• NEWS >> ATW November
18, 2004
Yearly Script
Program Index
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OPEN/WELCOME
Hi and welcome to Assignment: The World for the week of November 18th,
2004.I’m Julie Philip.
In our top story this week…with the fight for Fallujah over, the fight
for the rest of Iraq begins.
1—FALLUJAH OFFENSIVE
U-S forces fired on a huge bunker complex Monday in southeastern Fallujah.
That attack came a day after the general in charge of the assault claimed
the city had been liberated. The week-long attack featured some of the
fiercest fighting U-S soldiers had seen since the Vietnam War But as
violence was starting to come to an end in Fallujah, attacks rose in
several other Iraqi cities. Two large explosions rocked downtown Baghdad
Sunday night. Clashes also broke out in Ramadi, some 60 miles west of
the Iraqi capital. More peaceful protests could be seen in other Iraqi
cities. The protestors were angry with both the American attack on Fallujah
and with the interim Iraqi government for sanctioning the offensive.
Several relief organizations are trying to keep pace with the needs
of the many people forced to flee from Fallujah. Despite convoys of
food, water and medical supplies there are fears of a humanitarian crisis.
Interim (n) interval of time between one event and another.
ATW FACT
In 1964, a number of groups dedicated to an independent Palestinian
state gathered together to form the Palestine Liberation Organization.
After the 1967 Arab Israeli war, a several militia groups arose to lead
the PLO. Among the strongest was Al-Fatah led by a man named Yasser
Arafat.
INTRO REST OF THE NEWS
In the rest of the news this week…
--Palestinians look to find a new leader.
--the world tries to bring order back to Ivory Coast..
--and Iran takes a step back from its nuclear program.
#2—ARAFAT, NOW WHAT
Elections are scheduled for January 9th of next year to pick a new
leader of the Palestinians. Candidates who hope to replace Yasser Arafat
will begin to submit their names next week. After 4 decades as the most
visible face for the Palestinian cause, Yasser Arafat died last Thursday
in a Paris hospital. His funeral the next day in Ramallah was not the
orderly affair other Palestinian leaders had hoped for. Instead, thousands
of Arafat’s supporters surged around Arafat’s coffin and blocked all
attempts by police to clear a path. Arafat refused to name a successor
before his sudden and still mysterious fatal illness. The most likely
successor is Mahmoud Abbas. But the chairman of the Palestine Liberation
Organization is not a unanimous choice. Armed protestors angry with
Abbas disrupted a memorial service Sunday. Abbas was not hurt but two
security officers were killed.
Funeral (n) ceremonies held in conjunction with the burial of the dead.
#3—IVORY COAST
Support is growing for United Nations sanctions against the West African
nation, Ivory Coast. Leaders from Senegal, Ghana, Togo and Gabon met
in an emergency summit called by Nigeria’s president Sunday. The meeting
was held without Ivory Coast’s leader French civilians have been lined
up at Ivory Coast’s airport for the past week, trying to escape the
violence. The meeting of other African leaders ended with a call for
an arms embargo, a ban on travel, and the freeze of assets of anyone
who tries to block efforts for peace in Ivory Coast. On Monday, the
U-N Security Council gave its approval to those sanctions.
Embargo (n) suspension of trade of a particular commodity, a prohibition.
#4— — CABINET
The people who run the major departments of government will be quite
different in President Bush’s second term. In the two weeks since the
election, six cabinet
members have resigned, most prominent among them Secretary of State
Colin Powell. Though Powell says he never intended to serve more than
one term, the President reportedly did not ask Powell to stay on. Instead,
the President named current National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice
to be the nation’s top diplomat. Also leaving the Bush administration
are Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham, Secretary of Education Rod
Paige, Attorney General John Ashcroft and Secretary of Agriculture Ann
Veneman. Still more resignations are expected.
Diplomat (n) one skilled in the art or practice of international relations,
treaties, and alliances
POP QUIZ #1
In our story about Yasser Arafat, where did we tell you he was finally
buried? Was it
1. Jerusalem
2. Paris
3. Ramallah
And the answer is number 3. The P-L-O leader was buried in the West
Bank town of Ramallah.
OLD CLUE #1—NAMIBIA ELECTIONS
Its time now for the answers to our Clues in the News. Our first clue
was the location of
Windhoek, the capital of Namibia. Voters in that country went to the
polls earlier this week to choose a new president. While a total of
7 candidates ran for president, the post is expected to go to hee-fee-kee-POON-yah~po-HAHM-bah,
the candidate of the leading SWAPO party. SWAPO will continue to be
led by current Namibian President Sam Nujoma. Nujoma is stepping down
from the presidency after 15 years in power. Namibia is a country roughly
the size of Texas with a population just under two million. Voting was
set for Monday and Tuesday and while some results were to be made public
by mid week, final figures wont be available for some time.
OLD CLUE #2—BLAIR VISIT
Unscramble our second clue and you got Prime Minister visit. British
Prime Minister Tony Blair wrapped up two days of talks in Washington
late last week. Blair and President Bush met with each other and then
with reporters last Friday. The Prime Minister urged the U-S to focus
on making peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Blair thinks the
death of Yasser Arafat presents new opportunities for peace and a stable
Palestinian state. President Bush agreed, saying there is a great chance
to establish an independent Palestinian state. Bush said the U-S is
looking forward to working with Palestinian leaders who are committed
to fighting terrorism and to democratic reform.
OLD CLUE #3—FLU CONFAB
And finally, fill in the blanks on our third clue and you got Flu vaccine.
The World Health Organization held an unprecedented summit last week
to discuss plans for meeting the growing threat of a flu pandemic. Flu
kills an average of 36-thousand people in the U-S and one million people
world wide each year. But every 20 to 30 years, a global flu strain
appears that can be dramatically more serious. The worst which struck
first in 1918 eventually killed 50 million people. The W-H-O urged governments
and drug makers to prepare for such an event, something health officials
say is far from being true at the moment. Making the proper number of
flu shots could take six months.
THIS WEEK IN WORLD HISTORY
This week in world history…November 19th, 1863, Abraham
Lincoln traveled to a small Pennsylvania town to help dedicate a
soldiers’ cemetery. Though his two minute speech was widely criticized
at the time, his Gettysburg Address is now considered one of the great
speeches in American history.
FEATURE WILD WINGS
Wild Wings
is a non-profit, educational organization that works with birds of prey
to get their message of protecting our environment out to schoolchildren.
Wyatt Doremus checks it out.
FEATURE WILD WINGS
They are birds of prey…and they come in all sizes. Tanya Burtram, Wild
Wings “We have birds from an American Kestrel which weighs about a quarter
of a pound to a Golden eagle which weighs about twelve pounds.” Wild
Wings volunteer Tanya Burtram hopes to give the kids of French Road
Elementary School an appreciation for wild life. She uses several birds
of prey to help get her message across. “The kestrel is a North American
kestrel…they like to hunt in open fields. They like to hunt birds as
do all falcons and they like flying insects and small mammals.” All
the birds used in the Wild Wings presentation are injured and cannot
be released into the wild. “We have a great horned owl and a barn owl…the
great horned owl is a wonderful hunter, they can carry three times their
body weight… The Barn Owl is becoming threatened in New York State.
They are common on farms, they like to live in barns and like to eat
something called a bole which can commonly be found on farms. All owls
have excellent hearing…about eight times what you and I have. The owl’s
head is like a satellite dish and its feathers help to get sound to
its ears. They have one up and one down and that gives them a triangulation
system.” A favorite of many presentations is Barf, the turkey vulture…
and you might be able to guess how he got his name. “We call him Barf…the
vulture has a defense mechanism that they regurgitate their food when
they get frightened or nervous…they vomit their food.” Wild Wings and
its volunteers hope to inspire young people to learn more about their
environment and perhaps become tomorrow’s educators. For Assignment:
The World, I’m Wyatt Doremus.
ISN’T IT COOL
Two headed turtle A baby tortoise has been turning heads in Dorset,
England…after being born with two of its own. The two headed Mediterranean
spur-thighed tortoise is now two months old. It was the last in a batch
of 14 eggs to hatch in a home made incubator. Owner John Jones has named
his new pet Solomon and Sheba though he’s not entirely sure which is
correct. Although unusual, experts say two other two headed tortoises
have been reported since 2001.
ISSUE
The school board in Poplar Bluff, Missouri will be petitioned this
week to end a new policy requiring high school students there to wear
identification badges. The badges are exactly the same as IDs students
previously needed to carry and to check out library books. Students
and teachers now need to wear the photo IDs on campus between 7:45 a.m.
and 2:45 p.m. School officials say the badges allow them to make sure
visitors have checked in and to identify people without having to walk
up and ask if they are a student or teacher. But a number of students
and parents object to the new rule. They say that while schools and
the nation need security, the new rule crosses a fine line into governmental
interference. Parent John Durbin asks, “If we put ourselves in a cage
just to be safe, what kind of life do we have?” He and others also point
out that the new IDs can easily be faked or reproduced. So, what do
you think? “Should schools
require students to wear ID badges? 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
the military draft be reinstated?” The majority of you, eight eight
percent, say no the draft should not be reinstated. Seven percent say
yes it is a good idea. Five percent are undecided. Many of you feel
it is important for the United States to have a strong military and
reinstating a draft would help. Daniel B. of Mequon, Wisconsin writes,
“The draft would be best for our country… we would be better prepared,
better trained and have more soldiers that could be naturally skilled.”
Melinda T. of Fairfield, Virginia writes, “We should have more soldiers
in the military trying to make America safer.” The majority of you,
however, feel a military draft is a bad idea. Luis C. of Moorhead, Minnesota
writes, “It should be up to the people if they want to go, not to the
government.” Michaela K. of Amherst, New York agrees and adds, “I believe
if you send a young (person) who is not willing… (they) could put themselves
and the U.S. at risk.” Finally, Samantha S. of Harrisonburg, Virginia
writes, “My dad is a Lieutenant Colonel, he joined the army because
he wanted to… If you make someone do something, that person isn’t going
to do a very good job at it.”
We look forward to receiving your responses to our issue questions:
“Should there be a national
Susan B. Anthony Day?” and “Should
schools require students to wear I.D. badge?”
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 visit of Prime Minister Blair, we told you his
highest priority is
Peace in the Balkans
Peace in the Middle East
Peace in North Korea
And the correct answer is number two. England’s Prime Minister pressed
for a major effort for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
NEW CLUES
And now it’s time for next week’s clues in the news…
Our first clue a location…
41 Degrees, 55 minutes north latitude
70 Degrees, 41 minutes west longitude
Our second clue is a Scrambled Letter, two words:
AIRNUKE FUNFOR
And finally, our third clue is a fill in the blanks, two words:
C__B__N__T
S__U__F__E
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 Julie Philip. We’ll see you next week.
© 2004 WXXI-TV/ Assignment: The World.
All Rights Reserved.
