User talk:Itsmejudith

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J'ai relu les phrases que tu as écrites, et tout d'un coup j'ai compris leur sens ironique! Il faut que je dorme un peu plus avant de répondre aux courriels! Malheureusement, un de mes médicaments provoque l'insomnie... --Kyoko 00:41, 1 October 2006 (UTC)

I'm going to stick to English right now, because I'm a bit distracted, and English does come to me more naturally than French. Right now, I can't be sure whether it's "on peut dire aussi" or "on peut aussi dire".

I am doing better emotionally, but physically there are certain consequences to what I did, consequences that I will have to live with, but I don't want to depress you by mentioning them. Sorry to darken the general mood. It's a question of "do I put on a brave face and pretend that everything is great, or do I say what really concerns me and trouble everybody?" Anyway, I hope that you are doing well.--Kyoko 12:25, 2 October 2006 (UTC)

You really want to know? --Kyoko 13:03, 2 October 2006 (UTC)

Contents 1 South Ronaldsay child abuse scandal 2 Re: 3 what's stressing me now 4 Itmam al-hujjah 5 food, anorexia 6 Whitewashing 7 Hi 8 Whitewashing 9 Apology 10 yes, PH is improved by exercise 11 WP:BAH 12 Solar Power edits explanation 13 Sorry 14 WikiProject Brighton template banner 15 re: Wishing you lots and lots of luck 16 Merge 17 Brighton & Hove Palestine Solidarity Campaign 18 French/Kyoko 19 square roots, chemo 20 Historical materialism 21 Thanks 22 my articles 23 To help you with your welcoming of new Esperanza members... 24 Award 25 lung tx article online 26 Muhammad picture dispute 27 Yellow badge 28 November Esperanza Newsletter 29 personal update 30 Briley Brothers 31 A thank you note 32 Tired 33 thank you 34 E@L support barnstar 35 depression and stuff 36 Thank you so much 37 Muhammad + Reform 38 'Buddha's Relic and Jetavanaramya' article 39 Buddhism #2 40 Thanks 41 Reforms under Islam (610-661) 42 Racist wikipedians 43 catchup 44 Mediation 45 A request 46 Your "evidence" in my Arbcomm 47 happy Turkey-Day!!!! 48 Request for Mediation 49 Parviz Tanavoli 50 Islam, Criticism and Non-Muslim views 51 New antisemitism 52 Thank You 53 Thanks! 54 Your RFM 55 Article in need of cleanup - please assist if you can 56 Islam

[edit] South Ronaldsay child abuse scandal

I live in a bad area so i see no good chavs but i will believe you (just). Yes i believe South Ronaldsay child abuse scandal is very relivent to the persicution of heathans page. The whole issue of satanic child abuse is very relivent especially as the kids where more likely to be abuse in care due to no security checks on social workers at this time.Hypnosadist 17:59, 1 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Re:

Salaam Judith,

Nice to hear from you! And as usual thanks for your kind and interesting comment on my talk page! The good thing that I like about Watt is that he suggests to Christians to read about the concept of God in Islam in order to understand their own trinity better. and similarly to Muslims. So interesting to me! I feel he has taken the right strategy. I feel different people use different terms for the same concepts or approach the same concept in different ways. I think the missionaries of all religions should not say people that I have the truth and let me teach you what I believe but rather, I have something which may help you to understand your own religion better. Even the seemingly contradictory beliefs, can be reconciled together if the proper interpretations are adopted. I may be misguided, but am happy to confess that I have reconciled myself with the Bible at least as I much as I understand it. I do believe in salvation that came through Jesus and that Jesus died on the cross. On the cross issue, I am taking the view of a minority of Muslim scholars. I have seen many Christians and I should confess I have been overwhelmed by their sincerity and kindness. Their nice treatment of me has even influenced the way I read the Qur’anic verse on Christians. On the contrary, my main experience of contact with the Jews has been on wikipedia and ….

Judith, unfortunately I am really off in Taoism. I read the article on Tao but didn't get much out of it. I have got the feeling that balance in life is a very important concept. I tried to find the relevant qur’anic verses on this topic and found a few:

55:7-9. And the Firmament has He raised high, and He has set up the Balance (of Justice), In order that ye may not transgress (due) balance. So establish weight with justice and fall not short in the balance.

2:143. Thus, have We made of you an Ummat justly balanced, that ye might be witnesses over the nations, and the Messenger a witness over yourselves;…

42:17. It is Allah Who has sent down the Book in Truth, and the Balance (by which to weigh conduct).

83:1-4 Woe to those that deal in fraud,- Those who, when they have to receive by measure from men, exact full measure, But when they have to give by measure or weight to men, give less than due. Do they not think that they will be called to account?-

57:22-23. No misfortune can happen on earth or in your souls but is recorded in a decree before We bring it into existence: That is truly easy for Allah. In order that ye may not despair over matters that pass you by, nor exult over favours bestowed upon you. For Allah loveth not any vainglorious boaster,-

25:67 Those who, when they spend, are not extravagant and not niggardly, but hold a just (balance) between those (extremes);…

Just a start point. :) Cheers --Aminz 09:28, 2 October 2006 (UTC)

Thanks very much Judith. I'll read Tao Te Ching and then, I think will have many questions to ask :P Cheers --Aminz 21:23, 4 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] what's stressing me now

I'll just respond here, since I've disabled my Wikipedia e-mail access following what happened to another Wikipedian (complicated story, I don't know all the details, but I can guess what happened, and I would rather not gossip about it).

Anyway, I've had kidney disease for quite some time. The loss of blood during my suicide attempt was the final insult that made my kidneys stop working sufficiently well, meaning that now I have to go on dialysis. Also, if you have read my userpage, then you know that I have pulmonary hypertension. While I can get around OK right now, I also know that realistically, my condition will probably deteriorate within a few years, to the point where I will require a lung transplant, and both kidney disease and psychiatric problems are considered to be negatives when selecting who should be put on the transplant list. I'm working on an article right now about lung transplantation, in my sandbox, if you would like to know more. But basically, I'm a bit stressed because by my own actions, I may have eliminated any chance for a transplant should that become necessary.

This is why I didn't want to go into detail at first. --Kyoko 13:29, 2 October 2006 (UTC)

You see? I didn't want to depress you, but now I fear that I have done just that. I may have thinking about the worst-case scenario when I last wrote you. Some people with PH pass away within a short time after diagnosis; others are able to survive for several years. In any case, it is a serious condition that affects life expectancy. I was fortunate enough to be diagnosed at a fairly early stage, so that fact is in my favor. I don't know if this saying exists in the UK, but there's a phrase of "hope for the best, prepare for the worst". I guess that applies to my situation.

As for editing various health-related topics, I suppose that it may be due in part to wanting to reach out. I really think it's more a matter of wanting to give back by building Wikipedia in the process, and learning some things along the way. It helps that I have some aptitude for both science and writing, so I think that it's important to convey scientifically accurate information in a form that that is easily understood by non-specialists.

I do have excellent medical care, because I live near one of the top teaching hospitals/transplant centres in the US, and I'm fortunate enough to have both good medical insurance and a comfortable income. There are support groups out there as well, which I admit I haven't yet interacted much with (I'm pretty shy in real life). Perhaps it's time that should change.

Since you mention health care systems, it really does bother me that in the United States, the value of a human life seems to be equated with a person's socioeconomic status. Regarding the allocation of donated organs, I understand from an cold, harsh, objective point of view why a person might be denied a chance at renewed life, but when it's your own life in consideration, it does worry me. I have the luxury (if you can call it that) of knowing that I'm not in immediate need of a lung transplant, and that my kidney function may yet be restored to adequate, if not normal, levels. The real solution to the scarcity of donated organs is to raise awareness of the need.

Thanks a lot for "listening".--Kyoko 21:01, 2 October 2006 (UTC)

A few more things. I don't feel particularly brave at all. There are many people who face different obstacles, and they cope with them. Comme on dit en français, je ne fais que me débrouiller de ma santé. Most often, I feel frustrated at not being able to do things that I used to do a lot.

Being all "dark and twisty", I do have a tendency to think about the worst that might happen, but I really do have a harder time handling emotional stresses than things involving my own health. As has become clear, my depression and tendencies towards anorexia are the most immediate threats to my health, and I'm currently under treatment for that and hope to get better. I had told Natalya that I've always been rather moody, and now I have to figure out what part of my streak of melancholy was due to depression and what part of it is really part of who I am.

Incidentally, I'm struck by the way that I managed to misquote the saying, "prepare for the worst, hope for the best" (the correct version). The way I had quoted it before seems to emphasize the bad side of things. I don't know if that unintentional mistake reveals anything significant, but it is interesting. --Kyoko 12:32, 3 October 2006 (UTC)

Put another way, what choice do I have, or does anybody have when faced with some major hardship, than to learn how to deal with it? If that's seen as being brave, then fine, whatever, I don't care. I simply have a more complicated life than other people in some ways, while my own life is much easier than others as well. Most of the time, it's just a matter of certain inconveniences and frustrations: remembering which medications to take at which times, bumping up against certain physical limitations that I didn't have before, and so on.

I confess that at times I do feel scared. I worry about how my illness might progress in the future. I worry about dying. I worry that people will see me as being too fragile and won't trust me to able to do things (something that I can understand, but which really bothers me). I worry that I won't live up to people's expectations. I worry what people might be saying behind my back. I worry that I might not ever marry and have children. But this is all getting into the realm of insecurities that I've had for a long, long time.

My life is complicated, but I guess that everyone's life is complicated in its own way. --Kyoko 00:02, 4 October 2006 (UTC)

Hi Judith. I'm OK, I guess, I just get very tired now after frequent dialysis sessions. I suppose that they are just one more inconvenience I'll have to put up with. My doctors are hopeful that my kidney function will return to normal (well, my normal, which is basically like having a single normal kidney) sometime in the future. You were talking about bravery, or the perception of bravery. Me, I would rather be seen as nice than brave.

Thank you for being so nice! And yes, I am getting better, slowly. I notice that I'm somewhat more assertive, more willing to act rather than just assume that I can't do anything or that it's my fault.

I've been talking and talking all this time. How are you? --Kyoko 07:49, 5 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Itmam al-hujjah

Would you please look at this article! TruthSpreader^Talk 16:30, 5 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] food, anorexia

Salut Judith, ouais, j'aime beaucoup la cuisine du Québec! I guess the operative word for it is "hearty". It's filling, full of calories, nothing particularly ornate or refined (not like French haute cuisine, I mean), but just good. A lot of it also hearkens back to the past, when loggers' and trappers' families would prepare feasts for special occasions or simply to keep warm during the cold winters.

As for anorexia, it's not so much a problem of food quality as it is insecurity and finding fault in your self-image. I'm rather slight of build (1.67 meters, 51.1 kilos) which gives me a Body Mass Index of 18.3, which is slightly underweight. Even so, there are times when I look at myself and think that I should cut down on calories. I am significantly better than in the past, when I got down to 39.7 kg, or a BMI of 14.2. I really am trying to overcome this, but it's something that I've had ever since I was a teenager, and it's terribly easy to relapse into. In a sense, anorexia feels normal for me. I understand intellectually that I have to eat more in order to safeguard my health, but it takes effort to get over thinking patterns that you've had for a long time. I'm taking medication as well as seeing a therapist for my depression, which hopefully should also help with the anorexia. --Kyoko 14:43, 6 October 2006 (UTC)

Hi, we must have just missed each other between me logging out and you writing your message. The world you dream of would be a nice one, but in the real world, economics just get in the way. In the area where I live, there are quite a few people who will put up with an hour or two commute (each way, mind you) just so that they can buy affordable housing. It's even worse around Los Angeles. As for the Quebec cuisine article, yes, it could be expanded, but I already have so many Wikipedia projects that I'm working on, that it would probably best for me not to add that on to what I'm currently thinking about.

I'm still puzzling over whether it's "la cuisine du Québec" or "la cuisine de Québec". I'm a bit out of practice in speaking French. I can express myself very well, but I'll make little mistakes here and there. --Kyoko 19:19, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

Hi, regarding my leave of absence, I'm taking at least the next month off. Hopefully I will be able to be off dialysis by then. I've been thinking about what to say when I return to work, and I'm concerned how people will treat me.

I have a question. I think it's important that people understand what clinical depression feels like, so I'm keeping the depression essay online. Depression is a difficult condition to have, and the social stigma only makes it worse. However, I don't want to be seen as trying to elicit sympathy from others. I've just made some changes to my userpage, to make it more attractive, and hopefully to address my concerns about promoting depression awareness without seeming to be looking for sympathy. Do you think that the current revision of my userpage does a good enough job in meeting all those goals? Thanks. --Kyoko 22:43, 8 October 2006 (UTC)

I'm sorry if you were expecting a prompt response. I wasn't sure whether or not you wanted me to answer back. Anyway, a couple people at work whom I trust do know the full story of what happened, but as far as I know, everyone believes that I was hospitalised due to illness (which is true, in a way). I will just have to see how people react when I return to work. Thanks for your thoughts on my userpage. I came up with the basic layout, but Sango123 is the one who made the frames look rounded and purplish/pinkish. I think she's quite good with graphic design, considering how young she is. --Kyoko 14:30, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Whitewashing

Why are you whitewahing anti-Semites and anti-Semitism? Don't open that can of worms.Hkelkar 15:15, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

The fact that Rajsekhar is an anti-semite is not POV, it's a well-sourced fact.Look at other anti-semites like David Duke and David Irving for precedent regarding the article which, as it stands, is well sourced and quite acceptable.

It's not just Rajshekhar. Your edits to the Jews in Italy article also suggests whitewashing anti-semitism. You seem like a good editor and thus I'm giving you a friendly and well-meaning piece of advice. Don't get involved in these matters.Hkelkar 15:41, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

The evidence of Rajshekhar's antisemitism is in:

1. Heuzé, Gérard (1993). Où va l’Inde moderne? (p 87). L’Harmattan.
2. Poliakov, Léon (1994). Histoire de l’antisémitisme 1945-93 (P.395). Paris.

Plus, Dalit Voice (his rag) runs publications glorifying Hitler and the Third Reich, denies the holocaust and frequently alleges "Jewish Conspiracies" and other anti-semitic things. Everything to that effect is cited.Hkelkar 15:53, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

The Nation of Ialam thing is from a news broadcast in which the NOI prevented the naming of a street somewhere in Maryland after Gandhi when these fringe kooks of the Dalit Bahujan movement told NOI that Gandhi was a "racist" for using the word 'Kafir' to refer to South Africans (once in an offhand remark, lol). Too much of this P.C. crap gets in the way of reeling such whack-jobs in. It seems that they picked up their love for Nazis from the radical Muslims and the NOI leaders (Farrakhan has also expressed admiration for Hitler).Hkelkar 23:51, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

Furthermore, incluing Rajshekhar in the anti-semite category is agreed upon by other wikipedia editors.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category_talk:Anti-Semitic_people#Please_inspect_the_latest_addition_to_this_category

You're afraid that wikipedia will get sued because of this? Who will sue wikipedia, the ghost of the legal offices of the Third Reich???Hkelkar 23:51, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

Please don't take my abrasive comments too hard. I wasn't attacking you or anything.Hkelkar 04:33, 8 October 2006 (UTC)

Just a general comment here, which I have been beating all around previously. Wikipedia is not in the business of calling people anti-semites (or anything else). If a subject publishes anti-semitic statements, they can be quoted and sourced, in a neutral way. If a reliable source calls the subject an anti-semite, then that can also be reported and sourced, in a neutral way. If a reliable source that happens to be anti-semitic calls the subject a great visionary, that can also be quoted and sourced in a neutral way. If a third party reliable source points out that the source calling the subject a visionary is itself anti-semitic, then that too can be presented and sourced, in a neutral way. WP is an encyclopedia. It should not conclude "Hitler was a bad man." It should point out verified facts on how many people he killed, how many countries he destroyed, and can quote other reliable sources who say "Hitler was a bad man." It is a distinction that means the difference between verifiable reporting, and original research. "Hitler was a bad man" is, at it's root, an opinion. A majority opinion, to be sure, but still an opinion. If you happen to be a neo-nazi, then you may not hold that opinion. That he was responsible for a lot of death and destruction, and that reliable sources called him a bad man, is verifiable fact. WP reports verifiable facts, some of which may be the opinions of reliable sources. But WP does not give opinions on the facts presented. Crockspot 14:39, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Hi

Hi! If you need any help on anything, feel free to comment on my talk page. I just want to suggest that your talk page seems quite ready for archiving, which might speed things up in the future on this talk page. Thanks! Mar de Sin ^{Talk to me!} 15:36, 9 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Whitewashing

This diff: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=History_of_the_Jews_in_Italy&diff=79880695&oldid=79853386

Your edits concerning removing POV on Immanuel vs Reiti are fine. Your edits concerning pope Innocent-III can be construed as an attempt to whitewash his significant anti-semitism by shortening the wording and hiding it inside the large article. It needs to be more prominent and descriptive (your changes to the title of the section are fine).Hkelkar 12:15, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Apology

Thank you for explaining your point.I am, of course, somewhat familiar with the Jewish Encyclopedia (though I have mostly only read the Notseas dos Judeos de Cochim and similar works), though perhapos you should WP:CITE accordingly instead of just putting an "External Link" (to avoid confusion). Sorry for using "emotive language".Hkelkar 16:16, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

Bear in mind that your scholarly edits are appreciated.Hkelkar 16:46, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] yes, PH is improved by exercise

Hi there, I'll make this quick because I'm in a hurry. Yes, it has been found that low intensity exercise (nothing too strenuous) has been helpful in maintaining and prolonging the quality of life for patients with pulmonary hypertension. --Kyoko 22:10, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

OK, I'm back. In my haste, I forgot to add that I'm sorry for your loss. If she was anything like yourself, she must have been a wonderful person.

Regarding your question, there is an article here about the benefits of low-dose exercise for people with PH. --Kyoko 23:24, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

It's funny, how when you're younger, you feel so sure of yourself and confident that you know more than your parents... and then when you get older, you see that life is so complex and you feel the same doubts that your parents must have felt. It's fine if you need to spend less time on Wikipedia. Please don't feel obligated to go online just on my behalf. Take care, --Kyoko 12:14, 13 October 2006 (UTC)

I just wanted to add that I've been busy trying to transfer over my user page design to my account on French Wikipédia. It's considerably more difficult to set up complex layouts there, because their userboxes are not as well organised as here in the English Wikipedia. Feel free to look at it, and please tell me if I've made any grammatical errors. No rush, and I hope that you don't get stressed too much from work! --Kyoko 14:50, 13 October 2006 (UTC)

Primarily I was unsure about how to express "twentysomething" in French: une vingtaine d'ans, une vingtaine d'années, environ vingt ans (I'm a little older than that), environ trente ans (I'm a little younger than that). Thanks for looking at my page in progress. --Kyoko 21:20, 13 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] WP:BAH

Welcome to WikiProject Brighton. Thank you for joining and sorry for the late welcome. I hope you can help me finish the project page sometime. Unisouth 08:58, 13 October 2006 (UTC)

Perhapps you could make all our articles on the project page into links? Or you could make a talk page template and place it all our articles or make a member template. Theres loads of things you can do! Unisouth 13:37, 13 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Solar Power edits explanation

We're basically discussing these changes:

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Solar_power&diff=81995864&oldid=81972643

I usually don't comment on edits too much, but since I'm asked to deliberate, here is what I think my motives must have been at the time. I basically felt the additions were too verbose, and lessen the quality of wikipedia. The first change was removing the sentence: "However, this is not the same as the amount of solar radiation (insolation) reaching the earth's surface." To me this statement seems self evident from the paragraph"

Solar radiation reaches the Earth's upper atmosphere at a rate of 1,366 watts per square meter (W/m²).^[1] While traveling through the atmosphere, 6% of the incoming solar radiation (insolation) is reflected and 16% is absorbed resulting in a peak irradiance at the equator of 1,020 W/m² .

However it is a matter of taste what's self evident enough, and where Wikipedia's level of explanation should be, what's explained to death, and what's not enough explanation.

2nd, the dates, you already commented on - that was what got me started in the first place to undo edits, years highlighted like that felt bad faith to me, and influenced my overall decision.

3rd, as far as the Sunpower spam goes about 21% efficient solar panels, I'd like to call your attention to http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Nrel_best_research_pv_cell_efficiencies.png

Note that the highly efficient single crystal silicon panels are more expensive to produce than 8% efficient amorphous silicon cells, and in the end the $ cell cost per watt delivered what counts. Suppose a 7% eff. panel is 10x less expensive than a 21x eff panel, then the dollar per watt delivered for the 7% panel is 10x/(21/7)=3.3x cheaper than the somewhat more efficient but much more expensive 21% eff panel. The currently achievable solar-to-electric conversion maximum is 36% based on multijunction exotic materials (gallium arsenide, indium telluride, etc.) that are nowhere near the price ballpark of silicon, so their only reasonable use is for satellite and outer space applications, while most handheld calculators happily use 8% efficient amorphous silicon. Of course real estate value counts too, so the higher efficiency cells gain a little extra financial benefit, but not enough to tilt the dollar per delivered watt figure in most cases, especially for largescale cases such as deserts, where real estate is cheap. So these efficiency numbers should really be covering the range of 8-21%, and 15% feels like a happy medium, without putting all this noisy deliberation into the article itself at that 15% remark. Conciseness in the main article is a virtue, every single word must count. On talk pages, "if I had more time I would have written a shorter version" is acceptable to me.

Your edit http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Solar_power&diff=next&oldid=81971083 on this topic seemed unnecessarily verbose compared to the prior more concise sentences, and while surfing through your individual edits, especially highlighting years that add no value to the content, I got an overall impression that made me see what a full revert would do, and I didn't mind the result.

I apologize if this offended you, but these pages are dear to me. I agree a lot of these decisions are a matter of taste, but somewhere along the line one has to assert taste of style to keep wikipedia from deterioration, even when that taste hasn't been fully formalized, which is impossible to formalize for all cases anyway.

I would agree with a concise edit of the sort "resulting in a peak irradiance at sea level at the equator of 1,020 W/m²", which, now that I look at it, is meaningful content that my edits lost, because the paragraph isn't specific whether it's on top of Kilimanjaro or at sea level, and you're welcome to do the edit. In now way am I trying to bite your head off and keep you from modifying this article, you shouldn't take all this I wrote here to heart too much, I'm happy when people contribute, but that sometimes goes with other people just simply trumping out what you do, as it often happens to me too, and I just move on. No big deal. If you had reverted back my reverts, I would have waited for a 3rd person to pitch in and arbitrate, but as far as my first reverts are concerned, I do them boldly.

[edit] Sorry

I thought noone was still interested in th rpoject so I abandoned it. I will remove the tag now that I know you still are. Unisouth 08:55, 18 October 2006 (UTC)

What do you think of my modification of the template? Unisouth 11:16, 18 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] WikiProject Brighton template banner

Hi Judith. I've moved the banner to the talk page on Stanmer House as that's usually where these go, I think. Also, I see that User: Kierant has done a similar thing with the Brighton article. Cheers, --A bit iffy 12:03, 18 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] re: Wishing you lots and lots of luck

Hi Judith, thank you very much. I'm now out of the hospital, with mixed results. Good news: my kidney function has improved enough that I no longer require hemodialysis. Bad news: I'm not as responsive to calcium channel blockers as was initially thought, so for my PH, I now have to get used to wearing an infusion pump for treprostinil and resticking myself every few days. The needles I can handle (I never knew that the tummy area was so insensitive to needle pricks!), but the medicine itself hurts quite a lot when it's being infused under your skin. I'm told that the amount of pain may lessen over time, and that different areas of the body (or even different parts of the same area) may hurt less. Meh. Still, I'm not on dialysis. I guess you have to take what good things you can get, eh? --Kyoko 23:07, 18 October 2006 (UTC)

Hi there, you wrote: We all know that in our heads, but somehow it doesn't make life easier. All too true. It would be nice if there were a pill form of this, but what can you do? There is an inhaled form of a similar medication called Iloprost or Ventavis, but that's FDA approved only for people in worse shape than me on the New York Heart Association Functional Classification scale. There's an inhaled form of the medicine that I'm now on, under investigation for approval, but I don't know if I want to risk just getting a placebo. This whole thing's (the past few months, really) a learning experience. Thanks for listening. --Kyoko 12:49, 19 October 2006 (UTC)

As I just told User:Editor at Large, it occurred to me that people must be under the impression that I had gone to the hospital due to an emergency, when it was simply for followup tests to see if I still needed dialysis, and to check on how my meds were working. Sorry for any confusion, and thanks all the same. I am having signature issues, so I am signing this manually. Hope you're doing well. Kyoko 21:56, 20 October 2006 (UTC)

Hi there, you wrote: "I don't think I did assume it was an emergency", and I guess that I'm the one making assumptions. Oops, sorry! I hope your relative will get better soon. My depression is overall better, though as can be expected, I do have my low moments at times.

The medicine that I'm now on unfortunately does hurt rather much. I don't like to take pain medication, because I've read that many types of them will counteract the body's natural version (prostacyclin) of the medicine that I'm taking, and I don't want to take the chance of them interfering with the Remodulin (treprostinil) too. There are stronger prescription pain medications that I could ask for, but I'm hesitant to try them because I'm scared of getting addicted to them. It turns out that there is an oral form of my medication under clinical trials, but I'm ineligible to participate due to my kidney insufficiency. When I wrote the article on treprostinil, I didn't expect that I would soon be taking it myself. Thanks for your praise of the article. Did you think it was too complicated (or conversely, too simplistic)? It's hard to find the right balance between using medically accurate language and using words that everybody will understand.

Totally unrelated, but could you tell me if you see my signature as anything different? I've made changes to it, but apparently only a small number of people (mostly Mac users, it seems) will be able to see the new font. Good to hear from you, and I hope your stress gets better soon. --Kyoko 22:00, 21 October 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for your comments. I wasn't sure whether to simply say "itching" (which I fortunately don't have) or use the term in the supplied info (pruritus, as well as similiar level terms (edema, vasodilation, etc.) I'm sorry to hear about your relative. Cancer is a difficult illness to deal with, something that I have seen close at hand. This will probably sound trite, but keeping the right attitude is important, because the mind has such a powerful influence on the body. Your relative will be in my prayers. --Kyoko 14:29, 22 October 2006 (UTC)

Giving the ordinary language term in brackets is certainly an idea. As for cancer, it's important to understand that the process of chemotherapy can be very draining on an individual, that they likely won't have the energy to do things that they used to... but I suspect that you already know that. I don't know how radiation therapy affects people, since I've only had experience with chemotherapy. Er, not me personally, but my best friend in high school, and some relatives too. I will look at the square root article when I have time. I have had quite a few courses in maths (up to and including calculus), so thank you for your confidence in me! --Kyoko 14:52, 22 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Merge

I am for the merge of Tuk tuk and Auto rickshaw as they are the same thing but with different names. I would keep Auto rickshaw as it is a generic name not relating to a specific builder. Should I put notices up on the articles about the merge? Unisouth 07:41, 19 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Brighton & Hove Palestine Solidarity Campaign

It has been restored since per prod rules one need only ask. I recommend getting things linking to it and sourced so it can't be AfDed. gren グレン 00:26, 20 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] French/Kyoko

I'm currently learning French and German at school at the moment, so I might not need her. Will ^{(Glaciers melting in the dead of night)} 14:20, 22 October 2006 (UTC)

I have French coursework, but a German writing exam. Will ^{(Glaciers melting in the dead of night)} 14:24, 22 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] square roots, chemo

Hi Judith, I decided to make a new header. I took a quick peek at the square root article, and I understood the lead just fine. I'm wondering whether the idea of positive and negative numbers needs to be defined, or more precisely, non-negative numbers, and if so, then how to phrase it. As for chemo, there is a medicine whose name I currently cannot recall, but it stimulates the production of red blood cells, leading to increased energy. I know that the medicine is banned from competitive sports for precisely that reason. I just can't remember the name of it right now. --Kyoko 21:11, 22 October 2006 (UTC)

Hi there, I think the name of it is Epoetin. I don't know if this would be appropriate for your relative, but I hope knowing about it helps. --Kyoko 21:49, 22 October 2006 (UTC)

Hi Judith, I was unsure myself about how to reword the term "non-negative" precisely because of the question of zero. I don't think I've ever thought about the square root of zero. I don't think it has one, because any number multiplied by zero has a result of zero. I think it would be a good idea to ask about this on the talk page. As for reworking medical articles, it's something that I would like to do, but honestly, I'm getting a little burned out thinking about medicine, after having it so much on my mind for the past couple of months.

Speaking of medicine, did you happen to have any suggestions regarding my drafts for a lung transplantation article and the related lung allocation score? I haven't done much work on either article lately, but I feel that the lung allocation score (LAS) article is pretty much ready to go online. This is only if you happened to read either one in detail. I'm not obligating you to read them, or rushing you, but I do value your opinion.

Regarding your relative, perhaps she could speak with a dietitian for suggestions about what to eat to help improve her energy level. She may put absolute faith in her doctors, but perhaps your relative will still take advice from other medical staff. Take care as well, --Kyoko 12:52, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Historical materialism

Hi Itsmejudith! Thanks for thinking of me regarding Historical materialism. I generally stay away from articles I know I have a bias for or against (with the possible exception of BBC where I'm strongly pro but challenge myself to edit differently and usually manage it). I've glanced at the article; and I agree with Marx's line on the matter to an extent; but I can add nothing of my own to it. Nevertheless, I will watchlist it and see if I can help with the general up-keep. Thanks again! ➨ ЯEDVERS 20:17, 23 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Thanks

Thank you so much Judith for the greeting and for the Biryani. Biryani might be originally persian, not sure. The word is derived from the verb "biryan (kardan)", so if such verb doesn't exist in hindi, then it should be persian. Actually, Sunnis and Shias have different ways of determining when Eid is. Sunnis are modern and use mathematical calculations. Shias on the other hand are less modern. They seek for the moon in the night-sky. It is hard to see the moon in the first night and apparently, in some places, the moon of the first night is not observable without telescope. Anyways, I am still fasting today. I have already joined my friends in greeting the Eid, but will hopefully enjoy the Eid tomorrow. Thanks again, --Aminz 23:26, 23 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] my articles

Hi Judith, I had wanted to include more about the actual procedure of lung transplants prior to putting it online. The lung allocation score article feels ready to me. I could insert the actual formulas involved (many formulas), but I'm a little concerned that inserting them will only hurt the readability and usefulness of the article. I do have a couple of concerns about these articles:

1. I don't yet know how to cite references on Wikipedia.
2. The current lung transplant link is a redirect to organ transplant, and I don't know how to change that.

You have a good idea about the Wikiprojects. Both of these would probably fit under Wikipedia:WikiProject Clinical medicine. I made changes to the treprostinil article following your advice, and started a stub on beraprost, another chemical with a similar mode of action. I hope your relative gets better, and I hope that you have an enjoyable wikibreak. --Kyoko 22:46, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

Hi Judith, I hope that you had an enjoyable time away from Wikipedia. After receiving positive feedback from you and User:Springeragh, I've decided to put the lung allocation score article online, as you can see for yourself. Hopefully someone more expert than me will build upon it. Thanks again! --Kyoko 14:00, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] To help you with your welcoming of new Esperanza members...

... TangoTango has kindly written up a script that once a week lists all of the new members to Esperanza. The list can be found at User:Tangotango/New members of Esperanza; it is updated once a week, and will show all of the new members since the last update. If you're not sure if everyone who joined the past week has been welcomed, that is a great place to check! I hope that helps you in your welcome, and thank you for making a point to greet new Esperanzians! -- Natalya 18:37, 26 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Award

		The Random Acts of Kindness Barnstar
		Your service to Wikipedia is most deserving of this barnstar. Good job! Sharkface217 21:41, 31 October 2006 (UTC)

Hi Judith,

I am so sorry. As you said you are going to be away for a week, I thought I can reply your email later but actually forgot to reply it. So sorry. Will reply back tomorrow where I have access to campus network. Sorry again. --Aminz 09:12, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

P.S. welcome back and hope you had a good time. --Aminz 09:12, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] lung tx article online

Hi Judith, this is just to let you know that my lung transplantation article is now online. I haven't expanded it significantly beyond when you last saw it, but it looked ready enough, and I was getting sick of reading the same text over and over. According to your list of contributions, it seems that you are partially back online. I hope that you are doing well. Take care, --Kyoko 01:23, 2 November 2006 (UTC)

I certainly hope that the article is helpful to other people, especially people who may be facing a transplant themselves. Most of my research was done online (as I guess many people do nowadays), and I noticed that the online articles on lung transplants tend to be either very general in their information and geared towards the general public, or very detailed and geared towards medical students or doctors who are continuing their education. The great thing about Wikipedia is that potentially, this article can be developed to serve both audiences.

I noticed that I forgot to add other details to the article, namely the procedure of removing the existing lung(s) and attaching the donor organ(s). I've read about how it's done, but I would have to think a bit before I can write anything. In the meantime, maybe someone else will fill in the details.

I'm glad to hear from you. If you need time away from Wikipedia, that's OK. I'm still on my leave of absence, which is why I still go online so much. I hope that things in your real life don't become too stressful. --Kyoko 13:21, 2 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Muhammad picture dispute

May be you will be intrested in taking part in the ongoing mediation about Muhammad pictures in Muhammad article. If so then sign in and take part. --- ابراهيم 11:14, 3 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Yellow badge

It looks good. I think it might be good to add a sentence paralleling "In the Muslim lands the practice of ..." about the situation of Yellow badge in Christian land. Shortening the Lewis quote also seems good. Hope everything is going well with you. --Aminz 06:44, 4 November 2006 (UTC)

Dear Judith, I need time to cool down. Tomorrow, I'll be better. --Aminz 13:16, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] November Esperanza Newsletter

Program Feature: Admin Coaching (needs coaches!) Admin Coaching needs coaches!!! If you are an administrator, or even a generally experienced user, do consider signing up to be a coach. Admin Coaching, now being coordinated by HighwayCello, is a program for people who want help learning some of the more subtle aspects of Wikipedia policy and culture. People are matched with experienced users who are willing to offer coaching. The program is designed for people who have figured out the basics of editing articles; they're not newcomers any more, but they might want some help in learning new roles. In this way, Esperanza would help keep hope alive for Wikipedia because we would always be grooming the next generation of admins. What's New? The Tutorial Drive is a new Esperanza program! In an effort to make complicated processes on Wikipedia easier for everyone, Esperanza working to create and compile a list of tutorials about processes here on Wikipedia. Consider writing one! A discussion on how Esperanza relates to the encyclopedia has been started; please add your thoughts. Many thanks to MiszaBot, courtesy of Misza13, for delivering the newsletter.

The last AC meeting (full log) The list of proposed programs has been updated, with some proposals being archived. There is now a new program: the Tutorial Drive! Consider writing a tutorial on something you are good at doing on Wikipedia. The suggestion of adding a cohesive look to all the Esperanza pages is being considered; join the discussion if you are interested! In order to make a useful interlanguage welcome template, those involved in translation projects will be asked what English Wikipedia policies are most important and confusing to editors coming from other language Wikipedias. A discussion of Esperanza's role in Wikipedia is being held, with all thoughts of all Esperanzians wanted! Shreshth91 informed everyone that he will be leaving the Esperanza council as life is rather busy; his spot will be filled by the runner up from the last election, HighwayCello. Signed... Natalya, Banes, Celestianpower, EWS23, FireFox, The Halo, Shreshth91 and HighwayCello 20:33, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

Although having the newsletter appear on everyone's userpage is desired, this may not be ideal for everyone. If, in the future, you wish to receive a link to the newsletter, rather than the newsletter itself, you may add yourself to Wikipedia:Esperanza/Newsletter/Opt Out List.

[edit] personal update

Hi there, I'm now being allowed a limited time online during my hospital stay. I don't have the time to respond to everyone, so I have to make this fast. Doctors have increased my dosage of sertraline, and they hope the increased dosage combined with more frequent therapy sessions will help stabilise my mood. I hope to be out of here by the weekend. I've already asked Springeragh to spread the word, but you are welcome to do that too. As a side note, I am extremely concerned about User:Editor at Large. Wish me luck. --Kyoko 20:22, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Briley Brothers

You're welcome. I wasn't familiar with teh case either and my knowledge of the American legal system is miniscule. Avalon 07:20, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] A thank you note

Big thank you for the barnstar you awarded me the other day! Really made my day...thanks a lot! See ya around. ~~ Gromreaper^(Talk)/_(Cont) 03:02, 11 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Tired

Judith, Isn't [1] book a reliable source? It is the text book for the course Bio-ethics taught at University of California Berkeley (BioE 100 - Ethics in Science and Engineering). How can I explain this to other editors? Haven't I the right to sometimes become angry? I have requested for an RfC on this but why should it go that way? --Aminz 11:18, 11 November 2006 (UTC)

Judith, Thanks for your reply. I don't think I have misrepresent it(or any other sources). If you can point me to any specific point, I will accept it and try to change myself. Thanks --Aminz 19:28, 12 November 2006 (UTC)

I admit being biased through using the scholars that I like (such as Watt, Esposito, Annemarie Schimmel, Martin Forward, etc etc). But that's the case with everybody. --Aminz 19:43, 12 November 2006 (UTC)

Sure. Meanwhile I can work on historical impacts of Christianity which I've started :) [2]. --Aminz 23:32, 12 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] thank you

Hello Judith, thanks for your well wishes. I'm doing a little better, i.e. not thinking of harming myself and now out of the hospital, but my energy level is still pretty low. Because of all this, I'm not returning to work on Monday as originally planned. I wish I wasn't so, well, fragile, and I wish that it could be instantly cured, but I know that that's not the case. I guess I'll just have to make small steps in my recovery and celebrate each milestone along the way. I hope you're doing well, and I should also add that E@L e-mailed me and she said that she was feeling somewhat better. I hope that's truly the case and that she's not pretending in order to alleviate other people's worries (something that I've done far too much in my life). Thanks again. --Kyoko 02:29, 12 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] E@L support barnstar

		The Random Acts of Kindness Barnstar
		Though what you did is not so random, I, on behalf of E@L, award you this barnstar for ll your support. Randfan 18:34, 12 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] depression and stuff

Hi Judith, as I explained to another user (I think it was User:Editor at Large, actually), the medication takes the "edge" off but it isn't a total fix, and it takes time for the medication itself to take full effect. I think that talk therapy is probably more effective in the long run, supplemented with medication as necessary (as it seems to be the case with me). I think part of my problem is that when I left home, I stopped treatment of my depression because at the time I thought I could handle things on my own. It worked OK for a while, i.e. somewhat low mood but nothing major, but for some reason the depression just became severe again this year. As for the rest of your message: I've never read the Tao Te Ching. I'd love to hear more about your flowers when they bloom. The weather where I am is quite seasonal and pleasant, about 15 degrees. Thanks again.--Kyoko 00:06, 13 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Thank you so much

Thank you so much for your support! I can't say thank you enough for the support that you have shown me over the past few days. It means the world to me, and has certainly helped me along the road to recovery! I will cherish forever the kind messages and "gifts" that were sent to me and think of them whenever times are rough. I didn't realise that my absence would cause so much concern, and I apologise if I caused anyone undue stress. I feel that I owe you an explanation, at least! for what happened, to return in some small way the kindness you showed to me. I will post it here as soon as possible, if you would like to know the reason for my brief departure and the links on my userpage. Thank you for sending me a message so quickly, Itsmejudith! I really appreciate it... it shows how much you care, for both Kyoko and I. Your kind words meant a lot to me and I cannot thank you enough for showing you care. Many thanks, Editor at Large(speak) 01:59, 13 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Muhammad + Reform

My problem is... that any reform anywhere in Islamic history is attributed to Muhammad. If in 2 years we find that women's rights really were stupid then Muhammad will have been against women's rights and he took the first step in veiling people when the rest of the world was against it. If Islam goes the way of accepting gay marriage Reforms from 610-661 will be seen as having sanctioned gay marriage. It's not that I don't agree that the time period brought great reform--I do... but the question is what reform. Because every generation of Muslims since that time have said they are going back to how it was done in the time of the prophet. Both the "Muslim feminists" and the "Salafis" claim legitimacy from Muhammad's reforms. In one case they are carrying out Muhammad's call to liberate and make females equal. In the other they are enforcing the proper attire for women endorsed by the Qur'an and Sunnah. Which was really a "reform under Islam [from] (610-661)"? Your guess is as good as mine.

Using the title "Reforms under Islam (610-661)" implies that we could also have an article of "Reforms under Islam (662-715)". What would be the difference between the two articles? Both dates are before even Maliki hadith. There is uncertainty among many non-Muslim historians about Qur'an compilation. We don't have any real scholars of Islam writing from that time period to confirm what Islam was in those periods. My point is... if we say that any reforms happened before we actually have written history we're getting into trouble because we are legitimizing whatever view of Islam agrees with what we put as reforms from 610-661. It's not that there aren't any earlier sources... there are some... but they don't paint a full picture and this is a much contested area of study.

Can you agree that for all 'scholarly' intent and purpose a reform of Muhammad is a reform that his followers have retroactively projected upon him. That isn't to say that Muhammad didn't do anything. He did (since very few people will go as far as saying there was no prophet). But, even assuming that hadith and Qur'an are true--it would still be difficult to get Muslims, let alone others, to agree on what the reforms were. So, when we say XXX was a reform under Islam from 610-661 we are not getting into a historical debate, we are getting into a political one. That is why I think this is all wrong.

My first practical suggestion would be removing (610-661). It is clear that many Muslims have seen their reform vis-a-vis pre-Islamic jahaliyyah Arabia. Removing the time period means that we are not longer saying "this reform happened in the time period of the prophet" and therefore we aren't getting into the business of saying what "Islam is correct". It's not that we have no idea what happened during that time. Few will venture to say that Muhammad made same-sex marriages permissible (in fact, pre-modern sexual identity is difficult enough in itself). But, we cannot define the nuance of his reforms without a lot more evidence from that time period.

But now... I have a 12-15 page paper on something I haven't really read due in about 9 hours. So, I should probably start working on that. Good luck, hope this wasn't worthless. gren グレン 06:04, 13 November 2006 (UTC)

Just a quick note: "If in 2 years we find that women's rights really were stupid then Muhammad will have been against women's rights and he took the first step in veiling people when the rest of the world was against it." Sorry, but please show me your sources. That's incorrect. Among Muhammad's wives, only Aisha was had veil, and face veiling had a different meaning back then; it was showing that the husband of the woman is rich and the woman doesn't need to work. Muslims picked these practices later and interestingly in this point were influenced by the practices of other people.

Also, the article is not written per what Islamic sects, Salafis, etc think rather based on the words of Western academic scholars. Based on what they viewed as what Muhammad did. --Aminz 06:53, 13 November 2006 (UTC)

Ah! My point is religion is malleable... and people will claim legitimacy from the prophet. I am not making judgments about Muhammad. It doesn't matter what Muhammad did in regards to women and veiling. Many Muslims now believe that Muhammad prescribed the veil for every woman during his lifetime. It doesn't matter if that is true or not... but they believe that was a reform of Muhammad. Quoting Western scholars doesn't fully help. Why? because many are just repeating traditions based on their understanding of Islam from later time periods. I am not claiming that you have misrepresented the sources. I am only claiming that even when Western scholars say "Muhammad reformed" they don't necessarily mean they know exactly what Muhammad did. They merely mean that the movement started in Arabia during that time period led to these societal reforms... and they don't know exactly when these things happened. But I have a paper now on Lakatos' MSRP and realism and constructivism. gren グレン 07:35, 13 November 2006 (UTC)

In order to show that I have NOT misrepresented the sources (to be more precise, that wasn't my intention; I might have been careless in some cases which I don't know), I am willing to email any source I've used(i can scan the encyclopedia (encyclopedia of Qur'an; encyclopedia of Islam) articles)--Aminz 07:07, 13 November 2006 (UTC)

The first quote from bernard lewis: article http://www.nybooks.com/articles/4557

complete quote:

In a sense, the advent of Islam was itself a revolution, which after long struggles only partially succeeded. After the Islamic conquests of the seventh century, there was a continuing tension between the new religion and its message and the very old societies of the countries that the Muslims conquered. Islam came, not into a new world, like Christendom in Europe, but to lands of ancient civilization and deep-rooted traditions. This tension between Islamic dynamism and the older forces of the river-valley societies continued through medieval into modern times. For example, Islamic doctrine is basically egalitarian. It is true that the equality of Islam is limited to free adult male Muslims, but even this represented a very considerable advance on the practice of both the Greco-Roman and the ancient Iranian world. Islam from the first denounced aristocratic privilege, rejected hierarchy, and adopted a formula of the career open to the talents.

--Aminz 07:13, 13 November 2006 (UTC)

Thanks Judith. I was thinking of adding a section on historicity of the reforms. Judith, I appreciate your reasonable approach. Thanks so much. In fact, it is true that the most conspicuous thing about Muhammad is his military success. Within only a decade, Arabs defeated two big empires and extended their territory. In fact according to Daniel Brown (Rethinking Tradition in Modern Islamic Thought, Cambridge University Press, p.65), the view of these modern Muslim biographies is that Muhammad's real miracle, as Daniel Brown states modern historians would probably agree, 'was not a moon split or a sighing palm tree, but the transformation of the Arabs from marauding bands of nomads into world conquerors.'

I haven't read a western biography of Muhammad except that they touch this issue. But that's not all. According to Watt, "The more one reflects on the history of Muhammad and of early Islam, the more one is amazed at the vastness of his achievement. Circumstances presented him with an opportunity such as few men have had, but the man was fully matched with the hour. Had it not been for his gifts as seer, statesman, and administrator and, behind these, his trust in God and firm belief that God had sent him, a notable chapter in the history of mankind would have remained unwritten."

Gren is right. Muhammad didn't accomplish everything but he designed the conceptual structure. Watt writes: "there is Muhammad's wisdom as a statesman. The conceptual structure found in the Qur'an was merely a framework. The framework had to support a building of concrete policies and concrete institutions. In the course of this book much has been said about Muhammad's far-sighted political strategy and his social reforms. His wisdom in these matters is shown by the rapid expansion of his small state to a world-empire after his death, and by the adaptation of his social institutions to many different environments and their continuance for thirteen centuries."

So, as you can see, Watt says that what happened later also reflected Muhammad's far-sights.

But we should not forget one thing. There were other parameters besides Muhammad himself. Watt writes:

"Circumstances of time and place favoured Muhammad. Various forces combined to set the stage for his life-work and for the subsequent expansion of Islam. There was the social unrest in Mecca and Medina, the movement towards monotheism, the reaction against Hellenism in Syria and Egypt, the decline of the Persian and Byzantine empires, and a growing realization by the nomadic Arabs of the opportunities for plunder in the settled lands round them. Yet these forces, and others like them which might be added, would not in themselves account for the rise of the empire known as the Umayyad caliphate nor for the development of Islam into a world religion. There was nothing inevitable or automatic about the spread of the Arabs and the growth of the Islamic community. Without a remarkable combination of qualities in Muhammad it is improbable that the expansion would have taken place, and the military potential of the Arabs might easily have spent itself in raids on Syria and 'Iraq with no lasting consequences. "

I agree with you that the focus of that article is only on social aspects not military ones. Agreed. --Aminz 10:09, 13 November 2006 (UTC)

Sure. I'll try to get the book. Thanks.

Regarding the suggestion, Well, that's not all. According to Watt, Muhammad had 3 gifts: 1. gift as a seer. 2. gift as a stateman 3. his skill and tact as an administrator and his wisdom in the choice of men to whom to delegate administrative details.

Regarding the first one Watt writes:

"First there is Muhammad's gift as a seer. Through him -- or, on the orthodox Muslim view, through the revelations made to him -- the Arab world was given a framework of ideas within which the resolution of its social tensions became possible. The provision of such a framework involved both insight into the fundamental causes of the social malaise of the time, and the genius to express this insight in a form which would stir the hearer to the depths of his being. The European reader may be ' put off ' by the Qur'an, but it was admirably suited to the needs and conditions of the day."

I wrote his quote about his gift as a statesman. Watt continues:

"Thirdly, there is his skill and tact as an administrator and his wisdom in the choice of men to whom to delegate administrative details. Sound institutions and a sound policy will not go far if the execution of affairs is faulty and fumbling. When Muhammad died, the state he had founded was a ' going concern ', able to withstand the shock of his removal and, once it had recovered from this shock, to expand at prodigious speed."

Now, Watt was only a historian. He wasn't a linguist. He was also especialized in economy either. --Aminz 10:28, 13 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] 'Buddha's Relic and Jetavanaramya' article

Hi there.While I was (attempting) to wikify the 'Buddha's Relic and Jetavanaramya' article ,I noticed that you had left a note on the talk page.I agree with you on merging it with another article. The article 'Ruwanwelisaya' has basically the same information under the 'Buddha's Relic' subject title,and I don't think that the 'Buddha's Relic and Jetavanaramya' is needed.Could you leave me a message on my talk page with your thoughts on this?Thanks :) Serenaacw 00:37, 14 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Buddhism #2

So...do you think the article needs a full rewrite or just a merge?Maybe I could mention it at the WikiProject Buddhism page,or we could just go with your original suggestion of tagging for an expert or going ahead and doing the merge if no one responds to a merge proposal.Serenaacw 09:27, 14 November 2006 (UTC)

Hmm. One way or another a lot of rewriting will be needed. For one thing all the text assumes belief in Buddhism and there is no attempt to establish what is historically true and what is legend or tradition. No sources, no dates, nothing to indicate notability, nothing to explain where the places mentioned are located geographically. Let's mention it in as many places as possible: WikiProject Buddhism (good idea), Countering Systemic Bias (just in case) and Talk:Gautama Buddha. And I'll add more clean-up tags with the article's problems. Then if none of these get a response we will just have to merge the text into Gautama Buddha. And that I think would produce a reaction. But what do you think? OK as a strategy? Itsmejudith 09:44, 14 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Thanks

Thank you for your these edits .. I will be working on Islam article during this week and trying to put many references. However, my English is bad hence I hope you might do more corrections during the week :). --- ALM 10:35, 14 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Reforms under Islam (610-661)

Judith, Please see these changes [3]

The Encyclopedia of world history states that Muhammad's mission as a prophet included preaching against the social evils of his day. Now, Opiner wants to write: Muhammad preached against what he saw as the social evils of his day.

Opiner removes :" Islamic law transformed the nature of society and family, Jonathan Bloom and Sheila Blair Professors of Islamic and Asian Art at Harvard University state. ^[2]"

etc etc --Aminz 07:45, 15 November 2006 (UTC)

Art professors arent a good source for sociology history.Opiner 16:53, 15 November 2006 (UTC)

Have you been published after the peer review? To know how it works? Idea that theres a fact-checking army is wrong. Only a few specialists from your field.Opiner 09:07, 16 November 2006 (UTC)

It is not only that source which says that. http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0231126832&id=DzLZrLh07YwC&pg=PA30&lpg=PA30&vq=The+social+system&dq=Islam:+An+Introduction+to+Islam+gerhard&sig=S0yIM4nlFXSYzr4a6odwsyn0Ye8&hl=en is another example (The social system used ...). But that source was enough. --Aminz 09:09, 16 November 2006 (UTC)

Judith, please see this [4]

He is now accusing prophet muhammad as anti-semitic, the position which no scholar have ever taken. Anti-semitism was a western phenomenon. See what kind of editors I have to deal with :( --Aminz 10:33, 16 November 2006 (UTC)

Judith, my world view has changed. Now, I don't get angry at big lies as much as I used to. I'll probably post something on my user page. I feel comforted now. --Aminz 03:57, 17 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Racist wikipedians

My comment on the wikipedian concerned being a racist is not without careful consideration. See comments made on him by many users here here, here and here. This wikipedian has also made numerous sexist remarks against lady wikipedians, got blocked and persisted in making sexist remarks in his talk page. Many users have been offended by his hateful and disruptive attitude, not just me.Hkelkar 01:00, 17 November 2006 (UTC)

There are a lot of things said here that are out of order, but making accusations is not the right way to proceed. No editor in WP should ever be subjected to insults and action should be taken about such comments. If they are bad enough and form a recurrent pattern then the offending user should be blocked indefinitely. If you ever need help with such a thing then there are many fair admins that I could direct you towards. Itsmejudith 01:08, 17 November 2006 (UTC)

Well I'll give this chap another chance to reform. Notice that I did not explicitly attribute any edits to him in my user page so I did not commit PA or any kind of defamation of users, just made a general remark. There are hundreds, nay, thousands of user pages that have far worse on them.Hkelkar 01:16, 17 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] catchup

Hi Judith, glad to hear from you. I'm slowly recovering, and my mood has improved. It's still hard to get the energy to do very much, but I'm working on it. I am very very glad that I was so insistent about going online and alerting people about E@L, for reasons that should be clear if you've followed her contributions. I guess I happened to be in the right place at the right time, so to speak. At this moment, WP isn't so stressful, even with the whole Esperanza deletion debate, but then again, I'm not very emotionally invested in Esperanza except for the Stress Alerts page. I hope that you aren't feeling stressed from all this. --Kyoko 01:18, 17 November 2006 (UTC)

And the "good things happen to good people" comment was more of a sayng. I wish it was true, though! Randfan 01:33, 17 November 2006 (UTC)

Hi there, perhaps my outlook is too pessimistic right now, because I see good things happening to bad people and bad things happening to good people. That's one reason to hope for some sort of afterlife, where rewards and punishments are distributed accordingly. I'm in the middle of a good book right now, War and Peace, but I'm not devoting all the attention to it that I should, and I find that reading a book with the deliberate intent of writing about it tends to diminish the sheer enjoyment of the experience. Therefore, I'm reading this book just for fun, and if I happen to write something about it later, that's good too. I don't mean to brush you off, but I feel compelled to do something in the article mainspace rather than answer messages, so please understand if I don't respond today, OK? I would love to hear your reading recommendations, and thanks again. --Kyoko 01:40, 17 November 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, guess it is pretty common. I would add more to this comment so it doesn't look unkind, but I don't know what to say. Feel free to drop by! --Randfan 01:56, 17 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Mediation

Hello! I've requested for a mediation, here Wikipedia:Requests for mediation/Reforms under Islam (610-661). Please join it. Thanks --Aminz 08:37, 17 November 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for signing up. --Aminz 00:06, 18 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] A request

A recently opened Request for Arbitration focuses of possible violations of WP:NPOV and WP:BLP and possible systematic disruption of WP:RS. Some of the evidence presented centres on this discussion. As you were involved in the discussion, I thought you would like to know. It might help the project if a reading of the evidence, particularly that concerning the quoting of sources, moved you to make a comment or two on the workshop page. Hornplease 07:43, 21 November 2006 (UTC)

I had trouble being concise too... I apologise in advance for the headache you'll come down with. Hornplease 13:02, 21 November 2006 (UTC)

I think perhaps a few diffs in the evidence and a comment or two in the workshop might be the way to go.Hornplease 14:09, 21 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Your "evidence" in my Arbcomm

Really was not necessary. I have always held you in high regard as an editor. Don't let my sometimes abrasive comments "shock you" (it's the Maratha blood in me I'm afraid). I am always willing to work with you regarding edits. Notice that I have not actually reverted your edits so far because they have been in good faith, verifiable and all that.Hkelkar 19:50, 21 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] happy Turkey-Day!!!!

I wish you a very merry Thanksgiving! Hope you and your family have a magnificent day! So, what are you thankful for? Hooray and happy gormandiziŋ! --Randfan please talk talk to me!

Happy Turkeyday! Cheers! :) —Randfan!!

Have a great day! Please respond on my talk page (the red "fan" link in my signature). Cheers! :) —Randfan!!

I do love 'em! Thanks and hope you had a good day! Cheers! :) —Randfan!! 02:45, 24 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Request for Mediation

A Request for Mediation to which you are a party has been accepted. You can find more information on the mediation subpage, Wikipedia:Requests for mediation/Reforms under Islam (610-661). For the Mediation Committee, Essjay (Talk) This message delivered by MediationBot, an automated bot account operated by the Mediation Committee to open new mediation cases. If you have questions about this bot, please contact the Mediation Committee directly.

[edit] Parviz Tanavoli

Hi Judith,

Unfortunately I don't know him. He is not very famous, at least to my generation, I believe. I also asked some friends of mine but none know him so he shouldn't be that famous. So, I am not even sure if such an article should be here in wikipedia. But maybe he has been a good actor to previous generations, I dunno. Cheers, :) --Aminz 07:36, 26 November 2006 (UTC)

I am very good. Hope you are doing well too. --Aminz 22:34, 26 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Islam, Criticism and Non-Muslim views

Hi judith,

I noticed your recent subject heading change on the criticism section of Islam. While it seems technically more NPOV, don't you think it is too general? The content of the section consists of "critical" non-muslim perspectives and not simply non-muslim perspectives. In fact there are several, and I mean historically as well, pro-Islamic perspectives coming from non-Muslims. This begs the question of whether you wish to change the content of the section to actually reflect "Non-Muslim views" of Islam, or if you were trying what seemed to be a more NPOV way of saying "Criticism of Islam". In the latter case I would disagree with the change because it doesn't accurately reflect content, and the former I'm not sure about but it would warrant discussion. Anyway I was curious about what your thoughts were in making that change. Thanks.PelleSmith 12:19, 27 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] New antisemitism

I hope you don't mind me contacting you about this. I remember you commenting before (in a proposed arbitration which was not taken up by arbs except you), that this page had been a forum for POV-pushing for too long. I am also very frustrated with it. I wondered if you would be able to advise me about the workability of a suggestion which I made on the talk page without response. That is, that what is really needed is a page or pages on the history of antisemitism in recent times. Then all the manifestations could be mentioned there, including such issues as Bans on ritual slaughter and the New antisemitism page, if it remained, would just deal with New antisemitism as a theoretical construct used by some writers. I would also be grateful for any suggestions you might have about periodization, i.e. would it be most appropriate to have one page for the 20th century and another for the 21st, or would some other break date be advisable? Thanks in advance. Itsmejudith 15:08, 27 November 2006 (UTC)

I'm not sure. I think it is a real phenomenon, the roots of which lie in Soviet anti-Semitism. The touchstone is bogus accusations and exaggeration. In the Soviet Union this was expressed by severe limiting of economic and political opportunity. I know some would use the concept as a way to paint all criticism of Israel as anti-Semitism, but I also think it is a real phenomenon. Not sure where you might find those thoughts in a published form though. So I guess I think that the article should probably go back to Stalin and Great Russian nationalist attitudes. Fred Bauder 15:47, 27 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Thank You

For the warm welcome. I look forward to working with you and being a part of the team. Unfortunately I'm extremely busy for the next two weeks or more (I'm in the process of completely re-organizing the non-profit I direct - it's like herding cats with fish for hands).

Having said that, I (so far) can't resist logging on, so I'll be around:). I'm also going to need help soon myself.

Thanks again, NinaEliza 04:07, 4 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Thanks!

Thanks for the congrats about "Weird Al" Yankovic being yesterday's FA! ~~ Gromreaper^(Talk)/_(Cont) 04:58, 5 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Your RFM

I have volunteered to mediate your case. I am not a member of the Mediation Committee, but have some experience conducting mediations. I'll only do so, of course, if all the parties consent. Please indicate on the mediation page whether you agree or not. Cheers, JCO312 00:48, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Article in need of cleanup - please assist if you can

[edit] Islam

Thanks, but I'm done. I have wasted far too much effort on battling with the Muslim editors that I could have spent on something I enjoyed. I thought I might be able to encourage them to actually write at least one article worth reading, but they'd rather edit war, insult Jews, and get blocked than actually contribute anything useful, and I'm thoroughly sick of it. There's going to come a point when most areas of the Wiki will be at least GA standard, but it'll never happen with a single Islamic article. get out while you can. Dev920 (Have a nice day!) 21:02, 15 December 2006 (UTC)