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		• NEWS >> ATW Script November 14, 2002 Yearly Script Program Index -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We look forward to receiving your responses to our two latest issue questions… “Should some units in middle school gym classes be coed?” Responses should be in by Monday, November 18 and “Should space station funding be cut?” Responses due Monday, December 2. OPEN/WELCOME Hi and welcome to Assignment: The World for the week of November fourteenth, 2002. I’m Elissa Marra. In our top story this week… a U-N resolution against Iraq turns up the pressure. #1— U-N RESOLUTION The U-N Security Council unanimously approved a tough new Iraq resolution, forcing President Saddam Hussein to disarm or face “serious consequences” that would almost certainly lead to war. The fifteen-to-zero vote came after eight weeks of turbulent negotiations and was seen as a victory for the U-S, which drafted the resolution with Britain. The broad support sends Baghdad a strong message that the Security Council—divided for years over Iraq—now expects full cooperation with all U-N resolutions. In a surprising public rejection the Iraqi Parliament Monday voted against cooperating with a United Nations. They say the final decision is now up to Saddam Hussein. The Iraqi vote came after foreign ministers of the Arab League said accepting the inspections was the best way to avoid another war in the region. In Washington, the White House dismissed the rejection and said it was waiting for Baghdad’s official response. Iraq has until September 15th to comply fully with the terms of the resolution. Turbulent (adj) being in a state of agitation or tumult. ATW FACT During the mid-1970s, only thirty countries were rated as democracies. Today, out of two-hundred countries, one-hundred and forty have a multi-party system and eighty-one of those are developing a democracy. Source: World Television News, 11/11/02 INTRO REST OF THE NEWS In the rest of the news this week… -storms tear through parts of the eastern U-S… -the Chinese Congress meets, bringing 2-thousand delegates together… -and finally, a Russian Souyuz space station mission returns. #2— U-S STORMS Severe storms ripped across the eastern United States Sunday, leaving thirty-five people dead and hundreds injured. Rescue workers feared the death toll would rise as they began digging through debris. More than seventy tornadoes were reported in thirteen states, from Louisiana to Pennsylvania. The twisters brought torrential rains, high winds and golf-ball-sized hail. Thousands of homes and businesses lost power and damage to property will likely be in the millions. Ohio Lt. Governor Maureen O’Connor said the tornado that hit her area was an F-four, a classification that means the winds associated with the twister were recorded at two-hundred miles per hour. The series of storms were caused by warm, spring-like weather followed by a cold front. Torrential (adj) a violent downpour of rain #3— CHINESE CONGRESS China’s sixteenth Communist Party Congress convened amid tight security last Friday, drawing more than two-thousand delegates together to steer the nation through speedy changes and introduce a new generation of leaders. President and party leader Jiang Zemin addressed the congress, which is held every five years. At the age of seventy-six, Zemin is expected to retire next year and his replacement will likely be Communist Party Vice President Hu Jintao. (pronounced jin-tow (like cow)) Zemin took the opportunity during his address to reiterate his legacy; how to keep the party relevant and in power. He also reminded the congress that China is attracting investment with its strong growth, but that there is still much work to be done. Communism (n) a system of social order based on holding all property in common. #4— SOUYUZ MISSION After a hard landing in the Kazakh steppe, one Belgian and two Russian cosmonauts said they were feeling well following their ten-day stay at the International Space Station. The crew’s Souyuz capsule landed about three and a half hours after it left the space station in temperatures of around fourteen degrees Fahrenheit. Aboard the space station, the Belgian conducted experiments related to genetic engineering, including the effects of radiation and weightlessness on genes. The mission came amid concerns that Russia may reduce its contribution to the international space station following the U-S decision to cut funding for the project. Capsule (n) a small vehicle in which a person, or animal, can ride in flight in outer space. POP QUIZ #1 In our story about Iraq, how did the Iraqi parliament respond to the new U-N resolution … 1- Voted not to cooperate 2- Agreed to cooperate 3- Asked for more time And the correct answer is number one… the Iraqi Parliament voted not to cooperate with a United Nations Security Council resolution. OLD CLUE #1— SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA And now it’s time for the answers to last week’s clues in the news… Find the location of our first clue and you’d get Seoul, South Korea. Foreign Ministers and delegates from one-hundred and ten countries around the world participated in a three-day forum of the Community of Democracies in Seoul. South Korean President Kim Dae-jung called on the world to make more of an effort to ease poverty in underprivileged countries as a means of reducing the dangers of terrorism. Discussions on Iraq were also high on the agenda, with most foreign ministers supporting the U-N resolution and hoping it will secure peace. OLD CLUE #2—ELECTION DAY Fill in the blanks of our second clue and you’d get “Election Day.” Republicans scored a stunning takeover of the U-S Senate last week, putting the party in control of the White House, the Senate, and the House of Representatives. Registered Americans went to the polls last Tuesday to vote in mid-term elections for local offices, senate, house and in several states, governors. Democrats said the frantic campaigning by President Bush on behalf of other Republicans in the final weeks spurred the big win. OLD CLUE #3—SHUTTLE MISSION And finally, unscramble the letters of our third clue and you’d get “Shuttle Mission.” The space shuttle Endeavour’s scheduled launch for Monday was postponed due to an oxygen leak. The Endeavour mission to the international space station will likely take off next week and carry astronaut John Herrington, the first Native American in outer space. A member of the Chickasaw Nation, Herrington will take with him eagle feathers, arrowheads, a handful of sacred ground and the blessings of the other 35-thousand Chickasaw members. THIS WEEK IN WORLD HISTORY This week in world history… on November fifteenth, 1777… the Continental Congress approved the Articles of Confederation, a precursor to the Constitution of the United States. FEATURE CHINA DAM Wyatt: China recently launched the final phase of the Three Gorges Dam project. A project they hope will reduce flooding and generate precious electrical power for central China. The damming of a man-made diversion channel was carried live on national television. Dozens of workers and trucks loaded with rocks swarmed the area near the city of Yichang, about four hundred-and-thirty miles south of Beijing. The damming of the diversion channel came after workers dammed most of the canal upstream, leaving an opening less then twenty yards wide. Upon its completion, the natural flow of the mightiest rive in China was interrupted. The Three Gorges Dam is the world’s largest damming project and will start producing power next year, adding capacity through 2009 when its 244-square mile reservoir will be full. Construction began in 1993 and is expected to be completed in seven years when the twenty-six power-generating unites with a capacity of eighteen point two million kilowatts will go into operation. China is calling the dam the world’s largest water conservancy project. The project has generated international controversy because of mass relocations of villages and citizens. The Three Gorges Dam project on the Yangtze, the world’s third-largest waterway, has coast four point eight billion dollars so far with projections of a final cost of nearly twenty-five billion dollars. For Assignment: The World, I’m Wyatt Doremus. ISN’T IT COOL! Argentina Kids/Poverty Meet some kids from Argentina who are trying to make their world a better place! More then three-hundred schoolchildren recently finished a twelve-day march to cast a spotlight on the cash-strapped public education system in their country. Supported by teachers, parents and community groups the kids are calling on the government to increase social services for the half of Argentina’s thirty-seven million that live below the poverty line. Taking turns, they marched or rode in a bus caravan covering a nearly twenty-eight hundred mile route. ISSUE The U-S government proposed cutting NASA’s budget for the International Space Station. While the space station is an extraordinarily expensive part of NASA’s budget, people who favor continued federal support argue that we have spent billions on it already. To cut the program now would be a waste of the money already spent. Plus, we made a commitment to the international partners in the space station program. If we back out, then the entire program could eventually collapse. On the other side, however, there are so many programs and services that could benefit from government funding right here in our communities. If the money could be used to improve education, health and security issues for millions of people, maybe it should be spent that way instead of on an expensive outer space program that few people benefit from directly. Well, we’d like to know what you think… “Should space station funding be cut?” Discuss this issue with your classmates after the show and then write to us with your opinions. MAILBAG We received Five hundred responses to our issue question, “Would you like to live in a foreign country?” The majority of you, sixty six percent, say no, you would not want to live in a foreign country. Twenty four percent say yes you would. Ten percent are undecided. Those of you who feel it is a good idea think living in a foreign country would be a great opportunity. Alfred T. of Wallington, New Jersey writes, “People should learn to live like other people. If we learn to live like others… maybe we wouldn’t be as prejudiced.” Kira R. of Latham, New York agrees and adds, “Living in a foreign country gives (you) a chance to learn a new culture. I think it would be fun!” Megan M. of Wild Lake, Wisconsin writes, “People in our nation don’t get to experience other cultures. They might get to know (one) and even change their lives.” The majority of you, however, would not live in a foreign country. Andrej P. of Milwaukee, Wisconsin writes, “People of other countries do not have the freedom U-S citizens have. Life in a foreign country would be full of unhappiness.” Mariah K. of Henderson, Nebraska is also afraid of losing her rights. Mariah writes, “In some countries women are not allowed to get an education (or) choose a career.” Lauran D. of Mequon (Mek-won), Wisconsin adds, “We have the freedom to do whatever we want. Foreign countries might not have all the privileges that America does.” DeShawn M. of Brighton, New York doesn’t want to give up on the United States quite yet. DeShawn writes, “America has been through so much … I wouldn’t want to give up on it now.” Finally, many of you said it would depend on the country. Zosia D. of Loudonville, New York writes, “Living in another country requires some serious thought. It depends on which country you would move to … some are more secure than others.” MAILBAG CLOSE We look forward to receiving your responses to our two latest issue questions… “Should some units in middle school gym classes be coed?” and “Should space station funding be cut?” 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 storms in the eastern U-S, what made the Ohio tornado an F-four? Was it… 1) A frequency rating 2) the number injured 3) 200 mile per hour winds And the correct answer is number three… tornadoes are classified by wind strength and this tornado was recorded at 200 miles per hour. NEW CLUES And now it’s time for next week’s clues in the news… Our first clue is a location… 36 Degrees, 08 minutes north latitude 05 Degrees, 22 minutes west longitude Our second clue is a fill-in-the-blank, it’s one word… _ O _ I _ I A N _ R E _ I _ E N _ And finally, our third clue is a scrambled letter, it’s two words… N A A F C R I E T D R A 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.