West Bank barrier and Tux (mascot): Difference between pages

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Tux, the Linux Penguin

Tux is the official Linux mascot — a satiated, happy, chubby penguin. Tux was created by Larry Ewing in 1996. The idea of the Linux mascot being a penguin came from Linus Torvalds, the creator of the Linux kernel.

It is sometimes claimed that the name was derived from Torvalds UniX, a name suggested by James Hughes, rather than the explanation that penguins look vaguely like they are wearing a tuxedo.

Tux was designed for a Linux logo contest. Pictures of some of the other contestants can be found at The Linux Logo Competition site. The winning logo was created by Larry Ewing using the GIMP (a free software graphics package) and was released by him under the following condition:

Permission to use and/or modify this image is granted provided you acknowledge me [email protected] and The GIMP if someone asks. [1]

According to Jeff Ayers, Linus Torvalds had a "fixation for flightless, fat waterfowl" and Torvalds claims to have contracted "penguinitis" after being gently nibbled by a penguin: "Penguinitis makes you stay awake at nights just thinking about penguins and feeling great love towards them." Torvalds' supposed illness is of course a joke, but he really was bitten by a Little Penguin on a visit to Canberra [2]. Torvalds was looking for something fun and sympathetic to associate with Linux, and a slightly fat penguin sitting down after having had a great meal perfectly fit the bill.

Tux has become an icon for the Linux and Open Source community, with one British Linux user group adopting several penguins at Bristol Zoo. He is much more famous than his big friend, GNU, a peaceful and shy gnu that represents the GNU Project, another Open Source Project.

Tux is the star of a Linux game called Tux Racer, in which the user guides Tux down a variety of different icy hills on his belly, trying to catch herring and beat the time limit.

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+[[da:Tux]][[de:Tux]][[eo:Tuxx]][[es:Tux]][[fr:Tux]][[nl:Tux]][[pl:Tux]][[zh:Tux]]
-In [[2003]], [[Israel]] began construction on a '''security barrier''' inside the [[West Bank]], called the "seam zone". There is already a similar barrier inside the [[Gaza Strip]] (seperating it from both Israel and Egypt), and along the borders with Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan.
+<div style="float: right; margin: 0 0 1em 1em; text-align: center;">[[image:Tux.jpg]]<br>''Tux, the Linux Penguin''</div>
+'''Tux''' is the official [[Linux]] [[mascot]] &mdash; a satiated, happy, chubby [[penguin]]. Tux was created by [[Larry Ewing]] in [[1996]]. The idea of the Linux mascot being a penguin came from [[Linus Torvalds]], the creator of the [[Linux kernel]].
-== Official Purpose ==
+It is sometimes claimed that the name was derived from '''T'''orvalds '''U'''ni'''X''', a name suggested by James Hughes, rather than the explanation that penguins look vaguely like they are wearing a [[tuxedo|'''tux'''edo]].
-The Israeli government says the purpose of the security barrier is to prevent [[terrorism|terrorists]] from entering Israeli cities, a problem which has plagued Israel since the start of the [[Al-Aqsa Intifada]].  Its secondary purpose is to prevent illegal infilitrations of Palestinians, mainly illegal immigrants and car thieves. Political commentators have suggested a wide variety of other explanations.
+Tux was designed for a Linux logo contest. Pictures of some of the other contestants can be found at [http://www.cs.earlham.edu/~jeremiah/linux-pix/linux-logo.html The Linux Logo Competition site]. The winning logo was created by Larry Ewing using the [[GIMP]] (a [[free software]] graphics package) and was released by him under the following condition:
-== Structure and Timeline ==
+:''Permission to use and/or modify this image is granted provided you acknowledge me [email protected] and The GIMP if someone asks.'' [http://www.isc.tamu.edu/~lewing/linux/]
-Some parts of the barrier, 11 km near [[Qalqiliya]] and sections near [[Jerusalem]], consist of a high concrete wall.  Most of it consists of a wire fence with an exclusion area on each side.  In both cases there are regular observation posts, automated sensing devices and other apparatus.  There are gates at regular intervals which are controlled by Israeli soldiers when they are not closed.
+According to [[Jeff Ayers]], Linus Torvalds had a ''"fixation for flightless, fat waterfowl"'' and Torvalds claims to have contracted "penguinitis" after being gently nibbled by a penguin: ''"Penguinitis makes you stay awake at nights just thinking about penguins and feeling great love towards them."'' Torvalds' supposed illness is of course a joke, but he really was bitten by a [[Little Penguin]] on a visit to [[Canberra]][http://www.linux.org.au/org/penguin.phtml]. Torvalds was looking for something fun and sympathetic to associate with Linux, and a slightly fat penguin sitting down after having had a great meal perfectly fit the bill.
-As of November 2003, the barrier extends inside most of the north-western and western edges of the West Bank, sometimes close to the border and sometimes cutting deeply towards the east.  In some places there are also secondary barriers.  It is not known whether a decision has been made to build a barrier also on the eastern side of the main regions of Palestinian population.  Depending mostly on this decision, somewhere between 6% and 45% of the West Bank will eventually be outside the barrier.
+Tux has become an icon for the Linux and [[Open Source]] community, with one British Linux user group adopting several penguins at [[Bristol Zoo]]. He is much more famous than his big friend, GNU, a peaceful and shy [[gnu]] that represents the [[GNU]] Project, another Open Source Project.
-In October 2003, the region between the barrier and the border of the West Bank (the "green line") was declared a special military area.  Although all Israelis and all Jews regardless of nationality can enter the region freely, Palestinians can enter only with special permits even if they are residents of one of the dozen or so Arab villages in the region.  Many of the latter Arabs who tried to obtain permits were refused them.
+Tux is the star of a Linux [[Video game|game]] called [[Tux Racer]], in which the user guides Tux down a variety of different icy hills on his belly, trying to catch [[herring]] and beat the time limit.
-In October 2003, the [[United States]] vetoed a [[United Nations]] [[UN Security Council Resolution|Security Council resolution]] stating:
-:''The construction by Israel, the occupying power, of a wall in the Occupied Territories departing from the armistice line of 1949 is illegal under relevant provisions of international law and must be ceased and reversed.''
+===External link===
-The [[United Kingdom]], [[Germany]], [[Bulgaria]] and [[Cameroon]] abstained from the vote. The justification given by the U.S. for the veto was that the resolution did not condemn terrorist attacks made by Palestinian groups.
+* [http://www.sjbaker.org/tux/ A complete history of Tux]
-One week later, a similar resolution was passed by the [[UN General Assembly]] 144-4 with 12 absentions. The resolution said the barrier was "in contradiction to international law," and demanded that Israel "stop and reverse" its construction. Israel called the resolution a "farce".
+* [http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,42209,00.html Wired News story on Tux]
+* [http://www.isc.tamu.edu/~lewing/linux/ Linux 2.0 Penguins] (Larry Ewing)
-In December 2003, the General Assembly passed a resolution requesting the [[International Court of Justice]] to make an advisory ruling on the "legal consequences arising" from the construction of the barrier.  The hearings will begin in February 2004.   Israel announced that it would cooperate with the court but noted that advisory rulings are not binding.  The [[Palestinian Authority]] is not a member of the court but will be allowed to make a submission by virtue of being a UN observer and a co-sponsor of the UNGA resolution. In January 2004, the court also authorized the [[League of Arab States]] to make a submission in the case.
-In January 2004, Israel's Supreme Court announced it would meet within a month to review the legality of the barrier, its route, and surrounding issues.
-== Reaction ==
-===Pro===
-Israeli public opinion has been very strongly in favor of the barrier, partly in the hope that it will improve security and partly in the belief (denied by the government) that the barrier marks the [[Proposals for a Palestinian state|eventual border of a Palestinian state]].  Due to the latter possibility, the settler movement oppose the barrier, though this opposition has waned since it became clear the barrier would be diverted to the east of major [[Israeli settlement]]s such as [[Ariel (settlement)|Ariel]].
-Israeli officers, including the head of the [[Shin Bet]], that were quoted in [[Maariv]] daily newspaper claimed that in the areas where the fence was complete, the amount of hostile infilitrations decreased to almost zero. In the [[Gaza Strip]], which is surrounded completely by fence, there were almost no infilitrations of [[suicide bombers]] into the nearby cities [[Ashkelon]] and [[Sderot]] and the [[Kibbutz]] [[Nahal Oz]].
-===Con===
-Palestinian public opinion is overwhelmingly against the barrier.  A large number of Palestinians have been separated from their lands or their places of work or study and many more will be as the barriers near [[Jerusalem]] are completed.   Dozens of official Palestinian institutions in [[Abu Dis]] will be prevented from providing services to East Jerusalem residents.
-The Palestinian leadership fears that the fence will thwart their political agenda relating to the question of [[Israel]] and set the future borders [[de-facto]] against their will.
-Arabic news organisations such as [[Al-Jazeera]] call the barrier a '''separation wall''' or an '''[[apartheid]] wall'''.
-Israeli, Palestinian, and international activist groups such as the [[International Solidarity Movement]] have made several attempts to sabotage the barrier.
-==See also==
-* [[List of walls]]
-* [[Israeli-Palestinian conflict]]
-* [[Al-Aqsa Intifada]]
-== External Links ==
-* [http://www.seamzone.mod.gov.il/Pages/ENG/execution.htm Israeli Government info site on the seam zone]
-* [http://www.us-israel.org/jsource/Peace/fence.html Israel's Security Fence]
-* [http://wcbs880.com/mideast/mideast_story_287223502.html UN Debates Israel's Security Fence]
-* [http://www.betselem.org/english/Separation_Barrier/index.asp B'Tselem's site on the barrier]
-* [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=326397 Ha'Aretz special report]
-* [http://www.icj-cij.org/icjwww/idocket/imwp/imwpframe.htm International Court of Justice official page on the case]