Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2013 February 28

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February 28

How much power do the Northern Ireland Assembly, the UK Parliament, and the European Parliament have over Northern Irish law?

What percentage has the UK Parliament devolved to Northern Ireland and given to Europe? (If it cannot be expressed precisely, a rough subjective observation will do). Many thanks. 72Volt (talk) 22:26, 3 March 2013 (UTC)

Name of "Detective story" book

Hello Helpers! Several years ago I read a brilliant story about a "detective" hired by the Roman Authorities to find out what happened to the 'Lost Legions of Varus'. The setting is around 10 years after his (Varus') total loss of his legions to the Teutonnic tribes on the other side of the Rhein river. I know that the author of this book has written other historic detective stories. I am very interested in those books. Thanks in advance, Andy Hoff, Philippines112.198.64.35 (talk) 00:08, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

Is it The Iron Hand of Mars perhaps? -- Finlay McWalterჷTalk 00:11, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

I don't have an answer for that specific story, but for some writers of Roman-based detective fiction see: Lindsey Davis, Steven Saylor, John Maddox Roberts, David Wishart, and Rosemary Rowe. Zoonoses (talk) 05:27, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

There is a long list of English language detective novels set in ancient Rome here, but I haven't been able to find any summary similar to the plot described by the OP on it. --Saddhiyama (talk) 07:59, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

It's surely The Iron Hand of Mars, as Finlay says. The book is part of a series by Lindsey Davis about the detective Marcus Didius Falco (referred to as an "informer") under the reign of Vespasian. Paul B (talk) 12:16, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

Judging from the description it has nothing to do with Varus and the 9th legion, though. --Saddhiyama (talk) 08:55, 1 March 2013 (UTC)

I assure you it does. I've read it. It's good fun. Falco follows a trail leading from a dodgy seller of old army-memorabilia, who's getting relics from the site of the battle. Paul B (talk) 11:43, 1 March 2013 (UTC)

I guess I have no option then, but I must stress that all description on the net regarding this novel exclusively concerns itself with events 70 years past Varus. I appreciate the sanctimony of the spoiler, but I think that you can break the oath without losing any honour here, if it is indeed the novel that is being sought after. --Saddhiyama (talk) 00:14, 2 March 2013 (UTC)

Have a look at Battle_of_the_Teutoburg_Forest#Portrayal_in_fiction. Zoonoses (talk) 05:53, 2 March 2013 (UTC)

Savile Town border map

Is there a map that shows the border of Savile Town of UK?--Donmust90 (talk) 03:29, 28 February 2013 (UTC)Donmust90

There is no town, city, or municipality that I can find called "Savile" or "Savile Town" in the UK. There is a Savile Row that is a street in London. It's location can be found using your favorite mapping program (Google Maps, Mapquest, etc.) --Jayron32 03:35, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

This is bad news indeed for the Barber of Savile. You realise you're sending a decent man broke, Jayron, by depriving him of his very conurbation? -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 04:19, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

Figaro, figaro, fi...ga...ro... --Jayron32 04:27, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

Savile Town is an informal name given to a small area of Dewsbury. It doesn't have formally defined borders. Rojomoke (talk) 05:45, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

There you go. Can't believe I missed that. I swear I searched and only found the street. --Jayron32 05:53, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

It helped that the OP had already asked about it two questions up. Rojomoke (talk) 07:41, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

cruise line alliances

It's understood there could be a few cruise line alliances. One example is World's Leading Cruise Lines. Carnival Cruise Lines and Costa Cruises are part of it. Which cruise line alliance is Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean International part of?142.255.103.121 (talk) 08:22, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

Carnival and Costa are seperate operations, but are both owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. "World's Leading Cruise Lines", as its website explains, is simply a joint marketing brand used by those operations; I don't think it constitutes an "alliance" in the way that we'd think of, say, an airline alliance - independently owned companies cooperating. Andrew Gray (talk) 20:05, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

That is true, the various Carnival lines do not allow you to take a cruise on one line and have it count for elite status on another. When I took a Holland America cruise, they did count me as a returning cruiser on the basis of a previous cruise. Apparently, Celebrity and Royal Caribbean, both of which are not owned by Carnival, recognize each other's elite status. That being said, as I am one of the few Wikipedians who knows anything about this issue, I would refer you to the forums at www.cruisecritic.com. The people there know everything about cruises. I mean, everything.--Wehwalt (talk) 20:54, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni

Were there sanctions against Iran for hanging two gay kids who had only had consensual sex despite the false claim of rape that the Iranian government gave once the case became known the rest of the World?. Kotjap (talk) 10:58, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

No and as the article says it is not entirely clear that it was consensual sex. The violation that can be established was carrying out the death penalty on juveniles but considering the number of executions done by the major powers at the UN that isn't something they'll complain about too loudly. Dmcq (talk) 11:09, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

The international community will rarely intervene beyond words in this kind of case. Iran is a sovereign nation and its laws and justice system are its own affair, even if other countries disagree with what it is doing. If the human rights of political prisoners are being violated, that sometimes gets a bit more attention, but if a country wants to outlaw homosexuality that isn't the kind of thing that attracts sanctions. There are plenty of people that think countries should intervene more often, but it isn't the mainstream view of world leaders. --Tango (talk) 12:24, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

Multiple valid visas

This is not a legal question. At least it has nothing to do with my legal status or anyone's legal status. This is just a fun question that pops up from nowhere.

Let's say I am a citizen of Country X. I visited Country Y as a tourist so I have a multiple entry visa of Y on my Country X passport.

I really like Country Y so I decided I'll go to a college of Y. As a result I have a student visa of Y now.

Then my rich dad gives me a lot of money. I bought Country Y's government investment fund and I earned a Y's investor visa.

After graduation, I get a job in Y's capital. Now I have a working visa applied by my boss.

I fall in love with my boss's mistress. A year later, I get another visa on my passport.

Except for the student visa which expired after my graduation, all my other visas are still valid. Each has its do's and don'ts. I may enter country Y using any of my valid visa. Then I legal status in country Y shall be determined by that particular visa.

Is there some kind of general rule among nations regarding a foreigner's multiple valid visas? -- Toytoy (talk) 14:34, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

Rules may vary in some countries, but in mostmany countries you can only have one visa at a time, probably because of precisely the conundrum you mentioned in your question. This may occur automatically, either with a physical strike on your passport or by operation of law: when you start studying your tourist visa is automatically cancelled; when you obtain residency after studying your student visa is automatically cancelled. Or it may be a precondition: you cannot hold some type of visa until another visa is surrendered or cancelled. --PalaceGuard008 (Talk) 14:44, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

It would be best to phone the embassies. They will know best. KägeTorä - (影虎) (TALK) 06:40, 3 March 2013 (UTC)

One might reasonably assume that the issuance of a visa voids any previous visa issued by the same government, to the same person. DOR (HK) (talk) 07:16, 3 March 2013 (UTC)

Covenant (biblical)

So, this covenant, generally speaking, is an agreement between God and a group of people or all of humanity. It sounds like making a contract or deal. In Judaism, believers are given Mosaic Law by God and are expected to follow the law. In Islam, believers continue with the covenant made with Abraham by God. In Christianity, believers hold a new covenant in which they make a sacrifice to God through the death of Jesus Christ in exchange for God's grace to be undeservedly given to save humanity. Is God's grace undeservedly given to Christians because someone has to be killed (sin) in order to receive God's grace? 140.254.226.229 (talk) 15:18, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

Short answer, yes, at least within some branches of Christianity. Per our salvation (Christianity) article, Protestant theology holds that the death of Jesus was necessary to fulfill the Mosaic covenant (remember, Christianity develops out of Judaism, and so can't just set that stuff aside without addressing it) -- I'm not sure how widely this is agreed with in the Catholic or Orthodox spheres. I find that the book of Hebrews particularly addresses this, specifically chapters 7 and 8. One such excerpt is Hebrews 7:27: "Unlike the other high priests, [Jesus] does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself." (NIV) — Lomn 15:31, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

See also Romans 5:6-10, and of course bear in mind that small excerpts necessarily lack context. For example, Romans is rife with "therefore", as Paul spends most of the book building one concept on top of another. The bit in chapter 5 that I point to doesn't really make full sense without all that precedes it in chapters 1-4, and doesn't culminate until at least chapter 8. But Paul does spend a lot of time there talking about the broad strokes of Jewish law and how it relates to Christianity, so that's probably another good area of reading. — Lomn 15:37, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

That was fast. Are you an expert in this field or something?140.254.226.229 (talk) 15:55, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

I'm a preacher's wife and a half-competent lay theologian. Also, I spent some time talking about grace this past weekend, so some of the references were already on the brain. — Lomn 16:01, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

Which denomination?140.254.226.229 (talk) 16:16, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

I do not claim membership in any particular denomination, though my personal theology is pretty clearly Protestant. — Lomn 16:29, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

So, that means the response you gave me is the generic traditional Protestant theology within some branches of Christianity? Can you specify which branch or school of thought? :-) 140.254.226.229 (talk) 16:40, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

(edit conflict)OK, so looking back at that first answer, I've overstated the importance of "some branches of Christianity" in an effort to avoid misattribution of theological nuances. Little-o orthodox Christianity (of which big-o Orthodox Christianity is a subset) will agree universally with the sentiment underlying the statement that the death and resurrection of sinless Christ was a necessary component of salvation. This traces back to, in addition to various scriptures, the Nicene Creed, which was formulated as a basic "here's something we can all agree on" statement of belief that existed well prior to the two major schisms. Where you will get disagreement is in specific theological details: for instance, you use the phrase "in exchange for God's grace to be given" -- I suspect many theologians would challenge the implicit cause and effect in that statement; for instance, by discussing "grace" as a higher-order concept than "salvation". Similarly, the references, arguments, and scriptures provided to justify those details will likewise vary. As such, the interpretation I offer is representative of some (but not all) branches of orthodox Christianity, and will reasonably strongly mirror most Protestant theology, but the interpretation is of secondary importance (as for "which branches" -- well, mine. I take the sola scriptura thing fairly seriously in that regard). Finally, I also note that I should have pointed to New Covenant earlier (and I note with no small bit of pleasure that our article similarly references Hebrews 8 as a key text in this area) as well as supersessionism, which we note as the majority Christian view regarding the old covenant. — Lomn 17:42, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

In addition to the salvation article linked by Lomn above, see also Atonement in Christianity (and follow the links in the section "Main theories in detail") for information on the prevailing views in various branches of Christianity. Deor (talk) 17:35, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

God's grace is not undeservedly given, if by "undeservedly" you mean immorally, unfairly, etc. Rather, Christians believe it's fully deserved, and this belief is the central tenet of Christianity. See John 3:16-17, perhaps the most famous verses in Christianity: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him." Note that this salvation only applies to believers (not, as you suggest, to humanity), and that it's not conditional on the moral worth of the believer.

You might ask how killing one person can atone for the sins of another, in which case the answer is collective punishment. Of course, most Christians today view this concept as abhorrent except in the context of their own religion, a phenomenon called special pleading. --140.180.255.158 (talk) 17:49, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

I think you'd find virtually all Christian theologians would in fact say that grace is entirely unfair (it just happens to be unfair in our favor). As for salvation being "for all" vs "for believers" -- that is indeed a significant issue of dispute amongst various branches of Christianity; our predestination article addresses some of the disagreement. It would be a mistake to present this as an issue with a settled point of view. — Lomn 18:26, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

Buyeo kingdom

Hello,

is it assumable that already in 350 BC the Buyeo kingdom existed?

Greetings HeliosX (talk) 16:19, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

No. According to our article, the kingdom dates roughly to the 2nd century (100s) BCE. According to the Chinese Wikipedia article, it was founded in 239 BCE. Marco polo (talk) 16:31, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

Reliable statistics about books read/year

I am searching for some serious statistics about how many books/year people read, which may include basic things like what's the average book, age or educational level of the readers. I have plenty of secondary sources (which don't bother to disclose how they came to the conclusion). OsmanRF34 (talk) 19:03, 28 February 2013 (UTC)