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Talk:Online poker

Source for Online POker revenues figures
Please, let's evaluate if this phrase "In 2005, revenues from online poker were estimated at US$ 200 million per month.[1]" should be removed. The proposed link is broken too. I have just added a Financial time link with authoritative figures about actual revenues, this estimate of $200mn seems widely underestimated.

Thanks, regards.

--Ugopanco (talk) 08:37, 12 September 2008 (UTC)

Iyaa Ambon123 (talk) 23:24, 13 June 2018 (UTC)

History
What is the "disparate" locations supposed to mean? How about something like "inconvenient"? Or should we really regard that as additional evidence that the entire article is just another free advertising scam, with someone trying to make it sound like an encyclopedia. (Several other likely examples elsewhere.) Shanen 08:24, 15 Mar 2005 (UTC)
 * Yeah, NPOV is really an issue there. It has a strong bias towards online poker.Tyharvey313 03:44, 6 July 2007 (UTC)

This page is an advert for online poker all the 'benefits' are explained in detail and all the downsides are explained away. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.3.191.33 (talk) 14:51, 13 August 2008 (UTC)

Cheating in online poker
The text mistakenly claims that 'The_V0id' was disqualified from the World Championship of Online Poker for having multiple accounts - the linked article (source) makes no such claim and merely says that he was disqualified for a breach of the terms of service. I think this should be corrected. 125.255.113.222 (talk) 05:26, 4 February 2009 (UTC)

There really should be a section on cheating in online poker. There seem to be plenty of ways of doing it, from colluding with others to using "card counting" and other statistical software which in a real life casino would get you thrown out. There are bots too, of course, run by both players and the casino. I'll add something but maybe someone else knows more.

Edit: wasn't signed in on this page for some reason, NTL proxies perhaps... Mojo-chan 21:57, 16 July 2006 (UTC)

 * The article already covers online-specific cheating, and detection methods. 2005 22:48, 16 July 2006 (UTC)

 * Additionally the infomation you have tried to include is both inaccurate and quite strange. Card counting in poker?  Cheating "debateable"?  It seems you are unfamilar with how poker is played, so I'd suggest you refrain from adding details to the article.  If you have questions about things or suggestion for formatting information, you could comment here, but obviously we can not have confusing/inaccurate statements in the article. 2005 22:33, 17 July 2006 (UTC)

 * "Card counting" in online poker? That seems like a bizarre statement to me. Card counting almost always refers to a specific advantage play technique used in blackjack, not poker, and it's not really cheating, even though it might or might not get you thrown out of a casino. At any rate, it's certainly not a subject that has anything to do with online poker.Rray 23:49, 17 July 2006 (UTC)

 * Actually card counting is semi-relevant to online poker but it is not considered cheating by anybody. Yes you could use sophisticated methods to track information about cards played during a hand -- and use that information.  And yes that would get you thrown out of a casino.  But no it is not cheating in online poker.  More importantly for this section, there needs to be something said about the huge Absolute Poker scandal, which I realize is still ongoing as of October 22, 2007.  This scandal will change the landscape of online poker and shows that cheating is perhaps not as rare as some like to believe (or advertise).  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.114.135.84 (talk) 14:14, 21 October 2007 (UTC)

No, it wouldn't get you thrown out of anything. You're perfectly entitled to track what cards are in play or have been discarded during a poker hand. This is, in fact, crucial in games like 7-stud. It's perfectly fine.

I suppose you could mean actually tracking the position of cards in the deck as its shuffled, but of course that doesn't apply online. Evercat 01:18, 22 October 2007 (UTC)
 * You cannot use a computer device at the poker table. You could use one online -- input what cards burned, what cards folded (in a 7-stud game), etc.  Then it might calculate your odds, etc.  That would not be legal in a casino game.  I am not even sure they would let you keep track with pen and paper.  Obviously we are talking about stud games, no HE.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by Masonuc (talk • contribs) 02:37, 22 October 2007 (UTC)

Online poker rooms are only computer programs that can be amended at will to maximise profit for the site, if they can they will, also the fact that online sites have paid players working for them shows the whole concept is best avoided. If you play then you deserve all the engineered hands you will get and the bad beats to go with them. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.0.131.122 (talk) 11:25, 15 August 2008 (UTC)

This whole section is perfunctory and promotional. Like anything written on wikipedia about the pharmaceutical industry or New York City, it exists only to glorify the subject matter while sweeping its potential questionable aspects under the rug. Furthermore, there are several self-appointed "article police" who delete material to ensure that the article does not deviate from the promotion of online poker. It's really advertising disguised as an encyclopedia article. 69.172.118.214 (talk) 11:25, 29 March 2011 (UTC)

Uh, nope. Show me third-party researched proof that cardrooms engineer hands to maximise profit, etc, and then it'd be worthy of mention in an article. Any complaining about bias in the big online cardrooms (PokerStars, FullTily, etc) is through people perceiving patterns in randomness or being frustrated at their bad luck. I guess I'd qualify as one of the "article police," but it's for good reason; the argument is flawed. JaeDyWolf ~ Baka-San (talk) 17:46, 29 March 2011 (UTC)

List of Online Poker Sites
List of online poker sites redirects to this page, despite the fact that there is not such list here. I think a list of online poker sites would be useful as a separate page. Does anyone object? And does anyone want to help? Be so empty without me (talk) 06:04, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

 * This is an encyclopedia, not a shopping guide. This was discussed previously at WP:POKER.  If you want to try to influence a new consensus, go ahead and start a discussion there. 2005 (talk) 06:38, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

 * I didn't realize that the page Category:Poker companies existed, that was basically what i was going for Be so empty without me (talk) 20:49, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

Early History of online poker
There doesn't appear to be much info here on the early history of online poker (the first few years). I've built a short section which outlines some of the problems the early operators faced as well as a "timeline" showing the expansion of online poker.

Is this something that would be useful? Admittedly my "encyclopedic" writing skills still need some work but I think many people would find the early history of online poker pretty interesting. I could add a section similar to that below or create a new page (whichever seems reasonable).

Potential content follows:

Creating a real money online poker room involved many technical and logistical challenges. The internet had not matured to the point where most users had confidence that their funds were safe and wagers were not at risk due to technical shortcomings. For a quality online poker experience, the game software had to be able to handle real time communications between the servers and the clients over connections ranging from 2400 Baud modems to T1 connections and satellite communications. E-commerce to address the money aspects was still in its infancy. Reliable methods of communicating between servers on the internet and banking systems (which were still largely limited to phone communications between their systems) needed to be created. In short, players needed to be convinced that it was safe to send money to an online cardroom, games would play reliably and they would be able to cash out their winnings.

In August 1997, Planet Poker launched the first online poker site. The site operated as a free cardroom for the remainder of 1997 to enable the developers to mature the software to meet basic player expectations. Methods to deal with internet communication problems were built into the software and practical methods to fund player accounts were created.

On January 1, 1998 the first real money online poker hand was dealt and by February, 1998 games were running around the clock. Real money online poker had arrived, sparking a multi-billion dollar industry.

Timeline:

Burkr (talk) 16:26, 22 August 2008 (UTC)

 * Some more on the early history seems fine, but I think the timeline is not a good idea. 2005 (talk) 01:21, 23 August 2008 (UTC)
 * Why not? It would seem (to me) that it would give a real feel for the way things evolved in the early days.  Burkr (talk) 14:54, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
 * Wikipedia discourages their use, and what you wrote above is entirely redundant to the text. We don't need to say things twice.  A good paragraphph is all that is needed. 2005 (talk) 00:02, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

D'Amato
Per WP:V, WP:RS, WP:OR, WP:NPOV (especially WP:UNDUE) and thus WP:BLP, the paragraph about D'Amato sourced entirely from PPA is inappropriate. The text can of course go back in if sourced to a reliable independent source which establishes its significance in context. Guy (Help!) 18:04, 4 October 2008 (UTC)

 * I could perhaps see your point concerning WP:V and WP:RS, if you consider the PPA to be an unreliable source. In this case, however, there's nothing egregious.  If you want better sourcing, please consider a "cite needed" tag.  I see nothing wrong with the paragraph in line with WP:OR, WP:NPOV, WP:UNDUE, or WP:BLP (and yes, I've read those policies).  It seems to me that you're just throwing out acronyms.  Can you explain specifically how you think the paragraph violates those particular policies ?? Plvekamp (talk) 20:32, 4 October 2008 (UTC)

 * The problem is that we are relying on PPA as the source for both the fact and its significance. In order to establish the significance of the fact, you need to show that other sources discussing online poker (and not the PPA) consider this significant. And the best way to ensure that this is not a problem is to source the text fomr somthing other than PPA itsef; as an advocacy organisation it has an undisguised agenda, and is not an appropriate source in an article on a subject where it has a strong advocacy agenda. Guy (Help!) 12:22, 5 October 2008 (UTC)
 * No one is doing that. The article says the PPA claims one million members.  This supported by the linked page, and fits in with the pro and con nature of the section.  If you want another source to mention that claim, that seems is redundant but fine, however there is no doubt that the PPA is the best source for it's own claim.  WP:V is policy and can't be ignored.  A link to the PPA's own website is the best way to verify the claim.  The article does not state the claim is true or not. 2005 (talk) 21:28, 5 October 2008 (UTC)
 * Here's a reference for D'Amato's lobbying from the New York Times: *** Crotalus *** 00:39, 9 October 2008 (UTC)

Legality
Could we get a little more info regarding the legality of online poker in countries other than the US, UK, and the Caribbean? I'm especially interested in Canada and Europe. Deepfryer99 (talk) 21:21, 15 January 2009 (UTC)

Taxation
Anyone know anything about taxation? I heard something about EU players having to declare any earnings from non EU sites. Bjorn I. Clever (talk) 06:26, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

Legality Section Needs Rework
As I understand it, the picture in the United States is as follows:

1. Several states ban internet poker within their jurisdictions.

2. The federal government claims that the Wire Act bans online poker, and has claimed this for some time. However, there's only one case that squarely deals with the issue and it held that the Wire Act only banned sports betting, not poker. Still, the DOJ's position carries some weight with banks, state legislators, and other actors and another court might adopt it.

3. The UIGEA didn't specifically ban online poker, but it said that if internet gambling was made unlawful (presumably under state or federal law, including the Wire Act if that statute is interpreted to ban online poker), it's illegal for a bank to process deposits.

4. The federal government has now issued banking regulations requiring banks to decline deposits to online poker sites.

So why doesn't this page say this? It reads like someone who is trying to obfuscate the issue, not explain it. 75.83.62.201 (talk) 03:16, 20 June 2010 (UTC)
 * I was under the impression that directors of UK gaming sites had been arrested in the US, under the Wire Act. Rich Farmbrough, 17:51, 15 December 2011 (UTC).

HSO/DCC
Is this just someone's COI or is there third party coverage? Rich Farmbrough, 17:43, 15 December 2011 (UTC).

PROD and PokerStars Image
This article was marked for a proposed deletion because it was "promoting PokerStars." I removed the PROD and the image of PokerStars, but if anyone wants to discuss, here's a section of the talk page where you can now do so. Rray (talk) 14:34, 24 January 2012 (UTC)

Needs a History section
This article doesn't currently read like an encyclopedia article could really do with a history section giving some of the timeline.Tetron76 (talk) 13:10, 15 July 2012 (UTC)
 * The Overview section is a history section, with dates. That doesn't mean it couldn't be better, or more complete, or written differently though. 2005 (talk) 19:17, 15 July 2012 (UTC)
 * As it currently stands it could be reduced to one sentence. The dates are not sourced and I would be very surprised if there wasn't some form of free on-line poker played well before the late 90s just not at a commercial scale. Tetron76 (talk) 23:51, 5 August 2012 (UTC)
 * What are you talking about one sentence? The history has lots of references and is obviously encyclopedic.  As for you being "very surprised" that things happened as they did, well they did. 2005 (talk) 19:37, 6 August 2012 (UTC)
 * I mean that the entire section does not conform to wiki policy. It is full of opinion which presents strong POV and has no references that can be used. The other problem is that the true statements that are used are wrongly placed in the context of the actual historical timeline. The beginning of the poker boom was earlier than 2003, (especially in UK) etc...
 * As for the late 1990s, this refers to 1995 which is mid-90s not late 90s. But since the film war games (1983) includes the framework for playing poker on line and that bridge was played in the 80s on MUD. While clearly this is very different from current online poker, this will still be the earliest form version of poker played remotely. The only question is if it will be possible to source this.Tetron76 (talk) 14:55, 7 August 2012 (UTC)
 * The section conforms to wiki policy. It is not "full" of opinion.  The first paragraph has some unreferenced quotes that are plainly obvious, but would not be hurt by having references.  That's just a matter of heavily editors want to include refs for statements like casinos can be intimidating to first time visitors.  The statement could be referenced but it is not controversial, and is not "bad" to be there like it is. The poker boom has lots of historical contributing items (flop games coming to California, Rounders, Late Night Poker), but what the Wikipedia and most knowledgable sources call the poker boom is referenced in the poker boom article, and not something to be redfined in other articles.  As for the first version of multiplayer poker online, that was IRC, as can be found evidence of online in lots of places.  You seem to think that there should have been poker sooner, but if there was, there would be references to that effect.  I suggest if you have any problem with any particular sentence or paragraph, you speak about it specifically.  Also, you should click through to the various wikilinks, where there are ample refs about Sportingbet, Party Gaming etc.  Those articles deal in detail with those companies.  A ref from those articles could be duplicated here, but there is no need (and it's not a good idea) to completely duplicate the content from those articles here. 2005 (talk) 17:12, 7 August 2012 (UTC)

anyone there 119.235.88.120 (talk) 05:42, 6 February 2013 (UTC)

Ich weiß nich was man hier alles schreiben kann aba ich schreib ma vor mich hin, also ich bin der Hans. Ich bin der hab schon immer davon geträumt einen sinnlosen Wikipedia artiken zu verfassen und heute ist endlich der Tag gekommen andem ich... (fortsetzung folgt) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.116.15.3 (talk) 09:07, 19 November 2013 (UTC)

title: Talk:Online poker


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Wingham, Ontario

Wingham (2016 census population 2,934) is a community located in the municipality of North Huron, Ontario, Canada, which is located in Huron County. Wingham became part of North Huron in 2001 when the Ontario government imposed amalgamation on the former township of East Wawanosh, the village of Blyth, and the town of Wingham.

Wingham is located at the intersection of County Roads 4 and 86. Most of Wingham is located between County Road 86 to the south and the Maitland River to the north.

History
The original survey for Wingham was conducted in 1854, with 1,000 acres dedicated to the community north of what is now Highway 86 and Highway 4. The initial townsite was oriented around the Maitland River, with the assumption that its water power and transportation opportunities would make it the focal point for development. Indeed, when a basic settlement formed, it was around an early saw and shingle mill. The form of the settlement soon changed, however, when the proposed Canada North-West Railway line was surveyed to the south of the village in 1858. In anticipation of the arrival of the railway, Wingham developed into two distinct areas: an older, "stagnant" Lower Wingham which comprised the initial settlement, as well as a more dynamic Upper Wingham located near the proposed railway line. It would be over a decade until the railway finally did arrive, but in the meantime, the town had developed a number of typical pioneer industries, including a woollen mill, a tannery, and a foundry. An upper dam site was established, where a new flour mill and sawmill were constructed. During the 1860s, the main commercial thoroughfare was Victoria Street. However, the commercial centre of the settlement gradually shifted to Josephine Street by the 1870s, especially after the arrival of the Wellington, Grey and Bruce Railway in 1872.

Indeed, when Wingham was incorporated as a village in 1874, its boundaries only included Upper Wingham, whose population at the time was 726; Lower Wingham, whose population was around 500, remained a part of the Township of Turnberry. The community was incorporated as a town in 1879, and the town hall was constructed and opened in 1890. The community's post office was built across the street and opened in 1907. Multiple-unit business buildings were constructed from 1878 to 1892, lining the town's main street. The community's hospital, serving Wingham and surrounding areas, dates back to 1906.

Well-known products created from Wingham businesses included:
 * Hardwood chairs manufactured by Conestoga Chair Company, which opened in 1898
 * Wooden doors, constructed by Lloyd-Truax. Doormaking began in Wingham in 1888 by Charles Lloyd
 * Milk, processed by Sunrise Dairy, which opened in 1928

By 1910, the town's population was 2,500. Furniture manufacturing had become the town's primary export industry. This would last through much of the 20th century, with furniture, prefabricated housing, and other skilled woodworking remaining significant. There was a "brief flurry of development" in the 1950s and 1960s, and in 1981 the population stood at 2,897. The end of rail freight service to the town spelled the end for much of its woodworking industry, with many of its furniture factories closing following the end of service.

Railway history
Wingham has a "complex railway history" as noted in a Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada report. The first railway to arrive was the Wellington, Grey and Bruce Railway (WG&B), by then a subsidiary of the Great Western Railway. The WG&B was initially known as the Canada North-West Railway (CNWR) With work finishing up in 1871 on the WG&B mainline running between Guelph and Southampton, permission was granted for a "Southern Extension" to Kincardine, branching off from the mainline at Palmerston. This branch line would ultimately be routed through Listowel, Brussels, Wingham, Lucknow, and Ripley on its way to Kincardine. This led to the construction of Wingham's first railway station in 1872.

The second railway to arrive in Wingham was the London, Huron and Bruce Railway (LH&B) in December 1875. The LH&B was the brainchild of the first reeve of Blyth, Patrick Kelly, who promoted it heavily. It was originally intended for Blyth to be the northern terminus; however, several communities to the north, including Wingham, offered considerable subsidies for an extension, so the line was eventually terminated at a wye junction 3 km east of Wingham. The two railways would share the original Wingham station, which functioned as a union station. Terminal facilities were built in the town after the arrival of the LH&B, which included a two-stall enginehouse, a carpenter's shop, a snowplow shed, coal facilities, and a bunkhouse.

The third and final railway to arrive was the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). It had taken over the Toronto, Grey and Bruce Railway, whose abortive Kincardine branch had been terminated in Teeswater in 1874 due to competition from the WG&B. In 1885, the CPR announced that a stagecoach service would connect Wingham with a point on the Teeswater line known as Glenannon (or Glenannan), where a small station was built. In 1887, Canadian Pacific built a 3.6 mi spur line to Wingham from a wye connection at Glenannon, giving Wingham a direct CPR connection, along with its second railway station. The arrival of the CPR ignited a competition between it and the Grand Trunk, which renovated its existing station and maintained competitive freight rates to the town. This was followed by the construction of a new, more substantial Grand Trunk station in 1905–06. The Grand Trunk was amalgamated into the Canadian National Railways system in 1923. The former WG&B line became known as the CN Kincardine Subdivision, while the LH&B line became known as the CN Exeter Subdivision.

In 1941, the London, Huron and Bruce line was abandoned north of Clinton Junction on the CN Goderich Subdivision, cutting off Wingham's southern connection to London. CN passenger service to the town ended in 1973. This was soon followed by the end of activity on the Canadian Pacific line, which was built with lightweight rail and had suffered washouts in the 1950s; the last CP freight customer, Wingham's Premium Forest Products, switched to CN in 1983 after CP built an industrial spur to connect it to CN's Kincardine Subdivision. In the same year, CN abandoned the section of its only remaining line from Wingham to Kincardine, leaving Wingham as the terminus. The Canadian Pacific line was finally formally abandoned in 1988, and the CN line was abandoned in 1991, almost 120 years after it had first arrived and transformed the area.

Business and industry
Wingham has a number of manufacturing businesses, and a variety of retail and service businesses. Wingham supports two grocery stores, and a main street with retail stores and restaurants. The town has branches of the Bank of Montreal, CIBC, and TD Canada Trust banks, and a branch of Libro Financial Group credit union.

The industries with a presence in the town include:

 * Wescast Industries, three manufacturing facilities for this auto-part producer.
 * BI-AX International produces plastic film for use in food packaging and industry.
 * Royal Homes is a manufacturer of pre-fabricated homes.
 * Britespan Building Systems Inc. is a manufacturer of fabric covered steel structure buildings.

Radio and television
Wingham was one of the first towns in Ontario to have a community radio station, with W.T. Cruickshank founding CKNX Broadcasting Ltd in 1926.

Wingham has three radio stations: CKNX 920, CKNX-FM 101.7, and Classic Rock 94.5, all owned by Blackburn Radio. There is also a television station CKNX channel 8, owned by CTVglobemedia. It rebroadcasts the master signal of CFPL-TV from London, with the exception of local advertising. CKNX became a rebroadcaster of CFPL London on August 31, 2009.

On April 9, 2007, it was announced that Rogers Communications had filed with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to purchase all of the A-Channel stations, including CFPL, CKNX, CKX-TV, Access Alberta and several cable channels that were for sale by CHUM Limited in the wake of CTVglobemedia's acquisition of the CHUM group. CTV said it would not renew the licence for CKNX-TV in Wingham upon expiration at the end of August 2009. On May 1, 2009, Shaw Communications offered to buy the station for $1 from CTV (along with other underperforming stations in Brandon and Windsor), but scuttled the deal two months later. CKNX closed down as a separate station on August 31, 2009. Its transmitter remains in operation as an analogue rebroadcaster of CFPL-DT in London.

Wingham was also served by a CBC English TV station (Channel 45), which re-transmitted CBLT-TV Toronto via CBLN-TV London. This transmitter, along with CBC/Radio-Canada's other remaining analog transmitters, was shut down permanently on July 31, 2012, leaving over-the-air viewers in the area with no free CBC television service.

Education
Public education is managed by the Avon Maitland District School Board, which oversees the following schools: The former Wingham Public School educated thousands of children on John Street, but was closed in 2013.
 * F. E. Madill Secondary School is located in Wingham. Approximately 800 students from grades 7-12 attend; most are bused in from the surrounding area. Madill is known for its Basketball teams and its Track and Field team.
 * Maitland River Elementary School is located in Wingham beside F.E. Madill Secondary School. Approximately 400-500 students attend from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 6.

Catholic education is managed by the Huron-Perth Catholic District School Board. It has one elementary school, Sacred Heart School, located in the town's east end.

Transportation
Wingham is located to the north of County Road 86 which connects to Kitchener-Waterloo to the east. The main thoroughfare is County Road 4, called Josephine Street within Wingham, which connects to London, Ontario to the south.

Wingham/Richard W. LeVan Aerodrome is a general aviation airport to the southeast of Wingham with fuel services and private hangars.

Wingham was served by scheduled bus service to London, Owen Sound, and Stratford until 2013, when provider Aboutown entered receivership.

Attractions
The North Huron Museum provides an overview of the history of the Township of North Huron beginning in the Paleolithic era and continuing into modern times. North Wingham Museum

Notable people

 * Dave Farrish - NHL hockey player and current assistant coach of the Colorado Avalanche
 * Honoré Jackson - A leader of the North-West Rebellion
 * Andrew Kaufman - Writer/film director, raised in Wingham
 * Bob McDonald - Science journalist; Officer of the Order of Canada, raised in Wingham
 * Alice Munro - 2013 Nobel Prize laureate for literature, born in Wingham, author of short stories set in fictional small towns akin to Wingham
 * George Agnew Reid - Artist, raised near Wingham.
 * Caroline Wellwood, nurse missionary in China, raised in Wingham
 * Doug Wood - Canadian record holder in pole vault, raised in Wingham

Politicians

 * William Aberhart - Premier of Alberta, 1935-1943. Taught public school in Wingham.
 * Murray Elston - Ontario MPP, 1981-1994. Born in Wingham.
 * George Johnston - Alberta MLA and Speaker, 1921-1936. Born in Wingham.
 * Robert Mooney - Manitoba MLA, 1922-1953. Born in Wingham.
 * George Spotton - MP, 1927-1935. Wingham businessman.
 * Robert Weir - MP, Minister of Agriculture, 1930-. Born in Wingham.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Wingham, Ontario


text:
Operation Antler (Porton Down investigation)

Operation Antler was a 1999 police investigation into experiments conducted on humans at the British government's Porton Down research establishment between 1939 and 1989. Several cases were sent to the Crown Prosecution Service but none proceeded to criminal prosecutions.

In July 1999, the Wiltshire Constabulary opened an investigation into allegations by a former serviceman of malfeasance at Porton Down Chemical and Biological Research Establishment. As a consequence of these preliminary investigations, the scope of the inquiry was broadened into a major inquiry named Operation Antler.

The inquiries established that a number of the participants in the Service Volunteer Programme claimed to have been tricked into taking part in experiments. Some also claimed to have suffered long-term illness or injury as a result of the experiments.

The investigation covered the period from 1939 to 1989 and lasted for five years. Its thirteen members interviewed over 700 ex-servicemen or their relatives. The British Government provided the constabulary with an additional £870,000 towards the costs.

At least 20,000 servicemen participated as volunteers in testing at Porton Down, and records survive from 1942 onwards. The Second World War was the peak period for testing, and much of this concerned mustard gas, with as many as 8,000 volunteers being exposed. After 1945, testing shifted to nerve agents, and used around 3,400 volunteers (although they may not all have been exposed). In the 1960s, smaller scale experiments took place with non-lethal agents such as LSD and glycollates, and later testing focused on countermeasures such as pyridostigmine bromide which is a pre-treatment for nerve agents.

The constabulary developed 25 cases for possible prosecution, of which eight were forwarded to the Crown Prosecution Service. Subsequently, the CPS decided that there would be no prosecutions of scientists involved in the tests. The CPS decision was reviewed following the verdict of unlawful killing at the inquest in November 2004 into the death on 6 May 1953 of volunteer Ronald Maddison. In June 2006, the CPS confirmed that there would be no prosecutions.


text:
User:RayTomes

My name is Ray Tomes and I live in New Zealand. I am interested in the Interdisciplinary study of Cycles and am the originator of the Harmonics theory explaining structure scales in the universe and common patterns in cycles. Home page: http://ray.tomes.biz/ Harmonics Theory Blogs:: On cycles: Wobbly Universe On politics/economics/social issues Just Thinking Photography/Art/Travel/etc Shot Alive also my stuff in StumbleUpon Flickr.

My other interests include Vipassana meditation and related matters.

Pages I have created on Wikipedia: and probably lots of others
 * Cycles interdisciplinary study of repeating phenomoena
 * List_of_cycles (actually I created the material not the page)
 * Economic cycles
 * Edward R. Dewey
 * Foundation for the Study of Cycles (this was merged with Edward R. Dewey
 * The Foundation for the Study of Cycles (sometimes wrongly goes by this name)
 * Just tuning table of frequencies for Just intonation
 * Kalapas were defined by Buddha as tiny vibrational units of mind and matter
 * Nanocycles method (someone deleted this unfortunately)
 * Megacycles (ditto)
 * World's largest book is in Myanmar
 * 9.6 year cycle of lynx abundance
 * Carrington rotation for solar longitude measurement
 * the category cycle

Pages I have contributed to on Wikipedia and probably lots of others
 * Alexander Chizhevsky
 * Business cycle
 * Cycle studies (this has been deleted but I hope to add it back some time)
 * Geochronology
 * Global cooling
 * Harmonic
 * Harmonics Theory (this has been deleted)
 * Joseph Schumpeter
 * Just intonation
 * Just tuning
 * Ledi Sayadaw famous Buddhist Monk
 * LeSage (gravity) it gets renamed about as often as it is updated
 * List of cycles
 * Milankovitch cycles
 * Nanocycles method
 * Timeline of microphysics
 * Varve

There have been problems with cycles related material in wikipedia. Several people have taken it upon themselves to try and butcher, merge or delete all articles relating to cycles. This is very sad for people that want to learn about cycles. These things have often been done in violation of wikipedia policy. I have continued to do battle and will keep using every channel to try and get a good result. I have written about this Is Wikipedia Broke? in my blog which I update from time to time. I hope that eventually I am able to report that it is fixed.

title: User:RayTomes


text:
User talk:Valluvar

This stuff is amazing.

title: User talk:Valluvar


text:
Balti (food)

A balti or bāltī gosht (, बाल्टी गोश्त) is a type of curry served in a thin, pressed-steel wok called a "balti bowl". The name may have come from the metal dish in which the curry is cooked, rather than from any specific ingredient or cooking technique. Balti curries are cooked quickly using vegetable oil rather than ghee, over high heat in the manner of a stir-fry, and any meat is used off the bone. This combination differs sharply from a traditional one-pot Indian curry which is simmered slowly all day. Balti sauce is based on garlic and onions, with turmeric and garam masala, among other spices.

Balti gosht is eaten in North India and some parts of Pakistan, as well as other parts of the world, such as Great Britain. The British version of Balti was developed in Birmingham in 1977.

Origin, history and etymology
Balti, as a food, is named after the steel or iron pot in which it is cooked, similar to a karahi from the same region. The word is found in Hindustani, Odia, and Bengali, and means "bucket". The word developed from the Portuguese balde, meaning bucket or pail, and traveled to the Indian subcontinent via the Portuguese seafaring enterprises of the early 16th century. The word likely made its way into the English language during the time of British India.

According to Pat Chapman, a food writer, the origins of the word can be traced to the area of Baltistan, in the northern part of the region of Kashmir, where a cast-iron wok, similar to the Chinese wok, is used for cooking. Baltistan shares a border with China. In his Curry Club Balti Curry Cookbook, Chapman states: "The balti pan is a round-bottomed, wok-like heavy cast-iron dish with two handles. ... The origins of Balti cooking are wide ranging and owe as much to China (with a slight resemblance to the spicy cooking of Sichuan) and Tibet, as well as to the ancestry of the Mirpuris, the tastes of the Moghul emperors, the aromatic spices of Kashmir, and the 'winter foods' of lands high in the mountains."

However, Colleen Taylor Sen states that the origins of balti gosht are unclear, as the food eaten in Baltistan "bears no resemblance" to balti gosht. As such, the name of the food may have originated from the fact that  bāltī gosht is cooked in a pot resembling a baltī, the Hindustani word for bucket.

Another claim regarding the origin of balti cooking in Birmingham was that it was first served in 1977 in a restaurant called Adil's. At that time, the restaurant was located in Stoney Lane, Sparkbrook, and after some time relocated to another area, but since has returned to its original place in Stoney Lane.

Balti houses
Balti restaurants are often known in Birmingham as 'balti houses'. Some balti houses have a plate of glass on the table top with menus secured beneath. Balti houses typically offer large karack naan bread pieces, to be shared by the whole table.

Balti houses were originally clustered along and behind the main road between Sparkhill and Moseley, to the south of Birmingham city centre. This area, comprising Ladypool Road, Stoney Lane, and Stratford Road, is still sometimes referred to as the Balti Triangle, and contains a high concentration of balti restaurants. On 28 July 2005, a tornado caused extensive damage to buildings in the triangle, forcing many restaurants to close. Most reopened by the beginning of 2006 but by 2023 only four remained.

Balti restaurants have now spread beyond the triangle, and can also be found in the south of Birmingham, along the Pershore Rd in Stirchley. Lye near Stourbridge to the west of Birmingham has become known as the 'Balti Mile' with up to a dozen restaurants clustered along the High Street.

The food and its style of presentation proved very popular during the 1980s, and popularity grew in the 1990s. Balti restaurants gradually opened up throughout the West Midlands, and then a large part of Britain. The expanded curry market in Britain is now said to take in 4 billion pounds sterling per year.

Outside Britain, a small number of balti houses are in Ireland and many other English-speaking countries, particularly Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.

Since the late 1990s, British supermarkets have stocked a growing range of prepacked balti meals, and the balti restaurant sector has since faced increasing competition from the retail sector and from changes in customer tastes, along with other traditional South Asian and Indian restaurants.

title: Balti (food)


text:
Bălți

Bălți is a city in Moldova. It is the second largest city in terms of population, area and economic importance, after Chișinău. The city holds the status of municipiu. Sometimes called "the northern capital", it is a major industrial, cultural and commercial centre and transportation hub in the north of the country. It is situated 127 km north of the capital Chișinău, and is located on the river Răut, a tributary of the Dniester, on a hilly landscape in the Bălți steppe.

Name
The word "bălți" (pl. of Romanian sing. "baltă") in direct translation means "puddle". It is believed that the city had been named thus because it was founded on a hill dominating the wetland formed where the creek Răuțel ("Little Răut") falls into the river Răut.

In addition to the official name Bălți and the Russian name Бельцы (Beltsy), between 1940 and 1989 in Moldovan Cyrillic alphabet, and after 1989 in Russian, the name was/is also rendered in Cyrillic as Бэлць.

Coat of arms
The current coat of arms and flag of Bălți, elaborated by Silviu Tabac from the Moldovan State Commission for Heraldry, were adopted by the Municipal Council in April 2006.

A shield, with alternating six silvery strips (symbolizing water), and six blue strips (symbolizing earth), form the background (symbolizing the name of the city). The central element of the shield is an archer in red clothes, in the military outfit (yellow) of Stephen III of Moldavia (Romanian: Ștefan cel Mare) times (15th century). The archer represents the medieval military recruitment, formed by local free peasants.

On top of the shield is a silver crown in the shape of a fortress wall with seven towers. (The crown represents the fact that the locality is a city. Apart from Bălți, only the capital Chișinău, and Tiraspol are allowed to have seven towers, while other cities must limit this number to three or five.) The shield is supported by two rearing silver horses (the white horse is the traditional symbol of the region, which was part of Iași County before 1812). Under the shield, there is a ribbon with the Latin inscription CEDANT ARMA TOGAE, meaning let arms yield to the toga.

In the Middle Ages, the archer was featured on the coats of arms of the region. In the 19th century, the city and district coats of arms also featured a horse head. In the early 20th century, a shield representing an archer, standing on a hill, the sun, and three bullrush sticks (elements quite sufficient to identify the place where Bălți is situated in the landscape of the north of Moldova) formed the coat of arms of the Bălți county, while these and horse elements - the coat of arms of the city proper.

Flag
The city's flag is composed of two horizontal strips: a blue one on the bottom, and a silver one on top. The shield and archer elements from the coat of arms are also present in the centre of the flag.

Geography
Bălți is situated on the tops and slopes of three hills and in two small valleys. The land in the north of Moldova is very fertile, mostly consisting of black earth or chernozem. Several extraction sites for raw materials used in the construction industry are also found in the vicinity of Bălți. The creeks Răuțel, Copăceanca, and Flămândă cross the territory of the municipality, and flow into the river Răut. Also, several lakes are situated in Bălți: City Lake, Komsolskoe Lake, Hunters and Fishermen Lake, Strâmba Lake.

The municipality covers an area of 78.0 km2, of which the city proper 41.42 km2, the village Elizaveta (an eastern suburb) 9.81 km2, and the village Sadovoe (a north-western suburb) 26.77 km2. Of these, an important portion (20.11 km2) is agriculturally cultivated.

Neighbourhoods
The city itself is located on portions of three hills. The river Răut separates one of the hills to the north-east, the slopes of this hill are occupied by the neighbourhood Slobozia. Răut's affluent Răuțel separates another hill in the south, the slopes of which are the Podul Chișinăului. The largest of the three hills dominates the valleys of the creek and river, and contains the city centre and the old town, and the neighbourhoods Pământeni, Dacia, 6th district, 8th district, the city's main industrial area, and Molodova neighborhood. The top of this hill is occupied by the medical facilities district. Bălții Noi neighborhood is situated in the valley of the Răuțel creek.

A Soroca neighborhood, 10th district, 9th district, the area of the former Bălți concentration camp, and the Bălți City Airport are situated in the valley of the Răut river.

The names of city neighborhoods reflect different historic influences, such as names of 19th century suburbs that are nowadays within city limits: Pământeni, Slobozia, Molodova, Podul Chișinăului, Bălții Noi; others are known by their Soviet-era names: 6th district, 8th district, 9th district. A neighbourhood in the northern part of the city is called Dacia, and is colloquially sometimes referred to as BAM. A district in the eastern part is known as 10th district.

Architecture
Cultural venues in the city include:
 * Vasile Alecsandri National Theatre
 * The oldest surviving building, a two-story boyar house, right in the heart of the city centre, dates back to 1609. Though it has been re-constructed and re-modeled many times with total disregard to conservation to the extent that now it simply looks like an odd two-story building.
 * Monument of Stephen the Great (2003)
 * Others (see down through the text)

Churches:
 * Saint Nicolas Church, Bălți (1795). Although Orthodox, the building, financed by Gheorghe Panaiti, has a degree of catholic influence brought in by the architect Antuan Weismann from Galicia.
 * Saint Constantine and Elena Cathedral, Bălți (1934), Orthodox, built in neo-Byzantine style. The building, at which official opening the Romanian royal family was present, survived almost without visible effects the harsh treatment during the Soviet era. During this time it was mostly a depot and later turned into the municipal museum.
 * Bishopric Palace, Bălți (1924–1932), was the main office of the agricultural enterprise-institute "Selectia", and the surrounding park during the Soviet era.
 * Saint Parascheva Church, Bălți (1933), by the bishop Visarion Puiu.
 * Archangels Michael and Gabriel Church, Bălți (1912–1933)
 * Saint Peter and Paul Church, Bălți (1915–1929)
 * Armenian Saint Gregory Church, Bălți (1916)
 * Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church (1884)

Climate
Bălți has a warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfa). The all-time maximum temperature registered in the city was 38 C, the all-time minimum -32 C. There are 450 to 450 to 550 mm of annual rainfall, mostly during summer and fall. Winds are generally from the north-east or the north-west at about 2–5 m/s.

Seismology
The city is situated in the 7th zone of seismic activity, with a well-felt earthquake (generally without any serious structural damage to the city's buildings) occurring every 35 years on average.

Demographics
According to the 2014 census, 102,457 inhabitants lived within the Bălți municipality limits, a decrease compared to the previous census in 2004, when 127,561 inhabitants were registered. The population of the city itself was 97,930, and that of the suburban villages of Elizaveta and Sadovoe was of 3,221, respectively 1,306. Of these, 46,930 were men and 55,527 were women.

Footnotes:

* There is an ongoing controversy regarding the ethnic identification of Moldovans and Romanians.

* ''In March 2023, the Parliament of Moldova approved a law referring to the national language as Romanian in all legislative texts and the constitution, making the name Moldovan obsolete. ''

Religion
At the 2004 census, 90.7% of the population (110,961 people) identified themselves as Christian Orthodox, 2.1% (2,609) as Baptist, 0.8% as Catholic, 0.5% as Seventh-day Adventist, 0.4% as Pentecostal, 0.2% as Methodist, 0.1% as Evangelical, 0.09% as Muslim, 0.06% as Presbyterian, 0.04% as Old Believers, 0.04% as Reformed, 1.8% (2161 people) as followers of other religions, 0.4% as atheist, and 2.7% (3,304) as non-religious.

Social aspects
The post-independence decrease in the city population is mainly due to the economic and demographic situation of Moldova, which prompted a wave of permanent or temporary emigration.

Remittances from the migrant workers account for 30% of Moldova's GDP, the highest percentage in all of Europe. Often, elderly relatives and children of these workers are left to live in Bălți.

The majority of the population of Bălți is bilingual (Romanian and Russian), but some people only know one of these two languages. Many people in the city also understand and/or speak Ukrainian.

Pre-WWII Jewish Community
"Between the two world wars, the Jewish community of Bălți was a vibrant population of trade, industry and culture, Zionism and Yiddish, political parties and youth movements. Bălți was the second largest populated city in Bessarabia, with the second largest number of Jewish inhabitants after Chișinău, and the economic center of the region. In the official 1930 census, Bălți was listed as having 14,229 Jewish residents, about 60% of its total population.

"Following the Molotov–Ribbentrop Agreement, Bălți was absorbed into the Soviet Union in the summer of 1940, coming under Soviet rule.

"On 22 June 1941, the Germans invaded the USSR. On 9 July, Bălți was occupied by German and Romanian armies, and waves of abuse and murder began. At the end of July, the German units and Gestapo officers left the city in the hands of the Romanians. In September 1941 the last of the Jews of Bălți– some 2,800 people – were expelled to the Mărculești Camp, and the Jewish population of the city ceased to exist. In Mărculești, many members of the community died, and the rest were deported to Transnistria."

Entertainment and performing arts
Theaters:
 * Vasile Alecsandri National Theatre
 * "Eugène Ionesco" Theatre
 * "Licurici" Republican Puppet Theatre
 * "B.P. Hajdeu" Republican Drama-Muzical Theatre
 * "Mihai Eminescu" National Theatre
 * "Luceafarul" Republican Theatre
 * Municipal Theatre "Satiricus I.L. Caragiale"

Museums and art galleries:
 * "Exhibition of the Union of painters "Constantin Brâncuși"
 * Artum Art Gallery

Media

 * Deca-press, the oldest independent press agency in the north of the country.
 * Spros i Predlojenie, a major Russian language daily newspaper serving northern Moldova.
 * Gazeta.MD the News agency founded in December 2007.
 * Golos Bălți the city newspaper, founded in 1947.
 * Makler the advertising newspaper from Moldova and Ukraine.
 * Belicy-sity information and entertaining portal Belicy-sity.

Radio stations
List of FM radio stations from Bălți as of 4 July 2009.
 * 90.0-«Serebriannii dojdi»
 * 90.5-«Prime FM»
 * 92.00-«Retro FM»
 * 101.0-«Vocea Basarabiei»
 * 101.5-«City radio»
 * 102.1-«Radio ALLA»
 * 102.9-«BBC»
 * 103.5-«Vzrosloe radio Shanson»
 * 103.9-«Fresh FM»
 * 104.9-«Radio Moldova»
 * 105.6-«Megapolis Fm»
 * 106.2-«Russcoe Radio»
 * 107.2-«NOROC»
 * 107.6-«Hit FM»

Civil society
Bălți is a source of civil society development both locally and nationwide. Bălți is home to numerous independent and apolitical organisations such as Second Breath, one of the Moldovan NGOs for care of socially vulnerable persons, Tinerii pentru Dreptul la Viață ("Youth for the right to live"), a youth organisation.

Sports

 * 7 sport schools in Bălți offer programmes in the following sports: Orienteering, volleyball, handgun shooting sports, equestrianism, basketball, handball, weightlifting, chess, swimming, canoeing, football, athletics, tourism.
 * Municipal Stadium "Olimpia Bălți Stadium" (home of FC Olimpia Bălți)
 * Olympic Swimming Pool "Central"
 * Olympic Swimming Pool "Volna" (open air)
 * FC Olimpia Bălți is a football club based in the city and plays in Moldova's top league, the Moldovan National Division

Economy
Historically Bălți was known for producing tobacco. They also had many vineyards and orchards.

Most of the city's industry centres on food processing, notably in the production of flour, sugar, and wine. Manufacturing of furniture and agricultural machinery also plays an important role in Bălți's economy.

The service sector has developed after 1989 to cover the basic needs of the population.

Manufacturing
This city is an important economic centre, with manufacturing playing an important role. Besides traditional for Moldova wine making, sugar, meat processing, flour milling, oil production, and light industry in general, Bălți is the centre for manufacturing of agricultural machinery, of various construction materials, fur, textile, chemical and furniture industries. A mammoth Soviet-type conglomerate 8,000-worker factory (called "Lenin" before 1989 and "Răut" afterwards) produced a large variety of machine building products for consumer or industry use, from irons and telephone sets to sonar equipment for Soviet military submarines. However, due to swift changes in the economic environment after the breakdown of the Soviet planned economy system, the manufacturing base of the city has severely suffered. Nevertheless, more recently, new economic ties are being created, with collaboration and direct investment mostly from the European Union.

Lisa Dräxlmaier GmbH celebrated the inauguration of its second plant in Moldova. The facility, which will be located in Balti, will produce wiring harnesses. The plant has about 13,000 m2 of production and logistics space.

Shopping
Bălți has several major shopping chain outlets, such as the German Metro Group AG, Ukrainian Fourchette and Moldovan Fidesco.

Numerous shops, can be found in the central (retail), eastern (en gros) and northern (retail) parts of the city. The biggest shopping galleries are located in the centre and in the Dacia district (north) of the city. Souvenir boutiques are mostly found around the central square Vasile Alecsandri. The central market is open from early morning.

A variety of small private stores and supermarkets are available. There are also six public-owned and four private-owned markets. More recently several supermarket chains have opened stores in the city.

Health facilities
The city has a big Republican hospital, another multifunctional municipal hospital, a children's hospital, and a range of other medical facilities (smaller clinics and hospitals, as well as buildings, named poly-clinics, gathering doctors offices).

Government
Bălți Municipality is a territorial unit of Moldova (one of its 3 municipalities not subordinated to other territorial units; it has had the status of municipality since 1994), containing the city itself, and the villages of Elizaveta and Sadovoe.

The Mayor Office (Primăria) is headed by the Mayor (Primar), and administers the local affairs, while the Municipal Council serves as a consultative body with some powers of general policy determination. It is composed of 35 council members elected every four years. As a result of the last regional elections of local public administration held in June 2007, the Communist Party (PCRM) holds 21 mandates, 11 mandates are held by representatives of other parties, and 3 mandates by independents. There are two factions in the Municipal Council: the PCRM faction (21 members) and "Meleag" (Romanian for "Native land") faction (3 independents and 4 representatives of different parties).

The Mayor of the municipality is elected for four years. Vasile Panciuc, PCRM, is the incumbent from 2001 and was re-elected twice: in 2003 during the anticipated elections (as a result of a new reform of the administrative division in Moldova), and in 2007.

Politics
Until recently, voters in the Bălți municipality mainly supported the PCRM. This is explained by the fact that the municipality contains a large Russian-speaking minority (43%) which primarily votes Communist. However, support for the Communists has seen a steady decline in the last three elections.

Elections
! style="background:#e9e9e9; text-align:center;" colspan=2|Parties and coalitions ! style="background:#e9e9e9; text-align:right;"|Votes ! style="background:#e9e9e9; text-align:right;"|% ! style="background:#e9e9e9; text-align:right;"|+/−
 * align=left|Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova
 * align="right"|36,348
 * align="right"|56.89
 * align="right"|−1.27
 * align=left|Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova
 * align="right"|11,721
 * align="right"|18.35
 * align="right"|+5.53
 * align=left|Democratic Party of Moldova
 * align="right"|8,746
 * align="right"|13.69
 * align="right"|-1.91
 * align=left|Liberal Party
 * align="right"|3,147
 * align="right"|4.93
 * align="right"|−2.71
 * align=left|Party Alliance Our Moldova
 * align="right"|882
 * align="right"|1.38
 * align="right"|−1.49
 * style="background:gray;"|
 * align=left|Other Party
 * align="right"|3,057
 * align="right"|4.76
 * align="right"|+1.85
 * style="text-align:left; background:#e9e9e9;" colspan=2|Total (turnout 58.73%)
 * style="text-align:right; width:30px; background:#e9e9e9;"|64,233
 * style="text-align:right; width:30px; background:#e9e9e9;"|100.00
 * style="text-align:right; width:30px; background:#e9e9e9;"|
 * align="right"|−1.49
 * style="background:gray;"|
 * align=left|Other Party
 * align="right"|3,057
 * align="right"|4.76
 * align="right"|+1.85
 * style="text-align:left; background:#e9e9e9;" colspan=2|Total (turnout 58.73%)
 * style="text-align:right; width:30px; background:#e9e9e9;"|64,233
 * style="text-align:right; width:30px; background:#e9e9e9;"|100.00
 * style="text-align:right; width:30px; background:#e9e9e9;"|
 * style="text-align:right; width:30px; background:#e9e9e9;"|100.00
 * style="text-align:right; width:30px; background:#e9e9e9;"|

Military
The 1st Motorized Infantry Brigade "Moldova" of the Moldovan Land Forces Command (out of a total of 6 brigades – three infantry, one artillery, one airborne and one anti-aircraft) is located in Bălți. A unit of Soviet Tochka-M short-range rockets, each carrying 500 kg of conventional explosive, was known to be based in the city. No up to date information is available.

Primary and Secondary Education
There are 13 lyceums and 6 professional education institutions (colegii) offering the last 3 years of high school education and 2 years post-high school technical education. Also, 14 secondary schools (numbered 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 19, 21, 23), 7 professional or professional-technical schools (numbered 1 through 7), and 3 boarding schools, including one for visually impaired are located in the city.

Higher education

 * The Alecu Russo University of Bălți, the second largest university in Moldova, named after the 19th century Romanian scholar and ethnologist Alecu Russo. The university houses one of the biggest libraries in the South-Eastern Europe. It is a public university.
 * The private Dniester Institute of Economy and Law
 * The private Moldovan Branch of the non-governmental educational institution "Baltic Institute of Ecology, Politics and Law"
 * The private Humanist Contemporary Institute

These schools teach either in Romanian, Russian, Ukrainian, English or are mixed. The latter case was inherited from the Soviet system, which provided for education in Russian and Romanian (Moldovan) languages, where mixed schools were created with the administration being carried out in both languages.

Historical monuments and architecture

 * Saint Nicolas Cathedral (1795)
 * Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary (1884)
 * Saint Gregory Armenian Church (1916)
 * Saint Constantine and Helen Cathedral (1935)
 * Saint Parascheva Church (1934)
 * Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul (1929)
 * Church of the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel (1933)
 * Bălți Bishopric (1934)
 * Vasile Alecsandri National Theatre
 * Matrimonial Palace
 * History and Ethnography Museum
 * A monument of Stefan the Great (2003)
 * Bust of Mihai Eminescu
 * Bust of Vasile Alecsandri
 * Bust of Taras Shevchenko (2001)
 * A monument to soldiers killed in Afghanistan (1999)

Public transport
Passenger transport in Bălți is handled mainly by the Bălți Trolleybus Authority and Bălți Bus Authority, as well as by private bus, minibus and taxi companies. The total number of passengers transported in Bălți in 2004 was 35.4 million.

There are around 25 minibus lines in Bălți and its agglomeration. The Bălți Bus Authority (B.B.A.) provides regular bus routes only in suburbs. There are also private bus and minibus services, which are not regulated by the B.B.A., provides regular routes in Bălți.

There are 3 trolleybus lines in Bălți, the fourth line being planned to be constructed in future. Most trolleybuses used by the Bălți Trolleybus Authority (B.T.A.) are different modifications of the Soviet ZiU-682, one Czech Škoda-14Tr13/6M, three Belarusian АКСМ–20101, and seven Russian Trans-Alfa 5298.00 (375).

Bălți offers a choice of taxi services, most of which operate for a fixed fee in the inner city. Three taxi companies are branches of Moldovan national companies, two taxi companies are Bălți registered businesses.

Road
Bălți is an important transportation hub of Moldova. The best inter-city transportation is done by coach or van (privately or publicly owned). 135 km of Soviet-style highway (portions in good or fair condition) connect the city to the capital Chișinău. By road one can also reach Ukraine (in about 2 hours) to the north or to the east, and Romania (in about 1 hour) to the south-west by the Sculeni–Sculeni crossing point, which leads to the Romanian city of Iași (104 km from Bălți), or to the west by the Stânca–Costești crossing.

The Bălți Inter-City Coach Station provides for regular bus connections throughout Moldova, as well as for numerous European and international connections (Eurolines).

Rail
Regular rail connections to Ocnița (north), Rezina (east) and Ungheni (south-east), as well as to Chișinău exists, however it takes today 6 hours to cover the 200 km to Chișinău. The railway lines are not electrified, and contain only a single track between stations. Since Moldova gained independence, the railway lines became the responsibility of Calea Ferată din Moldova (Railways of Moldova) state company.

There are two railway stations: Bălți-City Station and Bălți-Slobozia Station (the name of a city neighbourhood), which both serve internal and international traffic.

Air
The city also has two operational airports. One of them, Bălți International Airport, 15 km north of the city center (near the village of Corlăteni), was built in the 1980s, modern by Soviet standards, is officially certified. Large aircraft can land (one 2,200 meter runway), it operates both charter passenger and cargo flights. As of October 2007, it does not operate regular passenger flights.

A second airport, for small aircraft, Bălți City Airport, is located on the Eastern outskirts of the city. It was the most important airport in the surrounding region during World War II, but currently is only used for municipal and regional public services, agriculture, emergency services and pilot training.Now, there are developing an industrial area.

Notable people

 * Boris Anisfeld, Russian-American painter and theater designer.
 * Mihai Volontir, awarded Moldovan actor
 * Natalia Barbu, singer, represented Moldova at the 2007 Eurovision musical competition
 * Gheorghe Briceag, political prisoner, dissident, and human rights activist with the Helsinki Committee, recipient of the 2004 Homo Homini Award
 * Iosif Chișinevschi, communist politician
 * Eugenio Coșeriu, philologist, founder of the School of Linguistics at Tübingen University
 * Lia van Leer, founder and director of the International Jerusalem Film Festival
 * Marian Lupu, politician, speaker of the Parliament of Moldova since 2005
 * Ion Pelivan, lawyer and politician, co-leader of the Moldavian National Party, minister of the exterior of the Moldavian Democratic Republic, killed by NKVD
 * Ștefan Pirogan, mayor of Bălți (1923–1934)
 * Vadim Pirogan, political prisoner and dissident
 * Colea Răutu, Romanian movie star
 * Leonid Soybelman, musician
 * Nicolae Testemițanu, Moldovan physician, surgeon, hygienist, and politician
 * Nicolae Filip, academician
 * Vadim Vacarciuc, weight lifter, 1997 World Champion
 * Boris Sandler, novelist and editor of Forverts (Yiddish edition of the Jewish Forward, published in New York).
 * Isa Kremer, soprano of Russian Jewish descent
 * Mikhaïl Faerman, Belgian-Russian classical pianist
 * Geta Burlacu, Singer, represented Moldova the 2008 Eurovision with the song: "A Century Of Love".
 * Riorita Paterău, politician

Trivia

 * The famous Yiddish song Mein Shtetle Belz from 1932, written by Jacob Jacobs (theater) and composed by Alexander Olshanetsky for the play Ghetto Song, makes a reference to the old Jewish city of Bălți. It had been a tribute to the famous singer Isa Kremer, born in Bălți, and who was probably also the first one to perform it.

Twin towns – sister cities
Bălți is twinned with:

 * 🇮🇱 Arad, Israel
 * 🇵🇱 Białystok, Poland
 * 🇷🇴 Botoșani, Romania
 * 🇺🇦 Chernivtsi, Ukraine
 * 🇲🇩 Comrat, Moldova

 * 🇭🇺 Gyula, Hungary
 * 🇹🇷 İzmir, Turkey
 * 🇨🇳 Jining, China

 * 🇺🇦 Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine
 * 🇺🇸 Lakeland, United States
 * Larissa, Greece
 * 🇷🇺 Livny, Russia
 * 🇷🇴 Miercurea Ciuc, Romania
 * 🇺🇦 Mohyliv-Podilskyi, Ukraine
 * 🇪🇪 Narva, Estonia
 * 🇷🇺 Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
 * 🇧🇾 Orsha, Belarus
 * 🇵🇱 Płock, Poland
 * 🇷🇺 Podolsk, Russia
 * 🇧🇾 Polotsk, Belarus
 * 🇷🇺 Pushkin (Saint Petersburg), Russia
 * 🇧🇾 Rechytsa, Belarus
 * 🇧🇬 Smolyan, Bulgaria

 * 🇺🇦 Stryi, Ukraine
 * 🇷🇴 Suceava, Romania
 * 🇺🇦 Vinnytsia, Ukraine
 * 🇧🇾 Vitebsk, Belarus
 * 🇷🇺 Western Administrative Okrug (Moscow), Russia
 * 🇨🇳 Wuzhong, China
 * 🇷🇺 Zapadnoye Degunino District (Moscow), Russia

Consulates

 * 🇷🇴 Consulate-General of Romania, address: 51, Sfântul Nicolae Str.
 * 🇺🇦 Consulate of Ukraine, address: 143, Kiev Str.

title: Bălți


text:
Balti language

Balti (Nastaʿlīq script:, Tibetan script: སྦལ་ཏི།, ) is a Tibetic language natively spoken by the ethnic Balti people in the Baltistan region of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan, Nubra Valley of the Leh district and in the Kargil district of Ladakh, India. The language differs from Standard Tibetan; many sounds of Old Tibetan that were lost in Standard Tibetan are retained in the Balti language. It also has a simple pitch accent system only in multi-syllabic words while Standard Tibetan has a complex and distinct pitch system that includes tone contour. Due to effects of dominant languages in Pakistani media like Urdu, Punjabi and English and religious impact of Arabic and Persian languages, Balti, like other regional languages of Pakistan, is continuously expanding its vocabulary base with loanwords.

Demographics and distribution
Balti is spoken in most parts of Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan, Kargil and Nubra Ladakh in India. According to the Gilgit-Baltistan Scouts, Balti is mostly spoken in Skardu, Shigar, Ghanche, Roundu and Kharmang parts of Gilgit-Baltistan. In the twin districts of Ladakh region (Kargil and Leh) it is spoken in Kargil city and its surrounding villages like Hardass, Lato, Karkitchhoo and Balti Bazar and in Leh – Turtuk, Bogdang, Tyakshi including Leh city and nearby villages. Balti language is also spoken by Balti immigrants in Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Islamabad, Quetta and other cities of Pakistan. In India it is spoken in Dehradun, Nainital, Ambari, Shimla, Vikasnagar and other cities of Northern India by immigrants who have migrated from Baltistan, Kargil and Nubra before the partition of India and Pakistan.

Classification and dialects
Historically, Buddhists in Leh refer to all Muslims in Ladakh as Balti. Balti language has four variants or dialects. Despite differentiation in pronunciation of vocabularies they are mutually intelligible for example Yuq is pronounced as Juq in the Southern dialect of Kharmang and Kargil. Similarly for Milk Oma is pronounced in eastern Chorbat Nubra and Khaplu and Kharmang Kargil's Southern dialect while Ona is pronounced in the western dialect of Skardu, Shigar and Rondu valley. Four variants or dialects of Balti language are:

 * 1) Eastern dialect of Chorbat and Nubra valley
 * 2) Central dialect of Khaplu valley
 * 3) Western dialect of Skardu, Shigar and Rondu.
 * 4) Southern dialect of Upper Kharmang and Kargil

Consonants

 * Allophones of include,  and.
 * can be realized as a flap.
 * can also be retroflex.

Vowels

 * varies between an open back, an open-mid back and an open central.
 * The mid can be as low as open-mid.

Orthographies
The predominant writing system currently in use for Balti is the Perso-Arabic script, although there have been attempts to revive the Tibetan script, which was used between the 8th and the 16th centuries. Additionally, there are two, nowadays possibly extinct, indigenous writing systems and there have been proposals for the adoption of Roman- as well as Devanagari-based orthographies that were adjusted for writing Balti by the Central Institute of Indian Languages in the 1970s.

In 1985, Yousuf Hussainabadi added four new letters to the Tibetan script and seven new letters to the Persian script to adapt both of them according to the need of the Balti language. Two of the four added letters now stand included in the Tibetan Unicode alphabet.

Balti was written with a version of the Tibetan script from 727 AD, when Baltistan was conquered by Tibetans, until the last quarter of the 14th century, when the Baltis converted to Islam. Since then, Persian script replaced the Tibetan script, but the former had no letters for seven Balti sounds and was in vogue in spite of the fact that it was defective. Adding the seven new letters has now made it a complete script for Balti.

Recently, a number of Balti scholars and social activists have attempted to promote the use of the Tibetan Balti or "Yige" alphabet with the aim of helping to preserve indigenous Balti and Ladakhi culture and ethnic identity. Following a request from this community, the September 2006 Tokyo meeting of ISO/IEC 10646 WG2 agreed to encode two characters which are invented by Abadi (U+0F6B TIBETAN LETTER KKA and TIBETAN U+0F6C LETTER RRA) in the ISO 10646 and Unicode standards in order to support rendering Urdu loanwords present in modern Balti using the Yige alphabet.

Evolution
Since Pakistan gained control of the region in 1948, Urdu words have been introduced into local dialects and languages, including Balti. In modern times, Balti has no native names or vocabulary for dozens of newly invented and introduced things; instead, Urdu and English words are being used in Balti.

Balti has retained many honorific words that are characteristic of Tibetan dialects and many other languages.

Below are a few examples:

Literature
Other than proverb collections, no prose literature has been found written in Balti. Some epics and sagas appear in oral literature such as the Epic of King Gesar and the stories of rgya lu cho lo bzang and rgya lu sras bu. All other literature is in verse. Balti literature has adopted numerous Persian styles of verse and vocables which amplify the beauty and melody of its poetry.

Nearly all the languages and dialects of the mountain region in the north of Pakistan such as Pashto, Khowar and Shina are Indo-Aryan or Iranic languages, but Balti is one of the Sino-Tibetan languages. As such, it has nothing in common with neighboring languages except some loanwords absorbed as a result of linguistic contact. Balti and Ladakhi are closely related.

The major issue facing Balti literature is its centuries-long isolation from Tibet and even from its immediate neighbor, Ladakh, due to political divisions and strong religious differences. Separated from its linguistic kin, Balti is under pressure from more dominant languages such as Urdu. This is compounded by the lack of a suitable means of transcription following the abandonment of its original Tibetan script. The Baltis do not have the awareness to revive their original script and there is no institution that could restore it and persuade the people to use it again. Even if the script were revived, it would need modification to express certain Urdu phonemes that occur in common loanwords within Balti.

Example of poetry:":Youq fangsay thalang paqzi na mandoq na mabour na
 * Na drolbi laming yani si soq fangse chi thobtook
 * Nasir Karimi"

title: Balti language


text: User talk:130.194.13.101

title: User talk:130.194.13.101


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Talk:Theocracy

"Eugene VioletÞ2DcTheocracy" listed at Redirects for discussion
An editor has identified a potential problem with the redirect Eugene VioletÞ2DcTheocracy and has thus listed it for discussion. This discussion will occur at Redirects for discussion/Log/2021 December 29 until a consensus is reached, and readers of this page are welcome to contribute to the discussion. Veverve (talk) 12:59, 29 December 2021 (UTC)

"Eugene VioletTh2DcTheocracy" listed at Redirects for discussion
An editor has identified a potential problem with the redirect Eugene VioletTh2DcTheocracy and has thus listed it for discussion. This discussion will occur at Redirects for discussion/Log/2021 December 29 until a consensus is reached, and readers of this page are welcome to contribute to the discussion. Veverve (talk) 12:59, 29 December 2021 (UTC)

"Religious authority" listed at Redirects for discussion
An editor has identified a potential problem with the redirect Religious authority and has thus listed it for discussion. This discussion will occur at Redirects for discussion/Log/2021 December 29 until a consensus is reached, and readers of this page are welcome to contribute to the discussion. Veverve (talk) 13:21, 29 December 2021 (UTC)

UK?
I would like to suggest that the United Kingdom may be considered somewhat of a theocracy, if not historically a theocracy, if with a parliament, the head of state was the head of church. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 125.165.105.11 (talk) 09:40, 8 February 2022 (UTC)

Do reliable sources describe the UK as a theocracy?

I think good sources are really needed to call any particular nation a theocracy, especially a nation that doesn't describe itself as fundamentally religiously based, especially since the term has become somewhat POV and more broadly applied than originally meant.

There's an (IMO) slightly problematic issue here in that some (many?) modern writers have expanded the term theocracy to cover situations where religion is imposed but the civil power, generally a monarch, has control over the religious authority (like the Imperial Cult of the pre-Christian Roman Empire, or other deified monarchs mentioned in the article; or the Byzantine Empire's religious policy).

Theocracy, as originally meant, referred to the opposite situation where the civil power was subordinate to religious power or divine law.

This modern broader use is, I'd say, inherently somewhat POV as it's generally applied only to systems that the speaker/writer finds oppressive, undemocratic, or whatever. Therefore it's not generally applied to modern European setups with an established church like the UK/Church of England or Denmark/Church of Denmark. The practical difference is presumably that the latter states don't impose religion on their inhabitants and the lawmaking is not in practice primarily religiously driven?

By that broader modern definition maybe you could call England in say Tudor times when religious dissenters were actively persecuted "theocratic" - but certainly not the United Kingdom as it exists now or in recent times. But even then I don't think it's usually called that (it's called a monarchy and sometimes an absolute/absolutist monarchy, for that era).Vultur~enwiki (talk) 23:04, 15 February 2023 (UTC)
 * No, reliable sources do not describe the UK as a theocracy (at any period)! Or good luck trying to find any. You may be aware that even the top clergy in the Tudor period were frequently in trouble with the government. Johnbod (talk) 04:09, 16 February 2023 (UTC)

I agree. At the period where religious persecution occurred (which I think was mostly Kingdom of England rather than the UK as such) it was more a caesaropapist kingdom (King/State control over the Church) rather than a theocracy (religious control over the state). During the Tudor and Stuart era religious policy changed with the monarch. Royal Supremacy over the church was Henry VIII's whole push. Vultur~enwiki (talk) 14:23, 16 February 2023 (UTC)

 * I agree that the UK is not a Theocracy. Unfortunately the same people that agree that the UK is not a Theocracy, mischaracterise Israel - which has lesser religious aspects (ie Head of State can be any religion, Faith ministers are not automatically in legislature) - as a Theocracy. Montie12 (talk) 22:35, 22 May 2023 (UTC)

Antisemitic to mischaracterise Israel as Theocracy
Israel is not a Theocracy. It’s leaders are democratically elected and can be of any faith. Israel falls under the category of states with an established religion. By misrepresenting Israel as a Theocracy; when not doing same for other states that have an established religion, the authors and re-instaters of this text are knowingly breaching the IHRA definition of antisemitism, which is a form of racism. Montie12 (talk) 22:31, 22 May 2023 (UTC)

 * The sources are unconvincing. The section does not cite Israel law, international observers, or non-opinion news, to support the claim that "Israel is a theocracy". The Gail Page citation is from an opinion piece in the Concord Monitor, a local newspaper for Concord, NH. The Haidar Eid citation is an opinion piece in Al Jazeera. The fact that Haidar Eid was an associate Professor at Al-Aqsa University in Gaza is not mentioned.
 * Neither of these figures are introduced, the reader is just left with statements like "Gail Page describes..." and "Haidar Eid thus describes...". From my research, Gail Page does not seem to be an expert in Israel or in the middle east. Haidar Eid is an expert, but his background is not elaborated upon.
 * The article defines a theocracy as the following: "Theocracy is a form of government in which one or more deities are recognized as supreme ruling authorities, giving divine guidance to human intermediaries who manage the government's daily affairs, or in which human leaders who follow a certain religion are thought of as the ideal and only class of ruler." There could be nuance to this determination, especially with the nation-state law, but Israel does not meet that definition as it is written. The section as it exists is misleading. RushCar (talk) 08:02, 9 October 2023 (UTC)

I do not know (or care) about the antisemetic angle, but Israel is a state for the Jewish people, not Jews the religion. That is clear as the states accepts as immigrants ethnic Jews even if they are of a different religion - many Christians of Jewish decent have immigrated from the former Soviet Union for example. Furthermore, no deity is recognized as a supreme ruling authority in Israel, thereby completely eliminating the single criterion for being a theocracy given in the page. Israel is no more theocratic than any nation that has Christmas as a national holiday and should be removed from this list. If no counter argument is given, I'll happily correct the list and remove Israel from it. Dotancohen (talk) 22:01, 30 June 2023 (UTC)

 * In addition, calling Israel a theocracy directly contradicts another passage in the article which says:
 * "Having a state religion is not sufficient enough to mean that a state is a theocracy in the narrow sense of the term. Many countries have a state religion without the government directly deriving its powers from a divine authority or a religious authority which is directly exercising governmental powers."
 * As no counter arguments had been given for three months, it seems Israel should be removed from the list. 85.65.235.49 (talk) 17:20, 19 October 2023 (UTC)
 * Other entries include significant nuance in their explanation of whether a country is or isn't theocratic in nature. I find it disingenuous that Israel isn't at least discussed as it has significant theocratic qualities (e.g. getting married requires a Rabbi, basic law wrt nation state, law of return specifically for those of the Jewish faith). The lack of a link to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_state while including ones for Christianity, Islam, Tibetan Buddhism again feels disingenuous. There's even a section there for "States with an ambiguous status" which seems like it could be an appropriate place to put something about Israel. If nothing else a section explaining why Israel isn't a theocracy (despite seeming to have a lot of qualities of one) would be helpful to readers of this page.
 * Accusations of antisemitism in this discussion are chilling and likely contributed to no one providing counter arguments. This entire discussion appears to have been poisoned by an attack right from the start when it could have been conducted without the accusation and had the same outcome. It is not necessary to be antisemitic to hold that Israel is theocratic in nature. 136.55.60.72 (talk) 18:04, 7 November 2023 (UTC)

title: Talk:Theocracy


text:
The Dissociatives (album)

The Dissociatives is the sole album by the Australian duo of the same name, released in April 2004 by record label Eleven. It peaked at No. 12 on the ARIA Albums Chart. Three singles were issued from the album, "Somewhere Down the Barrel" (March 2004), "Young Man, Old Man (You Ain't Better Than the Rest)" (May) and "Horror with Eyeballs". At the ARIA Music Awards of 2004 they won Best Video for "Somewhere Down the Barrel", directed by James Hackett and Best Cover Art for the album, also by Hackett.

Background
Daniel Johns (of Silverchair) and Australian dance music producer, Paul Mac, met when Mac remixed Silverchair's song "Freak" off the Freak Show album. The two worked on an experimental extended play, I Can't Believe It's Not Rock, released in 2000.

Recording and production
In mid-2003 Johns and Mac collaborated to record an album, The Dissociatives, starting with basic tracks in London and finishing off in Sydney and Newcastle. The pair provided all the instrumental tracks and vocals themselves with Johns writing the lyrics and recording them in Newcastle.

The duo described the music and lyrics in the April 2004 Australian edition of Rolling Stone, "The music is, for me, a combination of excitement, happiness, rambunctiousness and vicaciousness, done to whimsy," Johns said. "I'd add with a hint of melancholy, but it's more outweighed by joy," added Mac. The magazine's writer described the sound of the debut single, "Somewhere Down the Barrel", as a "happy sort of Radiohead."

Release and reception
The Dissociatives was released on 4 April 2004, by record label, Eleven. It was fitted with the Copy Control protection system in some regions. "Somewhere Down the Barrel", their first single, entered the ARIA Singles Chart on debut at No. 25 on 15 March 2004. It was one of the five most played tracks on Australian radio in early March of that year. Given that Silverchair sold more albums in Australia in the 1990s than any other Australian artist, the debut album by the Dissociatives was expected to be one of the best selling ones when it was released on 5 April in that country. It debuted and peaked at No. 12 on the ARIA Albums Chart.

Reception
The Dissociatives has received a generally positive critical reception. A negative review came from Pitchfork, which wrote, "Leftfield techno vet Paul Mac seems stale working away from a club-oriented context, but it's Johns who seems out of his depth. Maybe he can write a three-chord rock song, but here he under-sings, over-emotes, and writes melodies that spiral off in insane directions before ending up nowhere".

Track listing
All music written by Daniel Johns and Paul Mac; all lyrics written by Johns.

 * 1) "We're Much Preferred Customers" – 5:46
 * 2) "Somewhere Down the Barrel" – 4:39
 * 3) "Horror with Eyeballs" – 4:45
 * 4) "Lifting the Veil from the Braille" – 4:18
 * 5) "Forever and a Day" – 4:49
 * 6) "Thinking in Reverse" – 3:41
 * 7) "Paris Circa 2007slash08" – 3:52
 * 8) "Young Man, Old Man (You Ain't Better Than the Rest)" – 4:31
 * 9) "Aaängry Megaphone Man" – 4:52
 * 10) "Sleep Well Tonight" – 2:29
 * 11) "Paris Circa 2007slash08" (Hermitude Remix) (Japan bonus track)

Release history
The album was released in various countries.

title: The Dissociatives (album)


text:
User talk:Rainier Schmidt

Hi there. Welcome to Wikipedia! Thanks for your note on the new user log.

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Happy editing, Isomorphic 10:59, 16 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Hi- thought I'd drop you a line. I'm from Midland, and I saw that you've made some changes to the page. Thought I'd say hello. Joshua Roberts 21:41, 27 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Please be more careful with your edits. You removed my addition with this one:. Did you ignore an edit conflict? Dori | Talk 21:45, Mar 28, 2004 (UTC)

 * Perhaps it was a weird caching issue then. No problem. Dori | Talk 21:52, Mar 28, 2004 (UTC)

Unreferenced BLPs
Hello Rainier Schmidt! Thank you for your contributions. I am a bot alerting you that 1 of the articles that you created  is tagged as an Unreferenced Biography of a Living Person. The biographies of living persons policy requires that all personal or potentially controversial information be sourced. In addition, to insure verifiability, all biographies should be based on reliable sources. if you were to bring this article up to standards, it would greatly help us with the current Category:All_unreferenced_BLPs article backlog. Once the article is adequately referenced, please remove the unreferencedBLP tag. Here is the article:

Thanks!--DASHBot (talk) 19:05, 8 January 2010 (UTC)
 * 1) Stephen Davis (American football) -

title: User talk:Rainier Schmidt


text:
Talk:Diagonal matrix

Simultaneously diagonalizable
Why does the page for "Simultaneously diagonalizable" redirect here, when there's no mention of the topic here? 131.215.105.153 (talk) 20:47, 2 February 2009 (UTC)

Logical Force
In the opening, it says, "Thus, the matrix D = (di,j) with n columns and n rows is diagonal if:", but I think it should say "if and only if", otherwise it's not making a strong enough claim. Can someone confirm this? If so, please make the change. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.207.156.13 (talk) 14:16, 11 March 2009 (UTC)

Operator diag
This article might be the right place to mention the operator $$diag(u)$$ that takes creates an $$(n \times n)$$ diagonal matrix $$D$$ from an $$(n \times 1)$$ vector $$u$$ such that $$D_{ii} = u_i$$. Or perhaps it deserves an article of its own?

It's already in use on wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commutator_subspace

— Preceding unsigned comment added by Michael.Clerx (talk • contribs) 05:44, 15 October 2014 (UTC)

 * Support mentioning diag in the present article. fgnievinski (talk) 19:16, 21 November 2023 (UTC)

title: Talk:Diagonal matrix