awarding of government contracts, and the allocation of other social ben¬ efits. First undertaken at the federal level following passage of the land¬ mark Civil Rights Act of 1964, affirmative action was designed to counteract the lingering effects of generations of past discrimination. The main criteria for inclusion in affirmative action programs are race, sex, ethnic origin, religion, disability, and age. The Supreme Court of the United States placed important limitations on affirmative action programs in its 1978 ruling in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke; several sub¬ sequent Supreme Court decisions (e.g., Adarand Constructors v. Pena in 1995 and Texas v. Hopwood in 1996) imposed further restrictions. In 1996 California voters passed Proposition 209, which prohibited government agencies and institutions from discriminating against or giving preferen¬ tial treatment to individuals or groups on the basis of race, sex, colour, ethnicity, or national origin. Similar measures were subsequently passed in other states. In 2003, in two landmark rulings involving admission to the University of Michigan and its law school, the U.S. Supreme Court reaffirmed the constitutionality of affirmative action but ruled that race could not be the preeminent factor in such decisions.
Affleck, Thomas (b. 1745, Aberdeen, Scot.—d. 1795, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.) Scottish-bom U.S. cabinetmaker. Trained in England, he moved to Philadelphia, where he produced outstanding furniture in the Chippen¬ dale style for Gov. John Penn and other leading citizens. The Marlborough- style leg (straight, grooved, with a block foot) and elaborate carving characterize his work.
afforestation See deforestation
Afghan hound Breed of dog developed as a hunter in the hill coun¬ try of Afghanistan. It was brought to Europe in the late 19th century by British soldiers returning from the Indian-Afghan border wars. It hunts by sight, and in Afghanistan it has been used to pursue leopard and gazelle. Its high, wide hipbones are well adapted to rough country. It stands 24-28 in. (61-71 cm) high and weighs 50-60 lbs (23-27 kg). It has floppy ears, a long topknot, and a long silky coat of various colours.
Afghan wars Series of wars in Afghanistan during the 19th, 20th, and early 21st centuries. In the 19th century Britain twice invaded Afghanistan (the first and second Anglo-Afghan Wars; 1839-40 and 1878-80). The British were unable to fully subdue the country, and the third Anglo-Afghan War (1919) led to its full independence. The outbreak of civil war in 1978 led to an inva¬ sion by the Soviet Union the following year (the Afghan War). For the next 10 years the Soviets supported the communist government against a coalition of Islamic insurgents, the mujahideen, who toppled the regime in 1992. A group of disaffected fighters known as the Taliban had taken con¬ trol of most of the country by 1996. The ensuing stalemate was broken in 2001 when the U.S. overthrew the Taliban for supporting international terrorism.
Afghani, Jamal al-DTn al- See Jamal al-Din al-AfghanI
Afghanistan officially Islamic State of Afghanistan Country, south-central Asia. Area: 249,347 sq mi (645,807 sq km). Population (2005 est.: 23,867,000). Capitaclass="underline" Kabul. About two-fifths of the people belong to the Pashtun ethnic group; other ethnic groups include Tajiks, Uzbeks, and Hazara. Languages: Pashto, Persian (both official). Religions: Islam (official; predominantly Sunni); also Zoroastrianism. Currency: afghani. Afghanistan has three distinctive regions: the northern plains are the major agricultural area; the southwestern plateau consists primarily of desert and semiarid landscape; and the central highlands, including the Hindu Kush, separate these regions. Afghanistan has a developing economy based largely on agriculture; its significant mineral resources remain largely untapped because of the Afghan War of the 1980s and subsequent fighting. Traditional handicrafts remain important; woolen carpets are a major export. The area was part of the Persian Achaemenian Empire in the 6th century bc and was conquered by Alexander the Great in the 4th century bc. Hindu influence entered with the Hephthalites and Sasanians; Islam became entrenched during the rule of the Saffarids, c. ad 870.
Afghan hound
SALLY ANNE THOMPSON
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
AFL-CIO ► Africa I 23
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© 2002 Encyclopaedia Britani
TURKMENISTAN
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Afghanistan was divided between the Mughal Empire of India and the Safavid empire of Persia until the 18th century, when other Persians under Nadir Shah took control. Britain fought several wars in the
area in the 19th century. From the 1930s the country had a stable mon¬ archy, which was overthrown in the 1970s. Marxist reforms sparked rebel¬ lion, and Soviet troops invaded. Afghan guerrillas prevailed, and the Soviets withdrew in 1989. In 1992 rebel factions overthrew the govern¬ ment and established an Islamic republic. In 1996 the Taliban militia took power in Kabul and enforced a harsh Islamic order. The militia’s unwill¬ ingness to extradite extremist leader Osama bin Laden and members of his al-Qaeda militant organization following the September 11 attacks in 2001 led to military conflict with the U.S. and allied nations, the overthrow of the Taliban, and the establishment of an interim government.
AFL-CIO in full American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations U.S. federation of labour unions formed in 1955 by the merger of the AFL and the CIO. The AFL was founded in 1886 as a loose federation of craft unions under the leadership of Samuel Gompers. Member unions retained autonomy and received protection of their workers and jurisdiction over a certain industrial territory. The CIO was founded in 1935 as the Committee for Industrial Organization by a splinter group of AFL unions whose leaders believed in organizing skilled and unskilled workers across entire industries; at its first convention in 1938, it adopted its current name and elected John L. Lewis president. For two decades the AFL and CIO were bitter rivals for the leadership of the U.S. labour movement, but they formed an alliance in the increasingly conservative, antilabour climate of the postwar era, and in 1955 they merged under the leadership of George Meany. AFL-CIO membership reached 17 million in the late 1970s but declined from the 1980s as the U.S. manufacturing sector shrank. AFL-CIO activities include recruiting and organizing members, conducting educational campaigns, and sup¬ porting political candidates and legislation deemed beneficial to labour. See also Lane Kirkland; Knights of Labor; Walter Reuther.
Aflaq Vaf-lak\, Michel (b. 1910, Damascus, Syria—d. June 23, 1989, Paris, France) Syrian social and political leader. While studying at the University of Paris (1929-34), he came to believe that the Arab nation¬ alist struggle had to oppose both the native aristocracy and foreign rul¬ ers. Hoping to unite all the Arab states into a single socialist nation through nonviolence, he helped establish the Ba'th Party in 1946 and served as its teacher, theorist, and organizer. He persuaded the Syrian government to form the United Arab Republic with Egypt in 1958, but Syria withdrew from it in 1961. His career in Syrian politics ended in 1966 when he moved to Lebanon. See also Pan-Arabism.
aflatoxin X.a-fta-'tak-sonN Complex of toxins formed by molds of the genus Aspergillus, which frequently contaminate improperly stored nuts (especially peanuts), grains, meals, and certain other foods. Discovered after an outbreak of “turkey X disease” in England in 1960, aflatoxins may cause liver disease and cancer and may trigger Reye syndrome.