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	• NEWS >> ATW May 5, 2005 Yearly Script Program Index -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OPEN/WELCOME Hi and welcome to Assignment: The World for the week of May 5th, 2005. I’m Elissa Orlando. In our top story this week…America’s next step into space will take a little longer. 1—SHUTTLE DELAY July 12th is now the earliest possible launch date for the space shuttle Discovery. NASA had targeted late May for the first shuttle liftoff since the Columbia disaster more than 2 years ago. But officials say more time is needed to ensure that Discovery’s fuel tank doesn’t shed dangerous pieces of ice during take off. Investigators believe Columbia was damaged by a suitcase sized piece of foam that broke off its fuel tank. That damage eventually led to the deaths of all 7 of Columbia’s astronauts. Engineers have made a number of improvements designed to prevent any repeat of that tragedy. NASA administrator Michael Griffin said even more repairs are needed, including a heater that would prevent ice buildup on the joints and brackets that hold the shuttle together. Griffin says he would like to launch Discovery as soon as possible but wants that launch to be as safe as NASA can make it. When it does finally leave Earth for the International Space Station, Discovery is due to bring much needed supplies and replacement parts. 4-29 Repeat (v) to do, experience, or produce again ATW Fact The Space Shuttle program began in the late 1970s with the prototype Enterprise. Challenger was the first to orbit the Earth in 1981. Followed by Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour, shuttles have made more than 100 missions into space. INTRO REST OF THE NEWS In the rest of the news this week… --New threats to peace in Iraq… --A key resignation in Israel… --and an historic meeting between China and Taiwan. #2—IRAQ UPDATE A new round of violence is greeting efforts to form an Iraqi cabinet. Car bombs went off in Baghdad and several other cities across Iraq beginning late last week. In just 4 days, more than 100 Iraqis were killed and several hundred more were wounded. Experts believe it is an effort to intimidate the new government. The violence may also be a reaction to the Shiite alliance denying any Sunni with ties to Saddam Hussein’s old Baathist Party a position of political power. Elsewhere, security officials say it is likely that voice on a newly released audio tape is that of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The tape that was posted on the Internet promises more attacks against US forces and warns all militants against any American attempts to peacefully negotiate. The US is offering a 25 million dollar reward for information leading to Zarqawi’s arrest. American forces consider him the most wanted militant in Iraq. 4/29, 5/2 Intimidate (v to make timid, threaten #3—ISRAEL UPDATE A key Israeli cabinet minister is the latest government official to protest the planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. Former Soviet dissident Natan Sharansky resigned Monday as minister for Diaspora Affairs and Jerusalem. Sharansky has spent the past decade criticizing successive governments for their handling of negotiations with Palestinians. He believe too many concessions were made with too little for Israel in return. In his resignation letter to Prime Minister Sharon, Sharansky urged that any progress in peace talks should be linked to greater democracy in the Palestinian areas. Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered Moscow as the site for such talks. Putin met with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas late last week where Putin repeated an earlier proposal for an international Mideast peace conference in the fall. While Abbas welcomed the idea, both Israel and the US have responded cooley to the proposal. 4/29, 5/2 Concessions (n) something yielded or granted as a privilege or right #4— —TAIWAN VISIT Hundreds of millions of viewers watched Chinese President Hu Jintao meet Taiwan’s opposition leader late last week. The visit by Nationalist Party Chairman Lien Chan was the highest level contact between the two sides since their split during civil war in 1949. China continues to claim Taiwan as its territory and has threatened to invade if Taiwan attempts to make itself independent. Current Taiwanese President Chen Sui-bian favors independence, a stance that has heightened tensions between the two sides. Opposition leader Lien said his visit was an effort to calm those tensions. He and his wife were also able to tour the campus of Peking University where his mother was a student. Invade (v) to enter by force in order to conquer or pillage POP QUIZ #1 In our story about the Space Shuttle, what did we tell you was the earliest date for its next launch? Is it 1. July 12 2. June 12 3. May 12 And the answer is number 1. Repairs will force a delay in the next shuttle launch until at least July 12th. OLD CLUE #1—RICE: LATIN AMERICA TRIP It's time now for the answers to our Clues in the News. Our first clue was the location of Santiago, Chile. That was one of several stops on a trip through South and Central America by U-S Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice. In Chile, Rice met with other members of the Organization of American States. Her trip also included stops in Brazil, Columbia, and El Salvador. Meeting with leaders in those countries, the Secretary discussed the worsening relations between America and Venezuela. Her talks also included free trade between countries in the Americas and mutual security concerns. OLD CLUE #2—MARTIN TORRIJOS Our second clue was a newsmaker: Martin Torrijos. The president of Panama visited the White House late last week. Torrijos and President Bush discussed improving security and economic opportunities in this hemisphere. Torrijos was elected last year on a platform of cracking down on corruption in Panama, re-establishing diplomatic relations with Cuba and a multi-billion dollar plan to widen the Panama Canal. He is the son of General Omar Torrijos who ruled Panama from 1968 to 1981. OLD CLUE #3—NUCLEAR TREATY MEETING And finally, unscramble our third clue and you got Nuclear treaty Meeting. Representatives from nearly 200 countries are meeting at the United Nations this month to review the 35 year old Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. While that treaty is meant to limit or even reduce the number of nuclear weapons, that goal may be difficult to achieve. As the meeting was getting underway, Iran threatened to resume its production of nuclear fuel. And North Korea all but ruled out negotiations with the US and four other nations. The North Koreans said they will not resume talks while President Bush, who they denounced as a “hooligan” remains in office. THIS WEEK IN WORLD HISTORY This week in world history… May 6th, 1861, Arkansas seceded from the Union. It was the 9th of what would eventually be 11 former states to form the Confederate States of America. Civil war between those states and the USA lasted 4 full years at a cost of more than 600-thousand lives. ATW FEATURE FEATURE Do you know what a Beluga Whale is? We visited an aquarium in Mystic, Connecticut to learn more about these fascinating creatures. Check it out! ATW FEATURE (Justin) Welcome to the Mystic Aquarium and Institute for Exploration, I’m one of the Beluga Whale trainers here, I’m going to introduce you to our contact program. (Wyatt) In Mystic Connecticut, visitors here have the opportunity to learn in a more up-close and personal way. They are lucky enough to get into the water with Keyla (pause) and her trainer Justin, to learn “Hands On” about Beluga Whales. (Justin) This is only one of only two Beluga Contact Programs in the United States, so Mystic is the only place east of the Mississippi that you can get this close to a Beluga Whale at a zoo or aquarium. (Wyatt) While what Justin and Keyla do during the program may look easy, it takes a lot of time and training to get the whales and the trainers ready to entertain and educate the guests. Training that involves a very positive mindset. (Justin) All of our training here with our Beluga’s is done through positive reinforcements, so there is never any punishment to the animals. So what we are looking for is providing them the best chance to be successful in this session and one of the things that we try to do as trainers, is to make every session stimulating and different for them, so they can be excited to partake in that training program. It’s all under voluntary cooperation of the animal. We can’t force them to do anything. (Wyatt) During the program, participants are able to touch and actually see all there is to know about Beluga’s, such as their breathing habits, what and how they eat, and how and where they live. Justin, as the trainer, will also be able to demonstrate many of Keyla’s unique abilities to the guests. He attributes the success of these sessions to teamwork, trust, and the experience he has gained while working at the aquarium and with Keyla. (Justin) By having many positive interactions with the animal, you form a positive trusting relationship with them, just like you would your dog or any other pet you have. They learn to trust you and learn that you are not going to do anything to harm them. There’s never anything really specific that they ask for, when they are looking for trainer positions. Anything in the sciences or psychology is an important field for training techniques but practical experience is the biggest thing in getting a job in this field. (Wyatt) The Contact program is just another way in which people are able to learn “Hands On” about the things around them. This program has been useful not only to the guests participating, but for the Beluga’s like Keyla as well. (Justin) They are very intelligent animals. They get a lot out of our training techniques and also, we can teach them to get a lot out of interactions with their trainers and that’s important as well. Wyatt: For Assignment the World, I’m Wyatt Doremus. ISN’T IT COOL WOODPECKER The Ivory-billed woodpecker, one of the largest such birds in the world, was thought to be extinct. Recently, there have been several independent sightings of a bird that appears to be an ivory-billed woodpecker. The primary reason for its alleged extinction was loss of habitat. But, the new sightings occurred in the Big Woods region of Arkansas, an area that has been reforested in the last decade. ISSUE President Bush says nuclear power plants are one of the keys to a cleaner environment and to cutting dependence on foreign energy sources. Even though British Prime Minister Tony Blair will make a similar proposal, it’s a controversial idea. Nuclear power plants have long been accused of being too dangerous in the wake of accidents at Chernobyl and Three Mile Island. Cleaning, transporting, and storing nuclear waste is possible but also dangerous with long term consequences. Critics say it is also potentially a source for terrorists to get the building blocks for nuclear weapons. But others disagree. France gets 77-per cent of its power from nuclear plants, with Japan at about 30 per cent. Proponents say nuclear is no more dangerous than other existing power generators including coal and gas which have toxic emissions. In fact, they say fossil fuels, and not nuclear power, are behind global warming. While they argue that nuclear power can be both cheap and safe, they say worldwide demand and limited supplies of fossil fuels will make the use of nuclear inevitable. Well, we would like to know what you think? “Should the US rely more on nuclear power?” Discuss this issue with your classmates, friends and family and write to let us know your opinions. MAILBAG We received nearly six hundred responses to our issue question, “Should teachers stop using red ink when grading papers?” The majority of you, 82 percent say no, they should not stop using red ink. Just 11 percent say yes, they should. Seven percent are undecided. Many of you feel that red ink is too negative a color and that, teachers should stop using it. Robert G. of Ticonderoga, New York writes, “Most teachers mark bad grades in red. If a teacher marks a good grade in red, the student will think their grade is bad just because of the color red.” Amanda C. of Friendship, Wisconsin agrees and adds, “Teachers should use pink, blue, black or orange ink. Red looks like blood (and) is very upsetting to receive on a paper you worked so hard on.” The majority of you, however, think red ink is just fine. Many of you think the question is even sort of silly. Ben L. of Verona, Virginia writes, “To say that kids automatically recognize red as criticism is an insult to our intelligence. No one should care what color is used to grade papers.” Madison F. of Iowa City, Iowa adds, “Kids are not getting low self-esteem (from) the color of the ink! If they got a bad grade it’s because they didn’t try hard enough.” Alexa E. of Hudsonville, Michigan says the color of the ink isn’t important at all. Alexa writes, “What the teacher writes is more important than what color he or she uses.” Kristy B. of Fargo, North Dakota thinks red ink sends the right message. Kristy writes, “It shows the student (that) they need to practice a little more.” Finally, Kelly S. of Cottage Grove, Minnesota wonders what all the fuss is about. Kelly writes, “Red is just a color. It’s like saying stop using a black pen. What’s the difference?” We look forward to receiving your responses to our issue questions: “Should cameras be allowed in the US Supreme Court?” and “Should the US rely more on nuclear power?” 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 Israel, where did Russia’s president offer to hold an international Mideast peace conference? Is it 1. Moscow 2. St. Petersburg 3. Volgograd And the correct answer is number one. President Putin offered to host a peace conference in Moscow this fall. NEW CLUES And now it’s time for next week’s clues in the news… Our first clue a location… 55 Degrees, 45 minutes north latitude 37 Degrees, 42 minutes east longitude Our second clue is a fill in the blanks B__I__I__H V__T__ And finally, our third clue is a scrambled letter, three words: YUCKKENT BYRED 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 Orlando. We’ll see you next week. © 2005 WXXI-TV/ Assignment: The World. All Rights Reserved.