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	• NEWS >> ATW December 4, 2003 Yearly Script Program Index -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OPEN/WELCOME Hi and welcome to Assignment: The World for the week of December 4th 2003. I’m Elissa Marra. In our top story this week…a major firefight in Iraq might have began as a grab for cash. #1— IRAQ ATTACK US officials say three separate attacks were aimed at a convey carrying significant amounts of new Iraqi currency. The attacks in the city of Samarra were reportedly carried out by men dressed in the uniforms of pro-Saddam Hussein Fedayeen fighters. The US says it killed 54 of those fighters while escaping without any serious American casualties. It was the largest confrontation since Hussein’s regime was toppled last spring. Violence continues to flare in other areas of Iraq though against new targets. Guerillas now seem to be attacking workers and soldiers from countries supporting the US in Iraq. Two South Korean electricians and one worker from Columbia were killed in separate attacks Sunday. 2 Japanese diplomats and 7 Spanish intelligence agents were killed the day before. Leaders from Spain, South Korea and Japan have promised that their countries will not give in to terror. Flares (v) to erupt or intensify suddenly ATW FACT Wildfire in California set several unfortunate records this year. They destroyed 989,000 acres, more than 200-thousand acres than the record in 1987. 48-hundred buildings were also destroyed, up from the previous record of 3-thousand in 1991. Source: USA Today INTRO REST OF THE NEWS In the rest of the news this week… -A mixed reaction to a new hope for Mideast peace -A potential step backward in Northern Ireland -and charges and countercharges fly in Venezuela. #2—MIDEAST PEACE Leaders from around the world are welcoming an unofficial plan for peace in the Mideast. Israeli officials and Palestinian militants are both calling the idea “treason.” 58 former and current presidents and prime ministers are backing the so-called Geneva Initiative. Drafted in secret by an Israeli and a Palestinian, it calls in part for the splitting of Jerusalem into two parts and the removal of Jewish settlements in Palestinian territory. Support in Israel has risen to about 30 per cent while opposition appears to be dropping. Former US President Jimmy Carter called the plan the only alternative to growing violence. At least 22-hundred Palestinians and more than 800 Israelis have died in violence since September of 2000. Initiative (n) the right by which citizens can propose a law by petition. #3— — NORTHERN IRELAND VOTE Peace in Northern Ireland may be more difficult but not impossible. That’s how some experts are viewing the results of voting late last week in Northern Ireland. Member of Protestant and Catholic parties opposed to a proposed peace plan gained seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly. Ian Paisley, the leader of the Protestant Democratic Unionist Party, says the success of his candidates was a vote for “positive change”. He says it should not be viewed as a step back from the so-called Good Friday accord. That would create a sharing of power between Protestants and Catholics. Leaders of the opposition Sinn Fein party say they are willing to talk to Paisley’s D-U-P party to share ideas. Accord(n) a settlement or compromise of conflicting opinions #4— VENEZUELA RECALL Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez will have to wait until January to see if he will have to face a recall election. His opponents claim they have more than the 2.4 million signatures needed to force a recall. They accuse Chavez of trying to divide Venezuela and of attempting to put in place a government similar to that of Fidel Castro in Cuba. Chavez accuses his opponents of massive fraud in the recall process. He says he’s confident that he’ll not only survive the recall but will win re-election in 2006. If the recall is held, more citizens must vote against Chavez than voted for him in 2000. That means more than 3.7 million Venezuelans must vote against Chavez for him to be forced out of office. Recall (n) the procedure by which a public official may be removed from office. POP QUIZ #1 In our story about the largest battle in Iraq since spring, where did we tell you the ambushes occurred? Was it in 1. Samarra 2. Baghdad 3. Tikrit And the answer is…number 1. US soldiers fought off 3 attacks in the Iraqi city of Samarra. OLD CLUE #1— FREE TRADE And now it’s time for the answers to our clues in the news… Our first clue was a location. Go there and you would have been in Miami, Florida. That’s where the Free Trade Arena of the Americas meeting was held in late November. 34 countries were represented at a summit designed to come closer to a agreement for free trade throughout the Western Hemisphere. The treaty has a deadline of January 2005 but there are many issues still to be resolved. Like previous free trade meetings, this one attracted a number of protestors. Many of those were American factory workers who say free trade will endanger their jobs. OLD CLUE #2—NATO MEETING Fill in the blanks on our second clue and you get NATO Meeting. Members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization met in Brussels, Belgium this week. US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was among those who spoke to the group. Rumsfeld said the US would welcome NATO’s help in making Iraq more secure. NATO’s top diplomat, Lord Robertson, says NATO is changing from an organization that began as way to meet Cold War threats to one capable of facing 21st century challenges. 26 nations including the US are members of NATIO. OLD CLUE #3—WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM And finally, unscramble our third clue and you have World Economic Forum. 400 people from 20 countries met in New Delhi, India in late November. The forum ended with praise for the host country’s economic achievements. However, participants noted several areas in which India must still improve. The World Economic Forum describes itself as an independent organization dedicated to improving the world by getting leaders to address global issues.THIS WEEK IN WORLD HISTORY This week in world history… on December 4th, 1619, Captain John Woodlief led a ceremony to give thanks for the survival of the Jamestown Colony. At one year and 17 days before the arrival of Pilgrims in New England, it may be the real first Thanksgiving celebration in North America. FEATURE BUFFALO MUSEUM It’s always fun to visit your local museum to see what new exhibits might be open. This week we traveled to Buffalo, New York to blast off into space! Check it out! (Wyatt Doremus) “Here at the Buffalo Science Museum in Buffalo, New York a new interactive exhibit called ‘Our Place In Space’ is giving kids a chance to explore our solar system while looking at some of the scientific principles that govern our glorious universe.” (Torrie Black: Museum Educator) “The exhibit is set up into four stations, the first one ‘Light From Space’, the main component for that is laser play…bending and reflecting light, it takes light a long time to travel—actually the light from the Sun is eight minutes old when we see it. The next station ‘Looking at Earth from Space’ is all computer based presentation on Satellite technology, what do satellites do for us, how do we understand our Solar System, how do we get those pictures of the Sun, of these planets…it’s all about Satellites and technology and how they help us understand our planet. The third station is about Meteorites; we call it ‘Meteorite Encounter’. It has a few components; one of them is an actual meteorite weigh station where you can actually weigh yourself with a meteorite that landed on the Earth. The other component is our Slow Motion Station, there is a pit of sand and they can actually make impacts and watch it in slow motion to see how the 'ejecta' is shot out. The last station, (which I think is one of the coolest ones) is our ‘Night Sky’ simulator. We can explore the night sky anytime we want and then there’s also a Deep Space Explorer where we can explore the galaxy and universe and see what these galaxy’s look like—so those are our four major components for the ‘Our Place In Space’ exhibit.” (Wyatt) “Next week we will learn more about the significance of light from space, where meteorites come from and what space vehicles are telling us about the Earth and it’s neighboring planets.” ISN’T IT COOL WILD TURKEYS We may have just wrapped up the worst week of the year for most turkeys but for a select few in Hugo, Colorado…they’re taking back the streets!!! Wild turkeys are a common site in Hugo but residents say that in the past year more and more are showing up in areas previously ruled by humans. Some view them as a garden nuisance…others are simply amused but they all agree that, even on national turkey day in the United States, these wild turkeys are not to be taken as a free meal. As one young Hugo resident put it…”they’re too skinny!” ISSUE Newspapers, magazines and other news outlets will soon be naming their Newsmaker of the Year, the person or thing they feel has had the biggest impact on 2003. Some will likely name Saddam Hussein or Osama Bin Laden. Others might say that the ongoing rush of technology and the Internet have been at the heart of this year’s critical events. Isabel was the name of the hurricane that devastated large portions of the eastern seaboard. Arnold Schwarzenegger led an historic charge from Hollywood to the governor’s mansion in California. In the Mideast, Yassir Arafat and Ariel Sharon are in the news nearly every week. Private Jessica Lynch stirred emotions during her rescue and recovery in Iraq. Or perhaps it is none of those famous people and is, instead someone with a more personal effect on you…a parent, teacher or friend. So, what you think… “Who do you think was Newsmaker of the Year?” 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 teachers who cheat face the same penalties as students?” The majority of you eighty one percent say yes, they should face penalties. Just fourteen percent say no, they should not. Five percent are undecided. Some of you feel teachers are only trying to help their students and that they may not be really cheating. Alex M. of Kohler (Coe-lur), Wisconsin writes, “Cheating to us is looking at the exact answers and getting an A. A study guide doesn’t give the exact answers, so it is O.K.” Sarah K. of Frederick County, Virginia adds, “Teachers are just trying to help…it’s not fair to the students or the teacher, if the teacher is just trying to do his or her job.” The majority of you, however, feel cheating is the wrong thing for anyone to do…especially teachers. Ellie P. of Hilton, New York writes, “Teachers need to be fair. If they take helping…too far then students will not have the same learning privileges. These teachers should be penalized for their unfairness.” Sarah C. of Bridgewater, Virginia agrees and adds, “Teachers who cheat are interfering with the process. A child whose teacher cheats might not know the material. If they are moved to the next grade, they will most likely fail. The child will be the one who suffers.” Oishee S. of Fargo, North Dakota writes, “If teachers change their test scores they are only setting a bad example. It shows they are not good at teaching.” Megan V. of Ticonderoga, New York agrees and adds, “They are not helping themselves or the students they are supposed to be teaching. When caught… the teachers should be either fired or suspended.” And finally, Aurelio M. of West Allis, Wisconsin thinks teachers should be held to a higher standard. Aurelio writes, “I would think if teachers were cheating…they would get a bigger consequence.” MAILBAG CLOSE We look forward to receiving your responses to our two latest issue questions… “Should all Americans have ID cards?” and “Who or what do you think was the Newsmaker of the Year?” 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 voting in Northern Ireland, which opposition party did we tell you Sinn Fein wants to meet? Was it Ulster Unionists Democratic Unionists Republicans And the correct answer is number two. Leaders of the Catholic Sinn Fein party say they want to meet with the Protestant Democratic Unionist Party. NEW CLUES And now it’s time for next week’s clues in the news… Our first clue a location… 46 Degrees, 12 minutes north latitude 6 Degrees, 10 minutes east longitude Our second clue is a fill-in the blanks, two words: P__WE__L __RI__ And finally, our third clue is a scrambled letter…two words: CAMELIT FENCERCONE 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.