• NEWS >> ATW November
10, 2005
Yearly
Script Program Index
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OPEN/WELCOME
Hi and welcome to Assignment: The World for the week of November 10th , I’m Elissa Orlando.
Our top story this week…A rising tide of violence sweeps across France.
1—FRENCH RIOTS
FRANCE
48 DEGREES, 52 MINUTES NORTH
02 DEGREES, 20 MINUTES EAST
Political and religious leaders are looking for long-term answers to prevent any further spread of the anger and violence that has wracked France since late October. Two teenagers were accidentally electrocuted October 27th after believing that police were chasing them. Police deny any wrongdoing. However, disaffected youths, particularly those in African and Muslim neighborhoods followed the incident with car bombings and other violence. Some experts say the spreading disturbances are a reflection of people who feel trapped by poverty, unemployment, racial discrimination, crime, poor education, and housing. The first incidents began in Paris but then fanned out to other regions of the country. 7 nations including the U-S have warned citizens to stay away from the areas of violence. One of France’s largest Muslim groups has issued a formal order against any further violence.
Disaffected (adj) no longer contented, resentful
ATW Fact
Tornadoes are one of the most destructive forces in nature with winds possible in excess of 300 miles per hour. Though most of the 1000 that touch down in the U-S in a given year happen between March and May, they can happen at any time, anywhere.
INTRO REST OF THE NEWS
In the rest of the news this week…
--a free trade zone for the Americas will have to wait a little longer…
--a powerful tornado cuts a destructive path through Indiana.
-- and Australia foils a major terrorist attack…
#2—AUSTRALIA TERROR ARRESTS
AUSTRALIA
33 DEGREES, 52 MINUTES SOUTH
151 DEGREES, 13 MINUTES EAST
Investigators in Australia say more arrests are expected following a 16-month investigation. At least 17 suspects are already in custody after raids in Australia’s two biggest cities Tuesday. Police say the suspects were in the final stages of a plot to carry out a catastrophic attack similar to those on the London transit system last July. More than 500 police backed up by helicopters took part in the raids in Sydney and Melbourne. In addition to the 17 suspects, police say they confiscated chemicals, weapons, computers and backpacks. The alleged mastermind of the plot is Abu Bakr, a radical Muslim cleric known for praising Osama Bin Laden. Australia’s Prime Minister thanked the security forces involved in the raids but John Howard says his nation cannot become complacent. Howard offered no guarantees that all danger has passed.
Mastermind (n) one who plans or directs a complex or difficult project
#3—. SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS
ARGENTINA
34 DEGREES, 36 MINUTES SOUTH 58 DEGREES, 27 MINUTES WEST
Plans to make a free trade zone from Alaska to Chile are on hold until at least December. President Bush and the leaders of 34 other nations left the two-day Summit of the Americas without any free trade agreement. The U-S came to the conference in Argentina claiming that such an agreement would benefit all in the Western Hemisphere and bring jobs and wealth to Latin America. Negotiations were finally put on hold after Brazil and 4 other nations argued that such an agreement should wait until the World Trade Organization meets next month. Brazil was the next stop on President Bush’s 4-day Latin America trip. Protestors were on hand throughout his journey. In Brazil, the President urged Latin Americans not to reverse efforts toward democracy. His remarks were aimed at his two chief critics in the region, Hugo Chavez and Cuba’s Fidel Castro.
Negotiations (n) The act or process of negotiation; arriving at a compromise.
#4— — MIDWEST TORNADO
UNITED STATES
41 DEGREES, 24 MINUTES NORTH
92 DEGREES, 26 MINUTES WEST
National Guard units are helping with search and recovery efforts in the wake of a powerful tornado that struck southwestern Indiana. The storm was spawned by a line of thunderstorms that rolled across the Ohio valley early Sunday morning. Meteorologists classified the tornado at F-3 on the Fujita scale which means its winds could reach more than 200 miles per hour. At least two dozen people were killed and several hundred were injured. Indiana officials say emergency sirens sounded twice but many of those in the mobile home park most affected say the sirens were not heard. The path of damage was initially estimated to be 3-quarters of a mile wide and twenty miles long. It was the deadliest tornado in Indiana in more than 30 years and the deadliest in the nation since 1998.
Siren (n) a device meant as a signal or a warning
POP QUIZ #1
In our story about France, where did we tell you days of violence and protest began? Was it
And the answer is number 3. Nearly two weeks of violence began October 27th in Paris.
OLD CLUE #1—BUSH VISIT IN PANAMA
It’s now time for the answer to our Clues in the News. Our first clue was the location of Panama.
On Sunday and Monday, President Bush visited the President of Panama, in the country’s capital city, Panama City. This visit came after the third Summit of the Americas in Argentina. The two men met to discuss international trade in order to help Panama find a more competitive place in the international market. However, many Panama banana farmers used Bush’s visit as a way to express their unhappiness with a new policy that will raise tariff prices on bananas. The new tax could force banana companies, and their workers, out of business.
OLD CLUE #2—NEW YORK MARATHON
Fill in the blank of our second clue and you got New York Marathon. Sunday marked the 35th marathon in New York City. More than 85,000 people ran the 26.2 miles through Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Staten Island, and Queens. Paul Tergat had the fastest men’s time this year, crossing the finish line in just under two hours and ten minutes while Jelena Prokopcuka, the fastest woman, crossed in under two hours and 25 minutes. This year the women’s race champion won $130,000, the highest prize in history and $30,000 more than the male victor’s prize.
OLD CLUE #3—TERRORISM CONFERENCE
And finally, unscramble the letters of our third clue and you got terrorist conference. The G-8 Anti Crime/ Terrorist conference in London began earlier this week. The G8 consists of eight major industrial democracies, including the US, Great Britain, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and Germany, who meet to discuss global economic and political issues. The G8 tries to combat terrorism through legal systems, transport security and other tools like the internet.
THIS WEEK IN WORLD HISTORY
This week in world history… November 11th. 1865, Dr. Mary Edwards Walker was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, becoming the first woman to win the nation’s top military award. Taken away in 1910, the medal was reinstated in 1977. It recognized Dr. Walker’s service as a combat physician during several years of the Civil War.
ATW FEATURE
Did you know that some believe the bagel was originally developed as a gift fit for a king? Beki Gibney checks it out!
ATW FEATURE
(Beki Gibney) Is it a gift fit for a king? A science project or a work of art. According to Ronnie Malek of Balsam Bagel in Rochester, New York its all three and so much more.
(Ronnie) I'll put them right in the basket here.
Around 1680 or something there was an Austrian baker who made it as a gift for a king winning a war. And basically, the shape was called a bugel in German, in the shape of a stirrup, like a horse. Over the years, the stirrup became a full circle and bugel became bagel.
(Beki) All royalty aside, there is also a real science to making a good bagel. Did you know that 160 pounds of dough makes 45 dozen bagels. Thats 540 bagels. And to make all that dough, you need 48 pounds of water and 100 pounds of flour.
(Ronnie) The first thing you're going to see is me mixing dough in a mixer. Then we are going to take the dough and divide it and form it. That will done in a machine. So that is one part of the bagel baking. Then we're going to take the dough that has been made already and boil it and bake it. And you can actually see the production of the bagel.
(Beki) Much like art, this is a true passion for Ronnie. That is why his bagel shop is unlike most. Ronnie puts his entire kitchen on display.
(Ronnie) I enjoy making bagels. I think people when they buy things, say at the supermarket, they don't actually see how things are made. So this is almost like a museum.
(Beki) For Assignment: The World, I'm Beki Gibney.
ISN’T IT COOL
ANCIENT CHURCH
Archaeologists in Israel say they may have found the oldest Christian Church in the Holy Land. The ancient church is believed to date back to the third or fourth century.
The church was discovered when construction to expand a nearby prison began nearly a year and a half ago.
Mosaics from the church are still in good shape after being buried for over a thousand years.
People now believe officials may move the prison and open up the area for tourists.
ISSUE
A recent vote in the U-S Senate may make drilling for oil one step closer in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Oil producers and the Bush administration argue that America must become less reliant on foreign oil. They say part of the answer to that is to drill for the 16 billion barrels of oil that some researchers claim lies below the refuge. Proponents say technology has improved to limit the damage caused by accidents or spills and to extract as much oil as possible. They say the benefit to the nation’s economy would be in the billions of dollars.
But conservationists dispute such claims, saying the US Geologic Survey estimates a far lower figure of possible undiscovered oil. They say it would take a long time to get a relatively small return for consumers, years that would destroy or forever change a delicate environment. They say Americans would be better off spending money to research alternatives to gas and oil. So, what do you think? “Should the US open the Arctic Refuge to Oil Drilling? 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 last issue question, “Should students be bribed to have perfect attendance?”
The majority of you, 78 percent feel students should not receive a prize for coming to school.
16 percent feel bribing students is a good idea.
Just six percent are undecided.
Some of you feel giving students prizes for perfect attendance could help improve not only grades—but physical fitness.
Hayden A of Sandgate, Vermont writes, “Students would get more learning time and also get more exercise if they won a mountain bike.”
Others feel bribing could make test scores go up.
Kyle K of Oregon, Wisconsin writes, “The test scores might go up because they [the students] learn more.”
Taylor W. of Wittenburg, Wisconsin adds, “More kids would stay in school and wouldn’t skip any school days.”
The majority of you, however, feel bribery isn’t a good solution to boost student attendance.
Rick C. of Weyers Cave, Virginia writes “We as students should be trustworthy enough to come to school without being bribed.”
Others of you say kids would come to school—even when they shouldn’t.
Jori W. of Hudsonville, Michigan writes “If someone is sick and comes to school they will pass their sickness on to other kids.”
Emily B of Verona, Virginia writes “When they get a job they will expect a present on their desk every day.”
Finally, Ryan C of Manchester Center, Vermont writes “Kids would start a fight about who has been to school more.”
We look forward to reading your responses to our two latest questions: “Would you give up TV?” and “Should the US open the Arctic Refuge to oil drilling?”
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 tornado in Indiana, how strong did we tell you the winds of an F-3 tornado could be? Was it
And the correct answer is number two. An F-3 tornado on the Fujita scale can top 200 miles per hour.
NEW CLUES
And now it’s time for next week’s clues in the news…
Our first clue a location…
37 Degrees, 49 minutes south latitude
144 Degrees, 58 minutes east longitude
Our second clue is a fill in the blanks, it is two words
First word
B blank H R blank I blank
Second word
V blank S blank T
And finally, our third clue is a scrambled letter, it also is two words
First word
E A R O K
Second word
S T A L K
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.
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