent deaths. He died fairly young, and though he probably wasn't at the top of his field, he had a distinctive broadcasting style and was involved with many major sporting events. FWIW, I have found some non-American sources reporting his death, eg [62], [63]. Zagalejo^^^ 23:38, 4 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
It's not worth much. It's an AP report (and a Portuguese precis of it) - anything on AP will automatically be on websites around the world, regardless of how likely anyone is to be interested. Formerip (talk) 00:04, 5 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose. Lack of international profile and not a strong enough domestic profile to override that. Formerip (talk) 00:04, 5 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support. At the top of his field, well known, very recognizable to a sizable portion of the readership of Wikipedia, death is making significant news in other major outlets. --Jayron32 00:15, 5 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Weak oppose. I'm not seeing how he meets the RD criteria. Being well known (and having the President comment on your death) doesn't mean one is "very important" to their field. 331dot (talk) 02:04, 5 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose. I respect the points made in his favor, but this is a really hard sell. An anchor at sportscenter just doesn't cut it despite his popularity and young death. Also, the Jimmy V award is given by ESPN the company he worked for. --Johnsemlak (talk) 02:29, 5 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support Sure, he didn't win accolades, beyond the single one - but he seems to have been a personality that was well-known. Influential in American sports broadcasters, a presence that is noted and has been very audibly missed. It fits RD2, from all I can see. Challenger l (talk) 04:38, 5 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Being well known does not make one important to their field. How exactly was he influential? Have other sportscasters copied his style of broadcasting or otherwise commented that he has influenced broadcasting? As pointed out, the one award he got was given by his employer. 331dot (talk) 12:26, 5 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
What I meant is there are a lot of sportscasters who die who are associated with local teams in the US but who are known nationwide due to their long careers. No offense to Mr. Scott, but I contacted three people I know who follow sports (I watch games, but don't consider myself a fan) and two said he was that ESPN guy, and one said, I never heard of him until he died, given I don't watch ESPN. So it seems like a case of, say, a Fox News babe (no offense to Fox) who passes away, being known to Fox News watchers, and hence being famous to them, but otherwise nowhere near the top of their field like Sam Donaldson or David Brinkley were, even to those who did not watch their networks. I wold not be offended by a posting, but basically this seems like systemic bias from a population of mostly males under 26. μηδείς (talk) 00:07, 7 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Your friend who follows sports but doesnt watch ESPN probably does not have cable or satellite, which would be a rarity in the US for sports fans over 26 (apparently 18-35 yr olds do not subscribe to ESPN as much as those older[67]). Scott hosted Monday Night Countdown and led post-game coverage for Monday Night Football, a weekly prime-time football game. Scott was also lead host on broadcast TV on ABC for the NBA on ABC, including the NBA Finals on ESPN's Coverage of the NBA Finals on ABC. Those are some major sporting events in the US in two of its most popular sports leagues that your sports friend must not be watching.—Bagumba (talk) 07:48, 7 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks. I don't think we need to go on about this, and I don't think it would be a problem if Scott pushed Rainer off the ticker. I simply wanted to point out, mostly to foreigners without ESPN, that he's not a household name to all Americans. The friend of which I spoke had ESPN for 15 years until recently going back to over-the-air broadcasts and streaming. He regularly watches Monday Night Football (and sets off the car alarm briefly after big wins for local sports teams) but not the aftergame and hasn't paid much attention to the NBA since the 76'ers were a force. In any case, when someone dies in sports he will usually roll off a litany of stats, anecdotes, and data, whereas I will recognize by name that the person was in sports. In this instance I am sure my informant could list a dozen national and local commentators, but he'd never even heard of Scott until he passed away. And all the other two informants (both former HS football players, one in Virginia, one in New Egland) who do watch ESPN could say was that they knew who he was. μηδείς (talk) 17:47, 7 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I am also assuming you watched ESPN, Stemoc? μηδείς (talk) 20:05, 6 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

January 3

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Armed conflicts and attacks
  • Boko Haram
    • Fleeing villagers from a remote part of the Borno State report that Boko Haram had three days prior kidnapped around 40 boys and young men. (BBC)

Arts and culture

Disasters and accidents

Law and crime

Politics and elections

[Closed] MV Höegh Osaka

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The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.


Article: MV Höegh Osaka (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ The MV Höegh Osaka develops a severe list and is beached in the Solent. Her 28 crew are rescued. (Post)
News source(s): BBC
Credits:

Article updated
 --Mjroots (talk) 20:55, 4 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose a non-story. I'm not fully aware of how many ships hit sandbanks and list per year, but as this is just a case of "bad driving" and no further damage, it probably doesn't even meet the criteria for notability. The Rambling Man (talk) 20:58, 4 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
@The Rambling Man: it was the other way round, listed then beached to prevent sinking. You know where AFD is. Mjroots (talk) 21:06, 4 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Sure. It's just not newsworthy. It's probably a good candidate for DYK. The Rambling Man (talk) 21:07, 4 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

[Posted] RD: Edward Brooke

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Article: Edward Brooke (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): Washington Post
Credits:

Article updated
Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNRD.

Nominator's comments: First African American US Senator, and only one for ~30 years. Recipient of both Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal which are described as the joint highest civilian honours in the US. --Thryduulf (talk) 22:46, 3 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

January 2

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Disasters and accidents

International relations

[Closed] MV Cemfjord

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The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.


Article: MV Cemfjord (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ The cargo ship MV Cemfjord' sinks in the Pentland Firth off the north-east coast of Scotland with the apparent loss of all eight crew (Post)
Credits:
Nominator's comments: I can anticipate some opposition to this, and I don't feel strongly about it myself, but unlike some recent nominations it does have an article, which is in good shape, and it do no harm to have a change to the top item (currently Lithuania, which was posted at 03:00 UTC on the 1st. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 22:05, 4 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

RD: Little Jimmy Dickens

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Article: Little Jimmy Dickens (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): NBC News Fox News Rolling Stone

ABC News
Credits:

Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNRD.

Nominator's comments: Member of the country music hall of fame, oldest member of the Grand Old Opry, and an influential country musician. Andise1 (talk) 04:39, 3 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

January 1

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Business and economy

International relations

Law and crime
  • Vietnam’s new marriage law goes into effect, abolishing regulations that “prohibit marriage between people of the same sex.” (Bloomberg)

Politics and elections

[Posted] United Nations Security Council election, 2014

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Article: United Nations Security Council (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ Angola, Malaysia, New Zealand, Venezuela and Spain join the United Nations Security Council (Post)
Alternative blurb: ​ Angola, Malaysia, New Zealand, Venezuela and Spain join the United Nations Security Council
News source(s): New Straits Times, Xinhua, Fox News
Credits:

The nominated event is listed on WP:ITN/R, so each occurrence is presumed to be important enough to post. Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article and update meet WP:ITNCRIT, not the significance.

Nominator's comments: The 5 new Security council members should be posted. Nergaal (talk) 18:04, 4 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Posted. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 01:48, 7 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

RD: Donna Douglas

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Article: Donna Douglas (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): ABC News, USA Today
Credits:

Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNRD.

Nominator's comments: Actor on popular TV show Beverly Hillbillies. Won the first Miss Golden Globe in 1963. [68] --Everymorning talk 01:56, 3 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

[Posted] RD: Mario Cuomo

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Article: Mario Cuomo (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): NYT, CBC, ABC, USA Today
Credits:

Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNRD.

Nominator's comments: Three-time governor of NewYork seems to be a well-known figure in American politics, father of the incumbent governor of New York --HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 01:35, 2 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Eurasian Economic Union

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Article: Eurasian Economic Union (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ The Eurasian Economic Union is established by Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia with Kyrgyzstan participating as an acceding state. (Post)
News source(s): [69] [70] [71]
Credits:

 --Mentoroso (talk) 13:04, 1 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

  • Support - an escalation of attempt by Russia to compete against EU (pathetic attempt but still).--BabbaQ (talk) 13:21, 1 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose From what I see, the treaty was signed on 29 May 2014 and today that treaty just comes into force (don't remember whether we posted signing or not). It's comparable to posting presidential inaguration instead of election results. Brandmeistertalk 14:20, 1 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support It's not often that a continental union is formed and a treaty does not guarantee it's existence (in spacetime) (but it happening does). Heck, it could even be seen as a much looser USSR. Inaugurations are far more common in comparison. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 18:34, 1 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • ЕАЭС is the new CCCP. Nergaal (talk) 20:44, 1 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Comment. I feel like I should be supporting this, but I'm noticing that the major news outlets seem to be ignoring it (even Russia Today!) and, from reading our article, I am not able to work out how it differs much from the Eurasian Economic Community that existed yesterday. If it's mainly about ordering new business cards and letterheads, then I'm not sure we should post it. Is anyone able to enlighten me? Formerip (talk) 21:03, 1 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Media outlets (especially Eurasian ones) have been covering it all year round, so there's really no reason for them to even more. The difference between the Community and the EEU is that the latter is a more integrated single market, with free movement of goods, capital, services and people (It's similar to the difference between the European Economic Community and the European Union, without the political components to it). Common transport, energy, agriculture and energy policies are also now in force. There are provisions to create a single currency, a parliament and deepening integration in the future. This is why I thought we could consider it.—Mentoroso (talk) 21:50, 1 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Putin has glorified the Soviet days since he became president 31 December 1999. Not the Marxism-Leninism part but the superpower-ness. He has whitewashed school history books. Russia economically wasn't so great in the 90s, after awhile of that the cons of the USSR might not be remembered as strongly. Anyway isn't it a bit insulting that the Eurasian flag is built around a very detailed silhouette of Eurasia, as if Sri Lanka, Japan, France, India, Norway, KSA, Bangladesh, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Singapore, Sinai, Israel, Taiwan and the other EU nations depicted would want to join that Union. If you put territory that you don't have on your flag it makes you look expansionistic. Also, it looks like they only excluded the Southeast Asia islands for aesthetic anti-clutter and "it'd make the ex-USSR look too small" reasons and Iceland, Spain, Portugal, the UK, Ireland and any islands thereof was not shown because that would make the EU and Europe's shape too obvious. And also the previous reasons where applicable (i.e. Spain sticks out too much, making the former USSR smaller if included). Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 23:15, 1 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
What does this wall of text have to do with whether or not we should post this story? AlexTiefling (talk) 01:50, 2 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]