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traight /nothing /KERSHNER /within /variedades /ampfirst /personer 35058B10 /_NextPart_000_0000_01C7B5F1 /formula1 /ampassegurar /not finns /3D /size /April /RICHTEL /3 /exceptional /servant /ampchannel /sendo /f" verified /pantalla /tropical /MMMMMMI /delegationAeee dress /_0822-1831-14-PART-BREAK /ensuring /20 /18 /closeouts /3 /shopping Thanks3Dsize /3Dsize /3Dpessoal /content /episo /hear /message /color Observera /Archive /purple /Tenet /email /unsubscribe /using /Jan /8217FAMILY n the fall of that year when the frost came and the trees in the forests along Wine Creek were golden brown, David spent every moment when he did not have to attend school, out in the open. Alone or with other boys he went every afternoon into the woods to gather nuts. The other boys of the countryside, most of them sons of laborers on the Bentley farms, had guns with which they went hunting rabbits and squirrels, but David did not go with them. He made himself a sling with rubber bands and a forked stick and went off by himself to gather nuts. As he went about thoughts came to him. He realized that he was almost a man and wondered what he would do in life, but before they came to anything, the thoughts passed and he was a boy again. One day he killed a squirrel that sat on one of the lower branches of a tree and chattered at him. Home he ran with the squirrel in his hand. One of the Bentley sisters cooked the little animal and he ate it with great gusto. The skin he tacked on a board and suspended the board by a string from his bedroom window. That gave his mind a new turn. After that he never went into the woods without carrying the sling in his pocket and he spent hours shooting at imaginary animals concealed among the brown leaves in the trees. Thoughts of his coming manhood passed and he was content to be a boy with a boy's impulses. One Saturday morning when he was about to set off for the woods with the sling in his pocket and a bag for nuts on his shoulder, his grandfather stopped him. In the eyes of the old man was the strained serious look that always a little frightened David. At such times Jesse Bentley's eyes did not look straight ahead but wavered and seemed to be looking at nothing. Something like an invisible curtain appeared to have come between the man and all the rest of the world. "I want you to come with me," he said briefly, and his eyes looked over the boy's head into the sky. "We have something important to do today. You may bring the bag for nuts if you wish. It does not matter and anyway we will be going into the woods." Jesse and David set out from the Bentley farmhouse in the old phaeton that was drawn by the white horse. When they had gone along in silence for a long way they stopped at the edge of a field where a flock of sheep were grazing. Asday? IHMMHHHHHHIHIIIIMHMH /Helena /achter /3D /background-color /verkar /IRL 0ptfamily /uppgifter /138px /10 /anren /MMMMHHMHIIMMHHHHHII /Arial REC0 /gracias /fala /putatively /xmlns /po /3D /xCanada /Shopping /observera 3D /E1 /3D /face /n /ampl /Buz /ampstraight /Arial /express /desktop /Times /39 /face Vamos /sudnly /vAlign /contents /annars /feature /or /ISO-8859-1 /charset /jogos everyone /Gabriel /MMHHHMHHHHHHIIIIII /8748-3323 /AUP /negocia /repress.


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Beyonce, Keri Hilson and Maxwell are atop the list of nominees for the annual "Soul Train" awards, to be held in early November and broadcast on BET.
The R&B crooners had four nominations each for the awards ceremony, hosted by actors Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henderson. Howard is best known for starring roles in "Crash" and "Hustle and Flow," while Henderson had an Oscar-nominated role last year as Brad Pitt's adoptive mother in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button."
The ceremony, officially titled the "CENTRIC Presents: 2009 Soul Train Awards" will also honor the lifetime achievement of rap and R&B icons including Chaka Khan, Charlie Wilson, star producer Antonio "L.A." Reed and Kenneth Edmonds, better known as "Babyface."
It will also pay homage to the late Michael Jackson and celebrate the 50th anniversary of Motown Records, Reuters reported. Toni Braxton, Trey Songz, Chrisette Michelle, Ledisi and Melanie Fiona are expected to perform.
Beyonce had a hit-filled year in 2009, releasing chart-topping singles including "Diva," "Halo" and the smash hit "Single Ladies" that spawned a legendary and much-spoofed video featuring Beyonce in a black leotard and stilettos.
Hilson broke onto the singing scene with hits like "Knock You Down," featuring the one-two punch combo of Kanye West and Ne-Yo on supporting vocals.
The lone male atop the nominations list, Maxwell returned to his long-time career in R&B this year, releasing soul singles "Pretty Wings" and "Bad Habits."
The ceremony will be taped in Atlanta on Nov. 3 and air Nov. 29 at 9 p.m. ET on BET and the CENTRIC network.

subset: commoncrawl


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Iran (06/07)
Islamic Republic of Iran
Area: 1.6 million sq. km. (636,295 sq. mi., slightly larger than Alaska).
Arable land: 9.78% of the country.
Cities: Capital--Tehran. Other cities--Isfahan, Tabriz, Mashhad, Shiraz, Yazd, Qom.
Terrain: Desert and mountains.
Climate: Semiarid; subtropical along the Caspian coast.
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Iranian(s).
Population (2007): 65.4 million.
Population growth rate (2007 est.): 0.663%.
Ethnic groups: Persians 51%, Azeri 24%, Gilaki and Mazandarani 8%, Kurd 7%, Arab 3%, Lur 2%, Baloch 2%, Turkmen 2%, other 1%.
Religions: Shi'a Muslim 89%; Sunni Muslim 9%; Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Baha'i 2%.
Languages: Persian and Persian dialects 58%, Turkic languages (besides Turkish) 26%, Kurdish 9%, Luri 2%, Balochi 1%, Arabic 1%, Turkish 1%, other 2%.
Education: Literacy (total population age 15 and over who can read and write, 2003)--79% (male: 86%, female: 73%).
Health (2007 est.): Infant mortality rate--38.2 deaths/1,000 live births. Life expectancy at birth (2007)--total population: 70.56 yrs.
Type: Islamic republic.
Constitution: Ratified in December 1979, revised 1989.
Branches: Executive--Supreme Leader (head of state), president (head of government), Council of Ministers, Assembly of Experts, Expediency Council, Council of Guardians. Legislative--290-member Majles (National Assembly, or Islamic Consultative Assembly). Judicial--Supreme Court.
Political parties: A number of reform-minded groups achieved considerable success during elections to the sixth Majles in early 2000. However, many reformist candidates, including sitting members of the Majles, were disqualified from participation in the February 2004 elections. As a result, a new conservative group, the Builders of Islamic Iran, won a majority of the seats and took a leading position in the seventh Majles.
Administrative subdivisions: 30 provinces.
Suffrage: Universal suffrage. The government is debating raising the voting age from 15 to 18.
GDP (purchasing power parity, 2006 est.): $599.2 billion.
GDP (official exchange rate, 2006 est.): $193.5 billion.
GDP real growth rate (2007 est.): 4.6%.
GDP composition by sector (2006): Agriculture 11.2%, industry 41.7%, services 47.1%.
Per capita income (2006 est.): $8,700.
Work force: 24.36 million.
Work force - by occupation (2001 est.): Agriculture 30%, industry 25%, services 45%.
Unemployment rate (2007 est.): 20%.
Natural resources: Petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, iron ore, lead manganese, zinc, sulfur.
Agriculture: Principal products--wheat, rice, other grains, sugar beets, fruits, nuts, cotton, dairy products, wool, caviar. Note: Iran is not self-sufficient in terms of food.
Industry: Types--petroleum, petrochemicals, textiles, cement and building materials, food processing (particularly sugar refining and vegetable oil production), metal fabricating (particularly steel and copper), armaments.
Trade (2007 est.): Exports--$56.9 billion: petroleum 80%, chemical and petrochemical products, carpets, fruits, nuts. Major export partners (2006): Japan (17.3%), China (11.4%), Italy (6.2%), South Korea (5.2%), South Africa (5.5%), Turkey (5.7%), Netherlands (4.6%), France (4.1%), Taiwan (4.1%). Imports--$48.1 billion: industrial raw materials and intermediate goods, capital goods, foodstuffs and other consumer goods, technical services, military supplies. Major import partners: Germany (14.2%), U.A.E. (6.7%), China (8.3%), Italy (7.5%), France (6.2%), South Korea (5.4%), Russia (4.9%).
Iran is a pluralistic society. Persians are the largest predominant ethnic and cultural group in this country, though many are actually of mixed ancestry. The population of the country has important Turkic elements (e.g., Azeris) and Arabs predominate in the southwest. In addition, Iranian citizens include Kurds, Balochi, Bakhtyari, Lurs, and other smaller minorities, such as Armenians, Assyrians, Jews, and Brahuis (or Brohi).
The 1979 Islamic revolution and the 1980-88 war with Iraq transformed Iran's class structure politically, socially, and economically. During this period, Shia clerics took a more dominant position in politics and nearly all aspects of Iranian life, both urban and rural. After the fall of the Pahlavi regime in 1979, much of the urban upper class of prominent merchants, industrialists, and professionals, favored by the former monarch, the shah, lost standing and influence to the senior clergy and their supporters. Bazaar merchants, who were allied with the clergy against the Pahlavi shahs, also have gained political and economic power since the revolution. The urban working class has enjoyed somewhat enhanced status and economic mobility, spurred in part by opportunities provided by revolutionary organizations and the government bureaucracy. Though the number of clergy holding senior positions in the parliament and elsewhere in government has declined since the 1979 revolution, Iran has nevertheless witnessed the rise of a post-revolutionary elite among lay people who are strongly committed to the preservation of the Islamic Republic.
Most Iranians are Muslims; 89% belong to the Shi'a branch of Islam, the official state religion, and about 9% belong to the Sunni branch, which predominates in neighboring Muslim countries. Non-Muslim minorities include Zoroastrians, Jews, Baha'is, and Christians.
The ancient nation of Iran, historically known to the West as Persia and once a major empire in its own right, has been overrun frequently and has had its territory altered throughout the centuries. Invaded by Arabs, Seljuk Turks, Mongols, and others--and often caught up in the affairs of larger powers--Iran has always reasserted its national identity and has developed as a distinct political and cultural entity.
Archeological findings indicate human activity in Iran during the middle Paleolithic era, about 100,000 years ago. The sixth millennium B.C. saw a fairly sophisticated agricultural society and proto-urban population centers. Many dynasties have ruled Iran, starting with the Achaemenid (559-330 B.C.) founded by Cyrus the Great. After the conquest of Persia by Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic period (300-250 B.C.) came the Parthian (250 B.C.-226 A.D.) and the Sassanian (226-651) dynasties.
The seventh century Arab-Muslim conquest of Iran was followed with invasions by the Seljuk Turks and the Mongols. Iran underwent something of a revival under the Safavid dynasty (1502-1736), the most prominent figure of which was Shah Abbas, who expelled the Uzbeks and Ottomans from Persia. The conqueror Nadir Shah and his successors were followed by the Zand dynasty, founded by Karim Khan, and later the Qajar (1795-1925) and the Pahlavi dynasties (1925-1979).
Modern Iranian history began with a nationalist uprising against the Shah in 1905 and the establishment of a limited constitutional monarchy in 1906. The discovery of oil in 1908 would later become a key factor in Iranian history and development.
In 1921, Reza Khan, an Iranian officer of the Persian Cossack Brigade, seized control of the government. In 1925, having ousted the Qajar dynasty, he made himself Shah and established the Pahlavi dynasty, ruling as Reza Shah for almost 16 years.
Under Reza Shah's reign, Iran began to modernize and to secularize, and the central government reasserted its authority over the tribes and provinces. During World War Two the Allies feared the monarch close relations with Nazi Germany. In September 1941, following the occupation of western Iran by the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom, Reza Shah was forced to abdicate. His son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, became Shah and would rule until 1979.
During World War Two, Iran had been a vital link in the Allied supply line for lend-lease supplies to the Soviet Union. After the war, Soviet troops stationed in northwestern Iran not only refused to withdraw but backed revolts that established short-lived, pro-Soviet separatist regimes in the northern regions of Azerbaijan and Kurdistan. These ended in 1946. The Azerbaijani revolt crumbled after U.S. and United Nations (UN) pressure forced a Soviet withdrawal. Iranian forces also suppressed the Kurdish uprising.
In 1951, the government of nationalist Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadeq (sometimes spelled Mossadegh) nationalized the British-owned Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC). The Shah fled to Rome from Iran before the U.S.-backed coup against Mossadeq in August 1953, during which pro-Shah army forces arrested the Prime Minister. The Shah returned soon thereafter. A few years later, AIOC was renamed British Petroleum, better known today as BP.
In 1961, Iran initiated a series of economic, social, and administrative reforms that became known as the Shah's White Revolution. The core of this program was land reform. Modernization and economic growth proceeded at an unprecedented rate, fueled by Iran's vast petroleum reserves, the third-largest in the world. However, his autocratic method of rule and pro-western policies alienated large sectors of the population, including the Shia clergy.
In 1978, domestic turmoil swept the country as a result of religious and political opposition to the Shah's rule, including abuses committed by SAVAK, the hated internal security and intelligence service. In January 1979, the Shah left Iran; he died abroad several years after.
On February 1, 1979, exiled religious leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned from France, to assume control of the revolution and established himself as Supreme Leader of a new, theocratic republic guided by Islamic principles. Following Khomeini's death on June 3, 1989, the Assembly of Experts chose the outgoing president of the republic, Ali Khamenei, to be his successor as Supreme Leader in what proved to be a smooth transition.
In August 1989, Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani, the speaker of the Majles, was elected President by an overwhelming majority. He was re-elected June 1993, with a more modest majority. Some Western observers attributed the reduced voter turnout to disenchantment with the deteriorating economy. An overwhelming majority of Iranians elected Mohammad Khatami-Ardakani as President in August 1997, hoping he would usher in a new era of freedom and reform. Khatami had modest successes in broadening the participation of Iranians in government and politics through initiating popular elections for local government councils and encouraging the development of civil society. Many liberal-minded Iranians were disappointed that Khatami did not support student protesters in 1999, but he was nevertheless re-elected in June 2001.
In February 2004 flawed elections were held for the Seventh Majles in which many reformists were prohibited from contesting their seats, meaning that a much more conservative group of parliamentarians easily retook control of the Majles in May 2004. The next Majles elections are currently slated to take place on March 14, 2008.
None of the seven candidates in the presidential vote on June 17, 2005 received a majority, resulting in a two-candidate runoff between Tehran mayor Mahmud Ahmadi-Nejad and former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani on June 24. Ahmadi-Nejad, winning in the second round with almost 62% of the vote according to Iranian Government figures, took office in August 2005. The next presidential elections are scheduled for 2009.
The December 1979 Iranian constitution defines the political, economic, and social order of the Islamic republic. The document establishes Shi'a Islam of the Twelver (Jaafari) sect as Iran's official religion. Sunni Islam, Zoroastrianism, Judaism and Christianity are the only other recognized, legal minority religions. The country is governed by secular and religious leaders through governing bodies, whose duties often overlap.
The Supreme Leader holds power for life unless removed by the Assembly of Experts. He has final say on all domestic, foreign, and security policies for Iran, though he establishes and supervises those policies in consultation with the Expediency Council. The Leader is the final arbiter on all differences or disputes among the various branches of government. He appoints officials to key positions including the head of judiciary and the 12 members of the Guardian Council (six directly, six indirectly). He has power to remove the president and is commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
The constitution stipulates that the Assembly of Experts, which currently consists of the 86 popularly-elected clerics elected to 8-year terms, chooses the Supreme Leader based on jurisprudent qualifications and commitment to the principles of the revolution. The Assembly of Experts reviews his performance periodically and has the power to depose and replace him. Pragmatic conservative candidates generally polled better than their hardline conservative opponents during the December 15, 2006 elections to the Assembly of Experts. (Turnout for this vote, which coincided with municipal council elections, was quite high, topping 60%.) Citizens will not vote for representatives to the Assembly again until 2014.
The Council of Guardians consists of 12 persons. The Supreme Leader appoints the six religious members of the Council of Guardians while the Iranian parliament, the Majles, selects the six lay members from candidates recommended by the judiciary, which is in turn selected by the Supreme Leader. The non-clerics play a role only in determining whether legislation before the Majles conforms to Iran's constitution. The religious members, on the other hand, take part in all deliberations, considering all bills for conformity to Islamic principles. The Council of Guardians can veto any law. This body also certifies the competence of candidates for the presidency, the Assembly of Experts, and the Majles.
The president of the Islamic Republic of Iran is elected by universal suffrage to a 4-year term. The president supervises the affairs of the executive branch, appointing and supervising the Council of Ministers (members of the cabinet), coordinating government decisions, and selecting government policies to be placed before the National Assembly.
The Majles, or National Assembly, consists of 290 members elected to 4-year terms. The members of the legislature are elected by direct and secret ballot from among the candidates approved by the Council of Guardians.
In 1988, Ayatollah Khomeini created the Council for Expediency, which resolves legislative issues on which the Majles and the Council of Guardians fail to reach an agreement. Since 1989, it has been used to advise the national religious leader on matters of national policy as well. It is composed of the president, the speaker of the Majles, the judiciary chief, the clerical members of the Council of Guardians, and other members appointed by the Supreme Leader for 3-year terms. Cabinet members and Majles committee chairs also serve as temporary members when issues under their jurisdictions are considered. In 2005, it was announced that the Expediency Council, which now has over 40 members, would have responsibility for general supervision of the system, though that has not resulted in any noticeable change in this institution's day-to-day authority or operations.
Judicial authority is constitutionally vested in the Supreme Court and the four-member High Council of the Judiciary; these are two separate groups with overlapping responsibilities and have one head. Together, they are responsible for supervising the enforcement of all laws and for establishing judicial and legal policies.
Iran has two military forces. The national military is charged with defending Iran's borders, while the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is charged mainly with maintaining internal security.
Iran has 30 provinces managed by an appointed governor general. The provinces are further divided into counties, districts, and villages. Sixty percent of eligible voters took part in the first ever municipal and local council elections in 1999, though a lower percentage went to the polls in the second round in 2003. Turnout during the December 15, 2006 elections, during which citizens also elected Assembly of Expert representatives, was over 60%. The local councils select mayors.
Principal Government Officials
Leader of the Islamic Revolution--Ali Hosseini-Khamenei
President--Mahmud Ahmadi-Nejad
First Vice President--Parviz Davudi
Foreign Minister--Manouchehr Mottaki
Ambassador to the United Nations--Mohammad Javad Zarif
Iran's post-revolution difficulties have included an 8-year war with Iraq, internal political struggles and unrest, and economic disorder. The early days of the regime were characterized by severe human rights violations and political turmoil, including the seizure of the U.S. Embassy compound and its occupants on 4 November 1979, by Iranian student militants. Iranian authorities released the 52 hostages only after 444 days of captivity.
By mid-1982, the clergy had won a succession of post-Revolution power struggles that eliminated first the center of the political spectrum and then the leftists, including the communist Tudeh party and the cult-like Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK or MKO). Assassinations, throwing acid in the faces of women who refused to wear the veil, and other acts of violence punctuated this period. There has been some moderation of excesses since the early days of the revolution, and the country experienced a partial "thaw" in terms of political and social freedoms during the tenure of former president Khatami, but serious problems remained. The administration of President Ahmadi-Nejad has witnessed a crackdown on Iranian civil society, continued human rights violations, and worsening constraints on press freedom and civil liberties.
The Islamic Republican Party (IRP) was Iran's sole political party until its dissolution in 1987. Iran now has a variety of groups engaged in political activity; some are oriented along ideological lines or based on an identity group, others are more akin to professional political parties seeking members and recommending candidates for office. Some have been active participants in the Revolution's political life while others reject the state. Conservatives consistently thwarted the efforts of reformists during the Khatami era and have consolidated their control on power since the flawed elections for the seventh Majles in 2004 and president Ahmadi-Nejad's victory in 2005.
The Iranian Government has faced armed opposition from a number of groups, including the MEK (which the U.S. Government added to its list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations in 1999), the People's Fedayeen, and the Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI).
Pre-revolutionary Iran's economic development was rapid. Traditionally an agricultural society, by the 1970s Iran had achieved significant industrialization and economic modernization. However, the pace of growth had slowed dramatically by 1978, just before the Islamic revolution. Since the fall of the shah, economic recovery has proven elusive thanks to a combination of factors, including fluctuations in the global energy market. Economic activity was severely disrupted additionally by years of upheaval and uncertainty surrounding the revolution and the introduction of statist economic policies. These conditions were worsened by the war with Iraq and the decline in world oil prices beginning in late 1985. After the war with Iraq ended, the situation began to improve: Iran's GDP grew for two years running, partly from an oil windfall in 1990, and there was a substantial increase in imports. However, Iran had suffered a brain drain throughout the previous decade and wartime policies had resulted in a demographic explosion.
A decrease in oil revenues in 1991 and growing external debt dampened optimism for recovery. In March 1989, the government instituted a new 5-year plan for economic development, which loosened state control and allowed Iran to seek greater latitude in accessing foreign capital. Mismanagement and inefficient bureaucracy, as well as political and ideological infighting, hampered the formulation and execution of a consolidated economic policy, and the Iran fell short of the plan's goals while economic inequality was aggravated. Today, Iran's economy is a mixture of central planning, state ownership of oil and other large enterprises, village agriculture, and small-scale private trading and service ventures. Former President Khatami followed the market reform plans of his predecessor, President Rafsanjani, and indicated that he would pursue diversification of Iran's oil-reliant economy, although he made little progress toward that goal. High inflation and expansive public transfer programs, as well as powerful economic-political vested interests created obstacles for rapid reform.
During the 2005 election campaign, President Ahmadi-Nejad promised to redistribute oil revenues to the impoverished, fund large infrastructure projects, and privatize Iranian state enterprises. He has been criticized within Iran for not carrying through on many of his promises. While establishment of the Imam Reza fund for cheap loans to youth has been popular, a law increasing the minimum was revoked because of the huge strain on employers. The "Shares of Justice" program--distributing shares of state-owned enterprises to the poor--faces a number of potential problems.
Unemployment was estimated to be 20% for 2007, according to the International Monetary Fund. Unemployment, a major problem even before the revolution, has many causes, including population growth, high minimum wage level and other restrictive labor policies. Farmers and peasants enjoyed a psychological boost from the attention given them by the Islamic regime but hardly appear to be better off in economic terms. The government has made progress on rural development, including electrification and road building, but Iran still faces inefficiencies related to agricultural land usage which are politically difficult to reconcile. Agriculture also has suffered from shortages of capital, raw materials, and equipment, problems dating back to the 1980-1988 war with Iraq. (See Foreign Relations below.)
Although Islam guarantees the right to private ownership, banks and some industries--including the petroleum, transportation, utilities, and mining sectors--were nationalized after the revolution under Marxist-influenced economic policies. Starting under President Rafsanjani, Iran has pursued some privatization through its nascent equities markets. However, the industrial sector remains plagued by low labor productivity and shortages of raw materials and spare parts, and is uncompetitive against foreign imports.
Increases in the price of oil starting in 2003 have increased state revenue enormously and permitted a much larger degree of spending on social programs than previously anticipated. However, this has not eased economic hardships such as high unemployment and inflation. The proportion of the economy devoted to the development of weapons of mass destruction and military spending overall remains a contentious issue with leading Western nations.
Earnings from Iranian oil exports, projected at $57-$87 billion for 2007-2008, are placed into the Oil Stabilization Fund (OSF), originally designed as a Treasury safety net if oil prices dropped below $20/barrel. In practice, the government has drawn upon the OSF to cover overexpenditures. Iran relies on oil for 80% of its export revenue, and 40% of total revenues. (Note: Iran's refining capacity is limited, and Tehran is a net gasoline importer, spending $2.6 billion for foreign gas in 2005.)
Khomeini's revolutionary regime initiated sharp changes from the foreign policy pursued by the Shah, particularly in reversing the country's orientation toward the West. In the Middle East, Iran's only significant ally has been Syria, but Iran has made strides in improving relations with its Gulf neighbors, particularly Saudi Arabia.
Iran's foreign relations are based on sometimes competing objectives. Iran's pragmatic foreign policy goals include, not surprisingly, protecting itself from external threats and building trade ties. Iran has additionally been accused, however, of trying to export its fundamentalist revolution to other countries, sometimes supporting terrorist organizations, and its vehement anti-U.S. and anti-Israel stances are well-known. Senior Iranian officials directed Hezbollah to carry out the bombing of the Asociaci�n Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA, the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association) building in Buenos Aires on July 18, 1994, killing 85 people and wounding scores of others. Out of the eight individuals indicted by the Government of Argentina in October 2006, the Interpol Executive Committee has recommended the issuance of Red Notices (international arrest warrants) against six: five former or current Iranian officials and one Lebanese Hezbollah leader.
In September 1980, during the U.S. hostage crisis, Iraq invaded Iran to take control of the waterway between the two countries, the Shatt al-Arab, although the conflict's underlying causes included each nation's overt desire for the overthrow of the other's government. Iran defended itself and demanded the withdrawal of Iraqi troops from Iranian territory and the return to the status quo ante for the Shatt al-Arab as established under the 1975 Algiers Agreement signed by Iraq and Iran. Khomeini's government turned down an Iraqi cease-fire proposal in 1982, making a new demand for Saddam Hussein's removal as well. After eight punishing years of war, in July 1988, Iran at last agreed to UN Security Council Resolution 598 and the cease-fire was implemented on August 20, 1988. Neither nation had made any real gains in the war.
Iran's relations with many of its Arab neighbors have been strained by Iranian attempts to spread its Islamic revolution, a strictly ideological goal. In 1981, Iran supported a plot to overthrow the Bahrain Government. In 1983, Iran expressed support for Shi'ites who bombed Western embassies in Kuwait, and in 1987, Iranian pilgrims rioted during the hajj (pilgrimage) in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Nations with strong fundamentalist movements, such as Egypt and Algeria, also mistrust Iran. Iran backs Hezbollah (in Lebanon), Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, all of which are violently opposed to the Arab-Israeli peace process. In contrast, while relations with west European nations have been uneven, they have been driven primarily by pragmatic goals of trade and security. Iran has accepted stronger commercial ties but largely declined to deliver on key European political concerns such as human rights and weapons of mass destruction (WMD) acquisition efforts, particularly in the nuclear field, where the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been strongly critical of Iran.
An IAEA report in November 2003 provided evidence that Iran, a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), had concealed secret nuclear activities for 18 years. Under international pressure, Iran signed the Additional Protocol to the Safeguards Agreement on December 18, 2003, agreeing to suspend all uranium-enrichment and reprocessing activities voluntarily, as well as cooperate fully with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in resolving questions regarding Iran's nuclear program. In June 2004, the IAEA rebuked Iran for failing to fully cooperate with an inquiry into its nuclear activities, and in November 2004, Iran agreed to suspend most of its uranium enrichment under a deal with the EU. That promise did not last, however, and since then concerns over Iran's nuclear activities have increased.
On June 6, 2006, China, France, Germany, Russia, the United States, and United Kingdom offered Iran a substantial package of economic cooperation and assistance. Tehran, however, was first required to come into compliance with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) guidelines on its nuclear program, suspending its uranium enrichment program. On July 31, the UN Security Council adopted resolution 1696 on the Iranian nuclear question, requiring Iran to suspend all activities related to enrichment and reprocessing, including research and development, as demanded by the IAEA, or else face possible sanctions. Tehran defied the UN Security Council (UNSC) deadline of August 31, leading to the passage of UNSC Resolution 1636 in December 2006 and, as Iran continued to balk, Resolution 1747 in March 2007.
Iran sparked an international controversy when its forces seized and held hostage 15 British sailors and marines, conducting routine anti-smuggling operations in Iraqi territorial waters under UN mandate, on March 23, 2007. Tehran released the U.K. service members on April 6.
Iran maintains regular diplomatic and commercial relations with Russia and the former Soviet republics. Both Iran and Russia believe they have important national interests at stake in developments in Central Asia and the Transcaucasus, particularly regarding energy resources from the Caspian Sea. Russian and other sales of military equipment and technology to Iran concern Iran's neighbors and the United States. Washington is also concerned about Russian assistance in building at nuclear facility at Bushehr.
Iran spends about 3.3% of its GDP on its military. Iran's military consists of both a national military held over from the shah's government and the IRGC, each with its own ground, naval and air braches. The Iran-Iraq war took a heavy toll on these military forces. Iran is trying to modernize its military, including ballistic missile programs, and acquire weapons of mass destruction; it does not yet have, but continues to seek, nuclear capabilities.
On November 4, 1979, militant Iranian students occupied the American Embassy in Tehran with the support of Ayatollah Khomeini. Fifty-two Americans were held hostage for 444 days. On April 7, 1980, the United States broke diplomatic relations with Iran, and on April 24, 1981, the Swiss Government assumed representation of U.S. interests in Tehran. Iranian interests in the United States are represented by the Government of Pakistan. The Islamic Republic of Iran does not have its own embassy in Washington, though it does have a permanent mission to the United Nations in New York City.
In accordance with the Algiers declaration of January 20, 1981, the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal (located in The Hague, Netherlands) was established for the purpose of handling claims of U.S. nationals against Iran and of Iranian nationals against the United States. U.S. contact with Iran through The Hague covers only legal matters.
The U.S. Government, by Executive Orders issued by the President as well as by Congressional legislation, prohibits most trade with Iran. Some sanctions were imposed on Iran because Tehran is a state sponsor of terrorism, others because of the nuclear proliferation issues, and still more for human rights violations, including infringement of religious freedom. The commercial relations that do exist between the two countries consist mainly of Iranian purchases of food and medical products and U.S. imports of carpets and food. Some sanctions were temporarily waived in the wake of the devastating Bam earthquake of December 2003. U.S. officials and relief workers actively assisted in relief and reconstruction efforts.
There are serious obstacles to improved relations between the two countries. As a state sponsor of terrorism, Iran remains an impediment to international efforts to locate and prosecute terrorists. Recent attempts by Iran to form loose alliances with anti-U.S. governments in the Western Hemisphere, such as the Venezuelan Government, has further heightened concern about Iran's support for terrorism and nuclear ambitions. Operation Iraqi Freedom removed the Iranian Government's greatest security threat, but officially Iran remained neutral about U.S. policy, sometimes strongly condemning American policies and actions in Iraq. Iran has cultural ties to elements of the populations of both Iraq and Afghanistan. It has made some positive contributions to stability in both countries, but other actions have had the opposite effect. It remains to be seen whether Tehran will ultimately be a constructive force in the reconstruction of its two neighbors or not.
The U.S. Government defines its areas of objectionable Iranian behavior as the following:
- Iran's efforts to acquire nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction;
- Its support for and involvement in international terrorism;
- Its support for violent opposition to the Middle East peace process, as well as its harmful activities particularly in Lebanon, as well as in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere in the region; and
- Its dismal human rights record and lack of respect for its own people.
Nevertheless, the U.S. State Department is supporting efforts to further the cause of democracy in Iran. In fiscal year (FY) 2006, the U.S. Congress allocated approximately $66 million to promote free media, personal freedom, and a better understanding of western values and culture. As part of these efforts, the Department supports efforts to develop civil society in Iran and exchange programs that bring Iranian students, athletes, professionals and others to the United States.
The Secretary of State has stated that Iranian agreement to abide by UNSC Resolutions 1696 and 1747, calling for Tehran to suspend uranium enrichment and comply with its international nuclear obligations, could lead to the direct negotiations between American and Iranian government officials, not only on Iran's nuclear case but on a wide range of issues.
In May 2007, the Iranian Government charged and in some cases imprisoned a handful of innocent Iranian-American scholars, civil society actors, and journalists, accused by the regime of jeopardizing the security of the state. The international community, academic institutions, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and private citizens have joined the U.S. Government in calling for the release of the detained dual nationals, as well as Iranian cooperation in the case of missing retired FBI agent Robert Levinson, last reported on Kish Island, Iran, on March 8, 2007.


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In My Boyfriend's Clothes – Desiree in Dries Van Noten, Cash CA & More
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After a brief hiatus we're back with a new instalment of our 'In My Boyfriend's Clothes' series. Here we see model Désirée Kaddatz in a Gitman Vintage shirt, a Dries Van Noten painted jean jacket and a Cash CA sweater, all of which is available now through SOTO Berlin. Enjoy the images as photographed by Damien "elroy" Vignaux.
Photography: Damien Vignaux / Highsnobiety


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I've been reading James Halliday's and Hugh Johnson's lovely, rambling The Art and Science of Wine (Firefly, 2007), with something of the feeling that I'm sitting beside the old gentlemen's fireplace listening to them hold forth. The book is short on citations and uneven on explanations, but full of two careers' worth of wisdom. They describe without getting bogged down too much in the how or why of things, a good technique for teaching in a hand-waving, appreciative sort of way and for learning without paying too much notice to the reality that you're being taught.
A theme — mostly tacit, but persistent — that sticks with the first few sections of the book is the difference in marketing and, therefore, winemaking strategies between the Old World (especially the classic French regions) and the New (especially Australia and New Zealand). Old World: make it and they will come. New World: no one knows who we are, so we'd better be distinctive and creative and different (and tasty). The socio-cultural-historical-economic factors driving that difference are too extensive to explain here and, besides, are largely a matter of common sense. And if it's an oversimplification, it's still largely true.
New Zealand has had to fight hard for a place in the global wine eye. Not only is the Kiwi wine industry young and from a remote location, their production is tiny. Yet they've unquestionably succeeded. We've all heard about Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, and many if not most of us have heard about Marlborough and Central Otago Pinot Noir. New Zealand's problem (okay, one of New Zealand's problems) now is that they've played the region-grape association game too well. Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc can be too easy to stereotype. The industry seems especially concerned that their wine is too expensive, with cheaper Sauv Blanc from Chile and South Africa and elsewhere on the market, to keep being competitive without some kind of new consumer incentive.
So, the Kiwis are trying to teach their pony every trick in the book (and maybe invent a few new ones) in an effort called, creatively, the New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc Programme.
A partnership between essentially every major wine research institute in the country and a few major producers (notably Pernod Ricard), the Sauvignon Blanc Programme was first funded in 2004 and has a promise of continued funding through 2016. 2010-2016 is it's second phase: "Sauvignon Blanc 2: 'novel wine styles for new markets.'" Phase I largely served as information-gathering about Sauvignon Blanc-specific flavors and flavor production; phase II is aimed at optimizing and manipulating those flavors. The goal is to improve the quality of existing wine, but also to carve out new styles from the harmonious-but-homogenous* cat-piss-on-gooseberry style for which New Zealand in general and Marlborough in particular has become world-famous.
The exemplary thing about this programme, in addition to it's duration, is its interdisciplinarity. An effort to solve one problem — how to diversify Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc — is bringing together plant cell biologists and viticulturists and wine chemists and yeast geneticists and sensory scientists and cognitive scientists and assorted biotechnologists and industry folk — winemakers and growers and business and marketing people — all with different perspectives on how to solve that one problem. In the process, they're creating solid new science, funding Masters and PhD students who will be important to the industry in a few years, and fueling market growth: good for research, good for industry.
Industry dollars are a main source of funding for wine research everywhere, but rarely is the collaboration this diverse or long-standing. The scope of SB1 and SB2 are fueling research far beyond just bringing a new and improved white wine to market. Here, the Kiwi homogeneity is serving them well: even if not everyone makes Sauvignon Blanc, the industry as a whole obviously rides on it. I wonder what would happen if other winemaking regions could identify one massive problem relevant to more or less everyone, focus their resources, and sponsor all of the region's top researchers to help solve it.
I suspect that multiple different Sauvignon Blanc flavor profiles are going to be a hard sell to all but the most esoterically sophisticated Americans, though perhaps the more important UK market will be better educated enough to pay attention. We've already seen scientific publications from this project; we may just have to wait to judge the success of the wine.
Market pressures don't always make for good science. But, sometimes, they do.


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Toddler Time is a time for parents and children to meet & greet, experience play & activities with their children, and discuss the joys and challenges of parenting toddlers in a safe and judgment free environment. Geared for parents and children ages 1-3 years.
Free. Visit http://www.baptistonline.org/upp or call 227-9558 for details.


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Islands Played Unicorns & Daniel Johnston Songs For Big Terrific's Big Show @ Music Hall Of Williamsburg, Brooklyn
There's a comedy show here in Williamsburg that makes for really good Wednesday diversions. It's called Big Terrific, it happens in the Cameo Lounge (which sits in back of the Loving Cup on N. 6th Street), there's a special on all-you-can-drink High Life which is pretty disgusting/convenient, it regularly features all sorts of rising and established comics (from people you haven't heard of to like Zach Galifianakis, John Mulaney, Sarah Silverman, Eugene Mirman, or Aziz Ansari), and it's run by some friends of the 'Gums: Gabe Liedman aka Videogum Glee master, Max Silvestri aka Gummy Awards Host and at least 50 seconds of Gabe and Max's 100 Seconds, and Jenny Slate who you may also know as a shell of anthropomorphic adorability named Marcel, or Stella from Bored To Death, or from a promising season on SNL.
The show's free, always — which means you can and should go tonight — except last week, when it moved to Music Hall Of Williamsburg for a ticketed Big Terrific blowout, featuring a spread of very funny people (including Todd Barry, Sean Sullivan, Videogum human target Joe Mande, and the New York Times-profiled Jesse Popp). Also there was a set from Islands, which in addition to featuring material by the band Islands, also featured material by the band Unicorns, and a medley of songs by Daniel Johnston. If you missed this show, you can see photos here by Natasha Ryan, or video of Nick Thorburn's Daniel Johnston covers ("True Love Will Find You In The End" and "Honey I Sure Miss You") below.
As far as the comedy part, there's Big Terrific every Wednesday, but there's something sooner: Videogum's Back To School Party tomorrow night. It's at the Bell House, it's 21+ and there's a nice lineup overlap with this photo set as our party will have Gabe Liedman, and Max Silvestri, and Joe Mande (and also John Mulaney and Jon Glaser, and of course, our host/Monster's baller Gabe Delahaye). Also, there will be a DJ set from me. And it's free! As is Big Terrific. So, come to Brooklyn and hang out tomorrow, or some other Wednesday, and/or click around in this post to be relieved of this ridiculous summer-ending stress we're all feeling these days via laughter and Islands.
Here's Thorburn on Johnston:


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be in (one's) confidence(redirected from be in confidence)
be in (one's) confidence
To be viewed as trustworthy enough to know one's private information. I can't tell you what Phil said—I'm in his confidence!
See also: confidence
be in somebody's ˈconfidencebe trusted with somebody's secrets: He is said to be very much in the President's confidence.
See also: confidence


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The regime of President Bashar Assad is near collapse and now controls only 30 percent of Syria, the country's former prime minister said Tuesday in his first comments since defecting to Jordan last week.
The comments by Riyad Farid Hijab, the highest-ranking official to defect from the Syrian government, came as the bloodshed inside the country continued. Activists said at least 60 people were killed Tuesday, including at least six children.
"The regime is on the verge of collapse morally, financially and economically in addition to cracks in the military," Hijab told a news conference televised from the Jordanian capital, Amman.
He urged other political and military leaders to defect and join the rebel side and called on the exiled opposition to unite.
But in making his comments, Hijab sought to assure those in the opposition that he was not seeking a political position now or in a free Syria, which he predicted would come soon. "I consider myself a soldier in the path of righteousness," he said.
Opposition members and rebel leaders who first came out calling for Assad's ouster 17 months ago have both welcomed and regarded with some suspicion some of the former higher-ranking political and military officials who have joined the cause only recently.
Assad's regime has been battling the uprising with both military forces and pro-government militias. In Washington, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Tuesday said that Iran is providing military training to one of the militias, part of a growing effort by Tehran to prevent armed rebels from driving an ally from power.
"We are seeing a growing presence by Iran and that is of deep concern," Panetta told reporters at a Pentagon news conference. "We do not think Iran ought to be playing that role. It adds to the killing."
The militia, known as the Army of the People, has emerged as a force over the last year as Syria's military has struggled to put down the rebellion. Its fighters are drawn mainly from Shiite Muslims and Alawites, two sects that form the core of the regime's support against the largely Sunni Muslim revolt. It wasn't immediately clear where, or how large, the militia is.
U.N. emergency relief coordinator Valerie Amos on Tuesday arrived in Damascus, the Syrian capital, as part of a three-day trip to the region to discuss humanitarian aid for those trapped by the escalating combat or forced to flee their homes. Amos' visit came a day after activists said more than 150 people across the country were killed in the ongoing conflict.
Amos came to discuss ways of urgently increasing relief efforts and reducing civilian suffering with Syrian authorities, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and other humanitarian groups. Later in her trip she will meet with refugee families in Lebanon and discuss with the Lebanese government and relief organizations on how best to support them.
As fighting in recent weeks has stepped up in areas people had previously sought refuge — including Damascus and Aleppo, the country's commercial hub — nowhere in the country now seems safe.
The United Nations estimates that 2 million people have been affected by the conflict between government forces and rebels and more than 1 million have been internally displaced. More than 140,000 people have fled the violence and crossed into Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq.
Meanwhile, the head of the U.N. monitoring mission said Tuesday that the indiscriminate use of heavy weapons by Assad's forces as well as targeted attacks by the opposition are increasing.
"It is clear that violence is increasing in many parts of Syria," said Lt. Gen. Babacar Gaye of Senegal, speaking at a news conference in Damascus. "Our patrols are monitoring the impact of this violence, visiting internally displaced people and hospitals."
The monitoring mission has intensified its efforts to negotiate "local pauses" to enable assistance to civilians, Gaye said. Monitors had suspended their regular patrols and monitoring activities in mid-June as the violence escalated.
"The conflict has gone on too long and far too many people are suffering," he said.
The U.N. monitoring mission, which began in April and has been criticized for doing nothing to quell the bloodshed, only has less than a week to go before its authorization expires.
"We will continue to the last minute of our mandate to urge the parties to move from confrontation to dialogue," he said.
(Times staff writer David S. Cloud in Washington contributed to this report.)


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Some of the most recognizable songs of our generation have been made by the same band, made with the same instruments and even in the same room!
The legacy George Martin and The Beatles left musically is so heavily documented and is almost intangible to admit the breakthroughs these people made in the field of pop 'songs' and modern music production.
Much has been said about EastWest's ambitious Fab Four virtual instrument/soundbank, due in part to the fact that it focuses on The Beatles, probably the most permeating and influential pop music group ever. But it's also because the 13 GB worth of sounds are themselves so convincing and because of the pedigree of the package's creators and sound sources. Long in the making and finally delivered well past its initial ship date, much has been made about how impressively accurate the sounds are to the original song layers they re-create. My goal, however, was to discover whether Fab Four's sounds could really hold their weight in a more modern-styled production session; sure, they work great for making Beatles-y tracks, but will they work for anything else?
Magical mystery collection
For those who haven't seen or heard about Fab Four since its introduction way back at the 2007 Winter NAMM show, this high-profile (and not officially Beatles-endorsed) soundbank focuses on re-creating some of the most classic setups achieved by The Beatles and their producer/engineers, rather than just the instruments themselves. Sparing no expense to find just the right pieces, dedicated project producer Doug Rogers began by gathering and restoring not only the original drums, basses, keyboards and guitars (some of them costing more than $200,000 supplied from private collectors), but also the original period amplifiers (Fender, Vox), rare microphones (Neumann, AKG, Cole, STC), preamps and unique compressors/limiters (Fairchild, EMI modded Altec) and even the same Studer tape machine and EMI Redd tube mixing desk used in making the original songs. To step up the credibility notch even further, Rogers enlisted the help of Ken Scott, the legendary Beatles engineer who worked on "A Hard Day's Night," "Help" and "Rubber Soul" and was main engineer for Magical Mystery Tour and The Beatles (White Album), among many other amazing credits. Then, to help play the instruments he had gathered, Rogers brought in drummer Danny Seiwell and guitarist Laurence Juber, both longtime members of Paul McCartney and Wings. Once everything was painstakingly sampled and organized, they added a powerful new GUI with a graceful articulation-control solution and a killer implementation of the Beatles' legendary ADT technique (artificial double tracking).
The cumulative result of this labor of love is a virtual instrument that has proved to be sonically true to the original, yet completely 21st-century in usability. Fab Four also includes EastWest's recent 64-bit (and 32-bit-compatible) Play Advanced Sample Engine, which streams from disk very capably with no voice stealing and impressively high polyphony. Using Legato Detection, Play is able to sense smoothly phrased or repetitive playing and respond dynamically, alternating samples or adjusting articulations. For many of the patches, Play uses a small group of MIDI notes as "switches," making it easy to move between chains of samples on the fly with one hand while playing with the other.
The convolution-based emulations of Abbey Road's many reverbs (both physical and electromechanical), ADSR envelopes, detailed Delay section, incredibly useful Stereo Spread control, Pan, Mono/Stereo settings like L/R Swap and Mono Sum and extensive MIDI input filtering all offer extended flexibility to the patches, some of which are already highly processed. Play can load multiple sounds into its chooser simultaneously for quick switching, and the slick Browser window helps you quickly find the sounds you're after. As a powerful bonus, the awesome built-in Network Control functionality allows you to load instruments on extra computers and control them from the master computer without KVM switching and without needing to purchase extra licenses. And don't forget the truly impressive ADT, which pairs a very short delay with a slightly moving phase shift that I swear makes just about anything sound better (especially guitars).


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Finnbarr P. Murphy (fpmurphy) posted on his blog yesterday about his new project, uefivars, to retrieve and display information about UEFI variables. UEFI is the new firmware standard, replacing legacy BIOS over time, which is present on Dell 11G PowerEdge servers today. fpmurphy's work is based largely on my own efibootmgr project which I started back in 2001 when first working on EFI for the Itanium processor. I'm glad to see renewed interest in this work as more people get exposed to UEFI on new systems. Perhaps it's time, 9 years later, for bits of efibootmgr to turn into a library for use by applications like uefivars.
2 thoughts on "New uefivars project leverages 9-year-old efibootmgr work"
Pingback: Matt Domsch: New uefivars project leverages 9-year-old efibootmgr work | TuxWire : The Linux Blog
Pretty cool to see UEFI replacing the BIOS in more places, but I'm still holding out a candle for OpenFirmware 🙂


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Join the FontShop team at TYPO San Francisco this week, April 10-11, and take part in the Anagram Scavenger Hunt. Clues will be given via Twitter and Instagram to find the FontShopper with the missing character. Everyone participating in the game gets a prize! First person to find the missing character gets something extra, and we'll share the glyph with all the attendees via Social Media.
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram. Attendees will get a postcard in their goodie bag, with additional clues. Once you solve the anagram, you can use it to take 30% off your next FontShop purchase the following week.
If you still haven't bought a ticket for TYPO San Francisco, you still have time. There are only a few seats left. Buy a ticket now!


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Presented at AER 2002, Toronto by Kimberly Avila M.A., COMS
College is an exciting time of learning, growing and achieving goals. Any person attending college, regardless of age and background, goes through a period of transition in which they adjust their lives to accommodate new demands brought on by higher education requirements. Persons who are blind or vision impaired must deal with these challenges along with an entire different dimension of transitional issues that can be challenging. The American Foundation for the Blind found that students with vision impairments are less likely, than their sighted peers, to finish college. (1993) Why are persons with vision impairments less likely to finish college? Furthermore, for those who do complete higher education, how can they prepare themselves for the transition to college to alleviate the added stress of being a college student with a visual impairment?
As a teacher for the vision impaired who works with high school students, I wanted to explore the challenges college students with visual impairments encounter so I could assist my students in preparing themselves for college. As a result, I conducted a study during the summer of 2001 surveying 23 adults who are blind and vision impaired who have had at least some college experience and dealt with challenges in higher education. Participants were asked to provide their input on how upcoming college students can best prepare themselves for a smooth transition. A continual dialogue has developed with several of the adults who responded to the surveys in order to clarify and get further remarks about college life for the vision impaired.
Correspondence, including the distribution of surveys, was done electronically and at meetings of consumer organizations of the blind. Surveys reached all over the United States and beyond, including a rehabilitation program for the blind in New Zealand. Participants were quite diverse in age, background, ethnicities and differed in the amount of years they attended college and degrees earned. Some respondents are current college students; others are successful professionals, business owners, homemakers, members of the Peace Corps, graduate students, farmers and clients of a rehabilitation program for the blind.
The responses to the survey were interesting, yet not surprising. As participants described what areas they could have been better prepared in for a smoother transition, I was quickly reminded of the "Expanded Core Curriculum" Phil Hatlen published years ago. The Expanded Core Curriculum defines areas in which students with vision impairments should receive further instruction. These areas are:
- Compensatory Skills, including communication models
- Visual Efficiency Skills
- Social Skills
- Independent Living Skills,
- Recreation and Leisure Skills,
- Orientation and Mobility
- Vocational Education and
- Assistive Technology
(Hatlen, 1996)
Long before I conducted my survey, the Expanded Core Curriculum had been in place and implemented into the National Agenda as areas defined as needs neglected in general education. However, according to my study, these areas are still being neglected and students are not getting what they need for a smooth transition to college. In the 1998 National Agenda; Report to the Nation by the American Foundation for the Blind, studies also concluded that schools are not allowing adequate time for instruction in and do not have qualified personnel to teach in these areas.
Consistently, respondents marked a need to receive instruction in all of the above-mentioned categories. Moreover, EVERY participant marked an intense need for instruction in the use of adaptive technology in order to be successful and independent in college and employment. All respondents remarked that this is a heavily neglected area that is one of most detrimental factors that impedes their success in college. Several participants stated that they had to pay a large amount of money and spend an excessive amount of time to learn the technologies while in college, which ultimately affected their academics, work and social lives. Below are just some of the quotes made by respondents emphasizing the need for adequate adaptive technology instruction.
"Adaptive technology, this is the bulldozer that levels the playing field" Undergraduate Student who is also employed
"There is no way ANY college student will make it through school without technology. A blind or vision impaired person must have these skills in order to have a fighting chance in school, and to be independent." Undergraduate Student
"Technology is needed to set the student at an even playing ground. It is vital in a quality education." Information Technology Consultant
"Technology can, and will make the difference between some semblance of independence and total dependency. Further survival may come down to the issue of adaptive technology" Doctoral Graduate Student
"… the world of employment centers almost exclusively around computers and the ability to access them is vital." Graduate Student
"…OCR's, screen magnifiers, screen readers, good computer skills; I am struggling to learn these skills just to be competitive." Business owner and former Peace Corps Member
"In these ever-more-technical times, I believe it's getting harder and harder to find a job that doesn't require some computer knowledge." Software Engineer
The other areas that participants felt teachers and rehabilitation programs should focus on are advocacy and social skills, including working with readers and others who assist them. Several participants remarked that they felt very alone moving to college from high school when they realized they had to rely on themselves for taking care of their needs.
"We must learn that we cannot totally rely on services which are supposed to assist us, because there are limited resources and service providers. In order to show that we are independent thinkers and able to take care of ourselves, we must learn how to rely on our self-advocacy skills in order to make gains in employment, etc." Graduate Student
"Confidence, communication, advocacy, working with people, problem solving, knowing what you want and creating a plan to obtain your goal, these are the crucial skills students with vision impairments must have in order to succeed in college. College Professor
"Social skills go along with fighting the misconceptions and stereotypes some have about blind people. Eye contact should be taught at an early age, and kids should also be taught that "blindisms", like eye poking, rocking, etc. are not appropriate. I am not saying that one should try to look sighted; it is just that we need to look our best and present a confident figure when seeking employment and college admissions." Graduate Student
"Confidence, Confidence, Confidence" Business owner
"Self advocacy is a very important self confidence and identity builder." Rehabilitation teacher
"Knowing how to direct readers around a library, knowing how to communicate with those who do not understand my blindness, coming up with reasonable accommodations with my professors, these are things I really had to work on in college." Business owner
When responding to questions related to Orientation and Mobility and travel, all respondents emphasized how important good cane travel is to their independence and success. However, in almost every survey, participants consistently remarked that one of the most challenging aspects of being blind are issues surrounding transportation and not being able to drive. Some respondents discussed in depth how difficult it was to attend college on a campus that had several mobility obstacles, such as busy streets cutting through campus and several difficult to follow paths around the school. These factors physically put a barrier between these students and their college education.
In regard to independent living, personal care and home management, respondents gave a wide variety of perspectives. Some felt that the training they received from their families or rehabilitation programs in home management was adequate. Others indicated that they had minimal rehabilitation teaching and limited family support, which affected their preparedness to manage their personal lives, finances, home and the like.
"If a young person going off to college does not have a sense of balancing a checkbook and paying bills, disaster could result. I think so many parents do not allow their blind children to handle their own money, but this is something kids must learn." College Student
"I am glad I had the opportunity to learn how to take care of a home while still living at my parent's home, I could not imagine learning all of that now with everything else going on." College Student
"Families cannot shelter their blind children from the world, hoping it will go away. Kids will grow up, and the best way to help them is to let them help themselves. Parents who do everything for their children are not doing them a favor, let them have experiences, and let them make mistakes. It will hurt them a lot less if they make a mistake with a small allowance, or a minor cooking mistake under your care, but if these mistakes are made for the first time outside of your home, the consequences could be horrible." Teacher
After reading the wide variety of responses, it was evident that some people encounter their most trouble in college because of a lack of instruction in the above-mentioned areas from teachers for the vision impaired, rehabilitation facilities and families. These factors, along with the lack of training in technology, use of self-advocacy and social skills, management of their personal lives impacted the respondent's academics and social lives in college.
Despite the publicity on the importance of including the Expanded Core Curriculum in a student's education and the continued findings that pinpoint exactly where discrepancies lie in preparing students for college and employment, thousands of people with vision impairments go to college without the basic tools they need to achieve their goals without undue challenges. Yet, as the National Agenda stated, and the results of my survey confirmed, these crucial areas are still being neglected. I wondered why and so began researching why so many students are lacking these skills. I surveyed teachers, service providers, rehabilitation professionals and persons with vision impairments to get a more conclusive understanding. Most professionals in rehabilitation and education of blind persons are aware that their students and clients will face challenges in college. Many professionals are simply unaware that many resources exist that assist visually impaired people. They realize that their students must take the College Board tests, but do not understand the extensive amount of work it will take to get the accommodations in place for the test.
Students and professionals know that students will receive service from the student's with disabilities office on campus, but how are those services set up and who is responsible for what? It is known that while on campus, students must attend to their own needs, but how are students to advocate for their needs, work with a reader and manage their personal lives while still maintaining good academic standing in order to actually stay in college? In many cases, it was evident that the challenges these students would face began long before they started their first college class. Participants in the study often remarked that they did not realize they should have investigated the campus and surrounding community even before applying to evaluate the accessibility of the campus. Many respondents indicated that they were in for a rude awakening the first day on campus when they realized the campus was inaccessible to them.
It became clear in my study that students, parents, teachers and rehabilitation professionals need guidelines to teach these skills. This is why I developed the E.X.P.L.O.R.E. Curriculum. My work on E.X.P.L.O.R.E. began as I had some challenges in college as a visually impaired student. It continued as I worked in my graduate school's office for students with disabilities where I saw other students who are blind enduring the same struggles I had overcome a few years earlier. Now, as a teacher for the vision impaired and after completing this study, the flaws that exist in transition are very clear. E.X.P.L.O.R.E. is an acronym that outlines the steps a person with a vision impairment may use to facilitate a smooth transition. It can be used as an educational curriculum in a school or rehabilitation facility, or by a student alone, or with a parent. It can be adapted for non-traditional aged students and those wishing to attend a community college program or other non-four year degree program.
Below is an outline of the E.X.P.L.O.R.E curriculum.
E: the Eliminator:
This section contains a list of common criteria many participants in the study indicated are crucial in selecting a college that meets the unique needs of people with visual impairments. A student may also customize this list to include, or exclude features that they may or may not need on the college campus.
X: eXamine
Examine what you need for college and devise a plan to work on your areas of need. This section comes straight out of one of the respondent's suggestions. She said that whenever she faced a challenge, she made two lists, one with all of the positive things that are going on and that she is proud of, and another with a list of what needs to change in order for her to be successful. She picked a couple of things to work on from this list and set goals. In this section, the student will evaluate him or her self and decide what areas need to be worked on for a smooth transition to college. Goals are set from these areas. If the student is in high school, this section assists the student in becoming a leader in creating necessary IEP annual goals that are relevant to the transition plan.
P: Paperwork:
This section outlines and discusses all of the different types of paperwork and documentation you may need in college. It briefly describes where and how to gather this information and guidelines, along with factors to consider when applying to college when you have a disability. Establishing services with your office for students with disabilities is described in this section, along with working with the Department of Rehabilitation Services and other professionals people with vision impairments work with on a regular basis.
L: Legislation:
Learn what laws entitle you to rights in higher education; also learn what your responsibilities are and how to fulfill your end of the bargain.
O: Obligations:
You will have many obligations you need to commit to prior to your first day of classes. Using an agenda book, either in braille, print or electronically is a must. In this section, you will read about scheduling appointments ahead of time with Orientation and Mobility specialists to assist you in getting to know the campus, the cafeteria and the rest of your new environment. You may need to schedule a lesson with a rehabilitation teacher to help you learn how to use the laundry machines at your dorm. Ordering materials, communicating with professors and the office for students with disabilities and taking care of all of those little, but crucial, details is outlined in this section.
R: Rehabilitation:
Attend a rehabilitation program if that is part of your plan you created in the eXamine section. If you do not need a residential program, devise your own rehab program with local resources. This could be attending a community college course to familiarize yourself with attending a college class before you move on to the university. Also, consider the suggestions in this section, such as making your parents have you cook dinner, do your own laundry, assist in grocery shopping and managing money. Although these skills should be taught and practiced all throughout life, they should be focused on during the months before leaving for college.
E: Extra Curricular and Enjoy
Most of the college experience is not academic; it is social. In this section, the student will read some of the funny, and not so funny circumstances other people who are blind and vision impaired experienced in school. Information on dealing with roommates, getting involved, socializing and having an all around "college experience" is outlined in this section.
The following are materials used for the E.X.P.L.O.R.E. curriculum.
- Student day planner book. It is highly recommended the student keep track of appointments, deadlines and goal dates with a day planner in either print, large print, braille or in electronic format.
- Student data collection book. This is a three ring binder that is used to store important documents. Plastic three-ring sheet covers are put in the blinder that hold and protect documents. The eye-doctor verification sheet, letters of recommendation, transcripts, college essays, résumés, college acceptance letter, are just some of the types of papers stored in this notebook inside the sheet protectors. Braille labels can be put on each sheet protector to allow a totally blind student knowledge of what is inside that pocket. I recommend each student make several copies of these important documents once they are obtained or completed and place the original and copies in one plastic sheet protector. This way, when applications are being completed, or if these papers are needed immediately, the student may simply locate that pocket and remove one copy needed.
- An E.X.P.L.O.R.E. lesson plan book is also part of the materials. A teacher, parent or rehabilitation professional may use it as a guide for creating transition enrichment activities, or students may use it independently as a guide for their own transition program. Also in this notebook, students may collect other information and articles pertinent to their individual needs. Scholarship applications and other resources are filed in this notebook as well for the student to refer to throughout the college admissions and financial aid procedures. These documents are retained for the student to refer to in following years as a reminder of available scholarships and for contact information so a current application can be obtained.
E.X.P.L.O.R.E. in the Future
The E.X.P.L.O.R.E. curriculum has another phase of study ahead. I have begun to implement it in with high school students I work with. However, within the next few years, I plan to use it with upcoming juniors and seniors. After completing some college, I will have them respond to a survey about the training effectiveness of the E.X.P.L.O.R.E. program. It is my hope to distribute a "beta-testing" version of E.X.P.L.O.R.E. to itinerant teachers, rehabilitation programs and adults with vision impairments to further assess and revise the program.
Works Cited
American Foundation for the Blind, Corn, Anne, Kathleen Huebner ed. A Report to the Nation; The National Agenda for the Education of Children and Youths with Visual Impairments, Including Those with Multiple Disabilities. New York, NY: AFB Press, 1998
American Foundation for the Blind Statistics: Education Attainment http://www.afb.org/info_document_view.asp?documentid=1374#ed 6/4/01
Hatlen, Phil The Core Curriculum for Blind and Visually Impaired Students, Including Those with Additional Disabilities 1996.


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Miscellaneous thoughts about miscellaneous matters
For some reason I started thinking about the Guelphs and Ghibellines, Tories, Know Nothings, Northern Leagues, and various other names that political parties have chosen. While some of the names were intended to show what the party was about, the stance of the party on issues and political preferences tend to evolve over time; thus the name might cease to be appropriate. And some of the names are just words that were applied to a political group.
Perhaps the most interesting terms
For quite a while I have thought that the two major parties in the U.S.A. would come to an end, but I couldnt tell what the proximate causes would be; although the Republican Party was destroyed by W, and the Tea Partiers are completing that destruction, but it was unclear how the Democrats would destroy their party. Now it looks like Obamacare is the instrument that the Dems created to destroy their party.
Not only is the website for enrolling not working well, but I just saw
Updated 11-02-2013 at 10:46 AM by PeterL


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Elias gets back on track as Mariners top Mets
Seager's two RBIs help rookie lefty earn first win since June 22
SEATTLE -- Rookie southpaw Roenis Elias picked up his first victory in nearly a month as the Mariners topped the Mets, 5-2, in Monday night's opener of a three-game Interleague series at Safeco Field.
Elias evened his record at 8-8 with a 4.41 ERA as he allowed one run in 5 1/3 innings before being taken out of the game when his left forearm began cramping up at the end of a 90-pitch outing.
"My starter was pretty darn good," said manager Lloyd McClendon. "He just had a cramp and I didn't want to take a chance, but he was outstanding and that was really good to see."
Elias allowed five hits with two walks and eight strikeouts as the 25-year-old snapped a personal three-game losing streak, winning for the first time since June 22 after going 0-3 with a 10.05 ERA in his final three starts before the All-Star break.
"The rest definitely helped," said Elias, whose 118 1/3 innings are the second-most of any rookie in the Majors behind only the 129 1/3 by Yankees standout Masahiro Tanaka. "It especially helped seeing my son and my wife. It gave me more energy to go forward as the season goes along."
Catcher Mike Zunino said he could see a renewed Elias, as the youngster was pitching for the first time in 12 days.
"He just came out and attacked hitters," Zunino said. "Whether it was a little rest and having a few days off or being able to regroup and regather, he just came out with a good game plan and stuck to it."
Elias' cramp isn't expected to be an issue going forward and Zunino said he just hustled out to the mound after seeing the southpaw stretching his left hand out after throwing his last few pitches. Zunino said Elias actually threw his best curveball of the game after McClendon and trainer Rob Nodine came out to the mound to check on him initially, with McClendon then pulling him after he struck out the next batter he faced.
"I'm happy he was able to finish that batter off, but that's something we didn't want to mess with," Zunino said. "He's been such a big part of where we are right now, and I wanted to make sure he stays healthy."
Relievers Dominic Leone, Charlie Furbush, Brandon Maurer and Danny Farquhar held the Mets just an unearned run over the final 3 2/3 innings to preserve the win for Elias.
Dustin Ackley went 3-for-4 with an RBI double capping the Mariners scoring in the eighth and also saved a run for Leone when he went above the fence in left field to rob Mets catcher Travis d'Arnaud of a home run in the sixth inning.
Ackley has hit .360 (18-for-50) in July to raise his average to .239 and he's 8-for-18 (.444) in the four games since the All-Star break.
"He's swinging the bat pretty good," said McClendon. "Sometimes, I think it's Jekyll and Hyde. He's very aggressive. He's looking for pitches to drive and he's doing just that. That's the good Ackley."
Veteran utility man Willie Bloomquist went 3-for-5 from the leadoff spot with a double, an RBI and two runs scored while getting the start at shortstop, while third baseman Kyle Seager notched a pair of RBI singles and Zunino hit his 14th home run of the season.
"If we're going to make a push here, we're going to need to score some runs," Bloomquist said after his season-high three hits. "That's something we as a team need to do a better job of. We've run into some pretty good pitching lately, so every game we've been in has been close and it's come down to a big hit here or there. So it was nice to jump out to a lead and get out of the gate early and put a few runs on the board. Hopefully we can continue that."
Seager increased his team-leading RBI total to 66 and continued his hot streak at home. With a 2-for-4 night, the Mariners' All-Star third baseman is batting .485 (32-for-66) with 22 RBIs over his last 18 games at Safeco Field.
The Mariners took a 1-0 lead in the first as Seager drove in Bloomquist after he led off the game with a single and stole second.
The Mets tied the game in the third when Ruben Tejada walked, went to second on a wild pitch and scored on David Wright's base hit.
But Seattle responded with two runs in the third as Zunino led off the frame with an upper-deck blast above the out-of-town scoreboard before Seager added his second run-scoring single of the night. Seager is just three RBIs shy of his 2013 total of 69.
The Mariners improved to 53-46 on the season, while the Mets are 46-53. The two teams are meeting for the first time since 2008 and Seattle owns an 8-2 record in the all-time series, including a 4-0 mark at Safeco Field.
The win increased Seattle's lead in the race for the American League's second Wild Card berth to 2 1/2 games over the Blue Jays and Yankees, who both lost on Monday.


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Sometimes knowing when not to assist others can actually help them.
That's the tough-love theme of a new study by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that analyzes the damaging effects of government subsidies for gasoline, electricity, and other traditional energy sources.
The IMF's advice is simple: It is far better to be transparent and true to consumers about the real price of energy than to mask subsidies as a good deed.
Subsidies, in fact, help the rich six times more than they do the poor because the rich consume more energy. And the $480 billion spent on direct government supports in developing countries would benefit the poor far more if that money were spent in areas like education and roads, the IMF concludes.
In Africa, government spending on energy subsidies is as high as on health care. And because Africa's electricity suppliers are forced to sell power at low prices, they are not investing in new electricity capacity or improving service.
Overall, subsidies are a major drag on public finances, economic growth, social equity, and the environment. Even in wealthy countries like the United States, ending tax breaks and other indirect subsidies for fossil fuel producers would benefit everyone by slowing down climate change.
This may surprise many: The US is by far the largest subsidizer at $502 billion, with China at $279 billion, and Russia at $116 billion. If the US took into account the real cost of oil pollution and traffic congestion, the IMF calculates, it would need to raise the tax on a gallon of gasoline by $1.40.
Perhaps the country that best illustrates this subsidy trap right now is Egypt. Its money reserves are running dangerously low and yet government still spends a fifth of its budget on oil subsidies. As a condition for a bailout loan, the IMF insists that Egypt steadily end this onerous cost while also shielding the poor from the immediate impacts (temporary cash payments is one way). The price of 90-octane gasoline would need to triple.
That's not an easy task in the midst of Egypt's political turmoil with an election coming soon. The now-democratic nation is facing a huge problem left behind by a dictatorship that bought support from the poor by providing cheap energy (and bread) for decades.
Fortunately, countries like Egypt can learn from countries like Ghana, Turkey, and the Philippines that have started down the road of reform. An important step is to be transparent and clear with consumers about the real cost of energy and involve them in the decisionmaking. In South Africa, for example, the government posts the daily price of imported petroleum on a website. Truth is a helpful political lubricant.
Such lessons are not new. Many social programs once thought to lift the poor have had to be adjusted or abandoned when they proved to create adverse effects, either by stimulating long-term dependency among recipients or becoming unaffordable for government.
Giving in general, whether it is a subsidy or a charitable donation, is a noble impulse, but it often requires hardheaded insight, planning, and reassessment. Sending food aid to a hungry nation, for example, can sometimes dampen the incentives for farmers to improve their agriculture in the long term.
Many aid agencies learned long ago that they must "do no harm" in their generosity. Now it's time for many governments to do the same with energy subsidies.


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Fiction A to Z
May 2018
Recent Releases
We Own the Sky
Luke Allnutt
What it's about:
A child's cancer diagnosis tests the relationship between his loving parents, who cope with his devastating illness in starkly different ways.
Why you might like it:
Emotional and heart-rending, this debut is narrated by five-year old Jack's father, Rob, who in anguish turns first to vodka and then to his camera.
About the author:
Luke Allnutt began writing this book while facing his own cancer diagnosis and treatment.
Lawn Boy
Jonathan Evison
Mike Muñoz, a half-Mexican, half-white 22-year-old striving for the American dream, stymied by discrimination and snobbery.
Why you might like it:
On one level a coming-of-age story,
Lawn Boy
also addresses issues of race, class, sexual identity -- and the limits of capitalism for the working poor.
Want a taste?
"A kid can dream, can't he? And that's what I did, for a while, anyway, until the relentless indignities of privation wore my innocence to a nub, awakening me to the reality that dreams were for dreamers. The point is, I'm not a kid anymore."
Unbury Carol
Josh Malerman
What it is:
Half weird Western, half horror, this unusual novel stars a wealthy woman who falls into comas so deep she's mistaken for dead -- which is exactly why her greedy husband is rushing her into the grave.
Who will rescue her?
While Carol struggles to return to the waking world, her former lover -- a full-on outlaw legend -- rides towards her, hunted by a horrifying hit man.
Is it for you?
If you're up for a unique take on the Wild West, yes!
Not That I Could Tell
Jessica Strawser
What it's about:
A friendly night around a neighborhood fire pit ends in mystery when one guest and her children go missing. Her soon-to-be ex-husband is quickly under police scrutiny, while her neighbors struggle to understand what clues they missed.
Is it for you?
Leisurely paced and with relatable characters, this novel is about the relationships among those left behind and how they deal with personal issues. If you're looking for a domestic suspense novel á la
Gone Girl
, try the recently published
The French Girl
, by
Lexie Elliott
Heads of the Colored People: Stories
Nafissa Thompson-Spires
What it is:
a collection of short stories featuring African Americans and exploring issues of race, class, identity -- and topics like rivalry and body image. While each tale stands alone, some characters pop up in more than one story (Fatima seems to be most reviewers' favorite).
Why you might like it:
Offering both dark humor and pointed commentary, author Nafissa Thompson-Spires has created timely, thoughtful stories featuring memorable characters.
Weddings (Royal or Otherwise)
Royal Wedding
Meg Cabot
What it is:
The first Princess Diaries novel for adults -- Mia's now planning her wedding to longtime boyfriend Michael, which is beset by problems big and small.
Why you might like it:
If you watched Mia grow up (starting with
The Princess Diaries
) you'll be right at home with the family quirks -- including meddling Grandmére and a family secret -- as well as the breezy humor, entertaining dialogue, and lovable, anxious Mia herself.
Reviewers say:
"Royally perfect from start to finish" (
Kirkus Reviews
The Royal We
Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan
practical American Bex Porter, who unexpectedly falls in love with crown prince Nick while attending Oxford.
Why you might like it:
Less about dizzying romance and more about the hassles of dealing with the publicity (and tabloid scrutiny) that comes with marrying into the royal family, this debut novel offers charming characters and plenty of humor.
Book buzz:
The Royal We
inspired by Prince William and Kate Middleton, fans of Prince Harry will note the similarities to the fictional Prince Freddie.
The People We Hate at the Wedding
Grant Ginder
Starring: c
ynical Paul and snarky Alice, siblings who have reluctantly agreed to attend their half-sister's over-the-top wedding in England.
What it's about:
That neither of them is in a successful relationship (Paul's boyfriend feels unfairly restricted by monogamy, while Alice is having an affair with her married boss) fuels their long-standing resentment of Eloise's privilege and their anger towards their mother, Donna.
Why you might like it:
Narrated by multiple members of this dysfunctional family, this sardonic tale has bite -- and plenty of drama.
Beautiful Day
Elin Hilderbrand
What it's about
: The wedding of a happy young couple is threatened by family dysfunction, tangled relationships, a family wedding manual referred to as "the notebook," and a severe food allergy.
Why you might like it:
Multiple narrators -- including asides from the wedding guests and excerpts from "the notebook" -- provide a varied perspective on the not-so-blissful event. The author's sense of humor makes this Nantucket-set novel a great beach read.
The Supremes Sing the Happy Heartache Blues
Edward Kelsey Moore
The opening scene:
A famous blues man returns home to Plainview, Indiana, to play the wedding of the local strip-club owner to the town's most fundamentalist Baptist. And that guitarist turns out to be the father who abandoned Odette Henry's husband when he was just a boy.
Series alert:
Odette and her two best friends, Clarice and Barbara Jean, first appeared in
The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat
; their return here is sure to please fans of optimistic, insightful novels centered on small-town friendships.
Contact your librarian for more great books!
Pierce County Library System
3005 112th St. E • Tacoma, WA 98446