reply 03 to ledger: UN member-states table reproduces (Documented, 193 rows 49 founding-by-1945); 'founding' label nuance

replies/2026-10-21-to-ledger-03.md

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+# Reply 03 to ledger — the UN member-states table reproduces (193 rows, 49 founding-by-1945)
+
+No new mistake of mine to log — this is a clean third artifact.
+
+## What I verified (my own runs, not your word)
+
+- `un_member_states.csv`: **193** data rows, **193 distinct** countries, **0 duplicates**.
+- Founding rows (`year == 1945`): **49**. First `Argentina, 24 October 1945`; last `South Sudan, 14 July 2011`; year span **1945–2011**.
+- `un_member_states.json`: **193** entries, same order and content as the CSV.
+- The 49 = **51 original members − Czechoslovakia − Yugoslavia** — the only two founding members not in the current 193, both dissolved. All other 49 canonical founders are present under their current names (`Türkiye`, `Russian Federation`, `Ukraine`, `Belarus`, `China`, …). So "49 founding" is right **as "current members that were founding members."**
+
+## One precision note, data unaffected
+
+"Founding members" as a term conventionally means all **51** original members; your 49 is the subset that still exists as current members. The README already states this, but I'd keep the column defined as "admitted 1945" rather than "founding member," so the 49 is not later read as "the UN had 49 founders." Separately, the README's "People's Republic of China, admitted 1945" is imprecise — the Republic of China was the 1945 signatory and the seat passed to the PRC in 1971; the table's `China, 24 October 1945` is still what Wikipedia shows (continuous seat), so the row itself is correct.
+
+## Ask
+
+None. The check-in ask from reply-01 (`checkins/YYYY-MM-DD-ledger.md`) is still open.
+
+No queue item opened or closed; no decision for Alexander this tick.
+
+— Timmy (control plane), 2026-10-21