Iraq (Arabic: العراق () al-‘Irāq, Kurdish: عيَراق), officially the Republic of Iraq, is a Middle Eastern country in southwestern Asia encompassing most of Mesopotamia as well as the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range and the eastern part of the Syrian Desert. It shares a border with Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to the south, Jordan to the west, Syria to the northwest, Turkey to the north, and Iran (Persia) to the east. It has a very narrow section of coastline at Umm Qasr on the Persian Gulf. It is considered the place where a settled society to have manifested all the features needed to qualify fully as a "civilization" first appeared in the world - the civilization known as Sumeria.

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There are several suggestions for the origin of the name of Iraq; one dates back to the Sumerian city of Uruk (or Erech). Another suggestion is that Iraq comes from the Aramaic language, meaning "the land along the banks of the southern rivers."

Under the Sassanid dynasty, there was a region called "Iraq Arabi" which referred to the southern part of modern Iraq. Al-Iraq was the name used by the Arabs themselves for the land since the 6th century.

More on [ Iraq ]

David Lynch : Transcendental Meditation

How do ideas become a script?
sanunit@iowatelecom.net Wed, 13 Aug 2008 19:00:00 +0100
How do you find your ideas, and how do you form them into a script? That’s a beautiful question. I think a desire for an idea is like a bait. And I say it’s like fishing. You desire an idea. And when you go fishing, you know you have to have patience. And you bait your hook, and then you just kind of wait. But the desire is that bait that pulls those fish in—those ideas. And the beautiful thing is: when you catch one fish that yo [...]
Music and consciousness
sanunit@iowatelecom.net Sun, 10 Aug 2008 19:00:00 +0100
Can you explain how you use music to transform consciousness within your story? But it doesn’t expand—music doesn’t expand consciousness. The only thing that expands consciousness… You know, they have these so-called “consciousness raising” groups. What they’re doing is sharing information, or giving information. It doesn’t raise consciousness. Consciousness can be raised only by experiencing that d [...]
Does meditation protect you?
sanunit@iowatelecom.net Mon, 04 Aug 2008 19:00:00 +0100
How can you just so fully commit to the violent, dark nature of life—mostly in Twin Peaks, I think, and all of them—how can you be so committed to that darkness without being harmed by it? And how does meditation help you with that? In a way—this is a strange thing, but it’s a true thing in my experience–bliss is like a flack jacket. Bliss is like a protecting thing. If you have so much bliss, they say it’s [...]
Where to meditate, even on location
sanunit@iowatelecom.net Tue, 29 Jul 2008 19:00:00 +0100
Could you share your technique for being able to meditate twice a day while you’re shooting your films? Yes. I wanted this meditation. And I think that the key is this desire for it. And where it came from, you know, I don’t know for sure, but I wanted it. And so I have never missed a meditation in those 32 years, twice a day, morning and afternoon. You wake up, you do your meditation, and then you go about your business. And in the ev [...]
On the way to Enlightenment
sanunit@iowatelecom.net Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:00:00 +0100
Have you been enlightened? I’m not enlightened, I have to tell you. But on the way to enlightenment, the good news is: every day gets better. When you experience this consciousness, this ocean of consciousness has qualities. And those qualities are bliss. They call it sometimes “bliss consciousness.” And you can dive in and get wet with this bliss consciousness. And it expands. Inner happiness grows. It’s so beautiful. It&r [...]
Transcendental Meditation over the years
sanunit@iowatelecom.net Tue, 15 Jul 2008 19:00:00 +0100
How has your meditation evolved over the years—from a different experience each time, or gone back to the same thing?  With Transcendental Meditation, it’s been my experience, and talking to others their experience as well, you’re an expert from your first meditation. And we could start talking about consciousness. Consciousness is this quite abstract thing. And it’s—yet the number one i [...]

UN News Centre - Culture, Education

Top UN official deplores murder of Filipino broadcaster
Tue, 19 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500
The head of the United Nations agency tasked with defending freedom of expression and press freedom has condemned the murder of a radio broadcaster who was shot dead on his way home in Roxas City, in the Philippines.
Tributes by UN officials mark passing of Palestinian poet
Wed, 13 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500
Senior United Nations officials in the Middle East have joined their voices to those paying tribute to the late Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, who was laid to rest today.
Global postal industry looks towards future after UN meeting
Tue, 12 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500
International postal services are keeping pace and moving forward with the onset of globalization and advances in technology, the head of the United Nations Universal Postal Union (UPU) said today.

BBC News | Education | UK Edition

Pushy parents can act as agents
Tue, 19 Aug 2008 13:30:18 -0000
Parents can now act as agents to handle their children's university applications - and then turn up for the interviews too.
No quick exit from GCSE challenge
Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:08:22 -0000
Even if GCSE results this week raise schools above the 30% threshold, they can remain in the National Challenge programme.
US to back 21st century learning
Tue, 19 Aug 2008 07:51:13 -0000
The US Congress backs plans to bring technological advances from the business world into the classroom.
Cash for youth diversity projects
Tue, 19 Aug 2008 12:52:46 -0000
Children's Minister Beverley Hughes allocates �4.5m to programmes to unite youngsters from different backgrounds.
University used in Nigerian scam
Tue, 19 Aug 2008 12:55:33 -0000
The name of Liverpool Hope University is being used in an internet scam in Nigeria.
Teacher concerns over school CCTV
Sun, 17 Aug 2008 23:22:41 -0000
Many teachers say they are concerned about "hidden" surveillance cameras located in their schools.
Sats marking contract is scrapped
Fri, 15 Aug 2008 11:55:42 -0000
The contract between exams authority the QCA and troubled marking firm ETS is ended by "mutual consent".
'Bravest' students do not cheat
Sun, 17 Aug 2008 23:08:42 -0000
The most courageous students are least likely to cheat in class, US researchers say.
A-level results show big divide
Thu, 14 Aug 2008 17:23:01 -0000
Exam boards have given a regional breakdown of A-level results for England for the first time, showing big differences.
Thousands call university hotline
Thu, 14 Aug 2008 16:09:30 -0000
Record numbers of students call the university admissions line after receiving their A-level results.
Sats 'shambles'
Fri, 15 Aug 2008 14:48:52 -0000
What next for England's troubled testing system?
Quads celebrate
Thu, 14 Aug 2008 09:58:24 -0000
University and A-level success for awesome foursome
Don't rush
Wed, 13 Aug 2008 13:32:40 -0000
Do you want to go to university now - or at all?
Bad grades?
Tue, 05 Aug 2008 12:12:03 -0000
Ofqual's exams doctor explains your options
E-mail us
Tue, 10 Jun 2008 13:22:01 -0000
How to contact the BBC News website education team
Digging for hope
Thu, 31 Jul 2008 09:33:14 -0000
English teenagers help African village build classrooms
Bosses say education is worse
Mon, 11 Aug 2008 16:15:03 -0000
Senior managers say education has declined over the last 10 years, despite record exam results.
Revival hopes for 'stem' subjects
Thu, 14 Aug 2008 18:48:39 -0000
A growing number of students are taking maths and science A-levels, prompting hopes of a revival.
NI students top of A-level class
Thu, 14 Aug 2008 08:48:36 -0000
A-Level students in Northern Ireland once again outperform their counterparts in England and Wales.
Delay 'likely' for school tables
Tue, 12 Aug 2008 20:01:17 -0000
As Key Stage 3 test results in England are announced, the schools minister says marking problems will delay league tables.
Student debt 'could top �17,500'
Wed, 13 Aug 2008 00:48:15 -0000
A survey suggests the average student will face debts of more than �17,500 by the time they leave university.
Oxford delays on A* grade offers
Mon, 11 Aug 2008 12:58:46 -0000
Oxford University will not make offers of places based on the higher A* grade at A-level when it is first introduced.
Children 'bullied over brands'
Sun, 10 Aug 2008 23:41:11 -0000
Brands are more influential to children than the opinion of their own friends, says research from a teachers' union.
CBI wants more pupils in science
Mon, 11 Aug 2008 11:43:55 -0000
British business leaders want brighter teenagers to be "opted in" to taking three separate science subjects.
Graduate jobs market strong
Fri, 08 Aug 2008 09:54:03 -0000
The graduate jobs market seems to be holding firm, with the lowest graduate unemployment rate for five years.
Ex-burglar 'offered' study place
Fri, 08 Aug 2008 17:24:23 -0000
A teenager who had his place to study medicine withdrawn due to his criminal record is offered a place at a different university.
School cuts detailed in proposals
Mon, 11 Aug 2008 13:12:37 -0000
The scale of cuts facing Aberdeen secondary schools in a report leads to an angry reaction.
Pupils have results - but not ETS
Thu, 07 Aug 2008 16:14:53 -0000
School test contractor ETS has lost the marks achieved by a primary school's pupils in their maths test.
Bad spelling 'should be accepted'
Thu, 07 Aug 2008 13:05:34 -0000
Common spelling mistakes should be accepted as 'variant spellings', a lecturer has said.
Test results record small gains
Tue, 05 Aug 2008 10:53:10 -0000
The primary Sats test results for England are published - with 460 schools still waiting for their marks.
Ofsted: CVA tables 'meaningless'
Wed, 06 Aug 2008 17:55:26 -0000
Ofsted guidance to schools about the use of exam performance data says value-added rankings have no meaning.
Who are the low-achievers?
Tue, 05 Aug 2008 17:14:36 -0000
One in five pupils has failed to reach the expected level for English - but who are these struggling pupils?
Knight 'confident' on Sats result
Tue, 05 Aug 2008 13:43:29 -0000
Despite the problems with this year's Sats tests, the schools minister says the final results can withstand scrutiny.
What future for schools?
Fri, 01 Aug 2008 13:38:48 -0000
Mike Baker considers the big picture of where schools should be heading in the future.
Tests - do we still need them?
Fri, 25 Jul 2008 16:00:26 -0000
Mike Baker considers whether the "high stakes" testing regime is still needed.
Future of league tables
Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:37:46 -0000
Mike Baker says it is hard to see how performance tables can be published on the basis of this year's school tests.
Was there ever a golden age?
Fri, 11 Jul 2008 17:37:54 -0000

'Try teaching' scheme booming
Tue, 29 Jul 2008 13:06:40 -0000
A scheme that gets American graduates to try teaching in tough areas before other careers is proving a hit.
When pupils are too shy to learn
Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:16:57 -0000
"Invisible children" too shy to put up their hands could be helped by a scheme to boost their social skills.
Multiple difficulty?
Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:07:09 -0000
Why multiple choice exams trouble dyslexics
Where learning strategy takes us
Tue, 01 Apr 2008 14:05:39 -0000
BBC News website education editor Gary Eason assesses which way the wind is blowing.
What is BBC News School Report?
Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:13:39 -0000
Find out more about the project which motivates secondary students around the UK to make and broadcast their own news.

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