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	• NEWS >> ATW Script 13 March 2003 Yearly Script Program Index -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OPEN/WELCOME Hi and welcome to Assignment: The World for the week of March thirteeth, 2003. I’m Elissa Marra. In our top story this week… Bush seeks a new deadline for Saddam Hussein. #1— IRAQ The U-S lobbied the United Nations Security Council Monday to expect Iraq to disarm by March seventeenth or face an attack by the U-S. Spain joined the U-S and Britain in trying to pass the newest resolution. Nine members of the Security Council remained undecided Monday, but were the focus of Bush administration lobbying, trying to sway those members to approve the U-S plan. Pakistan started Monday undecided but later in the day joined the opponents of Bush’s newest resolution for war. France announced that, in addition to opposing an attack against Iraq, they would use their veto power to stop any approval of the U-S resolution. Russia sided with France and agreed to veto action as well. French President Jacques Chirac said France would vote against any resolution that contains an ultimatum leading to war. But as of Monday, Chirac said he might not need to exercise a veto because the U-S plan did not have the nine Security Council votes needed for passage of the resolution. Veto (n) the power of any of the five permanent U-N Security Council members to cancel the decisions of non-unanimous vote. ATW FACT One million Iraqi children under the age of five are considered malnourished. To help with the problem, UNICEF sent more than one-thousand tons of high protein biscuits and 155-tons of milk to the starving children in Iraq. Source: World Television News, March 10, 2003. INTRO REST OF THE NEWS In the rest of the news this week… --more anti-war demonstrations… --Palestinians approve new position. --and finally, a new prime minister for Turkey. #2— ANTI-WAR DEMONSTRATIONS Nearly eight-thousand anti-war demonstrators gathered in the Chilean capital of Santiago Sunday, urging President Ricardo Lagos to vote against a U-S –backed resolution authorizing force against Iraq if it fails to disarm. The rally was held at the Parque Forestal near the city center and was organized by groups opposed to war, including political parties and environmental groups. Music and dancing were part of Sunday’s all-day event, but the message was clear: No to war in Iraq. Chile is a non-permanent member of the U-N Security Council and one of six swing votes needed to pass the U-S-British-Spanish resolution that would give Iraq until next week to disarm or face war. Some diplomats predict that Chile will vote to approve the resolution for fear of offending the U-S. Swing votes (adj) in a position to determine the outcome of a vote. #3— PALESTINIANS PARLIAMENT The Palestinian parliament approved the new position of prime minister as part of the reforms sought by the United States, Europe and Israel to restrain Yasser Arafat’s near absolute powers. The power-sharing agreement will leave Arafat with control over two key issues—security and peace talks. The new prime minister will deal largely with internal affairs and supervision of Cabinet ministers, although his role will be limited. President Bush urged Palestinians to choose new leaders as a precondition for statehood and more talks. Absolute (adj) free from restrictions or limitations. #4— TURKEY ELECTIONS Turkey’s governing party leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan won a seat in the parliament on Sunday, a crucial victory that paves the way for him to become prime minister. Erdogan’s success strengthens the possibility that Turkey’s government will allow U-S troops to be stationed there. Already the de-facto leader, Erdogan advocated for U-S troop deployment in Turkey and suggested that one of his first moves as prime minister will be to remove those ministers who oppose U-S troops there. De facto (adv) already in place but without lawful authority. POP QUIZ #1 In our story about about the U-N, which country joined the U-S and Britain on the new resolution? Was it… 1- Spain 2- France 3- Pakistan And the correct answer is number one… Spain joined the U-S and Britain on the Security Council resolution. OLD CLUE #1— KATMANDU, NEPAL And now it’s time for the answers to our last clues in the news… Find the location of our first clue and you get Katmandu, Nepal. The Nepal government and Maoist rebels began formal peace talks this week. The government and the rebels agreed to an indefinite cease-fire in January in a seven-year revolt that has claimed more than seven-thousand lives. Even after agreeing to the talks, rebels complained that the government had done little to move toward peace since the cease-fire. OLD CLUE #2—TROOP BUILD UP Fill in the blanks of our second clue and you’d get, “Troop Build up.” As President Bush moves closer to attacking Iraq, U-S troop build up in the Persian Gulf region has increased. Currently, there are some two-hundred-thousand troops near Iraq and one-hundred-thousand more in Kuwait. Bush remains hopeful that Turkey will agree to allow 62-thousand more troops there. Last week, more than a dozen U-S air force B-52 bombers landed at the Royal Air Force’s Fairford base in western England. The long range B-52s can travel seven-thousand miles without refueling and because of that, they are often used as the first wave of bombers during a military attack. OLD CLUE #3—PEACE ENVOY And finally, unscramble our third clue and you’d get “Peace Envoy.” Pope John Paul the second sent a personal envoy to Washington last week to meet with President Bush. Italian Cardinal Pio Laghi, (say PIE-oh) a former Vatican ambassador to the U-S and longtime friend of the Bush family, pressed Bush for a peaceful solution to the Iraqi crisis. Laghi delivered the Pope’s message that a war would be a “defeat for humanity.” Pope John Paul is the leader of the Roman Catholic Church worldwide. THIS WEEK IN WORLD HISTORY This week in world history… on March thirteenth, 1884… Standard Time was adopted throughout the United States. FEATURE TV WEATHER Have you ever wondered how they come up with a weather forecast on the evening news? Well… Check this out. TV Announcer: Now weather on the eight’s, here’s Chief Meteorologist Scott Hetsko Scott Hetsko: So the one question I get all day today—Oh good afternoon by the way--Where’s all the snow? Well first of all we didn’t forecast a lot of snow; we forecasted a mix… My name is Scott Hetsko; I’m Chief Meteorologist here at Channel 8, WROC here in Rochester, New York and a meteorologist is somebody that studies weather and what and what it can bring. Well actually right now what we’re doing is we’re preparing a forecast for our show tonight here in the city and right now I’m doing the basic stuff analyzing the satellites radar images, I’m looking at temperatures, looking at pressure, all these things that are important to putting a weather forecast together. This is really the second part of my day everyday, I move over here and start making graphics to put on the television. So these computers do a myriad of things, this is where I make all my maps; you know where you see all the highs and pressures and fronts, five day forecasts, the tonight forecast all these things that we use are made right here. This is where it all happens; this is where the magic of television comes alive. Behind me is this big green monster called the Croma Key wall, and what it does is the computer graphics are overlaid over every color but this, so we have that, we put the graphics that we made earlier on the television and we have this little clicker that advances the maps that you will see over here in a second. When I’m doing the weather tonight you will see on television me over the graphic and what I see is me over the graphic; so I’m watching me do the stuff! If a kid were interested in meteorology I would suggest just reading some books about general weather knowledge. They should defiantly focus on math, physics and if you love that stuff and you love weather like crazy like I do then it will be a fun passion for you and It won’t be work. Thanks for watching! ISN’T IT COOL! China New Panda Chinese experts have used DNA tests to identify a previously unknown community of Giant Pandas living the China’s southwestern Sichuan Province. Chinese state television reported a DNA test in February confirmed that several animals living in the reserve belonged to a different group from those in three other zones in China. ISSUE Immigration figures released this week show a huge drop in the number of foreign-born citizens in the United States this year. The drop in immigrants is attributed to two things, the first being the poor U-S economy and the second the tightening of security since September eleventh. Homeland Security has made it much tougher for people outside the U-S to enter legally. More and more people are being turned down for student and work visas and green cards. The crackdown limits anyone who is known to have an association with a terrorist group. Some people fear that the crackdown goes against the foundation our country was built upon. The U-S has always been known as the home of the free, welcoming the huddled masses from foreign lands. So many of our own ancestors came here from other countries and it is our diversity that many people feel makes our culture so rich. Well, we’d like to know what you think… “Should we continue restrictions on immigrants?” Discuss this issue with your classmates after the show and then write to us with your opinion. MAILBAG We received nearly X hundred responses to our issue question, “Do you support Toni Smith’s flag protest?” The majority of you, x percent, say no you do not support her protest. X percent say yes, you do. X percent are undecided. Many of you feel Toni Smith is just exercising her rights as an American citizen. Justin W. of Pentwater, Michigan writes, “I don’t think she is saying she doesn’t love America. She is just saying she doesn’t think it’s right that innocent people will die.” Jeremia G. of Muskego, Wisconsin adds, “She has the right to stand up for what she believes … and that’s what she is doing.” Kevin C. of Pittsford, New York writes, “I believe people in America have the right to protest. If we had no freedom of speech, the U-S-A would lose its meaning.” The majority of you, however, disagree. Matthew C. of Latham, New York writes, “The flag does not stand for war … it does stand for freedom.” Justin T. of Verona, Virginia adds, “If she lives in this country and enjoys all the rights (of) the United States …she should honor the flag that stands for those rights.” Kelly O. of Mequon, Wisconsin agrees and adds, “I do not believe she has the right to make a political statement when she is acting as a representative of her school. She must conform to the guidelines of her team.” And finally, Dawson C. of Akron, Iowa writes, “It is a free country and that means Toni is free to do the terrible thing she is doing to our country.” MAILBAG CLOSE We look forward to receiving your responses to our two latest issue questions… “Should we keep the reference to God in the Pledge of Allegiance?” and “Should we continue restrictions on immigrants?” If you would like to receive an Assignment: The World Press card, please enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope. You may write to us here at Assignment: The World, Post Office Box three-zero-zero-twenty-one, Rochester, New York… one-4-6-zero-3… or you may contact us at the A-T-W website at http://atwonline.org./ We also read e-mail at atw@wxxi.org. POP QUIZ #2 In our story about the Palestinians, what authority will Arafat maintain after a new prime minister is named? Is it… 1) Gaza Strip and West Bank 2) security and peace talks 3) statehood talks And the correct answer is number two… Arafat would still be in charge of security and peace talks. NEW CLUES And now it’s time for next week’s clues in the news… Our first clue is a location… 38 Degrees, 21 minutes north latitude 127 Degrees, 18 minutes east longitude Our second clue is a fill-in-the-blank, it’s two words… I_I_H _I_I_O_S And finally, our third clue is a newsmaker, who is … MAHMOUD ABBAS These are clues to stories we think will happen in the coming week. You can find the answers on radio and television newscasts and in newspapers and newsmagazines. We’ll reveal the answers on next week’s show. Good luck! GOOD-BYE -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And that’s it for this week’s show. From all of us here at Assignment: The World, I’m Elissa Marra. We’ll see you again next week. © 2003 WXXI-TV/ Assignment: The World. All Rights Reserved.