Portal talk:Current events/2008 June 4

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[edit] June 4

Current events of June 4, 2008 (2008-06-04) (Wednesday) edit history watch

The Detroit Red Wings defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 in the sixth game to win the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals 4-2. (AP via Google News) (CBC) Al-Qaeda claims responsibility for the 2008 Danish embassy bombing stating it was revenge for the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy. (Bloomberg) Tony Rezko, a Chicago property developer and former fundraiser for Barack Obama, is convicted on 16 charges of corruption. (Chicago Tribune via Los Angeles Times) A coolant leak at Krško Nuclear Power Plant in Slovenia triggers the European Union's ECURIE nuclear emergency alert system. Slovenian authorities state the situation is under control, with no radiation leak into the environment. (BBC News) Reassembly of the Obelisk of Axum begins in Axum, after the monument was returned to Ethiopia from Italy in 2005. (BBC News) The International Olympic Committee releases a shortlist of 2016 Summer Olympics bids consisting of Chicago, United States; Tokyo, Japan; Madrid, Spain; and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Sports Network) Zimbabwean police detain Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai while campaigning in the second round of the Zimbabwe presidential election. He is later released after eight hours in detention. (The Times) (BBC News) Lithuanian Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas announces plans to avoid recession as growth of the Lithuanian economy slows. (Bloomberg) The Malaysian government announces a 40% increase in fuel prices, with gasoline rising from 1.92 ringgit (US$0.61) per litre to 2.70 ringgit by midnight. (BBC News) (International Herald Tirbune)

[edit] ITN Candidates

• Nom "Zimbabwean police briefly detain opposition Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai during campaigning in the second round of the Zimbabwe presidential election." Our little timer is nearly at 24 hours, so if anyone has any better suggestions, including for the past several days... - BanyanTree 00:39, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

Time's up. I expanded the update and posted, since the Olympics item appears controversial and there are no other candidates. And I didn't choose this just because it's almost certainly the only time three images in a row of black men have been put on a Main Page template. ;) OMG, TEH BIAS! - BanyanTree 01:49, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

I'm going to have to Oppose this, even though our timer is running out. It doesn't matter if a timer is running out...it's a reminder, not a guideline. He is simply "briefly" detained, and we have never mentioned other famous people being in police custody, i.e. Mel Gibson for drunk driving. I feel this can be a dangerous precedent for a "brief" detention. I know I have nothing to suggest, but I prefer quality over quantity. At any point, We'll probably be seeing some new stories sooner or later as daytime passes through Asia. Spencer^T♦C 01:51, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

He is a presidential candidate for one of the most powerful nations in the region, who may have won the first round anyway, who was detained for addressing a crowd of his supporters, and was released following formal protests from multiple nations. I think equating this to Gibson drunk driving is a little off, though I'm probably more familiar with the background than most users. I would wheel like a fiend to keep ITN from being filled with the inanities of celebrity 'news'. - BanyanTree 06:03, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

Also Oppose. Lets not become the BBC and slavishly report every little thing that Tsangvirai would like us to. This isn't important enough to be ITN. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.118.45.5 (talk) 03:36, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

"Lets not become the BBC and slavishly report..." - ok, this made me grin. I suppose The Washington Post, who had this story on their front page when I posted, is also Tsvangirai's slave. What a powerful man he must be - and yet unable to get his votes counted. - BanyanTree 06:03, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

"Please refrain from straight support or oppose votes; instead the discussion can focus on the relative merits of the available candidate items". This is part of the trial period guidelines. The idea is, than you can suggest better items rather than opposing. Thank you.--Pharos (talk) 05:45, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

Now that we've put up the Stanley Cup (Dang I was hoping Pittsburg would win), can we take this down now? I knew we'd have somesthing soon, and its just a hair past the little timer. Spencer^T♦C 11:02, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

As a general rule, if something is worth putting up for a short time then it's worth keeping on till it rotates off. However,, I'm still waiting to see if Harami2000 comes through with his inflation item (from June 3rd) which would replace this, as two Zimbabwe items at one time may be a bit much. - BanyanTree 13:03, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

It doesn't matter...it was put up without consensus, and should stay down unless voted to go back up. Spencer^T♦C 19:35, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

Per my discussion with Random89 at Wikipedia talk:In the news 2.0, I am explicitly operating on a "consensus required to exclude; no consensus=include" basis. As such, right now even the Olympics item below is still considered marginal for inclusion, rather than being outright rejected. - BanyanTree 22:10, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

(unindent) "...explicitly operating?" I apologise for being blunt, but I feel this is why we have WP:IAR. Here's a compromise: How about at the next update, we remove this and add the new, instead of the bottom item. Spencer^T♦C 00:10, 6 June 2008 (UTC)

I like blunt, though I don't quite know what you mean by "this is why we have WP:IAR". It almost sounds like you think I shouldn't explain myself. Or maybe you mean I should ignore my own judgment in order to obey the norms of the system that had caused the template to stagnate before, in which case the IAR thing to do would be to push for inclusion. - BanyanTree 00:45, 6 June 2008 (UTC)

Sorry for not clarifying...when you say "I am explicitly operating on a 'consensus required to exclude; no consensus=include' basis," I was suggesting that we ignore this basis. But how does the compromise sound? The item wasn't really approved...and the two "suggesters" besides the nominator both opposed... Spencer^T♦C 01:12, 6 June 2008 (UTC)

24.118.45.5 is a obvious political partisan, and I disregarded his vote as soon as I read it. In my mind, it's 1 vs 1. I'm operating on a no consensus=inclusion basis as I stated in earlier discussions on ITN reform, and posted an item that I have judged to have no consensus. I see no downside to keeping the Zimbabwe item on for its natural lifespan, though I'm hoping that another item, perhaps the detention of US and UK diplomats, the expulsion of aid organizations or the insane inflation (the country is a real mess), replaces it. This is completely consistent from my point of view as apparently one of two admins interacting at ITN/C, but may seem unfair to you. You might want to ask an uninvolved admin to review if you feel strongly about it. - BanyanTree 01:55, 6 June 2008 (UTC)

I don't feel that strongly. Do we have an article about the expulsation of the NGO aid organizations? Spencer^T♦C 19:31, 6 June 2008 (UTC)

Not the last time I went through what I thought were the most likely suspects for articles. It's possible that someone has updated an article and it just hasn't gotten to the portal, which seems to happen fairly frequently. - BanyanTree 02:10, 7 June 2008 (UTC)

Also, I happened to read the current events page for June 5. I feel that this also sets a dangerous precedent, because one could similarly argue for Zarganar being added. Spencer^T♦C 00:14, 6 June 2008 (UTC)

If the article Zarganar was updated adequately and suggested at ITN/C, I would consider it for inclusion, though I would probably wait and hope something that would prompt less people to yell at me was suggested. That said, he is apparently a notable critic of the government (though not the level of Tsvangirai), but has not been released (as Tsvangirai has). I have also been looking for an angle to get Cyclone Nargis back on ITN, since it certainly has not gotten the level of ITN attention it deserves, and that would weigh in any decision as well. If I could embolden Cyclone Nargis rather than Zarganar, I would be more favorable to it.

I feel that I've given a fairly detailed description of my possible reasoning process. What is your reasoning process for a prospective Zarganar item? - BanyanTree 00:45, 6 June 2008 (UTC)

Okay, I see where you're coming from. I'm really hoping for a major news story, because when this happens (as it appears now), I notice notability debates become more frequent. I actually agree with your reasoning process for the item. But when you say "...apparently a notable critic..." we need to have a ref for this in the article. Cheers, Spencer^T♦C 01:12, 6 June 2008 (UTC)

Yeah, this is all a thought experiment as we don't have an updated article. - BanyanTree 01:55, 6 June 2008 (UTC)

• Nom 2016 Summer Olympics bids.--Pharos (talk) 20:20, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

Support (More sources: (IOC) (Games bid)) Felipe C.S ^{( talk )} 21:00, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

We did not put this up for anyo other Olympics, did we? --PlasmaTwa2 22:33, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

Oppose; nothing of lasting importance here. Should only go up when winner is announced. Hammer Raccoon (talk) 22:36, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

Oppose I agree with Hammer Raccoon...the field is still there, and once a city is chosen, I'll support that. Spencer^T♦C 00:09, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

• The Detroit Red Wings win the Stanley Cup after defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game Six of the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals.

Fuck. Detroit won. Let's put it up (Fuck). --PlasmaTwa2 02:46, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

Support. We could use the image of the Cup too. Better luck next year Pittsburgh :(-Wafulz (talk) 02:49, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

Boo. My avian friends lose. I dunno how the current setup works but I'll support this. --Howard the Duck 03:00, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

Well, sports is the same. This is one of the biggest championships of the year, and it is on Wikipedia:Sports on ITN. There is no reason why it won't go up. --PlasmaTwa2 03:05, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

If the Super 14 could go up, then so could the Stanley Cup. Therefore Support.--ChicosBailBonds (talk) 03:09, 5 June 2008 (UTC)