Observer

Why the Internet Isn't the Death of the Post Office

2005-09-21T03:55:00.000+04:30

ILLIONS of people now rent their movies the Netflix way.

They fill out a wish list from the 50,000 titles on the company's Web site and

receive the first few DVD's in the mail; when they mail each one back, the next

one on the list is sent.

The Netflix model has been exhaustively analyzed for its disruptive, new-economy

implications. What will it mean for video stores like Blockbuster, which has, in fact,

started a similar service? What will it mean for movie studios and theaters?

What does it show about "long tail" businesses - ones that amalgamate many niche

markets, like those for Dutch movies or classic musicals, into a single large audience?

But one other major implication has barely been mentioned: what this and similar

Internet-based businesses mean for that stalwart of the old economy, the United States

Postal Service.

Every day, some two million Netflix envelopes come and go as first-class mail. They are

joined by millions of other shipments from online pharmacies, eBay vendors, Amazon.com

and other businesses that did not exist before the Internet.

The eclipse of "snail mail" in the age of instant electronic communication has been

predicted at least as often as the coming of the paperless office. But the consumption

of paper keeps rising. (It has roughly doubled since 1980, with less use of newsprint

and much more of ordinary office paper.) And so, with some nuances and internal

changes, does the flow of material carried by mail. On average, an American

household receives twice as many pieces of mail a day as it did in the 1970's.

"Is the Internet hurting the mails, or helping?" asks Michael J. Critelli, a co-chairman

of the public-private Mail Industry Task Force. "It's doing both." Mr. Critelli's day job

is chief executive of Pitney Bowes - yes, that Pitney Bowes, once known for its postage

meters and now a "mail and document management" company. In the last few years, it

has also functioned as a research group for the mail industry, commissioning a series of

studies, available free at PostInsight.PB.com, that contain startling findings about the

economic, technological and cultural forces that affect use of mail.

The harmful side of the Internet's impact is obvious but statistically less important than

many would guess. People naturally write fewer letters when they can send e-mail

messages.

To leaf through a box of old paper correspondence is to know what has been lost in this

shift: the pretty stamps, the varying look and feel of handwritten and typed correspondence, the tangible object that was once in the sender's hands. To stay in instant touch with parents, children and colleagues around the world is to know what's been gained.

But even before e-mail, personal letters had shrunk to a tiny share of the flow. As a

consultant, Fouad H. Nader, wrote in a Pitney Bowes study, personal mail had "long ago

been reduced to a minimum with the proliferation of telephone services in the last 50 years."

Personal letters of all sorts, called "household to household" correspondence, account

for less than 1 percent of the 100 billion pieces of first-class mail that the Postal Service

handles each year. Most of that personal mail consists of greeting cards, invitations, announcements and other mail with "emotional content," a category that is generally
holding its own.

The same higher-income households that rely the most on e-mail correspondence also

send and receive the most letters. Whatever shrinkage e-mail has caused in personal correspondence, it is not likely to do much more.

The Internet and allied technologies, meanwhile, are increasing the volume of

old-fashioned mail in three ways.

The first follows the Netflix example: Postal Service fulfillment of transactions made
on the Internet. About two million prescriptions a day - roughly one-fifth of the
total - are delivered by first-class mail. EBay's vendors list five million new items
daily, and those that are soldship mainly by mail. One Pitney Bowes study found that
online retailers were increasingly using paper catalogs sent through the mail to steer
people to their sites.

The second force also involves finance. Many studies conclude that people are more and more willing to make payments online, but that they strongly prefer to receive the original bills on paper, by mail.

Since the late 1980's, mail to households from credit card companies has risen about 10

percent a year. Americans' financial lives have become more complicated, in part because

of choices created by the Internet. In turn, banks, telecommunication companies, insurance companies and investment houses send more mail.

Third is the sleeper: the increasing sophistication of the Postal Service's own technology. Everyone takes for granted that FedEx and the United Parcel Service can track the

movement of each item through their systems.

The Postal Service has now installed similar scanning equipment, and in principle it can bar-code and scan every envelope or postcard and know where it is at any time. In reality, it

does this mainly for a fee, for businesses that want to know their material has reached the

right audience at the right time - for instance, the Thursday before a weekend sale at a local store.

In Internet terms, this and related improvements are intended to make advertising mail less like spam - unwanted and discarded - and more like embedded ads, tied to the content of a particular Web site.

"Over time, there is an increasing ability to send you only what's interesting to you, at a time when you're interested in it," Mr. Critelli says. If you have just moved, for example, that may mean mail from your new area's window-cleaning or handyman services. He says response rates to these targeted mailings are better than the dismal rates for the usual direct-mail campaigns.
The most touching artifact among these mail studies is a survey conducted by the Postal

Service and called "The Mail Moment."

"Two-thirds of all consumers do not expect to receive personal mail, but when they do, it

makes their day," it concluded. "This 'hope' keeps them coming back each day." Even in

this age of technology, according to the survey, 55 percent of Americans said they looked forward to discovering what each day's mail might hold.

Now I'll confess my bias. My first real job was at the post office. On the days when I was

paroled from the sorting floor to substitute for an absent letter carrier, I felt as if I was

bringing the "mail moment" to people along the route. It's nice to think that such moments

will survive the Internet.

The New York Times /By JAMES FALLOWS

About Iran’s Nuclear Program

2005-08-20T11:35:00.000+04:30

ran’s leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei reiterated on Friday that Iran
has never pursued a nuclear bomb and that the West is trying to deceive
the world by alleging that Iran wanted the bomb.

Addressing a huge congregation at the Friday prayers, the leader said in their smear
campaign, the US and “regrettably some European countries“ claim they are opposed
to “Iran’s access to nuclear weapons“, IRNA reported.“This is sheer deception and
aimed at misleading the public opinion in their own countries,“ he said.

The leader also urged Europe not to fall into the US trap, as “the US has no goodwill
toward you nor toward Iran“.“For us, the nuclear issue is a scientific-economic issue.
If we complete the course we have quite successfully pursued so far, it would be a
scientific achievement for the country ...
We do not want to deplete our non-renewable energy resources and want to keep
them for the next generations. What they (the West) are doing today is sheer bullying
and the US is behind all this.“Referring to the demand of EU3 (Germany, France and UK)
that Iran create confidence, Ayatollah Khamenei said:
“Our policy is one of negotiations, understanding and promotion of confidence. But this confidence must be mutual. I also tell you (EU3) to do something so we could trust
you ... We are not living in the 19th century.“

The leader stressed that Iran relies on its 70-million-strong nation.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Ayatollah Khamenei said the US is the prime suspect with
regard to Iraqi insecurity and that terrorists were operating under the US eyes there.

“We are deeply upset by the insecurity prevailing in Iraq and the toll it is
taking on the miserable Iraqi people. Killing innocent people is a big crime
and it does not matter who commits the crime. The US machine guns are
guilty and so are those who plant bombs,“ he said, noting that some believe
the killings are being carried out by the US and Zionist intelligence services.

The leader said the Americans are officially interfering in drawing up the Iraqi constitutional
law and said, “What does it have to do with you?“Described the withdrawal of Zionist troops from the Gaza Strip after 38 years of occupation as “a very important event“, Ayatollah Khamenei said, “It is interesting to know that this withdrawal was not a matter of choice. This is a defeat sustained by the Zionist regime and was done out of desperation.“

Ahmadinejad & Journalists

2005-06-26T10:34:00.000+04:30

he president-elect, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad here Sunday encouraged
the journalists to take into view all weaknesses and points of strength
while analyzing the current developments and place special focus on being precise.

Addressing domestic and foreign reporters, the former mayor of the capital city
of Tehran added that during his term in Tehran Municipality, for the first time, the
mass media which had ventured to criticize the administration in charge were supported
and praised.

In response to a question raised by the reporter of the Persian language Qods morning
daily about the concern of investors over the country's future economic situation, he
regretted that during the electoral campaign some media had partially transgressed
the boundary of national interests and have caused worries among certain groups of people.

"One of the major mottos voiced during my electoral campaign, dealt with analysis of the obstacles blocking investment on the national scene.

"We will do our best to lift such obstacles, given the nationwide need for construction and development, which requires proper and healthy investment," he added.

The president-elect announced his full support for stock market, as an investment market,
and stressed that some reforms should be effected in this respect.

"Following the electoral campaign launched for presidential election, the sense of frontiers
were ignored and some ridiculous remarks were voiced on my behalf. The stock market is
an investment tool serving to connect production and investment.

"The public should have access to transparent data associated with stock market and false transactions held behind the curtains should be halted," he added.

In reply to the question posed by the reporter of the Urdu section of BBC radio broadcast
about Iran-Pakistan relations, in particular the recent developments and the country's
nuclear dossier, the president-elect referred to Pakistan as a neighboring, friendly and
brotherly country and said that the two states have been enjoying favorable relations.

Expressing the desire of Iranian nation for the success of the neighboring Pakistan, he
said, "We are determined to continue close cooperation in scientific, political and cultural fields on national, regional and international scenes.

See more photos of Our Elections...

Stanford Rejects 41 Hacker Applicants

2005-06-06T17:08:00.000+04:30

STANFORD, California (AP) - Stanford University's Graduate School
of Business has rejected 41 applicants who tried to access
an admissions Web site earlier this year in hopes
of learning their fate ahead of schedule.

chool officials said the applicants were given the opportunity to explain
why they attempted to gain access to their admissions files before the
date when the university was to tell them if they were admitted.

"At the end of the day, we didn't hear any stories that we thought were
compelling enough to counterbalance the act," said Robert Joss, dean of
the business school.

Admissions sites of at least six schools were accessed by applicants for about
10 hours in early March after a hacker posted instructions in a BusinessWeek
Online forum.
The instructions told people to log onto their admissions Web page and find
their identification numbers in source material that was available on the site.
By plugging those numbers into another Web page address, they were directed
to a page where their admissions decision would be found.

Some applicants saw blank pages and others viewed rejection letters before
access was denied.
Within a week of the incident, Harvard University announced it would reject
119 applicants for following the hacker's instructions and visiting the school's
admissions site. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology followed suit, rejecting 32 applicants.

Stanford had decided not to take action until hearing the applicants' explanations, but
in the end they, too, lost out. The 41 Stanford applicants did not find out their
admissions status at the time, as the university had not posted its decisions
yet, Joss said.
The school admits just 8 percent of those who apply to the business school each year,
so "it's a low probability of getting in anyway," Joss said.

USA Today reporter resigns

2005-05-07T11:33:00.001+04:30

reporter for USA Today resigned Thursday after an internal investigation
found that he used without attribution quotes that had appeared last year
in another newspaper, USA Today said.

Tom Squitieri, who worked for USA Today for 16 years, resigned during a meeting
with editors who had examined his March 28 story on armored Humvees and compared
it with an account from May 7, 2004, in The Indianapolis Star,
USA Today editor Kenneth Paulson said.

Here...

Media freedom: media transformation

2005-05-07T11:33:00.000+04:30

VER the past few years, we celebrated World Press
Freedom (WPF) Day either with a TV broadcast or public
forum accompanied with editorials and the like.

In 2002, UNESCO selected the Philippines as the venue for a three-day
international conference on media and terrorism as well as an occasion
to confer the WPF award to a Zimbabwe media freedom fighter and a
posthumous award to an American journalist who was killed by terrorists.

In addition to representatives of international media organizations and
journalists from various countries, we were also honored at that time
by the visit of the UNESCO Director-General who conferred with
the President and the various officials of the government.

Last Tuesday, the May 3 celebration was marked by a departure from
the usual. The National Union of Journalists in the Philippines (NUJP)
in cooperation with several media organizations, marked the event by
holding a Human Chain for Press Freedom.
Lighting 100 torches, the black-clad participants focused attention
on the wanton killing of journalists in the country.

NUJP Chair Inday Espina-Varona and Carlos H. Conde, Secretary-General,
in their May 3 message stated: "There can be no press freedom if
journalists exist in conditions of fear, poverty, and corruption.

Neither can there be genuine democracy in a country whose citizens
exist under the same conditions. We send a strong message to the
enemies of press freedom: We will not be cowed. We will
not be silenced. You will not steal democracy from
the Filipino people."

Main page...

Cover of festive events on VE-Day in Moscow

2005-05-07T08:33:00.000+04:30

ussian Foreign Ministry’s press service starts issuing ID cards for more
than 4,000 journalists of Russian and foreign mass media accredited to
cover the 60th VE-Day in Moscow.

The first floor of Rossiya Hotel near to the Red Square is appropriated for
the press. Each jotting-down reporter will have a special place with a laptop.
Almost all TV channels will be able to broadcast live from satellite.

Photos shot by ITAR-TASS and RIA Novosti will be available free.
The board will be provided day and night free of charge.

Link here...

Bogus blogs snare fresh victims

2005-04-16T21:10:00.000+04:30

BBC
Cyber criminals are starting to use
fake blogs to snare new victims.

he bogus web journals are being used as traps that infect visitor's
machines with keylogging software or viruses.

Filtering firm Websense said it had found
hundreds of bogus blogs

baited with all kinds of malicious

software to snare the unwary.

Websense warned that the baited blogs
could get past traditional security
measures that try to protect
people from malicious programs.

Hidden harm

The company said blogs were being used
because they inadvertently offered lots of
help to computer criminals.

Blogs are free and simple to use, offer
users lots of storage space, can be used
anonymously and most do not scan
stored files for viruses and other
malicious programs.

Websense said it had seen examples of some computer criminals
creating a legitimate looking weblog, loading it with keylogging
software or viral code, and then sending out the address of it
through instant messenger or spam e-mail.

"These aren't the kind of blog websites that someone would stumble
upon and infect their machine accidentally," said Dan Hubbard,
Websense's research director. "The success of these attacks
relies upon a certain level of social engineering to persuade
the individual to click on the link."
In separate cases some blogs were being used as storage lockers holding
chunks of malicious code that the controller of a network of zombie
machines wants those remotely-controlled computers to use.

In late March, Websense found a fake e-mail message that tried to direct
people to a blog that was hosting keylogging software.
Now it estimates that there could be more than 200 bogus blogs in existence
that are being used to attack net users.

By comparison blog-watching service Technorati estimates that there are
more than 8 million blogs in existence.
Anyone visiting the baited blog and falling victim to the keylogger could
find that they have bank accounts rifled by the phishing gang behind
the bogus website.
Websense warned that viruses hosted on weblogs might be a danger because
they get round the filtering systems many firms have created to ensure
malicious programs do not reach employees.

Users were urged to keep anti-virus and patches up to date, regularly scan
machines with anti-spyware products and exercise caution when reading
unsolicited messages sent via e-mail or instant messenger.

Murdoch Urges Editors to Embrace Internet

2005-04-14T09:12:00.000+04:30

Associated Press

ubert Murdoch urged newspaper editors Wednesday to embrace
the Internet, saying print news executives have "sat by and watched"
as a new generation of digital consumers has turned away from newspapers.

The chief executive of News Corp. cited a recent report commissioned by
the Carnegie Corporation, a philanthropic foundation, showing 44 percent
of 18-to-34-year-olds say they use Web sites at least once a day for news.

He said newspapers must overhaul how they gather and deliver news to
collect the readers and advertising revenue shifting to the Web.

"The trends are against us. Unless we awaken to these changes which
are quite different than those five or six years ago, we will, as an industry,
be relegated to the status of also-rans," Murdoch told the annual meeting
of the American Society of Newspaper Editors.

"We've been slow to react. We've sat by and watched," he said. News Corp. is
the parent company of the New York Post. The global media company also
operates a number of papers in England. When the Web was emerging in
the 1990s Murdoch expressed skepticism about its business prospects.
He referred to himself and other newspaper executives as "digital migrants"
who are too old to have grown up surfing the Net but now must learn to direct
their business toward those who did.

"Just watch your teenage kids," he told the editors. "The challenge for each of us
in this room is to create an Internet presence that is compelling enough that
users make it their home page.
Just as people traditionally started their day with coffee and a newspaper, in
the future I hope that the way they start their day online will be with coffee
and our Web site.

" Murdoch's media empire began with a single Australian newspaper business.
Now headquartered in the United States, News Corp. is the parent of the
20th Century Fox movie studio, Fox television network, Fox News Channel
and other cable channels. In recent years, Murdoch has sought to expand a
satellite business in China, but he voiced doubts Wednesday when asked about
the business climate there.
"There are indications that it's closing up more than opening up," he said, calling

the enterprise "very hard work."
Similar efforts in India have gone much better, he said, even though the

potential market is significantly smaller.

Rubert Murdoch Biography

Diana's paparazzi chasers face retrial

2005-04-14T09:00:00.000+04:30

PARIS: Three photographers who took pictures of
Princess Diana and Dodi al Fayed on the night of
their fatal crash must be retried for breaching
privacy laws, a French court ruled today.

he court annulled a ruling made last September, which acquitted
Jacques Langevin, Christian Martinez and Eric Chassery of breaking
the laws, an offence punishable by up to a year in jail.

Dodi's father, Mohamed al Fayed, had appealed against the
September ruling, which followed an original court acquittal of the
three photographers in November 2003.
Diana, Dodi and chauffeur Henri Paul were killed on August 31, 1997
when their Mercedes car crashed in a tunnel as it sped away from
the Ritz hotel in the French capital with paparazzi photographers
in hot pursuit on motorbikes.

The photographers took pictures of the couple as they lay in their
crumpled Mercedes, as well

as taking shots of them before

the crash as they left the Ritz.
The earlier rulings said the photos

did not breach privacy because
no "intimate gestures" were caught

on camera and because the pictures

had not made a secret liaison public.

France's Cour de Cassation, which

decides whether an appeals court
decision conforms to the law, said

on Wednesday these points had
to be reviewed, with the new trial

only focusing on the photos taken
at the scene of the accident, not

the hotel.

An inquiry by French authorities in

1999 ruled that the crash was caused
by Paul being drunk and driving too fast.
But the circumstances of the crash still

cause controversy.

Al Fayed, owner of London store Harrods,

wants the paparazzi punished and has

said he believes his son and Diana were

murdered by British secret services

because their relationship was

embarrassing the royal household.

John Stevens, a retired senior British police officer is investigating allegations
Diana's death was not an accident at the request of Britain's Royal Coroner
Michael Burgess.

Diana's marriage to Britain's heir to the throne Prince Charles brok down

in 1992 and ended in divorce. Charles married his long time lover

Camilla Parker Bowles last Saturday.

More photos of Diana...

Music

1961-1997 & more links:

From Time online...

Hands Off the Web, Bloggers and Lawmakers Say

2005-04-02T08:09:00.000+04:30

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Internet bloggers should

enjoy traditional press freedoms and not face regulation

as political groups, lawmakers and online journalists said on Friday.

n separate letters, Democratic lawmakers and Internet commentators urged

the Federal Election Commission to make sure that political Web sites that serve

as focal points for political discussion, like Wonkette.com and Freerepublic.com,

don't have to comply with campaign-finance rules.
"Curtailing blogs and other online publications will dampen the impact of new

voices in the political process and will do a disservice to the millions of voters

who rely on the Web for original, insightful political commentary," said the

Online Coalition, a group of bloggers and online activists.

Fourteen members of the U.S. House of Representatives said blogs foster a

welcome diversity of viewpoints.

"This 'democratization' of the media is a welcome development in this era of

media consolidation and a corresponding lack of diversity of views in

traditional media outlets," said the group, which consists of thirteen Democrats

and one Republican.

The FEC ruled in 2002 that Internet activities do not count as "coordinated

political activity" and thus don't have to comply with laws that regulate money

in politics.
But a U.S. judge struck down that ruling as too broad last year, and the FEC is

scheduled to consider it later this month.

If the FEC determines that online "blogs" are in fact political organizations, they

could face fines if they work too closely with political campaigns by, for example,

reprinting their press releases.
FEC spokesman Bob Biersack said the commission would try to craft its new rule

as narrowly as possible.
"The Commission has tried very hard for a long time to be as limited in its

regulation of Internet activity as it possibly could, so there's no reason to

assume that that basic orientation doesn't continue," he said.

Subversion Charge

2005-03-26T10:02:00.000+04:30

China 25 March 2005

Journalist and cyber-dissident Zheng Yichun held on subversion charge.

eporters Without Borders today condemned the detention of dissident
jourlist Zheng Yichun, whose arrest on 3 December for writing articles
for publications and websites based abroad has only just emerged.

Zheng, who faces a heavy sentence on a charge of "subverting state power,"
is one of five dissident journalists to be arrested in the past four months,
along with Zhang Lin, Shi Tao, Yang Tianshui and Li Boguang.

Reporters Without Borders said it was outraged by Zheng's arrest and the
subversion charge, as his only crime was to express his views in articles
published abroad. "This wave of arrests of dissident journalists confirms
the virulence of the government's current campaign against liberal ideas
and intellectuals," the organization said, calling for Zheng's release.

Following his arrest by the Public Security Bureau on 3 December in
Yingkou in the northeastern province of Liaoning, Zheng was initially held
in a hotel. He was transferred to Panjin's No.1 prison, in the same province,
on 20 December. His lawyer, Li Ming-Chang, has been able to see him since
his arrest.

His family was notified of the subversion charge by the Yingkou prosecutor's
office on 31 December. Relatives were warned that there would be reprisals
if they informed the press or human rights organizations about his arrest.
They only decided to talk about after his arrest was reported in a Yingkou
daily newspaper on 24 February.

The Independent Chinese PEN Centre (ICPC) has learned that the prosecutor's
office is citing 63 of Zheng's articles as evidence for the charges against him.
They were among 300 articles which the police confiscated from his home.

Aged 48 and a member for the Korean minority, Zheng has had four collections
of poems published in addition to some 200 political essays. Dozens of his
articles have recently been published in newspapers such as Da Ji Yuan
(Epoch Times) and websites such as Boxun and Min Zhu Lun Tan
(Democratic Forum), which are all based abroad. Prior to his arrest,
Zheng was also an English teacher at Liaoning university.

Best blogs on the web honoured

2005-03-18T21:02:00.000+03:30

The best of the web's blogs - online diaries or websites

where people publish their thoughts - have been

recognised in the annual Bloggies.

oing Boing: A Directory of Wonderful

Things took the top overall blog prize.

BBC NEWS: The prize for the best British

blog and the lifetime achievement award

went to plasticBag.org, a site dedicated

to musings about people and new media.

The winners from 30 categories were

announced at the SXSW Interactive

Festival in Texas, US.

Boing Boing is written by Cory Doctorow,

Xeni Jardin, Mark Frauenfelder, and

David Pescovitz, and started life five years

ago as a paper-based magazine.

"We honestly didn't expect this, and we are deeply moved and grateful," Boing Boing's

Xeni Jardin said on the site.

"There were many other deserving blogs up for awards, backed by talented folks who

work very hard, and we raise our collective pirate-eye-patches in their honour."

Blogs have been highlighted as a growing trend amongst net users over the

last 18 months.

Most are easy and free to set up, require little technical knowledge. Many are blurring

the line between journalism and online commentary.

Gossip and politics

Gawker Media, a blog publishing house, and Dooce, written by one of the first people

to be fired for writing a blog, dominated the annual awards, picking up four prizes each.

Heather Armstrong, a web designer, gained notoriety when she was fired from her job

for what she had written on her blog about her workplace and colleagues.

She helped coin the phrase "dooced", which means to be sacked because of a weblog's

content.

Her site ended the night as the best US, most humorous, best taglined, and

best-written blog.

Gawker Media, which runs several

high-profile blog sites, won best

entertainment blog for Defamer,

a gossip site.

It also picked up the award for best

technology blog, which was handed

to Gizmodo. Gawker's Wonkette

blog was also named best political blog.

The site rewarded for its "community"

efforts was technology blog Slashdot.

Flick, the photo sharing and community

site which lets people upload, tag, share and publish their images to blogs, won

recognition for the best "meme" - a "replicating idea that spread about weblogs".

The organiser of the Bloggies, Nikolai Nolan, said there had been a lot more new finalists

this year. Several entries reflected specific news events, like the Asian tsunami.

Blogs had a big year last year, with a top US dictionary

naming "blog" word of 2004.

Technorati, a blog search engine, tracks more than seven million blogs and says that

more than 12,000 are added daily.

But a recent Gallup survey revealed that only one in four Americans were either very

familiar or somewhat familiar with blogs.

More than half, 56%, said they had no knowledge of them. Among internet users, only

32% said they were very or somewhat familiar with them.
Blogs in the annual Bloggies are chosen and voted for by the public.

7-Megapixel Camera Phone

2005-03-14T08:10:00.000+03:30

Samsung Elec Unveils 7-Megapixel Camera Phone

amsung Electronics Co. Ltd. unveiled the world's first mobile phone

with a powerful 7-megapixel camera on Wednesday, providing a potential

competitive threat to manufacturers of digital cameras.

Samsung has been stepping up development of increasingly sophisticated

phones for high-end users looking to access games, music and movies on

their handsets. It launched the world's first 5-megapixel phone in October.

But while top digital camera makers such as Japan's Canon Inc. and

Sony Corp. are likely to see the model as a new threat, its popularity may

depend on how much of an improvement the camera can deliver over

existing units.
There is a growing consensus among consumers that 3 or 4 megapixels,

the measure of how many million picture elements are captured in a digital

snapshot, are enough for a decent shot.Some of the best-selling digital

cameras feature 4 or 5 megapixels.

The new phone, which also has an MP3 player and business card reader,

would go on sale as early as the first half, though a price had yet to be set,

Samsung said in a statement.Samsung aims to sell 100 million mobile phones

this year, up 16 percent from 86 million sold last year.

The SCH-V770 phone will make its international debut at CeBIT, the world's

biggest tech and telecoms trade show, in Hanover, Germany on Thursday.

Shares in Samsung, Asia's most valuable technology company with a market

value of $81 billion, ended down 0.4 percent at 500,000 won, versus a 0.85

percent rise in the broader market.

Israel Plans To Hit Natanz Plant

2005-03-14T08:03:00.000+03:30

Authorized by Sharon:
Israel Plans To Hit Natanz Plant

ONDON, March 13--Israel has drawn up plans for a combined air

and ground attack on Iranian nuclear installations if diplomacy fails

to halt Tehran's atomic program, London's Sunday Times said.

The newspaper said Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and

his inner cabinet had given "initial authorization" for a unilateral

attack on Iran at a private meeting last month, Reuters reported.

US officials have indicated they would not stand in Israel's way if

international diplomatic efforts to halt Iran's nuclear projects fail,

the paper said.

Tehran, which does not recognize the Jewish state, says its nuclear

activities are aimed only at electricity generation but Washington and

the European Union suspect Iran could use its program to make atomic

bombs.

The Sunday Times said Israeli tactics included raids by elite commando

units and air strikes by F-15 jets using bunker-busting bombs to

penetrate underground facilities.

It said Israeli forces had been simulating attacks on a mock-up of

Iran's Natanz uranium enrichment plant in the last few months.

Israel, which says Iran is very close to being able to make a nuclear

bomb, played down the report.

Asked if there was a possibility that Israel could attack Iranian nuclear

installations, Vice Premier Shimon Peres said: "I don't think so."Israel

is believed to be the only country in the region with nuclear weapons,

though it has not confirmed or denied their existence.Israeli warplanes

bombed Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor in a daring raid in 1981 to prevent

it from making atomic bombs.Tehran says it is prepared to confront any

threats and that it would protect its nuclear sites.

"We will defend our nuclear sites with all our strength and we are ready

to ward off any possible aggression," Iranian Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani

told the semi-official ISNA students news agency on Saturday.

More from The Sunday Times ...

International Women's Day

2005-03-08T01:56:00.000+03:30

More...

International Women's Day

Woman's Day Magazine

Full History

Global Events

In Wikipedia

And more, in Google search, here...

Photos From TIME

Media hid BTK clues from public

2005-03-04T20:27:00.000+03:30

ICHITA, Kan. -- From the day the news

broke of BTK's existence more than 30 years ago,

the media have played a key role in the investigation.

Journalists passed on communications from the serial killer

to authorities, often honoring police requests to suppress

information. They served as a mouthpiece for BTK.

Now that a suspect has been charged, some of those same journalists

are examining the choices they made.

"I have regrets for holding things back," said Hurst Laviana, a

staff writer at The Wichita Eagle newspaper. His story about

the anniversary of the killings has been cited as the reason

the killer resurfaced after a quarter-century of silence.

BTK stands for bind, torture, kill.

"I wonder now whether we did the right thing, of editing the

evidence," Laviana said. "Would the police have been able

to find a suspect sooner? Did we do the public a disservice?"

This week, the Eagle and KAKE-TV, a local ABC affiliate, disclosed

communications they had kept hidden. The evidence the killer

sent to news outlets included a doll with a bag over its head and

its hands tied behind its back, postcards that seemed to refer

to packages from the killer, and a puzzle filled with clues

to his identity.

See more from Chicago Tribune here...

See Slideshow and all about BTK from YAHOO!...

Visit Photo Gallery and BTK full story...

France’s ban Sahar 1 TV

2005-03-01T00:40:00.000+03:30

he French government has violated all human rights conventions

by banning the Iranian television network Sahar-1 from broadcasting

in France, the director of the Iraq Information Dissemination Center,

Nazar Heydar, said on Monday.

more...

Eastwood's Baby scoops top Oscars

2005-03-01T00:27:00.000+03:30

lint Eastwood's Million Dollar

Baby beat Martin Scorsese's

The Aviator to the top awards at

the Oscars on Sunday...

More...

Eastwood's Baby scoops top Oscars

2005-03-01T00:20:00.000+03:30

The boxing drama was named best picture and
Eastwood pipped Scorsese to best director,
while its stars Hilary Swank and Morgan Freeman won acting awards.

The Aviator took five prizes including best

supporting actress for Cate Blanchett.

The biopic of Howard Hughes led

the nominations with 11.

Jamie Foxx picked up best actor for playing

soul star Ray Charles in Ray.

Many expected this to be Scorsese's year -

but he was unsuccessful in the best director

category for the fifth time in his career.
He has never won despite being nominated

for such films as Raging Bull and Goodfellas.

Instead, Eastwood took his second Oscar for

best director after winning for Unforgiven

in 1993.
"It was a wonderful adventure," Eastwood

said. "To make a picture in 37 days, it takes

a well oiled machine. I am lucky to be here
and lucky to be still working. I've got a lot

of stuff to do yet."

Hilary Swank picked up her second best

actress Oscar for playing a female boxer in

Million Dollar Baby, beating stars including

Annette Bening, Kate Winslet and

Imelda Staunton.
"I don't know what I did in this life to deserve

this," she told the audience. "I'm just a girl

from a trailer park who had a dream."

Morgan Freeman beat actors including

Clive Owen, Jamie Foxx and Alan Alda to

the prize for best supporting actor.

He thanked Eastwood and described

the film as "a labour of love".

This was the fourth nomination of his

career but his first win. Backstage, he said:

"A lot of people say you're due - maybe you

are, maybe you aren't - it's an accolade."

Million Dollar Baby's success was the night's

biggest surprise after The Aviator seemed to

have the advantage until
the end of the ceremony.

Cate Blanchett, who won for playing late

screen legend Katharine Hepburn in

The Aviator, said her award was "an

indescribable surprise and honour".
Of Hepburn, she said: "The longevity of

her career is inspiring to everyone."
Blanchett also paid tribute to the film's

director Martin Scorsese, telling him:

"I hope my son will marry your daughter."

The Aviator's other awards came for

cinematography, film editing, art direction

and costume design.

And Jamie Foxx, who had two nominations

this year, paid tribute to the "beautiful legacy"

of soul legend Ray Charles, who died last year,

and thanked director Taylor Hackford.

"You took a chance, man," he said. "That love

for Ray Charles was deep down in the earth

somewhere and you opened it up.
"Everybody's drowning in this love. Thank you

for taking a chance and thank you for waiting

15 years to get me to do it."
He broke down in tears when speaking about

being whipped by his grandmother, whom he

described as his first acting teacher, when he

was young.

In other awards, cartoon hit

The Incredibles won best

animated feature and best

sound editing.

Bittersweet comedy Sideways

won best adapted screenplay

while the original screenplay

prize went toEternal Sunshine

of the Spotless Mind.

Born into Brothels, about

the children of

prostitutes in Calcutta, was

named best documentary,

The Sea Inside was named

best foreign language film

and Finding Neverland got

the accolade for

best musical score.

Spider-Man 2 triumphed in

the visual effects category,

Ray won best sound mixing

and Lemony Snicket's A

Series of Unfortunate

Events picked up

best make-up.

Former British TV presenter

Andrea Arnold, who hosted

children's shows Motormouth

and Number 73 in the 1980s,

won best short film

for Wasp.

Comedian Chris Rock, who

hosted the ceremonyfor the

first time, received a standing

ovation before getting the

show under way.

Quake Survivors Complain of Slow Aid Effort

2005-02-25T11:09:00.000+03:30

ZARAND (Reuters) - Tired and cold survivors

of a powerful earthquake in southeastern Iran

begged authorities for food and shelter on Wednesday,

complaining aid was slow to reach the worst-hit

mountain villages.

Iran has so far declined offers of foreign assistance to deal with the

aftermath of Tuesday's tremor which had a magnitude of 6.4 and

killed at least 420 people.

Hardest hit were about a dozen villages to the north of the town

of Zarand, where fragile one-storey homes collapsed into piles of

mud and broken tiles.

The tremor came just 14 months after a devastating quake hit the

desert citadel city of Bam, in the same province, killing 31,000 people.

Some 900 were injured in Tuesday's quake, about 700 km southeast

of Tehran, and the death toll was expected to rise.

Reuters journalists witnessed a few dozen angry villagers on a high

mountain road, some brandishing sticks and stones, besiege a convoy

of vehicles, one of which carried Interior Minister Abdolvahed Mousavi-Lari

as he toured the affected area.

"We spent the night in the cold. Where is the aid you're talking about on

television?" shouted one middle-aged man as the villagers banged on the

windows and roofs of the vehicles.

"My children are freezing to death. You want to kill the survivors of the

earthquake," a woman shouted hysterically, clutching a rock.

Police dispersed the crowd, some of whom had tried to block the convoy's

passage by lying in front of the vehicles.

But aid workers acknowledged the relief effort was still slow and patchy.

RAIN AND FOG

"The aid which has been distributed is tents. We're trying to establish

some camps here. We haven't distributed food or blankets yet," said

Red Crescent medic Farhad Fathizadeh.

"We're sorry we haven't been able to help people much but we're

trying to prepare ourselves for tonight," he said.

In the village of Houdkan, shrouded in fog about 30 km from Zarand,

dozens of green and white tents dotted the hillside, many containing

two or three families.

Groups clustered around bonfires trying to warm themselves under

an intermittent drizzle.

Virtually no building was left standing and those that were had been

deserted for fear they could come crashing down at any moment.

Black banners draped on the remaining walls announced the names

of the dead.

Some 20 aftershocks, with a magnitude of up to 4.6, shook the area

on Tuesday, the ISNA students news agency said.

Locals said many of those killed in Houdkan, one of the two most

badly damaged villages in the region, had died while at early morning

prayers in the mosque.

Kerman province Governor Mohammad Ali Karimi told local radio

almost all the affected villages had received tents, blankets and food.

He said search and rescue operations, hampered by poor weather and

difficult terrain on Tuesday, would be wound up by noon on Wednesday.

Iran's relief efforts were broadly praised on Tuesday by various

UN agencies who said local authorities, backed by the Red Crescent,

had responded quickly and effectively, employing the lessons learned

from the Bam quake.

Quake News

2005-02-23T19:29:00.000+03:30

Mehr News Agency:

Quake News (8)

Strong quake hits Zarand, hundreds dead

Latest Photos of Zarand Quake

2005-02-23T19:11:00.000+03:30

See latest photos in my Photoblog...

Quake News

2005-02-22T21:32:00.000+03:30

Mehr News Agency:

Quake News (7)

20 villages completely destroyed by Zarand quake

Quake News (6)

Death toll on the rise, situation under control

Quake News (5)

At least 230 people killed in earthquake: local official

Quake News (4)

Quake victims need medicine, RCS help

Quake News (3)

Some villages are 100% destroyed; number of casualties
will pass thousands

Quake News (2)

Earthquake victims in dire need of blood

Quake News (1)

Rescue dogs sent to Zarand

Iran Quake Toll Nears 400

2005-02-22T13:44:00.000+03:30

(CNN)-- The death toll from a
magnitude 6.4 earthquake rose
to almost 400 Tuesday in central Iran
as rescuers searched for survivors
in the rubble of flattened buildings...

Wartime Heroics

2005-02-22T13:37:00.000+03:30

As the city of Basra was bombed by night (left), Iraqi librarian

Alia Muhammad Baker was busy driving library books to her home

to protect them (right). Author/illustrator Jeanette Winter drew

images of what she imagined such scenes must have looked like to

illustrate her book 'The Librarian of Basra: A True Story from Iraq."

The tale of the Iraqi librarian who saved the books she loves

By Karen Campbell . Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

Of all the children's books about the good one person can do, few are

more timely or resonant than Jeanette Winter's "The Librarian of

Basra: A True Story from Iraq."

The true account of an Iraqi librarian's brave struggle to save her

community's priceless collection of books dramatically illustrates

the difference one person can make. And in a moving parallel, the

author is now leaving her own indelible footprints at the point

where the story ends.

The book was inspired by a July 2003, article in The New York Times

about Alia Muhammad Baker, the chief librarian of Basra's Central

Library, who was determined to protect the library's holdings when

US troops entered Iraq and fighting and looting broke out.

When her own government refused to help, Ms. Baker began spiriting

the collection to safety herself, book by book. She carried the books to

her home and to a neighboring restaurant, managing with the help of

friends to preserve 70 percent of the collection before the historic

building burned to the ground nine days later.

In the article, Baker remarked "In the Koran, the first thing God said

to Muhammad was 'Read.' " Winter, who has written biographies for

children, was hooked. "What Alia realized was that without books, you

lose history, culture, the rich exchange of ideas," she says.

More...

My Photoblog is Opening

2005-02-21T10:09:00.000+03:30

My Photoblog is Opening.

Rumors of military attack

2005-02-17T21:36:00.000+03:30

The governor general of Deylam on Wednesday strongly rejected
rumors that there had been a military attack against the city
in the southern province of Bushehr.
However, he told the Mehr News Agency that an explosion did
occur in the hills around Deylam.
An official from the Governor General’s Office also confirmed
that there was a huge explosion on Wednesday in Deylam.

Local officials believe the incident may have been caused by
an accident at one of the oil installations surrounding the city.

According to some reports, the sound of an airplane was also heard
at the time of the explosion.

Iranian Cleric Blogs for Free Expression

2005-02-17T21:28:00.000+03:30

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Blogging might not sound an appropriate
hobby for a senior Iranian government official, particularly one
who is a Muslim cleric.
But presidential adviser Mohammad Ali Abthai has turned the
practice of writing Internet journals, or blogging, into a powerful
tool against the reformist government's hardline foes and a means
to reach out to the country's disenchanted youth.

More...

New Web Site for Education Journalism

2005-02-15T07:46:00.000+03:30

New Web Site for Academics Roils Education Journalism

Scott Jaschik and Doug Lederman had covered higher education for years but on May 30, 2003, they found out that - in journalism - there's no such thing as tenure.
On that day, both Mr. Jaschik and Mr. Lederman, the editor and managing editor of The Chronicle of Higher Education, announced they were leaving the paper, where they had both worked for nearly 20 years. They did not explain why.

But now they are back on the beat, competing through a start-up with their former employer. Mr. Jaschik and Mr. Lederman, along with Kathlene Collins, who worked at The Chronicle for 20 years, introduced last month an online publication, insidehighered.com. In doing so, Mr. Jaschik and Mr. Lederman, who are both editors, and Ms. Collins, who is the publisher, are trying to become the first significant competition in higher education publishing since the intellectual-if-gossipy Lingua Franca folded in 2001.
The Chronicle of Higher Education has long been the giant in the field. Founded in 1966 by Corbin Gwaltney, a former editor at Johns Hopkins University who still owns the publication, it quickly established itself as a must-read for college administrators and faculty. The Chronicle now has a print circulation of just over 85,000 and its Web site gets more than 10 million page views per month.

Along the way, The Chronicle also earned a reputation for being stodgy and resistant to change. Jeffrey Kittay, the founder of Lingua Franca, now an adjunct professor at the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University, says that The Chronicle regards itself as the paper of record in higher education, and that makes it an easy target.
"They fulfill a need," he said. "They aren't lazy; they've taken on a lot of responsibility. But they see themselves with certain constraints, that's why you get this love-hate relationship."

When Mr. Jaschik and Mr. Lederman saw their relationship with The Chronicle end in 2003, there was speculation among the remaining staff that they had been forced out over differences with Mr. Gwaltney. Both Mr. Jaschik and Mr. Lederman are circumspect when asked about their departure from The Chronicle.

"We had come to the conclusion that we and The Chronicle's owner had different visions about what the publication and company should be," said Mr. Lederman. Mr. Gwaltney was traveling and could not be reached for comment. Phil Semas, the editor in chief of The Chronicle, would only say, "We reached a mutual agreement they should leave."
Some of that different vision will be on display on insidehighered.com. The site features news and opinion pieces, plus links to many of the blogs about academia that thrive on the Web. "The impact of the blogs on higher education is huge," said Ms. Collins.

And, in contrast to The Chronicle, which is a print publication that publishes its content online, insidehighered.com is an online-only publication. The three founders all cite the desire for their site to be as easily accessible and democratic as possible. Insidehighered.com is free, with no registration required; access to most of The Chronicle's articles requires a password that can only be obtained with a print subscription, which costs $82.50 a year.

"A big part of our model is to try and reach everyone in higher ed - it means that everyone can be part of the conversation," said Mr. Jaschik. "We want grad students, young professors, people at institutions without a lot of money, in addition to people at wealthier institutions and senior administrators."

Scott McLemee, who worked at Lingua Franca and then at The Chronicle and has been hired to write a column for insidehighered.com, said he thought there was a big market in higher education that was not being served by The Chronicle.
"The Chronicle was traditionally oriented towards the administration - there was a brief period where it tried to reach a larger constituency, and then it retrenched," said Mr. McLemee. "They have no particular interest in reaching anyone else." It is still too early to know how much of the market insidehighered.com can capture. According to an estimate in the September 2004 Advertising Age, The Chronicle grossed $33 million in advertising revenues and $7 million in circulation revenues in 2003, although its total number of advertising pages for the year, 3,169, was down 14 percent from 2002.
Some of that ad revenue comes from recruitment advertising, and it is there that insidehighered.com and other well-established recruitment sites such as higheredjobs.com could pose a challenge to The Chronicle.

Within a couple of weeks, insidehighered.com plans to add a job search database, including some innovative features, like a searchable database of résumés and recommendations for applicants, that Ms. Collins says will facilitate the labyrinthine academic hiring process. "We are part of the entire recruiting process, not just that first step of posting the job," said Ms. Collins.
Mr. Semas of The Chronicle said that there was much on The Chronicle's site that was free, including the job search database and some of the chat forums. He also said that he was not alarmed by the new competition.

"We think that we already do a good job of covering higher education both in print and online, and provide a very popular job service for people in higher education, and we've been doing it since 1966."

From New York Times.By LIA MILLER

Happy Valentine's Day

2005-02-13T17:12:00.000+03:30

Google Maps is openinig

2005-02-13T15:44:00.000+03:30

Google just released a new type of search machine, their map searcher.

Google Maps is an online service that allows users in the U.S. to find location information, navigate through maps, and get directions quickly and easily.

Google Maps has several unique features:Draggable maps – you can click and drag Google maps to view adjacent sections; no more long waits while new areas download. Integrated Local search results – Google Maps integrates local search results from Google Local. So to find a pizza place, simply type in "pizza in San Jose", and pizza places appear at various locations on your map, with phone numbers for each location on the right side of the page.

Turn-by-turn directions – Type in an address and Google Maps plots the route for you, displaying it visually on the map itself, together with step-by-step directions for getting there (or back from there). When you click on one of these steps (say, "turn left"), you see a floating bubble with a magnified view of the area mentioned in the directions. Keyboard shortcuts – You can use arrow keys to pan left, right, up and down. The Page Up, Page Down, Home and End keys let you pan out even wider. And you can zoom in with the plus (+) key and zoom out with the minus (-) key.

click here

The World Press Photo of the Year 2004

2005-02-13T01:18:00.000+03:30

The international jury of the 48th annual World Press Photo contest

selected a color image of the Indian photographer Arko Datta of Reuters

as World Press Photo of the Year 2004.

The picture shows an Indian woman mourning the death of a relative who

was killed in the Asian tsunami catastrophe.The picture was taken in

Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu, on 28 December 2004.

For mor information click on this photo.

For visit winners names of this contest, click here.

Weblogging: A Tool for Feminine Expression

2005-02-07T20:05:00.000+03:30

Women who write weblogs have all one thing in common:
they want to express themselves more freely, share their
intimate moments and portray their concerns, thoughts
and lives as they are.

A large number of women from different age groups,

social classes, and with

different educational
backgrounds and

attitudes have registered

weblogs in
their names. They are no

longer willing to adopt
silence in the virtual

cyber world, providing

the others with a chance to talk about their feelings
and desires, the Farsi newspaper Iran wrote.

Hamid Mortazavi, a psychiatrist, says women use
weblogs as a tool to express their viewpoints and
exchange opinions. "Perhaps these women, driven by
the male-chauvinist atmosphere and absence of
gender equality in our country, are trying to use
weblogs to narrow the gap. Women writing weblogs
on the Internet have grown more individualist and
extrovert compared to the previous generation.

They speak more openly of their real private lives
than did their mothers and grandmothers,Ó he opined.

A male weblogger, whose identity was not disclosed,
believes this is the first time women are able to
voice their opinions on a variety of subjects for
a public audience freely.
"This is not an insignificant minor event, especially
in a country wherein women have always been told to
hide their femininity, hold back their feelings and
express themselves through another person--usually a
man," he commented.

For see more, click on photo

Google rummages through TV shows

2005-01-31T01:34:00.000+03:30

Google announced yesterday that the company is currently testing

a prototype service used to search TV programming.The engine

dubbed "Google Video" allows users to search across text from

TV shows like Fox News and ABC News.

Google started indexing TV shows in late December aiming to

compete with various other TV search providers.

"Now users can search the content of thousands of TV programs,

find the shows that have the information they're looking for, and

learn when they can watch them," Google co-founder Larry Page

said in a statement.Currently, providers of TV search like Yahoo!

and Blinkx TV are said to be stepping up their technology after the

Google announcement.

For start your first search, click on photo

WindowsXP Professional x64 RC1 Available

2005-01-31T01:29:00.000+03:30

Windows XP Professional x64 Edition is designed to address

the most demanding business needs of technical workstation

users who require large amounts of memory and floating point

performance in areas such as mechanical design and analysis,

digital content creation, and scientific and high-performance

computing applications.

Note: The Windows XP Professional x64 Edition - CD will not

be available until approximately late February. If you prefer to

not wait for the CD version, you are welcome to continue to

process your order for the download version.

Download: WindowsXP Professional x64 RC1

THE EARTH QUAKE

2005-01-31T01:20:00.000+03:30

The Earth Quake Experience

Model of the Kaaba

2005-01-26T01:02:00.001+03:30

Iranian women circle a model of the Kaaba, Muslims' holiest site in
Makkah city in Saudi Arabia, as part of a performance during the
opening ceremony of the 1st Women's Games of the Capitals of
Islamic and Asian Countries, in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Jan. 23, 2005.
(AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

The Muslim Women's Games

2005-01-24T19:38:00.000+03:30

Tehran-About 600 women from 17 countries will participate in the
All-Women's Games for Muslim and Asian Capitals.
Men will be barred from watching all but one of the events.

For more pictures : Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3

Please click on above photo

World Art and Worship Photo Exhibition

2005-01-18T19:56:00.000+03:30

World Art and Worship Photo Exhibition to open tomorrow in Tehran.

TEHRAN, Jan. 18 (Mehr News Agency) -- The World Art and Worship Photo Exhibition is to open at the Niavaran Artistic Creations Foundation

in Tehran tomorrow.
The exhibition will be displaying the 175 entries of Iranian and foreign photographers

to the World Art and Worship Awards, which will be presented on

January 26 at Vahdat Hall in Tehran. The exhibition will run until February 6.

On the sidelines of the event, the A’iney-e Shahr Gallery will be hosting an

exhibition of works on the theme of worship by famous international photographers.

In addition, French-based Iranian photographer Alfred Yaghoubzadeh is scheduled

to hold several workshops during the exhibition.

The World Art and Worship Awards is being sponsored by the Iranian Ministry

of Culture and Islamic Guidance.

Lawmakers Studying Dress Code Bill

2005-01-18T19:40:00.000+03:30

TEHRAN, Jan. 17--Chairman of Majlis Cultural Commission has rejected the inconsistent ideas about national dress code which have appeared in a section of the press, saying that the draft of the related bill has been made available to the commission members.In an interview with Fars news agency, Emad Afrough said, "We will seek the people's as well as the experts' views about the draft.

"The draft bill on national dress code, which was compiled by Majlis Research Center, enjoys an acceptable framework and the MPs will review it after the commissioners complete their studies, he said.
Afrough further noted that once the bill becomes a law, the government will be obliged to design a dress to safeguard Islamic Iran's cultural identity, promote national dress models, supply clothes designed on the basis of domestic models to encourage people to shun western fashions and those which are incompatible with Iranian culture and national identity.

For more, click on photo

LeapFrog unveils talking computer pen

2005-01-15T01:32:00.000+03:30

N EW YORK (Reuters) - LeapFrog Enterprises Inc. announced the launch of

its FLY "pentop computer," a talking, computerized pen that can translate

words into other languages, or help with math and spelling homework.
LeapFrog said the product will give users audio feedback as they write and

draw on special FLY paper.

For instance, the company said a user can draw a calculator, touch the

handwritten digits and functions to perform an operation, and then hear the

answers announced.

LeapFrog said a group of children aged 8 to 13 helped to develop the product,

and it will offer a range of applications for learning, communicating and playing.

Emeryville, California-based LeapFrog has been plagued by weak sales and

earnings misses, and recently said it relied too heavily on its LeapPad business.

The past year has hurt investor confidence in the company and it has made

sweeping changes to its management team.
LeapFrog had been a Wall Street star since its 2002 initial public offering, but a

string of dismal reports from the company hurt its credibility with investors, and

its shares have taken a beating since October.

LeapPad is a junior-sized laptop system that holds interactive workbooks that

teach skills like reading and math. The company makes educational toys for

children from infants to high school students, but its focus has been on younger

children. The company has said it wants to expand its product lines for older

children and develop learning aids for adults.From here

About the published geographic atlas by NGS : 7

2005-01-15T01:20:00.000+03:30

Correction of unbelievable mistake of National Geography by that Institute was the important news of the past week.

If remember, by reviewing the historical documents in this Site in a summarized and useful manner, I pointed out a published atlas which used false Arabian Gulf under the name of Persian Gulf Now they have only corrected it.

Do you know that they were only going to run away the pressure of its shame and damages? You ask why? Because they have made this correction too in a formalism way.

There is an integrated page in that site which is not possible to access via any part of the site. This is one of the public pages of the site. As I said it is integrated namely has no active link and it is not possible to use it as a news or informing link.

After the mistake of applying Arabian Gulf, which destroyed its good previous efforts at least among Iranians, it was really the last confirmation for the existence of not so hidden hands and seems it is not going to be correctable.
Anyhow, all interests of the Institute affected in Iran and the entrance of its monthly magazine as well as its correspondents were prevented.

However, the protests of all Iranian classes including cinema actors, film-makers, musicians and others have not enlightened Mr. Allen Carroll and his colleagues.

It seems that I must write another letter to him. Wait.

Color texts, is link.

Please visit Fallujah Pictures blog

2005-01-09T21:00:00.000+03:30

For more pictures, please click on this photo :

Please insert your comments.

French journalist missing in Iraq

2005-01-07T23:46:00.000+03:30

A journalist for the French daily Liberation has gone missing in Baghdad along with her Iraqi translator, the newspaper said.

"We have had no news from Florence Aubenas in over 24 hours," nor of her assistant, Hussein Hanoun Al-Saadi, the Paris-based paper said.

She and Saadi left their Baghdad hotel early on Wednesday but did not return and have not been seen since, it added...

More from ABC NEWS ONLINE

Ragnar Ericsson

2005-01-06T16:57:00.000+03:30

Anders Ericsson still remembers the last words his 2-year-old son, Ragnar, spoke before being washed away in the waves of Thailand's tsunami.

"Daddy, I'm scared. Please help."

Ericsson's voice breaks as he tells of the tragedy.

He is among many anguished parents searching for their children after the earthquake-triggered tsunamis swept through coastal communities from Thailand to East Africa on December 26, killing more than 155,000 people.

For more about him,Please click on photo...

Picture Galleries and many Organizations helping for Tsunami

2005-01-05T17:36:00.000+03:30

Action Against Hunger

247 West 37th Street, Suite 1201

New York, N.Y. 10018

212-967-7800 x108

http://www.actionagainsthunger.org/

AJJDC

American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee

South Asia Tsunami Relief

Box 321

847A Second Avenue

New York, N.Y. 10017

212-687-6200 ext. 851

http://www.jdc.org/

AmeriCares

88 Hamilton Ave

Stamford, CT 06902

800-486-4357

http://www.americares.org/

American Jewish World Service

45 West 36th Street, 10th Floor

New York, N.Y. 10018

800-889-7146

http://www.ajws.org/

American Friends Service Committee

AFSC Crisis Fund

1501 Cherry Street

Philadelphia, Pa. 19102

215-241-7000

http://www.afsc.org/

American Red Cross

International Response Fund

P.O. Box 37243

Washington, D.C. 20013

800-HELP NOW

http://www.redcross.org/

Catholic Relief Services

Tsunami Emergency

P.O. Box 17090

Baltimore, Md. 21203-7090

800-736-3467

http://www.catholicrelief.org/

Direct Relief International

27 South La Patera Lane

Santa Barbara, Calif. 93117

805-964-4767

http://www.directrelief.org/

Doctors Without Borders

P.O. Box 1856

Merrifield, Va. 22116-8056

888-392-0392

http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/

Food for the Hungry, Inc.

Food for the Hungry

Asia Quake Relief

1224 E. Washington St.

Phoenix, AZ 85034

800-2-HUNGERS

http://www.fh.org/

International Medical Corps

Earthquake/Tsunami Relief

1919 Santa Monica Boulevard, Suite 300

Santa Monica, Calif. 90404

800-481-4462

http://www.imcworldwide.org/

Mercy Corps

Southeast Asia Earthquake Response

Dept. W

P.O. Box 2669

Portland, Ore. 97208

800-852-2100

http://www.mercycorps.org/

Operation USA

8320 Melrose Avenue, Suite 200 Los Angles, Calif. 90069

800-678-7255

http://www.opusa.org/

Oxfam America

Asian Earthquake Fund

PO Box 1211

Albert Lea, MN 56007-1211

800-77-OXFAM

http://www.oxfamamerica.org/

Save The Children

Asia Earthquake/Tidal Wave Relief Fund

54 Wilton Road

Westport, Conn. 06880

800-728-3843

http://www.savethechildren.org/

Islamic Relief USA

Southeast Asia Earthquake Emergency

P.O. Box 6098

Burbank, Calif. 91510

888-479-4968

www.irw.org/asiaquak

US Fund for UNICEF

General Emergency Fund

333 E. 38th Street

New York, NY 10016

800-4-UNICEF

http://www.unicefusa.org/

Stop Hunger Now

SE Asia crisis

2501 Clark Ave, Suite 200

Raleigh, NC 27607

888-501-8440

http://www.stophungernow.org/

World Vision

P.O. Box 70288

Tacoma, WA 98481-0288

800-56-CHILD

http://www.worldvision.org/

World Concern

Asia Earthquake and Tsunami

19303 Fremont Avenue North

Seattle, WA 98133

800-755-5022

http://www.worldconcern.org/

World Emergency Relief

2270-D Camino Vida Roble

Carlsbad, CA 92009

760-930-800

1http://www.worldemergencyrelief.org/

Ireland

Concern

Trَcaire

Britain

British Red Cross

Oxfam

Canada

Canadian Red Cross

Australia

Australian Red Cross

Happy New Year

2004-12-31T01:30:00.000+03:30

Photo Meeting

2004-12-31T01:04:00.000+03:30

In the evening of Thursday 30.Dec in Tehran at the “House of Artists of Iran”, there is a meeting of photography.
This meeting held with the attempt of Iran Cultural Research Office.
In this meeting Mrs.Sarah Moon and Mr.Robert Delpire were attended.At first there’s some talk in memory of our friend Henri Cartier–Bresson, and Mr.Delpire and Mrs.Moon praised him.
Mrs.Sarah Moon is the photographer and film director, showed her worthy film which directed about Bresson.All of us knew that Henri of one of the great temporary photographer passed away, in the age of 95.
Mrs.Moon said: “I hardly make Henri satisfied with the directing a film about him.
this film greatly notified by the audiences who are commonly photographers and artists in that meeting.Robert Delpire who was the assistant and lover of Henri , talked a lot about the days of being with hime and about that how much he is the lover of this film.
He attended in all of the Henri exhibition in every where of world and values and worths the Henri greatly, and he was not believing the lack of Henri’s presence.
He is the manager of the “Photo Poche Publication” and published the valuable books about photography.
In the continue three short film showed from Sarah Moon workes.Films were very interesting. The style of Sarah Moon is the combination of photo, film and super 8 film and it is greatly notified.
She recommend the young audiences for the presentation of new ideas with simple and available possibilities.
The meeting was very valuable and effective.

Please see below links about Mrs.Sarah Moon and Mr.Delpire.

About the newly published geographic atlas by NGS : 6

2004-12-29T09:11:00.000+03:30

Please see this flash file...

The scientific assembly of Dr.Kazem Motamed-Nejad 8

2004-12-28T10:09:00.000+03:30

The one of the memorial ceremony of Dr.Kazem Motamed-Nejad,
"The Father of Communication Science of Iran", started with message
of President and with the attendance of authorities of country and
and invited guests held in Allameh Tabatabaie university in Tehran.

Mr.Khatami, the President of Islamic Republic of Iran, told that :
Praise of the magnaimous and great Professor Dr.Motamed-Nejad,
praise of knowledge, virtue, informing and spending his life time to
services for the fields of culture and research teacher is a valuable
resource which the scientific and cultural society of the country always
must make best use of them.For this wise scientist I wish the long
life, health, happiness and grace of more services for Iran, religion
and thoughts.

Interior medias of Iran, make a good and remarkable news broadcasting
of this ceremony.
In most of the interior newspapers, both the written and online the
news of this ceremony is broadcasted.

At night the television interview wich Proformed by one of my friends
with him was broadcasted from IRIB.
Lot's of commendation and appreciation letters in this day awarded
to him, each of the present Professors ministers and authorities
memorial ceremony lecture a remarkable points in virtues and greatness
of Professor Motamed-Nejad, I hope you were there.

The scientific assembly of Dr.Kazem Motamed-Nejad 7

2004-12-27T22:45:00.000+03:30

Tow Photo Collections of today scientific assembly .

Please click on photos :

The scientific assembly of Dr.Kazem Motamed-Nejad 6

2004-12-27T02:05:00.000+03:30

The scientific assembly of Dr.Kazem Motamed-Nejad

2004-12-27T01:40:00.000+03:30

The special site of our teacher is opening.
That is in English , Francais and Persian version.

click above

UNICEF Photo of the Year 2004

2004-12-24T15:48:00.000+03:30

The British photographer Marcus Bleasdale is the winner of this year's international photographic contest "UNICEF Photo of the Year". His photo shows a refugee child in Darfur, Northern Region of Sudan. The Arab militia on horse back drove the girl and her mother away from their village and burnt down their huts.

"The UNICEF photo of the Year 2004 is giving a "face" to the biggest refugee tragedy worldwide: It is the face of a child",

Click for enlarger

Germany's First Lady and UNICEF patroness Eva Luise Köhler said at the presentation in Berlin. Mostly unnoticed by the public, the refugee disaster in Darfur is worsening. 70,000 people died already, more than 1.6 million are displaced.

Displaced by recent conflicts her village has been burned down. It is estimated that there are 800.000 displaced people in Darfour who are trapped on the East, West and South by government troops and in the North by the desert wasteland, which will certainly claim the lives of weaker family members and of their livestock. UN consider the situation in Da r fur the worst humanitarian crisis in the world today. The Khartoum Government is responsible for systematic killings in the region. More than 200 ,000 people escaped across the bo r der to Chad.

The British photographer Marcus Bleasdale travelled to the Darfour-area in June 2004.

The scientific assembly of Dr.Kazem Motamed-Nejad 5

2004-12-23T16:10:00.000+03:30

Publishing Stamp Of The Anniversary and

"Scientific Assembly Of Mr.Dr.Kazem Motamed-Nejad"

The scientific assembly of Dr.Kazem Motamed-Nejad 4

2004-12-23T15:30:00.000+03:30

The Poster Of "Scientific Assembly Of

Mr.Dr.Kazem Motamed-Nejad"

The scientific assembly of Dr.Kazem Motamed-Nejad 3

2004-12-23T15:18:00.000+03:30

The scientific assembly of Dr.Kazem Motamed-Nejad 2

2004-12-20T18:26:00.000+03:30

The scientific assembly of Dr.Kazem Motamed-Nejad

27.Dec.2004.Allameh university.Tehran.Iran

An important interview whit him about :

Promotion of Independent and Pluralistic Press

Q: What factors led to the development of independent and pluralistic press in Iran?

A: Following the establishment of "The Press and Propagation Department" in the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance then headed by Seyed Mohammad Khatami, the number of newspapers and periodicals increased in Iran. Endeavors of this department, particulary in 1990- 1991 gave a new life to the Iranian press. New policies adopted to ensure the development of the press were easing the restrictions in issuing new publications, allocating financial aid to the press, and providing subsidies for equipment and raw materials required by the press. Also, two centers for the promotion of media studies and research in were established in 1990. Owing to the election of Seyed Mohammad Khatami as the Iranian President in 1997, a new dawn broke in the Iranian journalism and press. Improvements since then included foundation of the first Professional Association of Iranian Journalists, staging the Annual Press Festival to award the accomplished journalists, giving more independence to the press courts attended by a jury, rapid increase of newspapers and periodical across the country, and holding the Second Seminar on the Problems of the Iranian Press. The first such seminar was organized by Mr. Khatami when he was the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance in 1991. In the Second Seminar on the Problems of the Iranian Press staged in 1998, freedom of the press and necessity of its legal support was the main area of focus. Meanwhile, another significant topic was "The Press, Civil Society and Political Development in Iran". The next important seminar was held in June 1999 where exports of journalism and law discussed the press rights provide grounds for a reconsideration of the existing Iranian Press Law.

Q: Any figures available to assess this development?

A: In the spring of 1998, Iranian newsstands were offering a choice of 800 periodicals - five times more than those of the pre- Revolution period. However, growth of the press in Iran has not been limited to quantity. A review of the contents of Iranian newspapers and magazines reveals a progress in reflecting specialized and export issues in cultural, social, critical and arts periodicals. Another development of the Iranian press is a noticeable increase in their circulation. In the spring of 1997, about a million copies of newspapers would come out everyday. However, in the spring of 1999, this figure exceeded three million in response to the growing demand and interest of readers. Consequently, based on international criteria of UNESCO, there are fifty newspapers for every 1,000 Iranians. Such a development is unprecedented in Iran. Two of the country's newspaper are currently being published in about 500,000 copies, two others between 100,000 to 200,000 and 21 other newspapers circulate in 20,000 to 100,000 copies.

Q: Has Iran experienced a similar improvement in terms of journalism a discipline?

A: Establishment of professional associations for preserving the press freedom, female journalists, sports writers and photojournalists all indicate that the country is developing in the field. Iran has attached increased importance to the educational aspect of journalism. Measure taken in this respect include establishing separate undergraduate programs for journalism and public relations, undergraduate, graduate and doctorate programs for mass communication science and offering on the- job journalism courses.

Q: What steps have been taken to promote these developments in the global scene?

A: Iran has tried to inform the world about in winds of change. An Iran- UNESCO agreement paved the way for a special research project titled "Development of Independent and Pluralistic Press in Iran". Supported by UNESCO, this research is conducted by Alameh Tabatabaie University with the cooperation of Paris University's Press Institute and the Center for Media Studies and Research. This effort specifically deals with:

1. Diversity of newspapers, magazines and specialized periodicals.

2. Plurality of publishing organizations and individuals.

3. Development of critical accounts in the press.

4. New experience of dealing with violations committed by the press before a jury in court.

5. Justifiability of independence, pluralism and freedom as practiced by the Iranian press base on the existing fact. A review of the objectives sough by such a move demonstrates that there is a definite correspondence between the new policies of Iran for the development of the independent and pluralistic press and UNESCO's guidelines in this regards as announced in the 1992 Alma-Ata Seminar... more

The scientific assembly of Dr.Kazem Motamed-Nejad 1

2004-12-18T17:29:00.000+03:30

Kazem Motamed-Nejad, is the Professor of Communication

Science at the University of Allameh Tabatabai in Teheran (IRAN).

He is called :

" The Father of modern communication science
in iran " .

Open in new window

2004-12-17T15:36:00.000+03:30

As a useful suggestion and for efficient use in visiting sites and other
places in web, I recommend you that in evry page after right click in
every network either photos or other links , click on the top title and
by this you will be able to visit a site or a blog a and their links without
coming out.
So you are not obliged to return to main page.You can open several
links like this.But certainly to the extent that your PC don't hang.
For using the entire links in this page even for seeing the pictures
in large sizes perform this task.

Right click + Open in new window

About Professor.Yahya R.Kamalipour

2004-12-15T23:35:00.000+03:30

An internationally noted scholar, Dr.Yahya R.Kamalipour is professor of mass communication and head of the Department of Communication and Creative Arts at Purdue University Calumet, Hammond, Indiana, U.S.A. His areas of research include globalization, media impact, international communication, advertising, cultural diversity, stereotyping, Middle East media, and new communication technologies.

Dr. Kamalipour has nine published books, including War, Media, and Propaganda:A Global Perspective (2004), Globalization and Corporate Media Hegemony (2003), Global Communication (2002), Media, Sex, Violence, and Drugs in the Global Village (2001), Religion, Law, and Freedom: A Global Perspective (2000), Images of the U.S. Around the World: A Multicultural Perspective (1999), Cultural Diversity and the U.S. Media (1998).The U.S. Media and the Middle East: Image and Perception (1997), Mass Media in the Middle East: A Comprehensive Handbook (1994).An active member of a dozen national and international organizations, Dr. Kamalipour has been profiled in Who’s Who in the World, Who’s Who in America, and the 2000 Edition of Contemporary Authors.

click on this picture for all detail of his books :

He has also received several significant awards, including the 1996 Distinguished Scholarship Award in International and Intercultural Communication from the National Communication Association, and the 1996 Edgar Mills Award for Outstanding Service in Communication from the Communicators of Northwest Indiana.

Dr. Kamalipour is managing editor of a groundbreaking electronic publication, Global Media Journal (http://www.globalmediajournal.com/), editor of a virtual library, Global Media Monitor (http://www.globalmediamonitor.com/), and editor of the Global Media Studies Book Series of the State University of New York Press. In addition to numerous invited speeches and mass media appearances/interviews, his articles have appeared in professional and mainstream publications in the U.S. and abroad.

Dr. Kamalipour received his Ph.D. degree in Communication (Radio-TV-Film) from University of Missouri-Columbia, an M.A. degree in Mass Media from University of Wisconsin-Superior, and a B.A. degree in Mass Communication (Public Relations) from Minnesota State University. He is one of the prominent scholars in the field of mass and international communication. He has been at Purdue University Calumet since 1986.

For further details, visit his personal web site at http://www.kamalipour.com/.

Art and Globalization

2004-12-15T02:11:00.000+03:30

International Assembly on
“Art and Globalization”
Perspective and Achievement

January 16-17 2005

-----------------------------------------------------------

Center for Artistics Studies and Researches of the Ministry of Islamic Culture and Guidance in collaboration with the Research Department of “Farhangestan-o-Honar” (Art Academy) of the Islamic republic of Iran, is planning to hold on January 16-17 2005, an international assembly on “Art and Globalization: Perspective and Achievement”. The objective of the assembly is to study the “Impact of Globalization on Art” from four angles: aesthetic, cultural, economic and technological.

The subjects to be discussed at the assembly include:

1. Art and Culture
a. Aesthetics-theoretical expression of subjective feeling of and attitude towards the beautiful, as well as moral and cognitive values of life and reality.

b. Art, the active and dynamic element in (national) culture.

c. Culture, the background and context of the promotion of (national) art. d. Folk art and official art.

2. Art and Technology
a. Art, response to practical activities, ideals, and outlooks of human life.

b. Technology (techne) – knowledge or logic of art, applied arts, methods resulting from experience and techniques of industry.

c. Art technology (techne) of oratory, rhetorical embodiment of practical virtues.

3. Art and Economy
a. Relation of art to micro and macro economy.

b. Industrial economy, mass production of art-works, the rights of author/artist in an age of democratized art products.

c. Impact of art on the taste of industrial producers.

Assembly participation requirements:
1- Replies (affirmative or negative) will have to be declared by November 20, 2004.

2- Title as well as an abstract, of the essay in English is to sent by November 30, 2004.

3- Essays are to be sent by December 22, 2004.

* The Assembly will present the essays in English together with their simultaneous translations.

* The center will pay for the return tickets of the non-native participants and also a 2-day
(3-day) stay in Isfahan or Shiraz.

About the newly published geographic atlas by NGS : 5

2004-12-12T15:38:00.001+03:30

1) The prepared map by Abou Reyhan Bironi .
(The most famous iranian scientist.deceased 44.A.B)

2) Seas of south-west Asia in addition clear mentioning
of the name PERSIAN GULF in the political map of Saudi arabia.

3) PERSIAN GULF in the map of Arabic government .

(Islamic gov).Published in Cairo 1965

About the newly published geographic atlas by NGS : 4

2004-12-12T10:02:00.000+03:30

Mr. Carroll ;

Relying on a historical documents is not the sign of iranian weakness.
You are indicating your views in the phone with Mr. Abdorrashidi ; by unreal reasons.

Regretfully this act of your establishment was mainly done with the political concerns and not in including the historical concerns.The orginal name of arabian gulf in the historical ducuments was only applied to present time Ahmar sea.Your establishment with doing this act has questioned its good antecedent.I request you to quickly give the order of the collecting all of the published atlases.Because of your main duty of the protection of historical originality of the edges and geographical lands.

About the newly published geographic atlas by NGS : 3

2004-12-10T22:28:00.000+03:30

..."It is a proven scholarly fact that the name of the PERSIAN GULF is a genuine name, with historical roots, and using any fraudulent names such as the "Arabian Gulf", and islands "Occupied by Iran" is in fact inducing political animosity.

We did not expect National Geographic, as a prestigious international scientific institution, to ignore the proven obvious, and damage its own reputation on the basis of political intentions, and thus create an atmosphere of public mistrust in its content, and hurt the national pride of the millions of Persian speakers while doing so..." clik this

About the newly published geographic atlas by NGS : 2

2004-12-08T02:08:00.000+03:30

Without any doubt , one of the ways of reaching a tribal and
national independency is protecting the geographical legacy
and old edges.
The efficient familiarity with edges of one country needed to
remind of thr way of gradual development of the geographic ideas.
But of course this will be possible with investigation in the
historical geographic knowledge. Study in the way of generation ,
creation and gradual geographical names are considered as a
main parts of these studies.
And helper for soul of the real nationality will not be gained.
The name of the PERSIAN GULF for our people is one of those names.

PERSIAN GULF is one of the stratejic regions wich in the
old geographic survey of the ancients liks Greek , Muslimes
has a special situation.
And also we see that in lots of the geographic books , its one
Of the four internal seas wich were noticeable.and its for the sake
of the neighbourhood ancient scientific centers.

The oldest tribe who started the study of earth seriously was
Babelian and in the survival kits which they left from 2500 years
ago they imagine the earth as a flat plate which surrounded by salty
water river its Persian gulf .wich Ashoorian called it “Nar Marratu”.
After the babelian , old greek geographer scientists whom in fact
their master pieces considered as the origin of the creation of
worlds great scientific works in east and west , they consider the earth
oblong shaped dryland wich consist of them continent
of Europe , Africa , and Asia. Also they consider four sea frome the great sider sea and know it as a chosen:

Medium sea or roman gulf (Now Mediteranian Sea)
Caspian sea
Arabian gulf (Now Ahmar Sea)
Persian gulf

The documentation of the obove article are clear in the maps below. For seeing The dicription of these map and enlarger ; please clik on them:

About the newly published geographic atlas by NGS : 1

2004-12-07T23:43:00.000+03:30

The interesting point in the resent act of the national geogrphic
society , about publishing their new atlas , is that published
without historical documents.
Whith a little study even in the Arabian historical geographical
books , we encounter the name of PERSIAN GULF more than
other books.

In the following it will be concerned in completion.

Seminar in the course of mass communication subjects in 1995

2004-12-07T02:24:00.000+03:30

Now I want to talk about the lectured seminar in the
course of mass communication subjects seminar in
Islamic azad university in central Tehran branch .
Which I did it and inform my friends about it.
The topic of the above seminar “ Usage of the name
of PERSIAN GULF without mentioning the Persian
and the similar Changes.”
In this seminar I attempt to answer with the survey
of the old geographer scientists book ; why this Gulf
is called PERSIAN GULF.

Because in representing the seminar without any more
description ; we inter the historical documents.

I’m inviting you to review this article…