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	• NEWS >> ATW Script Evergreen, 2003 Yearly Script Program Index -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OPEN/WELCOME Hi and welcome to Assignment: The World for the week of October second, 2003. I’m Elissa Marra. In our top story this week…Working together in Iraq, coming apart here at home. #1— IRAQ UPDATE Iraqi security forces, backed up by US military police, joined together Monday in the town of Tikrit. They conducted the largest joint raid against people suspected of terrorist acts. Also in Iraq this week, 17 members of Congress who saw first hand the efforts to rebuild Iraq. They and the rest of Congress must still vote on the President’s 87-billion dollar request for funds for projects in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Back at home, an investigation is underway into whether the White House revealed the identity of a C-I-A agent. The agent’s husband, former ambassador Joseph Wilson has been critical of President Bush. Wilson had questioned the President’s claim that Iraq had tried to buy materials for a nuclear weapon from Africa. Soon after that criticism, Wilson’s wife was identified as an agent of the Central Intelligence Agency. Revealing the name of an undercover C-I-A agent is a federal crime. The White House denied any involvement in such a leak. Agent (n) A spy.ATW FACT Looking for a good book? Harvard is the leader among academic libraries with 14.7 million volumes. The world’s largest library of any kind is the Library of Congress with a total of 19 million volumes. Source: USA Today 9/29/03 INTRO REST OF THE NEWS In the rest of the news this week… -The First Lady goes on the road to Paris… -Revolutionary talks in Havana -and finally, a look at the future on a new trip to the moon. #2— 1ST LADY For the first time since 1984, the US will be a part of UNESCO. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization began in 1945. UNESCO helps to modernize education and preserves cultural and natural treasures. The US has been critical of UNESCO over the past two decades, calling it corrupt and anti-Western. That changed this year as First Lady Laura Bush delivered the keynote address at the organization’s 32nd general conference in Paris. She said America will be able to contribute much to the group in the form of expertise. The US is joining in a number of international collaborations. Its hoped those ventures will help offset criticism of US policies in general and the war in Iraq in particular. Keynote (n) opening address that outlines issues to be considered\| #3— BRAZIL Brazil is 200-million dollars closer to Cuba. That’s the total amount of business deals signed by the leaders of the two countries this weekend. Fidel Castro and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva also signed agreements on health, education, agriculture and fishing. Brazil’s President da Silva called it an “exceptional step for Cuba and Brazil.” Da Silva is trying to walk a diplomatic fine line between friendship with Cuba and staying on good terms with Brazil’s number one trading partner, the US. The US and Cuba have been at odds for 40 years. Exceptional(adj) being above average, uncommon. #4— MOON Slow but smart and inexpensive. That describes the European Space Agency’s first mission to the moon. SMART stands for Small Missions for Advanced Research and Technology. The mission blasted off from a launch pad in French Guiana. Over the next 15 months, the unmanned spacecraft will use a new technology involving solar panels to generate energy. When it arrives at the moon in December of 2004, it will primarily look into the prospects of building a permanent human base there. With a price tag of about 126 million US dollars, the SMART-1 costs only a fifth of a typical major science mission. Moon(n) The natural satellite of the Earth, 221,000 miles distant POP QUIZ #1 In our story about US rejoining UNESCO, what did we tell you UNESCO does? Restores peace Offers financial help Preserves culture And the correct answer is number three. UNESCO is designed to help preserve cultural and natural treasures. OLD CLUE #1— PUTIN MEETING And now it’s time for the answers to our clues in the news… Fill in the blanks on our first clue and you get Putin Meeting. Russian President Vladimir Putin met over the weekend with his American counterpart. The presidents used a news conference to indicate their joint concerns over nuclear threats in Iran and North Korea. However, President Putin said Russia will go ahead with an 800-million dollar contract with Iran to build a nuclear power reactor there. The US continues to oppose the program, saying it will only help produce raw materials that could be used in nuclear weapons. Russia did join other countries in setting a deadline of October 31st for Iran to allow international inspectors to search for weapons. OLD CLUE #2—CLIMATE CONFERENCE Find the location of our second clue and you arrived in Moscow. The Russian capitol is the site of an international conference on world climate change. Russia will play a key role in the life or death of an agreement to be discussed there called the Kyoto Protocol. That plan which dates back to 1997, calls for limits on levels of greenhouse gas emissions. Countries that exceed those limits would have to cut back on industrial production. The US has already rejected the treaty. Russia’s president says his country has yet to decide how it will vote. Without Russia’s backing, the treaty would likely fail. OLD CLUE #3—CALIFORNIA RECALL And finally, unscramble our third clue and you found Recall Election. October 7th is the day voters in California will decide if current Governor Gray Davis should stay or lose his job. All 11 members of the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals chose to overturn an earlier ruling that would have delayed the recall election. The previous decision had been made because 40 per cent of California’s voters would be using the same kind of ballots that caused problems in Florida during the last presidential campaign. If Davis is recalled, Californians will have to choose from among 135 candidates including actor Arnold Schwartzenegger. THIS WEEK IN WORLD HISTORY This week in world history… on October 4, 1957… the Space Age began with the launching of Sputnik. The Russian word for satellite, Sputnik sparked a race into space by the US and the Soviet Union. FEATURE INTRO Watch your average National Football League game and you don’t often see the man behind the mask. Wyatt Doremus got the chance to learn more about one of the NFL’s biggest players. Check it out! FEATURE RUBEN BROWN (Wyatt) “Meet Ruben Brown…A 6 foot 3, 300 pound offensive lineman for the Buffalo Bills. Ruben was a first round selection from the University of Pittsburgh in the 1995 NFL draft. He has been to the Pro Bowl seven times and was a key factor in a Bills offense that produced a running back who ran for 1,400 yards and a quarterback that passed for 4,000 yards in the 2002 season.” (Ruben Brown) “I am the left guard for the Buffalo Bills and what I do is I basically protect the Quarter Back from Linebackers and Defensive Linemen that are trying to get him and I also help open up the holes so the running backs can get through so we can rush for touch downs and all those good things. When I was young I didn’t think I was going to make it to the NFL but I always enjoyed playing so here I am now.” (Wyatt) “In addition to his ability to make big plays on the football field, Ruben also makes a big impact in his community by working with many different charity organizations. He is a spokesperson for the ‘Campbell Soup Tackle Hunger’ program, is extremely active with the Salvation Army and United Way, hosts an annual motor cycle run fundraiser in Buffalo and holds a football camp for kids every summer.” (Ruben Brown) “How many kids get to come over to 1 Bills drive other than a game and get to see what actually goes on in here. It’s a good experience for them, they get to know the game, and the team, and the players a lot better. I feel like I’m fortunate enough to be in a situation where I can help, I can use my influence as an NFL player to help support some of the programs that are in the community that do do exist. It makes me feel good and I know that everyone can use some help.” (Wyatt) “For ATW I’m Wyatt Doremus.” ISN’T IT COOL! The Great Wall of China is over 2,000 years old but it’s never hosted an event like this. Ten thousand people performing the gentle movements of Tai Chi. The performance is part of China’s five year plan to improve its image before it hosts the 2008 Olympics. Organizers say the event promotes physical exercise as well as the Olympic spirit. They believe the Olympic spirit is similar to Tai Chi’s spirit of generosity. ISSUE They may be annoying but are they illegal? President Bush signed a bill Monday that would allow the Federal Trade Commission to implement the national do-not-call registry. More than 50 million Americans signed up for the registry. It would block 80 per cent of unwanted calls, calls usually made at the most inconvenient hours of the day. But two Federal judges have separately ruled against the Registry. One said the FTC lacks the authority to run the registry. The other, perhaps more serious ruling says the do-not-call list is unconstitutional. The judge ruled that it limits free speech because the list applies to businesses but not to politicians or charities. To be fair, it would have to apply equally to all uninvited callers. So, what you think… “Should there be do-not-call registry?” Discuss this issue with your classmates after the show and then write to us with your opinions. MAILBAG We received nearly four hundred responses to our first issue question of the year … “Should schools ban vending machine junk food?” The majority of you, sixty three percent say no, junk food should not be banned. Twenty four percent say yes, it should. Thirteen percent are undecided. Many of you feel schools can help students make better choices by removing the temptation of junk food. Elizabeth B. of Orchard Park, New York writes, “I think having junk food at school promotes unhealthy eating habits because kids choose (junk food) over nutritious foods.” Ben C. of Ticonderoga, New York adds, “Schools should replace the junk food with healthy food. I think this would help more students get (good) nutrition.” The majority of you, however, do not want to give up the foods you enjoy. Josiah G. of Rockford, Michigan writes, “Schools make money off of it so why would they want to change that? If kids don’t eat school junk food…they would just eat it at home.” Joe P. of Wittenberg, Wisconsin agrees and adds, “If people don’t want to have those snacks, they don’t have to…for people who want them, they should have the chance to get them.” Danielle D. of Verona, Virginia does not think junk food is the problem. Danielle writes, “It’s not the food that make kids obese…they don’t exercise enough!” Finally Payton P. of Frederick County, Virginia writes, “What we eat is our business. Just because we eat too much (junk food), doesn’t mean they have the right to take it away.” MAILBAG CLOSE We look forward to receiving your responses to our two latest issue questions… “Should there be an age limit on cell phones?” and “Should there be a do-not call registry?” 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 World Climate Conference, which nation did we say was key to the future of the Kyoto Protocol? Was it… The US Russia Japan And the correct answer is number two… Russia’s decision will determine the fate of the global emissions agreement. NEW CLUES And now it’s time for next week’s clues in the news… Our first clue is a fill-in the blanks, 2 WORDS… S__P__E__E C__U__T Our second clue is a location… 40 Degrees, 24 minutes north latitude 3 Degrees, 41 minutes west longitude And finally, our third clue is a name… Mwai Kibaki 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.