• NEWS >> ATW October
14, 2004
Yearly
Script Program Index
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OPEN/WELCOME
Hi and welcome to Assignment: The World for the week of October 14th,
2004. I’m Elissa Orlando.
In our top story this week…with less than a month to go, the race
for the White House is still too close to call.
1—PRES. CAMPAIGN
Senator John Kerry and President George Bush will continue to spend
the days leading to November Second in states where large numbers of
voters remain undecided. The Democratic and Republican candidates are
also concentrating on states that have large blocks of Electoral College
votes. While both men are currently tied in the popular vote, polls
also indicate that the President is well ahead in potential Electoral
votes. Senator Kerry is focusing on Ohio and Florida. If he could win
both, he could reverse the President’s
Electoral lead. On the campaign trail, the President says Senator Kerry
uses politics and not what’s right to make up his mind on important
issues. The Senator continues to charge the President and Vice President
Cheney with refusing to face the truth about the instability in Iraq.
Both candidates claim their opponents have not been upfront with American
voters.
Electoral
College (n) body of electors chosen to elect the President and Vice
President of the U.S.
ATW FACT
The area now occupied by Afghanistan may have been where plants and
animals were first domesticated. The same area has been invaded by Persians,
Greeks, Huns, Arabs, Mongols, Moghuls, the British, and the U.S.
INTRO REST OF THE NEWS
In the rest of the news this week…
-protests are fading in Afghanistan…
-investigations continue into a terror strike in Egypt..
-and a controversial winner of a Nobel Prize for peace.
#2—AFGHAN VOTING
It may be weeks before the final totals are official but the initial
reaction in Afghanistan is joy. After years of war, millions of Afghan
voters turned out for the first democratic elections in that country’s
history. Predictions of violence by Taliban and other opposition groups
proved untrue. However, 15 candidates for President announced a boycott,
arguing that the system of using ink to mark voters hands was flawed.
The international panel that oversaw the elections rejected any pleas
to postpone or abandon the effort. The panel said it would rob millions
of their first chance to vote and that it would rule later on the legitimacy
of the elections. Some of those who called for the boycott later backed
away from their opposition. When the ballots are finally counted, it
is expected that Afghanistan’s new President will be its current
leader, Hamid Karzai.
Boycott (v) to abstain from dealing with as a means of protest or to
coerce
#3—EGYPT ATTACK
Investigators from both Israel and Egypt say al-Qaida is to blame for
an attack that killed at least 34 people at a resort hotel. As many
as 10 terrorists slipped in from Saudi Arabia or Jordan or arrived by
boats. They struck at the Taba Hilton and at a camping area nearby in
a tourist resort area in the Sinai. At least 6 of those killed were
Israelis. Israel’s Prime Minister Ariel Sharon thanked Egyptian
President Hosni Mubarek for his cooperation in finding clues that may
lead to the identities of those responsible for the bombings. Israelis
have considered the region to be a safe place to escape the suicide
bombings in their country. It was the first terrorist strike on Egyptian
territory in seven years.
Resort(n) a place frequented by people for relaxation or recreation
#4— —NOBEL PEACE PRIZE
Wangari Maathai was working to protect Kenya’s forests when she
got an unusual phone call late last week. The call came from Sweden
to tell her she had won this year’s Nobel
Prize for Peace. Maathai is the first black African woman to win
a Nobel Prize. The honor came for her continuing efforts toward “sustainable
development, democracy and peace.” It hasn’t been an easy
fight. Maathai was repeatedly arrested and beaten for protesting the
human rights and environmental record of Kenya’s former president.
Maathai’s selection was not without controversy. Critics say Maathai’s
work has focused more on the environment rather than promoting peace
or ending conflicts. They say many other worthy candidates were overlooked
by this year’s Nobel committee.
Sustainable(adj) enduring, able to withstand
POP QUIZ #1
In our story about the presidential campaign, what did we tell you
was the date of election day? Was it
1. November second
2. November third
3. November fourth
And the answer is number 1. American voters go to the polls November
second to choose the next President.
OLD CLUE #1—ST. LOUIS DEBATE
Its time now for the answers to our Clues in the News.
Our first clue was the location
of St. Louis, Missouri. That’s where the second of three presidential
debates was held last Friday night. Unlike their first debate, President
Bush and Senator Kerry answered questions from 17 voters on a wide range
of topics from Iraq to jobs and the environment. The debate once again
highlighted the differences between the two candidates. President Bush
told one questioner that he would promise not to raise taxes. Senator
Kerry proposed raising taxes on only the very wealthy. Polls taken after
the debate indicate no clear winner. That’s good news for the President
whose performance during the first debate was seen as much less effective.
OLD CLUE #2—SPACE MISSION
Fill in the blanks on our second clue and you got Space
Mission. One American and two Russians blasted off from Baikonur
Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan Wednesday. Their Soyuz spacecraft is scheduled
to dock with the International Space Station early Saturday morning.
The three current residents of the space station will eventually switch
places with the new crew and are due to arrive back on Earth October
23rd. The old crew has been living, working and conducting experiments
in the space station for the past six months. The U-S had hoped to resume
shuttle missions to the space station by next April. After the severe
damage caused by 4 straight hurricanes in Florida, the earliest shuttle
flights might begin is next May.
OLD CLUE #3—AUSTRALIAN VOTING
And finally, unscramble our third clue and you get Australia Elections.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard angered hundreds of thousands
of his countrymen when he sent troops to Iraq last March. That decision
did not factor in to his successful bid for reelection. Howard says
national security and further boosts to Australia’s strong economy
are priorities in his fourth term. Though final results are at least
a week away, Howard’s party also seemed to pick up enough seats
in both houses of government to override any objections from minority
parties.
THIS WEEK IN WORLD HISTORY
This week in world history…October 14th, 1964, Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. won the Nobel Prize for Peace. A total of
17 Americans have earned this honor. Former President Jimmy Carter was
the most recent, receiving the Peace prize in 2002.
FEATURE
ATW FEATURE
Last week Wyatt Doremus took us on-board a replica of Christopher
Columbus’s Nina. This week, we meet the crew and learn what
life on board is like…Check it out!
FEATURE
(Adam Mashburn) The ship is more or less a traveling museum. We go
around to different places and teach people about the history of the
ship and about Columbus. We have a crew of six right now, plus the captain.
We all live on board the ship all the time, we have bunks down below.
And a galley whereas back in Columbus's time most of the space down
below would have been storage space and they would have all lived up
here on the deck...ate, slept and worked up here on the deck. We generally
get up around 6:30 and around 7:00 we start to go to work. It's definitely
not for everybody, we generally work in shifts, called watches, three
hours on and three hours off.
(Matt Sadler) Three hours we're working, we're naviagting, we're consulting
the charts making sure we're staying on course. Working the tiller,
steering the ship and then three hours we're off. So we just keep doing
that, twenty hours a day sometimes.
(Adam) The thing that I enjoy most about the ship is the travel. Going
to different places and meeting people, getting to do it in such a unique
way as being on this ship and taking it around to different ports and
being able to share history with people.
(Matt) There are a lot of myths that people still believe...like he
discovered America. He didn't actually discover America, he helped to
discover the New World but it was just an accident. Just things like
that, that I didn't really know. Its fun to let other people know. I
just get excited about it.
ISN’T IT COOL
BALLOON FESTIVAL
Hundreds of balloons recently lifted off at the 33rd Annual
Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.
A total of 700 balloons were expected to take part in this year’s
fiesta, with more than 850-thousand visitors expected to attend.
The fiesta, which began in 1972 with a gathering of 13 balloons, is
now held on the 360-acre Balloon Fiesta Park in northern Albuquerque.
ISSUE
42 different Americans have served as President of the United States.
A few short weeks from now, voters will once again get to decide who
leads our country. While both of this year’s major party candidates
want only the best for America, they have in many cases very different
ideas about how to make that happen. Republican President George Bush
and Democratic Senator John Kerry have argued from opposite sides of
issues including the environment, health care, education, national security,
scientific research and the war in Iraq. The best way to make a decision
on who is right or wrong on those issues is to watch the debates, read
news coverage of the candidates’ positions and listen to a wide
range of commentators. With that information, you can make an educated
choice. We’re urging you to look at all of the candidates and then
put yourself in the place of millions of American voters. What do you
think? “Who would be
your choice for President? 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 issue question…”Should
there be Presidential debates?” The majority of you seventy seven
percent say yes, debates are a good idea. Sixteen percent say no, they
are not. Seven percent are undecided.
Many of you feel that there are too many rules for there to be any real
debate between the candidates.
Caleb S. of Crimora, Virginia writes, “If it were up to me I would
say forget the rules… let’s have a nice clean argument where
the candidates don’t know what they’re going to be asked twenty-four
hours ahead of time.”
Angel P. of Council Bluffs, Iowa agrees and adds, “If they’re
not even going to debate…what’s the whole point of the thing?”
The majority of you, however, feel debates are a good way to learn more
about the candidates.
Brooke F. of Oelwein (Ole-wine), Iowa writes, “I think people need
to hear what candidates have to say and debates are a good way of telling
people.”
Sarah D. of Fairfield, Virginia adds, “You get to see two candidates
react under pressure. They are forced to weigh their options right then
and there.”
Marla G. of Webster, New York writes, “Debates help voters to choose
who they are going to vote for… anyone can learn a lot from what
both (candidates) have to say and why they say it.”
Alexis J. of Mukwonago (muck-wan-ago), Wisconsin reminds us, “Debates
provide the candidates the ability to give longer, more specific answers.
Unlike commercials, which give incomplete details and are not always
accurate.”
And finally, Julia D. of Latham, New York writes, “Debates help
voters focus. (They) make it easier for everybody to decide who they
want to elect as their future leader.”
We look forward to receiving your responses to our issue questions:
“Should schools have
mandatory health clubs?” and “Who
would be your choice for President? ” 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 Afghan elections, we told you that 15 candidates
protested the elections and called for a
Recount
Military intervention
Boycott
And the correct answer is number three. 15 presidential candidates
called for a boycott of the Afghan elections.
NEW CLUES
And now it’s time for next week’s clues in the news…
Our first clue a location…
15 Degrees, 36 minutes north latitude
32 Degrees, 32 minutes east longitude
Our second clue is a scrambled letter, one word:
ADAMRAN
And finally, our third clue is a fill in the blanks, three words:
First word…
M blank period
Second word…
S blank period
Third word…
H blank L blank N blank
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.
© 2004 WXXI-TV/ Assignment: The World.
All Rights Reserved.
