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	• NEWS >> ATW April 22, 2004 Yearly Script Program Index -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OPEN/WELCOME Hi and welcome to Assignment: The World for the week of April 22nd, 2004. I’m Elissa Marra. In our top story this week…In Iraq, a sharp rise in violence forces the US to re-think a deadline. 1—IRAQ More than 100 American soldiers have died thus far in the month of April. That’s a single month record in Iraq and nearly as many as those killed during the invasion that began a year ago. That sharp rise in deadly violence led the top US administrator in Iraq to admit that Iraqi security forces wont be ready by the scheduled handover of power on June 30th. Paul Bremer says coalition troops will have to maintain a heavy presence in Iraq for a much longer period of time than hoped. Bremer says the latest round of fighting exposed the depth of problems yet to be solved within the Iraqi security forces. The US also faces problems within coalition forces. If opposition parties win the next election in Australia, that country might withdraw its troops. US Ground Forces commander Ricardo Sanchez says that would send the wrong message. Coalition (n) a temporary alliance of factions, parties, or nations ATW FACT The use of rockets goes back to at least the year 10-45 in China. They were first used to send humans into outer space on April 12, 1961 when Vostok 1 took cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin into orbit around the earth.INTRO REST OF THE NEWS In the rest of the news this week… -A bold new step amid a violent strike in Israel -Spain’s new leader steps away from Iraq -and a new crew takes off into the wild blue. #2—ISRAEL The radical Islamic group, Hamas, has a new leader, one whose name will not be made public. That’s in response to the Israeli rocket attack that killed former Hamas leader Abdel Aziz Rantisi Sunday. Rantisi was one of 7 founders of Hamas in 1987. It has since become one of the largest militant Islamic factions in the area and one dedicated to a Muslim Middle East without an Israel. Rantisi took over from Sheikh Admed Yassin who was killed in a similar Israeli attack on March 22nd. Israel has promised to destroy the leadership of Hamas before pulling its troops out of the Gaza Strip and West Bank. Palestinians continue to vow revenge for the attacks. Arabs in country’s throughout the region gathered in protest. Faction (n) a group of people forming a possibly contentious minority within a larger group #3—SPAIN Spain’s soldiers in Iraq are coming home in “the shortest time possible.” Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said he would fulfill that promise given when Spanish voters made him that country’s new prime minister. Zapatero’s party won the March 14th elections in part because of the Spanish public’s reaction to the Madrid train bombings that killed nearly 2-hundred people. Zapatero said his government would continue to support Iraq’s stability, democratization, and reconstruction but that without firm United Nations controls, Spanish troops would soon leave. While President Bush was not pleased by Spain’s decision, renegade Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr welcomed it. He has ordered his followers to cease all attacks against Spanish troops and all other foreigners who do not have forces occupying Iraq. Stability (n) resistance to sudden change or overthrow #4— —SPACE LAUNCH The international space station has three new residents. A Russian, American, and Dutch blasted off Monday from a launch pad in Kazakhstan. 9 minutes later, the three astronauts shook hands as they entered orbit. Their space craft reached the space station Wednesday. Dutch astronaut Andre Kuipers will return with the space station’s departing crew after 9 days. That will leave Russian commander Gennady Padalka and American Michael Fincke on board for the next 183 days. Two spacewalks are scheduled during that time. Other experiments planned include geographic monitoring, biotechnology, and medical projects. Padalka is also supposed to cultivate the fourth generation of peas to be grown on the international space station. The newest crew had been trained to arrive via space shuttle but America shut down its shuttle fleet after the Columbia disaster a year ago. Cultivate (v) to grow or tend to a plant or a crop POP QUIZ #1 In our story about Iraq, what did we tell you was the deadline for handing over control? Was it 1. May 30th 2. June 30th 3. July 30th And the answer is number 2. The US led coalition is scheduled to hand over power on June 30th. OLD CLUE #1— CRAWFORD, TEXAS And now it’s time for the answers to our clues in the news… Our first clue is the location of Crawford, Texas. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarek visited President Bush at his Texas ranch April 12th. Egypt continues to be a key U-S ally in the Middle East. During Mubarek’s visit, the Egyptian president said he welcomed a new Israeli initiative in the region but not at the expense of the White House’s stalled proposal intended to lead to the creation of a Palestinian state. President Bush tied the conflict between Arabs and Israelis with the continuing effort to create democracy in Iraq. He says the future of the Middle East and of Iraq are closely linked. OLD CLUE #2—RICE TESTIMONY Unscramble our second clue and you get Rice testimony. National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice spent three hours testifying under oath about the events leading up to the tragedy of 9-11. She answered often harsh questions from the independent commission investigating the September 11th attacks. At the heart of those questions was the need to know how much of a warning the President was given and in what detail. Rice acknowledged an F.B. I. report that mentioned suspicious activity but she says that it contained no new information about potential threats. President Bush and Vice President Cheney will also meet with the commission. OLD CLUE #3—SHARON VISIT And finally, fill in the blanks on our third clue and you get Sharon visit. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon met with U-S President George Bush on April 14th. At a news conference, Bush publicly backed Sharon’s plan to pull Israeli forces out of the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank. Sharon’s plan has already won over some members of Israel’s political right. He faces a vote on May 2nd that would give him added momentum to set the plan in motion. Palestinian leaders have rejected the idea. THIS WEEK IN WORLD HISTORY This week in world history…April 23rd, 1564, glove maker John Shakespeare welcomed his new son. William Shakespeare would go on to write several dozen plays that continue to affect entertainment and language more than 400 years later. FEATURE CORAL REEF/SCIENCE DESK Coral Reefs are important because they protect our shorelines and provide habitats for many organisms under the seas…but something called coral bleaching is endangering many coral reefs. George Wolfe has more on this week’s Science Desk. SCIENCE DESK CORAL REEF (George) Have you ever been to a coral reef? Well maybe you had better go soon, because before you know it, they may be gone... Why? Well the culprit lies in a phenomenon known as Coral Bleaching...but first a little bit about corals. Believe it or not corals are animals closely related to jellyfish. Picture a jellyfish with it’s tentacles hanging down…flip it over, plop it on the bottom and you have an animal known as a sea amenity that looks like this. Now lets take that sea amenity and squish it real small and build a limestone skeleton around the outside of it and you have a coral reef. A coral reef is literally an apartment complex for millions of these coral animals. A green Algae known as zooanthellae live inside each coral, they absorb the corals waste while performing photosynthesis which produces sugar that nourishes the coral. Now here's the problem over the last one hundred years we have documented an increase in the temperature of the oceans. It turns out that the zooanthellae like it a little bit cooler than it is today and they stop functioning. Waste now accumulates in the coral; the coral sickens spits out the Z and becomes bleached. It loses its color and its source of food. A bleached coral is a sick coral. Bleaching is a natural process but what is not natural is the rate which coral bleaching is occurring. Coral reefs are important because they protect shorelines and provide habitats for many organisms. We need to protect our corals by creating marine parks in places like the Great Barrier Reef and limit greenhouse gas emissions through reduced fossil fuel burning...you can learn more about coral reefs at the ATW website at atwonline.org and that's it from the science desk. ISN’T IT COOL New Zealand SheepHis nickname is Shrek…and for more than six years this merino sheep has eluded shepherds and shearers. Barely recognizable under a nearly foot long fleece the nine year old wooly wanderer was recently captured. Shearers say his coat would yield enough highly prized merino wool to make more than 20 large men’s suits. ISSUE Recently, the Supreme Court began to argue over whether school children should continue pledging allegiance to one nation “under God”. Michael Newdow, an atheist, recently argued before the Supreme Court that the phrase in the Pledge Of Allegiance is an unconstitutional government promotion of religion. If the court agrees, it could declare that the phrase breaches the separation of church and state. That would mean an end to the Pledge of Allegiance as generations of American children have known it. The court could also decide that the phrase is just a ceremonial part of a traditional, patriotic exercise. Congress inserted the words “under God” in 1954 at the height of the Cold War to distinguish the religious traditions of the United States from the atheism of the Soviet Union. The Bush Administration as well as a majority of American citizens is against changing the Pledge. Almost 9 in ten think the reference should remain. So, what do you think… “Should the Pledge of Allegiance be changed?” Discuss this issue with your classmates after the show and then write to us with your opinions. MAILBAG We received over three hundred responses to our issue question…”Should smoking be banned in all public places?” The majority of you, eight three percent say yes, it should be banned. Thirteen percent say no, it should not. Just four percent are undecided. Many of you are afraid that banning smoking is another example of us losing our individual freedoms. Shauna of Minot, North Dakota writes, “It takes away individual freedom of choice. Even though it is a bad choice, it takes away people’s liberty.” Melissa of Greendale, Wisconsin feels we should be able to accommodate all people. Melissa writes, “There should be separate rooms in buildings. Smoking is an individual decision, not the government’s decision.” The majority of you, however, feel banning smoking in all public places is a good idea. Jenna B. of Elba, New York writes, “People will inhale smoke…it isn’t fair to people that don’t smoke.” Jeremy of Harvey, North Dakota writes, “Some people might be allergic to nicotine or other chemicals in cigarettes. Plus, if kids see them smoking in public… they might try it too.” Jennifer J. of Janesville, Wisconsin adds, “If they need to smoke, they should go outside. It would be better for other people’s health.” Finally, Travis of Plymouth, Wisconsin writes, “When people smoke they put their lives and our lives in danger. Some places may lose some business but more people will live.” MAILBAG CLOSE We look forward to receiving your responses to our two latest issue questions…“Should the Pledge of Allegiance be changed?” ” and “Should boys and girls be taught separately?” 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 Israeli Prime Minister Sharon, we told you he has proposed pulling out of the West Bank and what other area? Gaza Strip Jerusalem Golan Heights And the correct answer is number one. Sharon has proposed pulling Israeli troops out of areas of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, NEW CLUES And now it’s time for next week’s clues in the news… Our first clue a location… 28 Degrees, 36 minutes north latitude 77 Degrees, 12 minutes west longitude Our second clue is a newsmaker: G-7 MINISTERS And finally, our third clue is a scrambled letter, three words: FLABTOOL REPLAY RAFTD 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 next week. © 2004 WXXI-TV/ Assignment: The World. All Rights Reserved.