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Talk:Vehicle registration plates of Germany

on diacritics
There is a line that says that Diacritics are used in car plates. I think this is kind of obvious/not needed information, because The German language is using the diacritics on letters as complete new letter(Umlaut) It would be weird if a place that is written with an umlaut, that the umlaut is not reflected in the car plate.82.83.107.251 (talk) 16:43, 5 May 2010 (UTC)
 * I take your point. On the other hand, it's not unknown in Germany for the letters Ä, Ö, and Ü to be written as AE, OE, UE on occasion (especially where older technology -- such as early information display equipment at airports, for example) did not allow the display of umlauted letters: e.g. KOELN for KÖLN, MUENCHEN for MÜNCHEN. I think the observation about diacritics is therefore one that was worth making in the article, and deserves to stay. --Picapica (talk) 15:52, 26 July 2012 (UTC)

commercial external links
Currently there is the link which shows on its page only a copy of this wikipedia arcticle. This link is not worth to be published on this wikipedia article and I keep deleting it. Isn't it possible to block this Internet address for good since it appears again and again after deletion? -Toshi 06:50, 2 October 2006 (UTC)

Same problem with. Very little information and not worth to be listed in this article. But it is coming again and again after deletion. -Toshi 15:02, 2 October 2006 (UTC)

Hey Thorsten, I'll also keep an eye open to keep on deleting it--IsarSteve 15:17, 2 October 2006 (UTC)

I'd dispute that our link at contains 'very little information'. It contains further additional information and is not a simple copy of the wikipedia page as some are.

 * If it's your own site, then I don't know that you're in a position to be judging it's usefulness; there's a potential conflict of intrest. More importantly, you shouldn't be adding links to your own site to Wikipedia articles, especially if it's a commercial link (and based on the credit-card logos at the bottom of the site, I'd say that your site is a commercial site).  See External links at point 3.  If it's a useful site, be assured that someone else will find it and add it.  Finally, I can see from the history of this article that links to your "special plates" site has been deleted several different times by several different people.  I think this sends a pretty clear message.
 * If there is information on your site that would be useful to Wikipedia readers (who come here looking for encyclopediac information), why not just add that information to the article? You'd probably save yourself a lot of trouble and frustration.  New contributors' help page may also help you out.  Good luck --Badger151 02:06, 4 October 2006 (UTC)
 * Oops: "you shouldn't be adding links to your own site to Wikipedia articles" isn't necessarily clear, is it? I mean that you shouldn't add links to Wikipedia if those links point to your own site.  Sorry for any confusion.  --Badger151 05:22, 4 October 2006 (UTC)

Yes it is our own site, but useful all the same - check it out, there is different and more information than is on the wikipedia page, providing further information on the subject. The link was deleted previously several times by our commercial competitor who has chosen to simply upload to his site a duplicate of the wikipedia article on German plates. We have checked our link everyday to find that it's been replaced by his duplicate article page... and commercial links.

 * I don't personally dispute its usefulness. I think that the issue is more the potential conflict of intrest. If I am, for instance, J. Michael Stevenson, then I shouldn't be adding text to J. Michael Stevenson, nor should I be adding links to that Wikipedia page that point to my own site.  Even if I'm not Mr. Stevenson, if I sell posters of him, though I can (and am encouraged to) add correct (and referenced, if possible) information to his Wikipedia page, I shouldn't be adding links that point to my site, no matter how much useful information I may have.  If consumers determine my information to be useful, though, they'll add that link for me, just as they will for you.
 * The issue of your competitor also bears mentioning in as much as she shouldn't be adding links that point to her site, either. Links to her site have also been removed just as prequently as they have appeared.
 * Again, I get the sense that this is a subject that you know a lot about - why not just add the information to the Wikipedia article? Or is the real point that you want to increase the traffic to your site?  Best, --Badger151 18:57, 4 October 2006 (UTC)

Again there is link from "germanplates.net" appearing. I know from the German Wikipedia that it is possible to blacklist URLs so they can be banned easily for good. Anything else possible in the English version? Otherwise I would appreciate it if more Wikipedians could have an eye on the External links-list. -Toshi 07:51, 16 January 2007 (UTC)

 * Furthermore "germanplates.net" continues to remove our now non-commercial link from the External links list. We have removed all commericial links and references and now simply display a long page of information including a full list of codes and pictures of German plates. - 13:24, 16 January 2007 (CET)

 * The page "germanplates.net" doesn't contain any further information than the more comprehensive Wikipedia article. And why does the registration offices list ends with "OBB"? What about the rest of the alphabet? BTW, a full list is already accessabel by another entry of external link list. Please read the guidelines about external links, see External_links. I wait a few days (avioding edit-war) before I remove the "germanplates.net" again since it gives you in my opinion no further information than what it is already written in the main article and seems just to promote the commercial content of the website. -Toshi 18:32, 16 January 2007 (UTC)

 * It should be recognised that link is independent to ours. It simply displays a copy of this Wikipedia article but spread over several pages even giving credit to Wikipedia. Our link  provides further discussion on German plates and shows a full list (now complete, thanks for the tip Toshi, the file hadn't been fully uploaded to the server and so finished halfway through!). There is no commercial content on our link - I fear there may be confusion again with  that does have advertising/product purchase options - 00:26, 17 January 2007 (CET)

 * Link removed by IsarSteve despite no commercial references on this page. It could then be argued that external link  is commercial as the webmaster openly welcomes offers on his collection of plates.

 * I have cleaned up the external links section and put three links from the German Wikipedia linking to a comprehensive list of all German registration codes. Furthermore the German code lists will be regularly updated. -Toshi 18:56, 18 January 2007 (UTC)

Oval plates
Have seen oval plates displayed on some older German cars in the US. Was this a special plate series for export vehicles picked up at the factory? knoodelhed 10:13, 19 Dec 2004 (UTC)
 * Correct! The oval plate was an export plate in use until the 1980s??.IsarSteve 13:40, 20 Dec 2004 (UTC)

American plates
Private vehicles belonging to American Service personnel based in Germany now carry german style number plates starting AD, AF, HK or IF

Do the letters have any sort of meaning/code ??

IsarSteve 12:25, 1 May 2005 (UTC)

 * I think I have on the internet the following: AD=Army Dept., AF=Armed Forces, IF=Intern(ational/al) Forces, HK=????. Also the abbreviations are used to destinguish of the use of the car, such as private or offical. But maybe I am totally wrong. -ThorstenS 13:02, 1 May 2005 (UTC)

 * I'm sorry, but you are... The abbr. were chosen accidentally, they have no meaning at all. AD and AF were just the first compositions consisting of two letters not used by german authorities. For security reasons and for a more "german lookalike' they were changed to IF and HK later. In the future, there won't exist special numbers for US-personnel in Germany anymore. US military staff will get the same number plates, beginning with the code of the district, like german car owners, so that soldier's cars can't be identified as so. strafrechtler 17:44 11.05.2006 EST

In the German article I have moved the section about the American plates to a separate article since the plates are not issued by German authorities. (The do not even bear any German signs like "D" or the European stars). Maybe there should be an article created such as "US car plates abroad" or so here in the English Wikipedia. Any hints? -ThorstenS 11:16, 15 Jun 2005 (UTC)

 * I have moved the section regarding US plates to Car number plates (US Army in Germany). Also I added some information. -Toshi 11:12, 19 Jun 2005 (UTC)

HK = private cars of US soldiers in germany See here(german site). (was made to hide that they are foreigners)

'''from 2006 on US-Army personnel and their families get normal german plates from the city they live in! the old plates with HK, AF and AD are not renewed and there's only a few of them left since most personnel only stays in germany for 2 years or gets another vehicle...'''

IF are Nato plates, as are X plates, Y is german army.

Car number plates
I've noticed that the article is written in British English consistently except for "license plate" and was started by an editor from England. I'll change the title to "German car number plates" and copy-edit the article accordingly. SpNeo 08:04, 4 May 2005 (UTC)

No list?
Hasn't anyone compiled a list of all the Kennzeichen letter combinations? I used to have one or two when I lived there, even listing a few of the obsolete ones! --JohnDBuell | Talk 02:45, 2 October 2005 (UTC)

 * In the German Wikipedia you find the two lists. One for the currently issued plates and the other one with the obselete but still valid codes. -Toshi 09:58, 2 October 2005 (UTC)

 * I'm still thinking about adding a list (or several, as the historic codes might be shown as well. Or are they worth a separate page? Jochen64 (talk) 16:17, 2 January 2021 (UTC)

Old plates
Anyone got some infos on old German plates i.e. before the current system was set up? I have seen some older cars with plates with an IA- prefix etc. Thanks Peter

 * In the German Wikipedia there is a list of historic codes. "IA" was used between 1906 and 1945 on a police vehicle in Berlin or during the time of the GDR (1945-1990) a private car registered in East-Berlin. -Toshi 17:08, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

 * East Berlin did not have IA. The GDR system was based on one letter codes, assigned according to their administritive units called Bezirke. In this framework East Berlin was a "Bezirk" and accordingly assigned I. The second letter was arbitrary. So while the combination IA existed, so did IB, IC ... The similarity of some of the codes with the pre-war code may have been intended, but not actually ingrained in the system. Anorak2 (talk) 08:10, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

IA was in place from 1906 till 1945 for privately owned vehicles in berlin. police had Pol from 1933-1945, before that the must have had the same plates as civilian vehicles. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.33.112.93 (talk) 08:03, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

Registration of Vehicles in Germany
I am looking for some information about the registration of vehicles in Germany. Specifically, I am looking for German and English translations of the statutes / ordinances / whatever regulating registrations of vehicles there are.

Please feel free to contact me at the following email address: michael_b_sachs@hotmail.com

Thanks for your help. Michael

 * The regarding law for this is the "Straßenverkehrszulassungsordnung" (standards about vehicles to be registered, such as what colour does the brake light has and how bright it must be), partly the "Straßenverkehrsordnung" . I do not know an Englisch version for this laws. Another regulation are the "Anweisungen" (instructions) how to follow the laws. But they are not public as far as I know. They are intended for the work of the officials (like car registration inspectors). If you can tell me your questions I could help more specifics. Or you can write to the Ministry of Transport  (under "Kontakt"). -Toshi 13:00, 27 January 2006 (UTC)

Number of possible registrations
I thought it might be interesting to add the maximum number of possible registrations per location and also the maximum number of civilian vehicles permanently registered. I wanted approval first though, because my math isn't that great. Here is what I figured out:

Each license plate has the following format XXX-YY ZZZZ, where XXX the location, YY the random letters and ZZZZ the random numbers. XXX is of no importance in this calculation.

YY can be one or two letters in the standard latin alphabet without umlauts, thus 26^2 (676) combinations plus an additional 26 when only one letter is used. That makes 702 combinations there if I'm not mistaken.

Z can be any number from 0 to 9, but it doesn't have to be 4 digits long, as it can be 3, 2 or just a single digit aswell, but leading zeros arent allowed. A single digit means 9 possible combinations ((10^1)-10/10) 2 digits mean 90 combinations (10^2-100/10) 3 digits mean 900 combinations (10^3-1000/10) 4 digits mean 9000 combinations (10^4-10000/10)

That means that there are 9+90+900+9000=9999 combinations in numbers alone. Multiply that with the 702 possible combinations of letters and you get 7,019,298 possible unique registrations per location.

According to this list, there are 560 possible location codes, but these include various state and government used codes which do not follow the standard combination key. If they were to follow the standard key however, it would allow for 3,930,806,880 cars, which means 47.65 cars per resident in 2004 (population: 82,501,000 according to 2004 census). But if someone has the time to filter the list for state owned and reserved location codes, it would be interesting to see what the maximum number of vehicles would be then.

Anyway, someone please double check my calculation and correct it if it's wrong!

 * Note: Some codes such as SS, SA, KZ etc. and combinations with area codes, example: S-S 100 for Stuttgart or K-Z 100 for Cologne are not allowed (see main article about prohibited combinations). Furthermore the maximum numbers and letters on a plate is 8. This affects three letter-code areas. Hence ABC-DE 1234 is not possible (9 letters/numbers in total). Please take this into account in your calculations. -Toshi 18:38, 2 July 2006 (UTC)

 * Thanks for the reminder. I'll look into that later!
 * OK, some brief calculations have shown that 49995 will leave the list because they allow illegal combinations in the last two letter spaces and a further 49995 because they allow for illegal combinations with a single-letter city. Im assuming that the combination would be granted if the illegal abbreviation is inbetween other letters or split up between the location code and the random letters. Unless I'm mistaken, that should leave 6,919,308 legal combinations.
 * In order to determine the maximum lengths, i need to look into the location codes some more.

 * I had a look in your list mentioned above. It seems it is a little bit outdated (DB for Deutsche Bahn has been abolished around 10 years ago for example). I recommend the list on the German wikipedia . Note: also federal government codes are on the list such as THW, BW, Y, or the local governments ("Landtag") such as BYL, NRW. -Toshi 12:29, 3 July 2006 (UTC)

 * Thanks for the update. I had noticed the local governments myself. Since Bremen, Hamburg and Berlin use the same location code for the city as they use for the government, 13 other local governments will be left. Because of the Stadtstaaten, the final number will be slightly off anyway, since it would assume that the local governments have no vehicles registered. But are you sure about the fact that DB is no longer used for Die Bahn? I'm pretty sure I saw a vehicle with DB that was certainly not older than two years. Or could it be that license plates that have been issued to former government agencies can be transfered without typical Sperrfrist on civil plates? I also noticed on the German Wikipedia, that some cities reserve certain letter combinations for certain businesses. And what is also not considered in the calculations, is that people that are called something like Hanz Jürgen can PROBABLY register HJ, in spite of the association with the Hitlerjugend. It seems this calculation is going a bit out of hand. One can say for sure that there are probably enough possible combinations to issue a license plate to every vehicle on earth, not just in Germany.

 * With DB or BP they are definetely no longer in use since this companies have been privatized and therefore no longer entitled to use special plates. Have a look on these plate samples if you have really seen this plates. But BP has been assigned recently to the federal police (Bundespolizei). The current code BG (Bundesgrenzschutz) will be no longer issued. About the "Nazi"-Codes from my experience only NS and SD are maybe issued if you have your name starts with these letters . But SD is mainly banned in the federal state of Hessen and almost everywhere else in Germany available for registration (even without special reason). -Toshi 07:37, 5 July 2006 (UTC)

your forgetting that the combinations can be xxx-yy 1234 but in the same city there's also xxx-y 1, xxx-y 12, xxx-y 123, xxx-yy 1, xxx-yy 12, xxx-yy 123. germany doesn't have a rigid numbering plan, the same with its telephone numbers, it's a huge bummer for us... who like it simple... LOL... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.33.112.93 (talk) 08:07, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

Emmission test sticker
I'm guessing that the color of the sticker reflects the year in which the sticker expires? Also, could a photo or diagram of a sticker not expiring in December be uploaded? This would make it clearer how the black mark is used (particularly if the photo is placed next to a photo of a sticker expiring in Dec). --Badger151 19:04, 4 October 2006 (UTC)

 * Correct the colour shows the expiry year, see list at the end of the article. Regarding an impression of a different expiry month you can download the current photo, rotate it by software and upload it again (preferable WikiCommons). The registration offices in Germany just do like that, they turn the sticker on the plate rather than having for each month a differnt one (in case you ask whether the year is shown always on upright position) -Toshi 13:50, 5 October 2006 (UTC)

East German number plates
"'As they only started using the modern system in 1990 after German reunification, many of the possible shorter combinations had already been used up in western Germany. Thus, big east German cities like Dresden have two letter codes (DD) instead of one (D)'"

I think this sentence has to be questioned. As far as I know, all East German districts had been considered when inventing the new number plate system after World War II (already anticipating a possible re-unification). Waldgeist 22:01, 21 May 2007 (UTC)

 * Well the biggest city only in GDR was Leipzig, but L was taken by a smaller municipality. They had to give it up, in favour of Leipzig. Most other cities in GDR were not so big, compared to West Germany. Compare Magdeburg/München, Dresden/Düsseldorf etc-- BIL (talk) 12:45, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

 * L was originally reserved for Leipzig but reused in the mid-80s. After 1990 Leipzig fought to get its L "back". This case is an exception which proves the rule that East German codes were assigned in the 1950s, including some one-letter coes: C, G, J, L, P, Z Anorak2 (talk) 06:01, 10 February 2008 (UTC)

Old photos of plates!
there's one picture of a license plate that appears to be current, but it's not! the "Official registered vehicle for disaster relief" example is the old pre-1994 plate, not the new plate!

also there's one license plate size missing, the one for small motorcycles and farm vehicles, those are smaller, almost like the US license plates, in fact US-Army personnel is issued those plates if they can't fit the regular german sized plates. imports from abroad are also issued those plates if the space is not sufficient for regular plates! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.33.112.93 (talk) 08:12, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

 * I disagree, the majority of the plates are still issued today. The old one's which are no longer issued but remain valid are: KA-RR 232, ERH 8500 and WÜ-06131. The oval Zollkennzeichen (408 Z-8330) is the only plate on the page which is not issued in this style anymore and has been replaced by the FE style plate (Sample: MKK 458 C) -Toshi (talk) 16:01, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

FE-Mittelschrift typeface
Interesting article at SpiekerBlog (en): Complete forgery detailing Germany's new licence plate typeface: "The official typeface for our license plates is now called FE-Mittelschrift, with FE meaning it is Fälschungs-Erschwert, i.e. difficult to forge. ..." Just a pointer, in case there's any usable information for this article, or somewhere else related. :) -- Quiddity (talk) 08:08, 14 March 2008 (UTC)

Blue EU-flag is NOT seen on all plates in the EU
In the section "Format" it is stated, that all registration plates within the EU displays the blue square to the left; this is not the case in Denmark, so the information is incorrect. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.238.27.168 (talk) 09:59, 7 January 2009 (UTC)

BÜS = Büsingen
Mention should be made of one exception, BÜS = Büsingen, this is not a Kreis (in this article translated as district, but more equivalent to a "county"), it is a mere "Gemeinde" (Parish). This is licence plate famed as having the fewest vehicles registered (812, according to the German version of this article, the one with the most vehicles is B = Berlin). Büsingen gets this honour because it is an exclave and a tax-free area. The different number plates distinguishes the vehicles from those of the rest of the Kreis (KN = Konstanz) because if a Büsingen vehicle is sold elsewhere in Germany tax must be paid. TiffaF (talk) 16:21, 20 May 2009 (UTC)

 * Done ;) Jochen64 (talk) 16:17, 2 January 2021 (UTC)

Bremerhaven
Why hasn't the city of Bremerhaven an own district code? --88.77.250.127 (talk) 15:32, 12 August 2009 (UTC)

 * Bremerhaven belongs to the state of Bremen which has the code HB assigned

--92.224.61.243 (talk) 21:56, 22 December 2009 (UTC)

Green lettering
I see some German lorries on UK roads with green lettering instead of the normal black. Is there some reason for this, and if so, shouldn't it be in the article? (My apologies if it already is - couldn't find it.) Peridon (talk) 18:40, 1 September 2009 (UTC)

 * You'll find the explanation under 1.4 Special Codes in relation to vehicles exempt from taxes. Michael Poplawski (talk) 23:38, 17 September 2009 (UTC)
 * Ta. Peridon (talk) 21:28, 19 September 2009 (UTC)

No mention of Bonn plates?
International organisations have their own special plates, all registered to Bonn (BN) regardless of where its owner lives. It is then followed by 3 digits, then a hyphen, then 3 more digits (syntax: BN 111-111). The first 3 represent the organisation (e.g. 172 for European Aviation Safety Agency, which operates from Cologne), while the latter 3 represent the number within that series. Yet this is not mentioned at all in the article. --Svippong 17:06, 11 July 2011 (UTC)

 * Done Jochen64 (talk) 16:17, 2 January 2021 (UTC)

East Germany
I think we need an article, or at least a brief section in this article, giving some details of the system of plates in the GDR, as presently it is not discussed here. If anyone is knowledgeable about this, I hope they will contribute something. Credulity (talk) 08:59, 30 July 2012 (UTC)

Region Decals
When did Germany begin using the regional decals? What decals would have been used on the following plates in 1990?

OS-AM 504 HH-DE 978 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.99.15.202 (talk) 17:09, 16 June 2014 (UTC)

I Y
I Y stood for Posen, but later for Düsseldorf (Regierungsbezirk). Harry8 (talk) 12:42, 8 November 2015 (UTC)

Confusing sentence in "Format" (shortly before "Prohibited Combinations")
The following sentence appears at the end of a paragraph regarding diacritical marks:

"In Germany there are no two codes where the only difference is that one letter O and Q, the only pair of codes with the letters I and J is IL for Landkreis Ilmenau and JL for Landkreis Jerichower Land."

This not only seems to have nothing to do with diacritical marks, but seems almost to make no sense.

I can pretend to understand the first part as meaning that there are no one-letter codes "O" or "Q", but not having (yet) perused the list of codes (what I actually came here to do), I don't know if that is true.

That first part seems also to have nothing to do with the second, unless it possibly means that there are no codes that start with an "I" or "J" except for the two given.

After I find the list of codes and look for the information I need, I will check into the veracity of the "translations" I made in trying to understand the sentence. IF I guessed correctly, then I would then suggest the following replacement sentence:

"There are no codes "O" and "Q", and only one code starting with "I" (IL for Landkreis Ilmenau) or "J" (JL for Landkreis Jerichower Land)."

It needs, however, to be removed from the "diacritical marks" paragraph, since it has nothing to do with them.

Even then, this is not particularly useful information, but interesting (perhaps) for those seeking trivia...

Edit:

Well, after perusing the two sites:

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_aller_Kfz-Kennzeichen_der_Bundesrepublik_Deutschland

and

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_der_Kfz-Kennzeichen_in_Deutschland

(...why are there TWO? Are they competing...?)

>There are no codes "O" and "Q"...

True. But there are also no region codes for "I", "T", "U", "X", and "Y" (although "X" and "Y" are apparently used for NATO headquarters and the military, respectively (see the "Special codes" section)).

>...and only one code starting with "I" (IL for Landkreis Ilmenau) or "J" (JL for Landkreis Jerichower Land).

Well I find 6 regions starting with "I", and 4 starting with "J".

The sentence might omit the second clause entirely, and amend the first to:

"There are no one-letter regional codes "I", "O", "Q", "T", and "U"."

(and, of course, move it somewhere else)

but again, why have it at all?

Scott092707 (talk) 15:42, 12 October 2017 (UTC)

 * Having just worked the article over (and, hopefully, not wrecked it) I understand what you mean. I was also wondering about this sentence, and it certainly has nothing to do with diacritical marks. I get the impression that the author intended to tell something about the confusion of letters (I vs J, O vs Q) which was a problem of the former type of letters, before FE type. (Incidentally, I added a paragraph about letters which had not been used in the middle part of license plates to avoid that confusion, but the first/regional part was not subject to the restrictions described.) But whatever was meant to tell, I don't quite understand the purpose.

 * Agreed therefore - I'm in favour of deleting this sentence.

 * edit (erroneously inserted some lines in the wrong place, sorry) — concerning your question on various lists in German wikipedia: Those lists are not really competing, but … well … giving very similar information in various levels of detail. The first list mentioned offers very extensive information about all regional codes ever used in the current system, up to the first and last dates of issue; whereas the second list contains only the codes which may be issued right now. And, by the way, there are actually even more lists on this topic to be found: codes which are no longer issued; codes which are shared between various districts, and by which system; codes which were reserved for districts outside the former Federal Republic; etc.

 * Jochen64 (talk) 03:11, 7 April 2020 (UTC)

Complete makeover?
Though I don't want to trespass on anybody's preferences, I would like to work this article over. There are a few inconsistencies, some long and even confusing chapters (partly due to the lack of sub-headings) … and I'm sure the article could gain a lot by re-arranging. I've already got a few ideas.

Any objections?

Jochen64 (talk) 03:12, 8 April 2020 (UTC)

 * From smeone trying to digest this article for the first time: Please, please go ahead and implement your ideas. It's obvious several people have invested a lot of effort to compile all of this - but I honestly think most of the information is much too detailed. Even if there was a consensus on retaining all of the information, just some structural changes and copyedit could improve this article a lot. Rindsgulasch (talk) 00:10, 23 August 2020 (UTC)

 * Thanks for your encouragement. I got it started finally, copied the whole source to my sandbox and am going over it, by and by, re-arranging, shortening, reconfigurating … Comments and hints will be appreciated, prior to relaunch. Jochen64 (talk) 23:53, 29 October 2020 (UTC)

Pleased to announce that the projected workover is almost finished. If interested, have a look. I'm hoping to launch the version before the end of this year. Jochen64 (talk) 21:35, 21 December 2020 (UTC)

Completed
After more work than expected first, I am delighted to tell that I finished what I intended. I hope I haven't been stepping on anybody's toes by deleting or rewriting what they wrote earlier ... but this is Wikipedia, anyway, go ahead!

Yet there still remain more things to be done. Will be looking over the weblinks, trying to improve. Also there is the question whether or not a list of area codes should be added. Looking forward to further improving.

Jochen64 (talk) 16:17, 2 January 2021 (UTC)

Area Codes Table
Hi all, So, about last week, I found out that the English wikipedia was lacking a table of area codes and their corresponding districts ... So, I spent a week or so, gathering the information from French and German Wikipedia pages, creating a table suitable for this article. I've made the table collapsible for each letter of alphabet, as otherwise, it would be way too large.

The table is here Template:List of License Plate Area Codes of Germany

Would appreciate if you guys took the time to go through, review, add and modify whatever you see fit, and provide feedback as well. BasilLeaf (talk) 07:42, 30 November 2021 (UTC)

 * Great idea, thanks for your work! – Actually, I had been thinking about such a list as well, and indeed working on it. Yet on a different scale, cf here. Comments will be appreciated … how about making up the ideal list of both of ours? Jochen64 (talk) 10:18, 30 November 2021 (UTC)

 * OH Thank you, I appreciate your comment. And There are several aspects of your table that I do like, and would like to see incorporated into a big unified table. 1. I like the colourcoding of the left-most column, for codes that are reserved and not available to public. 2. I love the little state emblems, did think of doing that in my own list but I focused on first completing the list first. and 3rd, your last column, it's a good foundation for what I have in mind. What I'm thinking, is a column "History and background". For example, let's take the code "AH". It belongs to Borken now, but in that column, we'd have the explanation "Previously allocated to "Ahaus District", merged into Borken on 1975", or whatever applicable historic background. There's also more information from the page de:Liste aller deutschen Kfz-Kennzeichen mit einer Gebietseinteilung that we can include in the history column. But it would be decisions to make between what's going to be informative and what's going to make the table too cluttered. BasilLeaf (talk) 10:52, 30 November 2021 (UTC)
 * I should probably add what my primary intention for my project was, and why I designed it the way I did. My primary goal was to create a comprehensive enough table, so that, when you are out on the street, or on social media, and you spot a German car, and you want to check where the plate was registered at, you can go to this table, scroll down, and efficiently find the answer. BasilLeaf (talk) 11:00, 30 November 2021 (UTC)

 * Thank you for your kind comment. Let's get to work …
 * Your last paragraph: agreed absolutely, that's the main point of such a table. I probably should add that I live in Germany and am used to number plates and respective lists in calendars and any German child asking "Daddy, where is that car from?" … perfectly understandable. (In fact, we are disappointed in countries like Denmark where neither letters nor numbers give any clue about the whereabouts.)
 * On the other hand, I am aware of the too much information problem. Will it be it necessary, for the interested reader yet not obsessed with details, to know that – as an example – in my home district, N with 1 letter (yet not B/F/G/I/O/Q) and a number below 1000 is from Nürnberger Land whereas N with 2 letters or a single-letter B/F/G/I/O/Q or a 4-figure number hails from Nuremberg city? Or will it do to know “N = Nuremberg”? — In fact, this article bore an “overly detailed” warning until a year ago, so I tried to keep my table simple, to fit in. I had been thinking about another column like "issued (years)" which would have told you that HEB was issued 1956–72 and again since 2013 — but it would be a lot of work to find them all out, and again, is this necessary information?
 * One more point on table formatting. I like your idea of the initial letter to jump to; saves a lot of scrolling and searching. On the other hand, I tried to keep the table sortable, for the letter codes as well as for the names of the districts (or their capitals), to search the other way round. I'm afraid we can't have both … can we? Jochen64 (talk) 09:44, 1 December 2021 (UTC)

Now, with our above discussion having petered out without any visible results, User:Plastikspork merged from List of License Plate Area Codes of Germany per TfD outcome on 3 December 2023. I have to admit that I had not noticed an explicit discussion having been started, other than our few paragraphs above. So does everybody involved agree that the best way to have the list we wanted is as we see it now? Otherwise, I dare say I'd rather be partial, preferring the list I made up. May I have your opinions? —Jochen64 (talk) 02:27, 11 January 2024 (UTC)

Lists of historical area codes
Although the above question does not seem to have been answered, I have now at least added respective lists for the German Empire (1906–45) and East Germany (DDR, 1949–90). There is more to come, if you don't mind. —Jochen64 (talk) 04:57, 25 March 2024 (UTC)

Temporary Plates
The yellow temporary plates can be used even for export now. That is one no longer needs the more expensive red export plates. The yellow plates can be also acquired by citizens of EU. But it would be nice to know it for sure, this info is from a Czech web. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jankratochvil (talk • contribs) 10:40, 15 January 2022 (UTC)

Sending insurance forms
I need a fax to send insurance forms for registration 2601:100:817E:1870:25DB:E341:F61A:848D (talk) 15:36, 13 February 2022 (UTC)

 * I'm afraid that even after two years this contribution still baffles me. If you want to register a vehicle, turn to the district authority (Kraftfahrzeugzulassungsstelle) of your residence. This isn't Wikipedia business, is it? (If it wasn't bad form, I'd be in favour of deleting this conundrum anyway…) Ideas, anybody? —Jochen64 (talk) 03:08, 10 January 2024 (UTC)


text:
MP3 blog

An MP3 blog is a type of blog in which the creator makes music files, normally in the MP3 format, available for download. They are also known as musicblogs, audioblogs or soundblogs (the latter two can also mean podcasts). MP3 blogs have become increasingly popular since 2003. The music posted ranges from hard-to-find rarities that have not been issued in many years to more contemporary offerings, and selections are often restricted to a particular musical genre or theme. Some musicblogs offer music in Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) or Ogg formats.

History
Among the few first MP3 blogs were Tonspion, Buzzgrinder, Fluxblog, Stereogum and Said the Gramophone. Tonspion is the first MP3 blog in Germany and started in 1998 with reviews and downloads that international artists and labels gave out free on the web. Buzzgrinder began in 2001 as a way for musician SethW to fill time on the road. Stereogum began as a music-related LiveJournal in 2002, though its format was focused on indie/pop gossip rather than MP3s. Fluxblog (also founded in 2002) trumpeted LCD Soundsystem's "Yeah (Stupid Version)" in early 2004 brought increased attention to MP3 blogs, while Montreal-based Said the Gramophone, founded in 2003, was among the first websites to write about artists like Arcade Fire, Wolf Parade and Tune-Yards. A July, 2004 story by Reuters and an August, 2004 story on National Public Radio further galvanized the trend, and today there are thousands of MP3 blogs covering a cornucopia of musical styles.

A significant number of indie music labels, promotional agencies and hundreds of artists regularly send promo CDs to MP3 blogs in the hopes of gaining free publicity. Major labels with small acts to promote have also attempted to use MP3 blogs. In 2004, Warner Bros. gave permission for a song by their act The Secret Machines to be posted by the MP3 blog Music (For Robots). This drew attention not only for the song and the label granting permissions, but also because several comments praising the track came from IP addresses within the Warner Bros. network. The publicity generated by MP3 blogs crossed the line from the internet to TV in early 2005, when Music (For Robots) was featured during MTV's Total Request Live program for bringing the Hysterics, a Brooklyn rock band composed of four 14- and 15-year-old high school students, to the network's attention.

In 2006, Sirius Satellite Radio began broadcasting "blog radio", a show on the College/Indie Rock channel Left of Center. The show lets music bloggers talk about the latest in the indie-rock scene.

Aggregators
Aggregators such as The Hype Machine and Music Blogtrotter track MP3 blog posts and display the most recently updated posts on its front page. The services are meant to provide a snapshot of what's going on in music blogging and make it easier to search through recently posted MP3s. The Hype Machine features a list of the most popular tracks of the last three days, as well as the most blogged bands and most popular searches. In June 2009, the popular songs list was altered so that it is only affected by user accounts that are several days old, after it was discovered that the "hearts scores" for dozens of songs were being artificially inflated by dummy accounts, often created in batches numbering in the hundreds. Elbo.ws had a similar feature listing which Bands, Tracks, and Videos are currently "hot." However Elbo which had been around since 2005 shut down in late 2013. Music Blog Aggregators have caused a boom in MP3 blog readership and accessibility. Aggregators use RSS technology to collect data from MP3 blogs and link to the individual blog posts instead of directly to the MP3s.

The Hype Machine does not list blogs whose writers or editors are involved in the music public relations industry.

Legal status
Many MP3 blogs post copyrighted material as a free download. While this is essentially illegal, record companies often turn a blind eye because of a belief that the blogs constitute free advertising. Bands such as Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and The National have reported increases in sales as a result of attention from MP3 blogs, which often provide links to legal album downloads.

MP3 bloggers commonly post disclaimers stating that all files are intended only for sampling, and often remove posted files within a short period of time.

The economic significance of MP3 blogs is relatively small compared to peer-to-peer networks.

In addition to providing free music, many popular MP3 blogs have started their own DIY record labels, often providing publicizing services free or little money. A few blogs that have emerged in the recent times are Another Banger, Pitchfork, Electro Wow, and Youredm

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

title: MP3 blog


text:
The Modern Dance

The Modern Dance is the debut album by American rock band Pere Ubu. It was released in January 1978 by record label Blank.

A 5.1 surround sound version was released as the DVD-Audio side of a DualDisc in 2005.

Critical reception
Reviewing for The Village Voice in 1978, Robert Christgau wrote that "even though there's too much Radio Ethiopia and not enough 'Redondo Beach,'" he would be "listening through the failed stuff—the highs are worth it." In Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), he reaffirmed that "the highs are worth it, and the failed stuff ain't bad" in his revised review. Ken Tucker, writing in Rolling Stone, called it vivid and exhilarating, even if "harsh and willfully ugly".

NME named The Modern Dance the 11th best album of 1978. Fact placed the record at number 31 on its list of the 100 best albums of the 1970s.

Personnel
Pere Ubu
 * David Thomas – vocals, musette, percussion, production
 * Tom Herman – guitar, backing vocals, production
 * Allen Ravenstine – EML 101 and 200 analog synthesizers, saxophone, tapes, production
 * Tony Maimone – bass, piano, backing vocals, production
 * Scott Krauss – drums, production

Technical
 * S. W. Taylor – sleeve artwork
 * Ken Hamann – engineering, production
 * Mike Bishop – engineering assistance
 * Paul Hamann – engineering assistance
 * Mik Mellen – sleeve photography

title: The Modern Dance


text:
User:Brodo~enwiki

1-800 MUTTON HELP AT THE TOUCH OF A BUTTON

title: User:Brodo~enwiki


text:
Socuéllamos

Socuéllamos is a town and municipality of Spain located in the province of Ciudad Real, Castilla–La Mancha. It is famous for its wines. The abandoned town of Torre de Vejezate is located within Socuéllamos municipal term.

History
Juan Osórez, Master of the Order of Santiago, granted a chartae populationis to the place of Socuéllamos in the 1290s, in the context of the quarrel of the order with the concejo of Alcaraz. In order to encourage settlement of the territory, privileges of exemption from taxes and tributes (except for the diezmo paid to Uclés) were granted to those who cultivated vineyards.

By the turn of modernity, Socuéllamos enjoyed a scarcely productive yet extensive encomienda, whereas it was populated by religious and superstitious Old Christians, with no presence of old Mudéjares. Population increased throughout the early 16th century thanks to its strategical crossroads location. In the wake of the 1569 Morisco Revolt, 49 families of unassimilated Granadan moriscos (140 members, nearly 20% of the local population) arrived to the village deported from Granada. Possibly a paragon of the climate of intolerance, the inquisitorial coercion reached unheard-of levels during the 1580s, jailing at least 40 Granadan locals. The ethnic strife within the two communities of Old Christians and moriscos became explosive again years later, and a full-blown pogrom on the morisco community was narrowly averted on 25 October 1609. The convictions of the offenders were eventually dismissed and soon after all the moriscos had left the village.

Sports
Socuéllamos is home to the Liga EBA basketball team CB Socuéllamos that plays its home games at the Pabellón Roberto Parra.

title: Socuéllamos


text:
Category:Unfinished books

This category contains books which, for a variety of reasons, were never completed by their respective authors.

title: Category:Unfinished books


text:
Richard M. Kleberg

Richard Mifflin Kleberg Sr. (November 18, 1887 – May 8, 1955), a Democrat, was a seven-term member of the United States House of Representatives from Texas's 14th congressional district over the period 1931–1945 and an heir to the King Ranch in South Texas.

Kleberg was first elected in 1931 in a special election to succeed the late Harry M. Wurzbach. His election caused the Democratic party to achieve a majority in the House of Representatives, which it retained for all but four of the next sixty-three years. He was elected unopposed in 1940 and 1942. Lyndon B. Johnson served as a congressional secretary under Kleberg from 1931 until his appointment as head of the Texas National Youth Administration in 1935.

As described by Johnson biographer Robert Caro, Kleberg was a staunch conservative, and initially took a dim view of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal. Nevertheless, he was persuaded by Lyndon Johnson to vote for certain key New Deal policies that he personally opposed when it was brought to his attention that they enjoyed significant support among his constituents.

He was defeated for renomination in 1944 by John E. Lyle, Jr., who was elected unopposed that November. Kleberg died in 1955 at age 67.

He was a member of the Miller group in Washington.

title: Richard M. Kleberg


text:
User:Yuanchi

Hello I am Yuanchi.

I am interested in 1)Ethnology 2)Physical Anthropology 3)Linguistics 4)World civilizations History Studies 5)Global Geopolitics 6)World religions Studies and 7)Contemporary philosophical schools

title: User:Yuanchi


text:
Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/Persian Astrolabe

Persian Astrolabe
A clean and crisp illustration of an astrolabe - unfortunately I don't read Persian to check that the stars are labelled correctly. One of the better shots I got from visiting the Whipple Museum of Science.- Solipsist 21:23, 4 Dec 2004 (UTC)
 * Support. Self nomination - Solipsist 21:23, 4 Dec 2004 (UTC)
 * Support. Pretty cool. --Fir0002 23:03, 4 Dec 2004 (UTC)
 * Support - nice shot. Denni ☯ 23:38, 2004 Dec 4 (UTC)
 * Awesome. Support. - RedWordSmith 01:00, Dec 5, 2004 (UTC)
 * Great shot, Solipsist! Support. [[User:Neutrality|Neutrality/talk]] 03:14, Dec 5, 2004 (UTC)
 * Support--ZayZayEM 13:18, 5 Dec 2004 (UTC)
 * Support --Chris 73 Talk 23:39, Dec 5, 2004 (UTC)
 * Support Super shot. Very detailed. --ScottyBoy900Q ∞  00:06, 06 Dec 2004 (UTC)
 * Support belongs in any aricle on Art and Science--Pharos 08:29, 6 Dec 2004 (UTC)
 * Support. Perfect. Janderk 14:19, 6 Dec 2004 (UTC)
 * Support. Beautiful shot of a beautiful object. grendel|khan 06:05, 2004 Dec 20 (UTC)
 * Promoted: +11/-0 -- Solipsist 20:21, 21 Dec 2004 (UTC)


text:
User talk:80.213.188.248

This is not the place for the content you are adding, please stop. - SimonP 21:25, Dec 4, 2004 (UTC)

title: User talk:80.213.188.248


text:
Pai

Pai or PAI may refer to:

People

 * Pai (surname), Indian surname from coastal Karnataka and Goa plus people with the name
 * Pai (Chinese surname), includes Chinese name origin, plus people with the name

Fictional characters

 * Pai (Manga character), a character from "3x3 Eyes"
 * Pie (Tokyo Mew Mew), a villain from the manga and anime series Tokyo Mew Mew

Places

 * Pai, Iran, a village in Isfahan Province
 * Pai, Thailand, a small town in Mae Hong Son Province
 * Pai District, the district around the town
 * Pai River
 * Pai Airport
 * Pai, Tank, a union council in Pakistan
 * Pai Northern Thai Kitchen, a restaurant chain in Toronto, Canada

Games

 * Gwat Pai, Chinese dominoes set
 * Zi pjueai, Chinese card game
 * Pai Gow, Chinese gambling game
 * Pai gow poker, Americanized version

Other uses

 * Pai languages (Paipai, Walapai, Havasupai)
 * Pai dialect of the Northern Sotho language
 * Pai (fish trap)
 * "Pai", a 2016 song by Bad Gyal

Acronyms

 * PAI Partners, a French private equity firm
 * PAI (Personal Activity Intelligence), a fitness indicator developed by researcher Ulrik Wisløff
 * Parachute Association of Ireland, a representative/regulatory body for skydivers in Ireland
 * Parti Africain de l’Indépendance (African Independence Party), a former political party in Bourkina Faso
 * PartnerAid International, a German-based Christian humanitarian organization
 * Pathogenicity island, a distinct class of genomic island which is acquired by horizontal transfer
 * Periodic annual increment
 * Persatuan Arab Indonesia, an association of Arab Indonesians
 * Personality Assessment Inventory, a test given by psychologists
 * Photoacoustic imaging
 * Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), a protein that inhibits fibrinolysis (breakdown of blood clots)
 * Plasminogen activator inhibitor-2 (PAI-2), another protein that inhibits fibrinolysis
 * Poalei Agudat Yisrael, an Israeli political party
 * Polizia dell'Africa Italiana (Italian Police of Africa, police force in the Italian colonies
 * Polyamide-imide, a thermoplastic polymer
 * Polyatomic ion
 * Population Action International
 * Primary adrenal insufficiency (primary adrenocortical insufficiency), that is, Addison's disease, a rare endocrine disorder
 * Public Accountability Initiative

title: Pai


text:
World religions

World religions is a category used in the study of religion to demarcate at least five—and in some cases more—religions that are deemed to have been especially large, internationally widespread, or influential in the development of Western society. Islam, Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism are always included in the list. From a perspective of theological objectivity and totality, inclusion of other religions in the category, such as that of Sikhism, and to lesser degree, Shinto is too observed. These are often juxtaposed against other categories, such as folk religions, Indigenous religions, and new religious movements (NRMs), which are also used by scholars in this field of research. Less dividing is the concept of major religious groups.

The world religions paradigm was developed in the United Kingdom during the 1960s, where it was pioneered by phenomenological scholars of religion such as Ninian Smart. It was designed to broaden the study of religion away from its heavy focus on Christianity by taking into account other large religious traditions around the world. The paradigm is often used by lecturers instructing undergraduate students in the study of religion and is also the framework used by school teachers in the United Kingdom and other countries. The paradigm's emphasis on viewing these religious movements as distinct and mutually exclusive entities has also had a wider impact on the categorisation of religion—for instance in censuses—in both Western countries and elsewhere.

Since the late 20th century, the paradigm has faced critique by scholars of religion such as Jonathan Z. Smith, some of whom have argued for its abandonment. Critics have argued that the world religions paradigm is inappropriate because it takes the Protestant branch of Nicene Christianity as the model for what constitutes "religion"; that it is tied up with discourses of modernity, including the power relations present in modern society; that it encourages an uncritical understanding of religion; and that it makes a value judgment as to what religions should be considered "major". Others have argued that it remains useful in the classroom, so long as students are made aware that it is a socially-constructed category.

Definition
The scholars of religion Christopher R. Cotter and David G. Robertson described the "World Religions Paradigm" as "a particular way of thinking about religions which organizes them into a set of discrete traditions with a supposedly 'global' import." It typically consists of the "Big Five" religions: Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism. As noted by Cotter and Robertson, the "Big Five" religions are often listed in an "Abrahamocentric order" which places the largest three Abrahamic religions—Christianity, Judaism, and Islam—before the non-Abrahamic religions Hinduism and Buddhism. The category is sometimes also extended to include other major religious groups, namely the Baháʼí Faith, Sikhism, and/or Zoroastrianism.

The inclusion of Judaism in the "Big Five" raises some issues; it is included in the list because of its influence on Christianity and Islam and because of its relevance to traditional Western understandings of Western history. On demographic grounds, it does not fit into the list, for there are far fewer Jews in the world than there are Christians, Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists. Similarly, it does not fit into the list if the groups are defined by a desire to spread internationally, because Judaism historically has been a non-proselytizing religion.

Many scholars have utilised the "world religions" category alongside other "catch-all" categories such as "new religious movements" and "Indigenous religions". The scholar of religion Steven J. Sutcliffe compared the relationship between the three categories to the English football league system, with the "world" religions forming a Premier League, the "new" religions forming a Championship, and "Indigenous" religions a First Division. That groups that get placed in categories like "Indigenous religions" get treated less seriously than the "world religions" by many scholars was noted by the scholar of religion Graham Harvey, who maintained that "indigenous religions should receive similarly respectful treatment to that considered appropriate to the larger 'World Religions'."

History
Cotter and Robertson noted that the history of the world religions paradigm is "intimately tied up" with the history of the study of religion as an academic discipline. It emerged from within the phenomenology of religion approach which placed an emphasis on description rather than critical analysis.

The paradigm was integrated throughout the education system through work of scholars like Ninian Smart, who formed the Shap Working Party on World Religions in Education in 1969. It was introduced with the intent of moving Western education away from its focus on Christianity. However, it took liberal Western Protestantism as its baseline and interpreted these different religious traditions through the framework of liberal Protestant norms and values. This included an emphasis on theology as being central to a given religion. It also reflects the post-Enlightenment Christian approach of treating different religious groups as distinct, mutually exclusive categories. It thus reflects the socio-political concerns of 1960s Britain, the environment in which it was devised.

The paradigm has since gone beyond this academic discipline, and "informs the perception" of many members of different religious groups. The paradigm for instance frames the teaching about religion in the British education system; at all three Key Stages, British teachers are instructed to teach about Christianity, while by the end of key Stage 3 they are also supposed to teach about the other "five principal religions": Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Sikhism. Similarly, the censuses of many countries for instance reflect the influence of the world religion paradigm by only permitting respondents to describe themselves as adhering to one particular religious tradition, whereas in reality many individuals identify themselves with various different traditions at the same time. This idea of mutually exclusive religious identities is not only a Western phenomenon, but can also be found in other socio-cultural contexts; Hindu nationalists for instance often endorse the idea that Hinduism and Buddhism are mutually exclusive categories despite the fact that many people in South Asia mix Hindu and Buddhist practices. The scholars of religion Tara Baldrick-Morrone, Michael Graziano, and Brad Stoddard stated that "the WRP is neither neutral nor natural, but its social authority derives from appearing as both."

Criticism
The utility of the World Religions Paradigm has experienced a sustained and rigorous critique from many scholars of religion. The scholar of religion Graham Harvey for instance noted that many scholars "object strongly" to the paradigm. In 1978, the scholar of religion Jonathan Z. Smith called it a "dubious category".

One of the major criticisms of the framework is that it is based on a model of "religion" that relies on the Protestant branch of Nicene Christianity as its base example. A second criticism is that it is rooted in the discourses of modernity, including the power relations present in modern society. Smith observed that it was constructed by Western scholars from a Western perspective. He noted that the only religions that get included in it are those which have "achieved sufficient power and numbers to enter our [i.e. Western] history, either to form it, interact with it, or to thwart it" and represent "important geo-political entities with which we must deal." The framework also includes privileging the literate elites active in particular religious movements by presenting their interpretations of particular traditions as being authoritative, eclipsing alternative interpretations presented by non-literate, marginalised, and localized practitioners. For instance, as noted by the scholar of religion Suzanne Owen, "Hinduism as a World Religion does not include Hinduism as a village religion".

A third criticism of the world religions paradigm is that it encourages an uncritical and sui generis model of "religion". It presents each of the "world religions" in an abstracted and essentialised form, failing to take account of hybridization. For instance, in teaching about Christianity it does not refer to reincarnation, because this is not typically regarded as a Christian doctrine, and yet there are Christians who profess a belief in reincarnation. A fourth criticism is that in choosing to focus attention on the "major religions", it makes a value judgement as to what constitutes "major" and what does not.

Paradigm in pedagogy
Many scholars of religion have resisted efforts to challenge the paradigm, and as of 2016 was reported as still being widespread in university introductory courses to the study of religion. Many instructors feel that explaining the critique of the world religions paradigm to undergraduate students would be difficult, as the critique would be too complex for many of them to understand. Its continued use has also been defended by the claim that it is what undergraduate students expect and that it mirrors what they will have been taught at school.

Some scholars have argued for the rejection of the world religions paradigm altogether; Cotter and Robertson presented the argument that "the continued uncritical use of the WRP fosters a breeding ground for relativistic navel-gazing which has no place in the contemporary research university". Owen was of the view that "as long as it continues to employ the World Religions paradigm as a default approach (even after deconstructing it), religious studies will fail in its humanistic task" because it will simply be engaging in "knowledge transfer" and not "critically engaging" with "culture and knowledge". One alternative framework that some scholars use to teach about religion is the "lived religion" paradigm, which places emphasis not on distinct religious traditions but on individual experiences and practices. Another alternative is the "material religion" framework which focuses on examining religion through material culture and physical objects. Owen noted that, in her experience, many students display an "initial resistance to alternatives" as they are expecting the world religions paradigm. She cited the example of her introductory course at Leeds Trinity University College, which was constructed on thematic lines rather than according to the world religions paradigm, and which induced feelings of panic among many undergraduates.

Many scholars who are critical of the world religions paradigm find themselves having to teach it as part of introductory courses for undergraduate students. Some spent much of a course teaching the concept and then several sessions after this deconstructing it. Some scholars have suggested that even when students are taught using the world religions paradigm, it could be a good means of encouraging them to think critically about category formation. The scholar Steven W. Ramey for instance advocated teaching the paradigm in a manner that makes it clear that it is a "constructed discourse". Similarly, Baldrick-Morrone, Graziano, and Stoddard suggested that teaching undergraduates about the world religious paradigm helps to explain to students how "classification is a social act". They noted that students could leave such a course not only knowing more about the specific religious traditions included in the world religions category, but that they would also leave "knowing how to better interrogate the world around them". To avoid promoting the paradigm's portrayal of different religious traditions as rigid, homogenous categories, the scholar Teemu Taira suggested introducing ethnographic case studies into the class to better explain the realities of people's lives and uses of religious traditions.

title: World religions


text:
Mark L. Schneider

Mark Lewis Schneider (born 1941) served as the 15th director of the Peace Corps (1999–2001).

Education and Peace Corps Service
Schneider grew up in Antioch, California, where he attended Antioch High School and was class salutatorian. Schneider attended U.C. Berkeley on a four-year scholarship and graduated in 1963 majoring in journalism.

Schneider joined the Peace Corps and served in El Salvador with his wife, Susan, then married for one year, where they helped build a bridge across a ravine and introduced a school milk program. As Peace Corps Director Schneider revisited his old site on an official visit to El Salvador in March, 1999. The bridge Schneider helped build is still standing and has been named after him.

Schneider called his Peace Corps service "the most illuminating, rewarding and exhausting period of my life. I saw the constant struggle to survive in the developing world -- children without enough to eat, mothers without access to health care, fathers unable to find work to earn the income to care for their families." Returning from the Peace Corps, Schneider earned a Master's degree in political science from San Jose State.

Government Service
Schneider was a member of Senator Edward Kennedy's staff from 1970 to 1977. From 1977 to 1979, Schneider served as a senior policy adviser to the director of the Pan American Health Organization then senior deputy assistant secretary for human rights at the Department of State. During the Clinton Administration Schneider was appointed assistant administrator for Latin America at the U.S. Agency for International Development in November 1993 directing U.S. foreign assistance programs in this hemisphere, supporting democracy, social and economic development and environmental protection.

Peace Corps Director
President Clinton named Schneider as Director of the Peace Corps in a recess appointment on December 23, 1999. "I want to express my gratitude and sincerest appreciation to President Clinton for the trust he has shown in appointing me to be the Director of the Peace Corps," Schneider said. "As a former Peace Corps volunteer in El Salvador from 1966-68, this appointment constitutes the highest honor I can imagine receiving." "The opportunity to follow so many distinguished men and women who preceded me as Peace Corps Director also carries a certain degree of humility. From the Honorable R. Sargent Shriver to Loret Ruppe and Senator Paul Coverdell to Carol Bellamy and my immediate predecessor, Mark Gearan, there is an enormous legacy to which I pledge to contribute to the best of my ability," Schneider added.

Schneider was the second returned Volunteer (El Salvador, 1966–1968) to head the agency and the first practicing Jew to head the agency. Schneider credits his parents and their Jewish values with motivating him to join the Peace Corps. "I actually do think that the ethics and values that come out of my religious background are reflected in what the Peace Corps does and what the Peace Corps is," Schneider said.

Digital Peace Corps
Schneider launched an initiative at a Peace Corps Day ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Library on March 7, 1999, to increase Volunteers' participation in helping prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa, and also sought Volunteers to work on information technology projects to enhance development of overseas communities. "This technology will, in my view, simply give volunteers the green light to innovate, in bridging the digital divide, while remaining true to the core mission that President Kennedy set out for the Peace Corps – to help the people of the developing world help themselves," Schneider said.

International Crisis Group
Schneider is a senior vice-president of the International Crisis Group. In this role he has testified before Congress and written op-ed pieces for The Washington Times, The Boston Globe, and the International Herald Tribune on the political situation in Afghanistan, Haiti, Venezuela, Bolivia, and Pakistan.

Expansion of the Peace Corps
On July 25, 2007, Schneider testified before Senator Chris Dodd's Senate Subcommittee in support of the Peace Corps Volunteer Empowerment Act and said he was convinced the new legislation contained three critical elements that would enable the Peace Corps to double in size to 15,000 Volunteers by the time it celebrates its 50th anniversary on 1 March 2011. "Those elements are first, authorizing the necessary funds; second, empowering Volunteers which will mean better management, improved programming and site selection, safer and more satisfied Volunteers and third, removal of financial, medical, and bureaucratic obstacles to recruiting senior Volunteers," said Schneider.

Situation in Pakistan
In an Op-ed piece in the August 15, 2007 issue of the Boston Globe, "Getting answers on Pakistan," Schneider argued that time is running out on the military dictatorship in Pakistan and that the United States can either support a return to democracy or sit on the sidelines and watch Pakistan slide in chaos. "If Bhutto and Sharif are not allowed to participate in October's election, their mainstream moderate parties will be further alienated, leaving the political field open to Islamist forces," said Schneider. "The Pakistani people have registered their desire for a democratic transition with street protests, which have been met by guns and gas. This increasingly vocal opposition, spearheaded by the bar associations, human rights groups, and the media, is channeling public resentment to military rule," Schneider added.

Other activities
On November 29, 2007 the State Department announced that Schneider had joined the Democracy Network, a network of former government officials, academics and members of nongovernmental organizations created to help Latin American and Caribbean nations deal with issues related to promoting and defending democracy in the region. The network will advise governments issues like electoral and constitutional reform, access to justice, good governance, citizen participation, transparency and efforts to combat corruption.

Honors
Schneider was the recipient of the Bernardo O'Higgins Medal for human rights work from the Government of Chile.

Schneider was a Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellowship at Reed College.

Schneider received a Congressional Fellowship from the American Political Science Association.

Schneider received the Marshall Scholarship.

title: Mark L. Schneider


text: Category:Science fiction novels by Isaac Asimov


text:
Saint Francis's satyr

The Saint Francis's satyr (Neonympha mitchellii francisci) is an endangered butterfly subspecies found only in the US state of North Carolina. First discovered in 1983, it was first described by David K. Parshall and Thomas W. Kral in 1989 and listed as federally endangered by the US Fish and Wildlife Service in 1994. It is a subspecies of N. mitchellii and is restricted to a single metapopulation on Fort Liberty military base in Hoke and Cumberland counties. The other subspecies, Mitchell's satyr (Neonympha mitchellii mitchellii), is also federally endangered.

Physical characteristics
The Saint Francis's satyr is a small butterfly with an average wingspan of 34–44 mm. It is dark brown, with distinguishing eyespots along the lower surfaces of both the upper and lower wings. The eyespots on its wings are primarily dark brown or maroon, rimmed with yellow and with flecks of white that reflect silver in the middle. They are usually round or slightly oval and found on the forewing and hindwing. There are two bright orange bands running along the lower wing edges and two darker orange bands across the middle of each wing. Females appear slightly larger and lighter brown than males, which is an example of sexual dimorphism.

Life history and reproduction
Adults live an average of three to four days. The subspecies is bivoltine, having two mating events per year. The first flight period occurs from late May to early June, and the second from late July to mid-August. Females deposit eggs individually or in small clusters that emerge as larvae in seven to ten days. Caterpillars that emerge in early summer period form a chrysalis after two months, while those that emerge in late summer period hibernate over winter and pupate the following spring. Pupation may take up to two weeks. There is little historical information on the life history of the butterfly. Because of this, current research is being done at Michigan State University and North Carolina State University to better understand the butterfly's role in its ecosystem.

Diet
One known larval host plant of the Saint Francis's satyr is Mitchell's sedge (Carex mitchelliana), although it is likely that other sedges in the genus Carex also act as host plants.

The diet of the Saint Francis's satyr as an adult consists primarily of nectar and tree sap. It also has been known to consume dung, pollen, and rotten fruit. In many cases, it is attracted to sodium, resulting in attraction to human sweat.

Historic and present range
The Saint Francis's satyr was discovered in south-central North Carolina in 1980. Due to poaching and the lack of monitoring programs, many experts believed the species went extinct. Despite this, the species was rediscovered in 1992. Currently, the butterfly's range is completely isolated to the training fields of Fort Liberty, a military base in Cumberland and Hoke counties in North Carolina. Though Fort Liberty is one of the largest military installations in the world, the butterflies only occupy a 10 square kilometer (3.38 square mile) area on the base. Historically, several smaller subpopulations fell within the total range; currently, just a single metapopulation exists. The butterfly continues to be highly restricted in its distribution and has never been found outside of Fort Liberty.

Habitat
The Saint Francis's satyr's habitat is composed of wide, open grasslands; wetlands; and sedge-dominant ecosystems that experience regular natural disturbance. This disturbance is a result of beaver dam construction, natural fires, rainfall, or flooding. As a generally sedentary butterfly with delicate needs, it is imperative that these natural disturbances are maintained to create the habitat the butterfly needs to thrive. In addition to natural disturbances, the military operations at Fort Liberty create regular disturbances that help form wet meadows on the base. This habitat creation allows the Saint Francis' satyr population to be maintained at Fort Liberty.

Present and historic population size
Currently, not much is known about the butterfly's historic population size. From 2002 to 2005, the population size of the Saint Francis's satyr was estimated to be between 500 and 1400 butterflies. Usually small, their fragmented sites range from 0.2 to 2.0 hectares in size. Current numbers are estimated to be no more than 1000 individuals with no single population producing greater than 100 butterflies a year. The decrease in population size throughout the years could be a result of fire suppression and beaver extermination.

Endangered Species Act listing history
The butterfly was first listed under the Endangered Species Act in 1994 under an emergency rule, after threats of poaching and loss of habitat increased. Since its listing, there have been notable efforts towards preventing the collection of these butterflies. However, poaching is still a threat due to the butterfly's rarity. To combat this, any known listings of colony location sites are kept from the public record. Between 1998 and 2016, more than $3 million was spent on additional conservation efforts for the Saint Francis' satyr. The main focus for conservation of these butterflies is continuing to preserve and grow the existing subpopulations, as well as enforcing the strict regulations on poaching and collecting. The five-year review for this species suggests the preservation of existing suitable habitats and for continued searching for the establishment of new populations. The IUCN has yet to evaluate the Saint Francis' satyr.

Major threats
The Endangered Species Act (1973) outlines five criteria for committees to evaluate a species' status, seen below. At the time of its emergency listing in 1994, the Saint Francis' satyr faced threats in multiple of these categories.

Destruction, modification, or curtailment of habitat or range: The Saint Francis's satyr has experienced extensive habitat destruction and modification due to environmental change in the past 100 years. These changes resulted in the loss of the creation of wet meadow habitat due to beaver hunting and control measures, as well as human fire suppression. Experts believe the butterfly used to occupy a larger range but it has been reduced to two counties in North Carolina.

Overutilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, or educational purposes: Overcollection for recreational and aesthetic purposes was a serious threat at the time of the butterfly's listing, largely due to the butterfly's rarity.

Disease or predation: There was no conclusive evidence of disease or predation as a threat to the Saint Francis's satyr.

Inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms: There were no regulatory mechanisms on the local or federal level in place at the times of its listing.

Other natural or man-made factors affecting continued existence: Natural factors affecting the Saint Francis' satyr's continued existence include limited dispersal ability and the resulting difficulty in establishing new colonies. The natural metapopulation structure of butterfly populations also presents challenges because it increases the likelihood of population destruction in extreme events such as natural disasters. The butterfly also has a higher likelihood of extinction due to disease because of reduced genetic variation in the population.

Anthropogenic factors affecting the Saint Francis's satyr's continued existence include close proximity to roads increasing the likelihood of butterfly death via toxic chemical spills, pest control programs that help to mitigate the effects of mosquitoes and gypsy moths that harm butterfly populations, and human fire exclusion limiting the formation of habitat land for the Saint Francis's satyr. However, its location on the Fort Liberty military base increases its survival because the frequent ecological disturbances created by troop movements allow meadow creation.

Current conservation efforts
Experts recommend downlisting the Saint Francis's satyr once two criteria are met: the metapopulation has stabilized or increased in number for at least 10 to 15 years and once there is a long-term plan to manage the species' survival. To do so, there are regulations and a recovery plan in place.

Regulations
The ESA prohibits the sale, import, export, and removal of the Saint Francis's satyr to limit collection pressures. There are also laws preventing federal agencies from taking part in activities that will harm the species in areas where they are vulnerable, including road construction, pesticide application, and beaver control. However at the time of its listing, there were no laws in place in North Carolina protecting these butterflies. Currently, laws have been passed to protect butterfly populations and their habitat, including regulations for federal agencies, prohibitions of certain practices, and recovery plans.

Recovery plan
The following recovery plan strives to improve conditions for Saint Francis's satyr survival so that it can be downlisted to threatened before being delisted completely. Experts view a stable metapopulation as 200 adult individuals per brood.

Protect and manage existing populations and their habitat: This stage of the plan focuses on three key aspects.

 * 1) Monitoring existing populations: A monitoring system has been in place since 2002 and has estimated population sizes at sites found outside artillery impact areas.
 * 2) Protecting existing populations: Researchers keep colony locations confidential and restrict military traffic around colony sites.
 * 3) Managing for long-term species survival: Researchers develop continual disturbance plans to create meadow habitat. Plans will outline goals, strategies, timelines, and funding sources. However, long-term management plans are incomplete because there needs to be a better understanding of disturbance factors.

Continued research: There is still much to learn about the life history of this butterfly, so research collaborations have been formed with North Carolina State University and other organizations such as the Department of Defense. These collaborations have yielded valuable information regarding population trends, species-habitat interactions, and dependence on disturbance.

Search for additional populations: Researchers have found three new subpopulations, but they are all restricted to Fort Liberty. In addition, the locations of these sites are highly restricted, so it has been difficult to monitor the population's health.

Establish more wild populations in historic range: This involves rearing butterflies in captivity for release and protecting habitat suitable for new colony sites. As of the five-year recovery plan in 2013, no new populations had been established. However, restoration efforts in four sites created meadows in 2011 so that they could potentially house future butterfly populations. Once new populations are established, experts hope to increase connectivity between populations by implementing movement corridors.

Implement information and education programs: Since the public plays a large role in conservation, education programs are necessary for the success of this plan. Education plans focus on eliminating illegal collection and creating collaborations with landowners to restore commercial land to habitat suitable for these butterflies. Most outreach has been in the form of publication.

Since the Saint Francis's satyr has not yet been downlisted, the five-year review recommends continuance with the goals outlined in the recovery plan in addition to preservation of existing suitable habitat and restoration of new suitable land for colonization.

Taxonomy
Following its discovery, the Saint Francis's satyr was listed as a subspecies of the Mitchell's satyr (Neonympha mitchellii). The nominate subspecies, N. m. mitchellii, is distributed sparsely in the mid- and eastern US, including in Michigan, Alabama, Mississippi, and Virginia, and formerly New Jersey. Although the Alabama, Mississippi, and Virginia populations are morphometrically similar to Saint Francis's satyr, current molecular evidence supports that they are distinct from Saint Francis's satyr and that Saint Francis' satyr should remain as a separate subspecies from all other populations in the genus Neonympha with potential elevation to full species status pending further analysis.

title: Saint Francis's satyr


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Hodge index theorem

In mathematics, the Hodge index theorem for an algebraic surface V determines the signature of the intersection pairing on the algebraic curves C on V. It says, roughly speaking, that the space spanned by such curves (up to linear equivalence) has a one-dimensional subspace on which it is positive definite (not uniquely determined), and decomposes as a direct sum of some such one-dimensional subspace, and a complementary subspace on which it is negative definite.

In a more formal statement, specify that V is a non-singular projective surface, and let H be the divisor class on V of a hyperplane section of V in a given projective embedding. Then the intersection

 * $$H \cdot H = d\ $$

where d is the degree of V (in that embedding). Let D be the vector space of rational divisor classes on V, up to algebraic equivalence. The dimension of D is finite and is usually denoted by ρ(V). The Hodge index theorem says that the subspace spanned by H in D has a complementary subspace on which the intersection pairing is negative definite. Therefore, the signature (often also called index) is (1,ρ(V)-1).

The abelian group of divisor classes up to algebraic equivalence is now called the Néron-Severi group; it is known to be a finitely-generated abelian group, and the result is about its tensor product with the rational number field. Therefore, ρ(V) is equally the rank of the Néron-Severi group (which can have a non-trivial torsion subgroup, on occasion).

This result was proved in the 1930s by W. V. D. Hodge, for varieties over the complex numbers, after it had been a conjecture for some time of the Italian school of algebraic geometry (in particular, Francesco Severi, who in this case showed that ρ < ∞). Hodge's methods were the topological ones brought in by Lefschetz. The result holds over general (algebraically closed) fields.

title: Hodge index theorem


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Kronoberg Regiment

The Kronoberg Regiment (Kronobergs regemente), designations I 11 and I 11/Fo 16, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that traced its origins back to the 16th century. It was disbanded in 1997. The regiment's soldiers were originally recruited from Kronoberg County, and they were later garrisoned there.

History
The regiment originated in fänikor (companies) and was raised in Kronoberg County in the 16th century. In 1616, these units—along with fänikor from the nearby Kalmar County—were organised by Gustav II Adolf into Smålands storregemente, of which twelve of the total 24 companies were recruited in Kronoberg County. Smålands storregemente consisted of three field regiments, of which Kronoberg Regiment was one. Sometime around 1623, the grand regiment was permanently split into three smaller regiments, of which the Kronoberg Regiment was one.

Kronoberg Regiment was one of the original 20 Swedish infantry regiments mentioned in the Swedish constitution of 1634, although it was mentioned as one of two regiments that should merge to form Småland Regiment, that regiment was never formed and instead Kronoberg Regiment and Jönköping Regiment were kept separate. The regiment's first commander was Patrick Ruthwen. The regiment was allotted in 1684. The regiment was given the designation I 11 (11th Infantry Regiment) in a general order in 1816.

Kronoberg Regiment was garrisoned in Växjö from 1920. In 1974, the regiment gained the new designation I 11/Fo 16 as a consequence of a merge with the local defence district Fo 16. The regiment was disbanded in 1997.

Campaigns

 * The War against Sigismund (1598–1599)
 * The Polish War (1600–1629)
 * The Thirty Years' War (1630–1648)
 * The Torstenson War (1643–1645)
 * The Northern Wars (1655–1661)
 * The Scanian War (1674–1679)
 * The Great Northern War (1700–1721)
 * The Seven Years' War (1757–1762)
 * The Gustav III's Russian War (1788–1790)
 * The First War against Napoleon (1805–1810)
 * The Finnish War (1808–1809)
 * The War of the Sixth Coalition (1813–1814)

Organisation

 * 1684(?)
 * Livkompaniet
 * Överstelöjtnantens kompani
 * Majorens kompani
 * Albo kompani
 * Norra Sunnerbo kompani
 * Norrvidinge kompani
 * Kinnevalds kompani
 * Södra Sunnerbo kompani

 * 18??
 * Livkompaniet
 * Skatelövs kompani
 * Kinnevalds kompani
 * Norrvidinge kompani
 * Ljungby kompani
 * Södra Sunnerbo kompani
 * Albo kompani
 * Norra Sunnerbo kompani

Colours, standards and guidons
The regiment has carried a number of different colours over the years. The last colour was presented to the regiment in Växjö by the Chief of the Army, lieutenant general, count Carl August Ehrensvärd on 6 June 1956. The new colour replaced the one from 1893. The new colour was used as regimental colour by I 11/Fo 16 until 1 September 1997. The colour is drawn by Brita Grep and embroidered by hand in insertion technique by Libraria. Blazon: "On yellow cloth the provincial badge of Småland; a red lion rampant with blue arms, in the forepaws a red crossbow with white arrowhead and black bow, string and trigger. On a red border at the upper side of the colour, battle honours (Breitenfeld 1631, Lützen 1632, Wittstock 1636, Landskrona 1677, Kliszow 1702, Warszawa 1705, Fraustadt 1706, Holovczyn 1708, Hälsingborg 1710, Valkeala 1790) in yellow".

Coat of arms
The coat of the arms of the Kronoberg Regiment (I 11/Fo 16) 1977–1997 and the Kronoberg Group (Kronobergsgruppen) 1997–2004. Blazon: "Or, the provincial badge of Småland, a double-tailed lion rampant gules, armed and langued azure, in the forepaws a crossbow gules, arrow-head argent, bow and string sable. The shield surmounted two muskets in saltire or".

Medals
In 1971, the Kronobergs regementes (I 11) hedersmedalj ("Kronoberg Regiment (I 11) Medal of Honour") in gold/silver/bronze (KronobregGM/SM/BM) of the 8th size was established. The medal ribbon is divided in yellow, red and yellow moiré.

In 1997, the Kronobergs regementes (I 11) minnesmedalj ("Kronoberg Regiment (I 11) Commemorative Medal") in silver (KronobregMSM) of the 8th size was established. The medal ribbon is of red moiré with two yellow stripes on each side. The ribbon is attached to a narrow pole carried by two slanting ornaments of leaves.

Heritage
In connection with the disbandment of the regiment through the Defence Act of 1996, its traditions came from 1 December 1998 onwards to be continued by Kronoberg Group (Kronobergsgruppen). From 1 July 2013, the Kronoberg Battalion, within Kalmar and Kronoberg Group (Kalmar- och Kronobergsgruppen) is the traditional keeper of Kronoberg Regiment.

Commanding officers
Regimental commanders active at the regiment during the years 1627–1997.

Commanders

 * 1627–1630: Patrik Ruthwens
 * 1630–1638: Hans Drake
 * 1638–1641: Adolf Hård
 * 1641–1654: Georg Fleetwood
 * 1654–1657: Adolf Herman Wrangel
 * 1657–1665: Bertil Nilson Skytte
 * 1665–1677: Henrik von Vicken
 * 1677–1678: Georg Anthony Brakel
 * 1678–1696: Abraham Cronhjort
 * 1696–1703: Gustaf Heidenfeldt
 * 1703–1706: Gabriel Lilliehöök
 * 1706–1709: Johan Cronman
 * 1709–1714: Carl Hästesko (acting)
 * 1714–1717: Sven Lagerberg
 * 1718–1746: Eberhard Bildstein
 * 1722–1727: Johan Cronman
 * 1747–1746: Eberhard Bildstein
 * 1746–1765: Berndt Wilhelm von Liewen
 * 1765–1772: Pehr Scheffer
 * 1772–1777: Otto Wilhelm von Rosen
 * 1777–1782: Salomon Hederstjerna
 * 1782–1812: Carl Axel Strömfelt
 * 1812–1816: Elof Rosenblad
 * 1816–1824: Erland Hederstjerna
 * 1824–1856: Carl Henrik Wrede
 * 1856–1862: Georg Miles Fleetwood
 * 1862–1873: Gustaf Reinhold Weidenhielm
 * 1873–1878: Otto Samuel Gustaf von Klint
 * 1878–1889: Klas Hjalmar Kreüger
 * 1889–1898: Henrik Esaias Anton Carl Rappe
 * 1898–1905: Johan Gustaf Wikander
 * 1905–1920: Gösta Hyltén-Cavallius
 * 1920–1924: Gustaf Ros
 * 1924–1928: Erik Nordenskjöld
 * 1928–1932: Erik Grafström
 * 1932–1937: Per Erlandsson
 * 1937–1941: Gösta Hahr
 * 1941–1946: Sven Allstrin
 * 1946–1950: Gustaf Källner
 * 1950–1957: Colonel Carl von Horn
 * 1957–1967: Thor Cavallin
 * 1967–1972: Lennart Löfgrén
 * 1972–1974: Per-Hugo Winberg
 * 1974–1977: Bertil Malgerud
 * 1977–1980: Per-Hugo Winberg
 * 1980–1983: Senior colonel Sven Skeppstedt
 * 1983–1988: Finn Werner
 * 1988–1989: Björn Swärdenheim
 * 1989–1992: Leif Fransson
 * 1993–1993: Inge Lennart Sandahl (acting)
 * 1993–1997: Jan Henrik Edvard Hyltén-Cavallius

Deputy commanders

 * 1978–????: Colonel Åke Lundin
 * 1988–1991: Colonel Wilhelm af Donner

title: Kronoberg Regiment


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User:Mikeaitch

Hey y'all. I'm Mike, the grammar freak. I don't tolerate bad grammar, and I will edit any bad grammar I see.

title: User:Mikeaitch


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HMS Carisbrooke Castle (K379)

HMS Carisbrooke Castle (K379) was one of 44 Castle-class corvettes built for the Royal Navy during World War II.

Design and description
The Castle-class corvette was a stretched version of the preceding Flower class, enlarged to improve seakeeping and to accommodate modern weapons. The ships displaced 1010 LT at standard load and 1510 LT at deep load. They had an overall length of 252 ft, a beam of 36 ft and a deep draught of 14 ft. They were powered by a pair of triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one propeller shaft using steam provided by two Admiralty three-drum boilers. The engines developed a total of 2880 ihp and gave a maximum speed of 16.5 kn. The Castles carried enough fuel oil to give them a range of 6500 nmi at 15 kn. The ships' complement was 99 officers and ratings.

The Castle-class ships were equipped with a single QF 4 in Mk XVI gun forward, but their primary weapon was their single three-barrel Squid anti-submarine mortar. This was backed up by one depth charge rail and two throwers for 15 depth charges. The ships were fitted with two twin and a pair of single mounts for 20 mm Oerlikon light AA guns. Provision was made for a further four single mounts if needed. They were equipped with Type 145Q and Type 147B ASDIC sets to detect submarines by reflections from sound waves beamed into the water. A Type 277 search radar and a HF/DF radio direction finder rounded out the Castles' sensor suite.

Construction and career
Carisbrooke Castle was laid down by Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Company at their shipyard at Dundee on 12 March 1943 and launched on 31 July. She was completed on 17 November and served as a convoy escort until the end of the war in May 1945. The ship was assigned to the Fishery Protection Flotilla based at Devonport in April 1946, but was reduced to reserve later that year.

After the Second World War, her career was spent in the fleet reserve until May 1952, when she became part of the Second Training Squadron at Portland where she remained until 1956. In 1953, she took part in the Fleet Review to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. She featured in the BBC short docufilm A Brief Journey - sailor's run ashore in 1954 to Plymouth, Dartmoor and Looe. The ship was sold and arrived at Faslane on 14 June 1958 to be broken up.

title: HMS Carisbrooke Castle (K379)


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A Mathematician's Apology

A Mathematician's Apology is a 1940 essay by British mathematician G. H. Hardy, which offers a defence of the pursuit of mathematics. Central to Hardy's "apology" – in the sense of a formal justification or defence (as in Plato's Apology of Socrates) – is an argument that mathematics has value independent of possible applications. Hardy located this value in the beauty of mathematics, and gave some examples of and criteria for mathematical beauty. The book also includes a brief autobiography, and gives the layman an insight into the mind of a working mathematician.

Background

Hardy felt the need to justify his life's work in mathematics at this time mainly for two reasons. Firstly, at age 62, Hardy felt the approach of old age (he had survived a heart attack in 1939) and the decline of his mathematical creativity and skills. By devoting time to writing the Apology, Hardy was admitting that his own time as a creative mathematician was finished. In his foreword to the 1967 edition of the book, C. P. Snow describes the Apology as "a passionate lament for creative powers that used to be and that will never come again". In Hardy's words, "Exposition, criticism, appreciation, is work for second-rate minds. [...] It is a melancholy experience for a professional mathematician to find himself writing about mathematics. The function of a mathematician is to do something, to prove new theorems, to add to mathematics, and not to talk about what he or other mathematicians have done."

Secondly, at the start of World War II, Hardy, a committed pacifist, wanted to justify his belief that mathematics should be pursued for its own sake rather than for the sake of its applications. He began writing on this subject when he was invited to contribute an article to Eureka, the journal of The Archimedeans (the Cambridge University student mathematical society). One of the topics the editor suggested was "something about mathematics and the war", and the result was the article "Mathematics in war-time". Hardy later incorporated this article into A Mathematician's Apology.

He wanted to write a book in which he would explain his mathematical philosophy to the next generation of mathematicians; that would defend mathematics by elaborating on the merits of pure mathematics solely, without having to resort to the attainments of applied mathematics in order to justify the overall importance of mathematics; and that would inspire the upcoming generations of pure mathematicians. Hardy was an atheist, and makes his justification not to God but to his fellow men.

Hardy initially submitted A Mathematician's Apology to Cambridge University Press with the intention of personally paying for its printing, but the Press decided to fund publication with an initial run of four thousand copies. For the 1940 1st edition, Hardy sent postcards to the publisher requesting that presentation copies be sent to various people, including his sister Gertrude Emily Hardy (1878–1963), C. D. Broad, John Edensor Littlewood, Sir Arthur Eddington, C. P. Snow, and the cricketer John Lomas (to whom G. H. Hardy dedicated the book).

Summary
One of the main themes of the book is the beauty that mathematics possesses, which Hardy compares to painting and poetry. For Hardy, the most beautiful mathematics was that which had no practical applications in the outside world (pure mathematics) and, in particular, his own special field of number theory. Hardy contends that if useful knowledge is defined as knowledge which is likely to contribute to the material comfort of mankind in the near future (if not right now), so that mere intellectual satisfaction is irrelevant, then the great bulk of higher mathematics is useless. He justifies the pursuit of pure mathematics with the argument that its very "uselessness" on the whole meant that it could not be misused to cause harm. On the other hand, Hardy denigrates much of the applied mathematics as either being "trivial", "ugly", or "dull", and contrasts it with "real mathematics", which is how he ranks the higher, pure mathematics.

Hardy expounds by commenting about a phrase attributed to Carl Friedrich Gauss that "Mathematics is the queen of the sciences and number theory is the queen of mathematics." Some people believe that it is the extreme non-applicability of number theory that led Gauss to the above statement about number theory; however, Hardy points out that this is certainly not the reason. If an application of number theory were to be found, then certainly no one would try to dethrone the "queen of mathematics" because of that. What Gauss meant, according to Hardy, is that the underlying concepts that constitute number theory are deeper and more elegant compared to those of any other branch of mathematics.

Another theme is that mathematics is a "young man's game", so anyone with a talent for mathematics should develop and use that talent while they are young, before their ability to create original mathematics starts to decline in middle age. This view reflects Hardy's increasing depression at the wane of his own mathematical powers. For Hardy, real mathematics was essentially a creative activity, rather than an explanatory or expository one.

Critiques
Hardy's opinions were heavily influenced by the academic culture of the universities of Cambridge and Oxford between World War I and World War II.

Some of Hardy's examples seem unfortunate in retrospect. For example, he writes, "No one has yet discovered any warlike purpose to be served by the theory of numbers or relativity, and it seems unlikely that anyone will do so for many years." Since then number theory was used to crack German Enigma codes and much later, figure prominently in public-key cryptography and the inter-convertability of mass and energy predicted by Special relativity forms the physical basis for nuclear weapons.

The applicability of a mathematical concept is not the reason that Hardy considered applied mathematics somehow inferior to pure mathematics, though; it is the simplicity and prosiness that belong to applied mathematics that led him to describe them as he did. He considers that Rolle's theorem, for example, cannot be compared to the elegance and preeminence of the mathematics produced by Évariste Galois and other pure mathematicians, although it is of some importance for calculus.

title: A Mathematician's Apology


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Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/Veined Leaf

Veined Leaf
A rather striking and colourful photo from pdphoto.org which does dual duty in illustrating photosynthesis and showing the veined structure of a leaf. - Solipsist 21:34, 4 Dec 2004 (UTC)
 * Support - Solipsist 21:34, 4 Dec 2004 (UTC)
 * Support. Beautiful. The leaf colors are great and the viens are very visible.--Fir0002 23:04, 4 Dec 2004 (UTC)
 * Support - very crisp and clear - an excellent accompaniment to its article. Denni ☯ 23:40, 2004 Dec 4 (UTC)
 * Support. [[User:Neutrality|Neutrality/talk]] 03:15, Dec 5, 2004 (UTC)
 * Support--ZayZayEM 13:10, 5 Dec 2004 (UTC)
 * Support --ScottyBoy900Q ∞ 00:08, 06 Dec 2004 (UTC)
 * Support. Janderk 14:18, 6 Dec 2004 (UTC)
 * Support. Nice color, lighting and structure. [[User:MacGyverMagic|Mgm|(talk)]] 12:44, Dec 7, 2004 (UTC)
 * Support. Wish it were not so tightly cropped though. - Jpo 18:48, Dec 13, 2004 (UTC)
 * Promoted: +9/-0 -- Solipsist 20:10, 21 Dec 2004 (UTC)


text: User:Someoneinmyheadbutit'snotme

title: User:Someoneinmyheadbutit'snotme