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	• NEWS >> ATW December 21, 2006 Yearly Script Program Index -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OPEN/WELCOME Hi and welcome to Assignment: The World for the week of December 21st, I’m Teej Jenkins. Our top story this week…tensions remain high as Palestinians hover near civil war. 1—FATAH AND HAMAS ISRAEL 31 degrees, 46 minutes north 35 degrees, 14 minutes east Fighting broke out over the weekend between Hamas, which controls the Palestinian government and gunmen loyal to Fatah which is led by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. The fighting was triggered by Abbas’ call for new elections in the Palestinian territories. Talks to establish a unity government and end international sanctions against the Palestinians broke down late last month. Violence between the two rival factions has increased since then. Yet another Palestinian faction, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, managed to broker a cease-fire by late Sunday night but not before gunfire had claimed at least three lives and the wounding of several dozen more. Hamas continues to insist that it will not take part in new elections. Even if it would, officials say it would be at least three months before they could prepare for a new presidential and parliamentary vote. Broker (v) negotiate a contract, settlement or purchase ATW Fact According to the US Constitution, the Vice President of the United States is the President of the Senate. He has a vote but only in the case of the rest of the Senate being equally divided on an issue. INTRO REST OF THE NEWS In the rest of the news this week… --the United Nations welcomes its new leader… --NASA tries to fix a problem a long way from Earth.. --and could the balance of power shift in the US Senate? #2—SENATOR HAS SURGERY UNITED STATES 38 DEGREES, 54 MINUTES NORTH 77 DEGREES, 02 MINUTES WEST Everything is going to be just fine. So says incoming Senate Majority Leader Harry Read about both fellow Senator Tim Johnson and the slim majority Democrats have in the Senate. Johnson remains in critical condition following emergency brain surgery last week. He suffers from a congenital condition that causes tangled blood vessels to burst later in life. Johnson has reportedly opened his eyes, responded to voices and moved his limbs. And while doctors say Johnson should be able to enjoy a full recovery, debate continues over whether a replacement should be named. Democrats hold a 51-to-49 margin in the Senate. If South Dakota’s Republican governor were to name a fellow Republican to fill Johnson’s remaining two years, control would revert back to the Republicans because of Vice President Dick Cheney’s tie-breaking vote. Congenital (adj) existing at birth but not hereditary #3—NEW UN SECRETARY GENERAL UNITED STATES 40 DEGREES, 43 MINUTES NORTH 74 DEGREES, 00 MINUTES WEST Restored trust and improved performance: those are the initial goals of the new Secretary General of the United Nations. South Korea’s Ban Ki-moon is the 8th person to lead the U-N and the first from Asia. He will take over January first after ten years under Kofi Annan. Ban was sworn in late last week after which he told reporters that his toughest challenges will come from the Middle East. He also expects to tackle the re-forming of the Security Council. Britain, France, China, Russia and the U-S continue to have the five permanent seats with the power of veto on the council. Other countries have called for a new distribution of power on the U-N’s most powerful body. Ban Ki-moon steps in at a time when the U-N has 92-thousand peacekeepers and a budget of 5-billion dollars. Tackle (v) come to grips with, meet the challenge of #4— —NASA SPACE WALKS UNITED STATES 28 DEGREES, 24 MINUTES NORTH 80 DEGREES, 36 MINUTES WEST A balky solar panel was the only problem in an otherwise successful trip by the crew of the space shuttle Discovery to the International Space Station. A series of space walks connected a 2-ton, 11-million dollar space station addition. Walks outside the station also upgraded other systems. But it was the accordion-like solar array that failed to properly close up that got the most attention. Discovery’s crew was able to hook up a new set of solar wings that will provide a maximum amount of power from the sun. But while the old solar panel did retract enough to let the new equipment function, it did not fold all the way. That led to an unplanned space walk that further led the shuttle to push back its return to Earth by a day. Solar (adj) of or pertaining to the sun POP QUIZ #1 In our story about Fatah and Hamas, how long did we tell you it would be before new elections could be scheduled? Is it 1. one month 2. two months 3. three months And the answer is number 3. Palestinian election officials say it would be at least three months before a new vote could be organized. OLD CLUE # 1—CHINA TRADE TALKS Time now for answers to last week’s Clues in the News. Our first clue was the location of Beijing, China. That’s where high level economic talks took place last Friday between the U-S and China. Both delegations left promising to cooperate more closely on promoting trade, opening markets, protecting the environment and developing cleaner energy resources. A second round of talks is scheduled for Washington, D.C. next May. OLD CLUE # 2— TURKEY DECISION Unscramble our second clue and you got Turkey decision. The European Union voted to impose a partial freeze on the idea of adding Turkey to the E-U. While members stressed that the vote does not preclude Turkey from ever becoming an E-U member, it does reflect some concerns. Among those: Turkey refuses to opens its ports to trade with E-U member Cyprus. Turkey would be the first primarily Muslim country to become a part of the European Union. The E-U currently has 25 member nations. OLD CLUE # 3—MEDAL OF FREEDOM And finally, fill in the blanks on our third clue and you got Medal of Freedom. President Harry Truman established the nation’s highest civilian honor in 1945 to recognize achievement in science, public service, the arts, and education. This year’s winners were honored at the White House late last week. They included historian David McCullough, columnist William Safire, blues guitarist B.B. King, and the late Negro League baseball star Buck O’Neil. President Bush also honored Ruth Colvin whose work to promote adult literacy began out of her basement in 1962. THIS WEEK IN WORLD HISTORY This week in world history… December 23rd, 1867, Sarah Breedlove is born to two former slaves. She will later marry her business partner, Charles Joseph Walker. Her line of hair care products will turn Madame CJ Walker into the first African American woman millionaire and give economic independence to the many black women she hired and trained. ATW FEATURE Whether you prefer listening to rock and roll, jazz, or hip-hop, the driving force behind all of it are the drums, the instrument that makes you move. We are talking to another member of the band Toubab Krewe about his skills at the drums and how a lot of it is based around West African traditions. Beki Gibney checks it out! ATW FEATURE (Teal) I think my first encounter with playing drums was beat boxing. I was in second grade and I moved to the city and got into a city school there and some kids taught me how to beat box, you know like (does some beat boxing) so I started doing that at a young age. I didn’t actually play drum set until I was 19. I studied a lot at the University of North Carolina in Asheville, so I got my liberal arts degree in music, but I also balanced it with my studies in West Africa. So, I kind of play a hybrid style, which is West African, rock, jazz, Latin. (Beki) Teal was nice enough to walk us through his drum set where he explains the norms of playing drums and how his crossbreed of playing styles, makes his set stand out. (Teal) You’d start with the kick drum, or the bass drum and that’s the one I hit with my right foot and it’s the biggest and lowest drum. The next drum is the floor tom, (hits it) second tom (hits it), first tom (hits it), and a snare drum, the loudest drum. But actually what I do with these toms, is treat them like these three drums over here, the Dun-un which is the biggest one, the Sangba which is the middle one, and the Kenkeni, so I’ll play rhythms on here that’d we play on there as well like, (plays a rhythm). These are cymbals this is called a ride cymbal (plays on it), this is called a crash cymbal (hits it), and this is called a hit hat cymbal (plays it), and that’s the drum in a nutshell, it’s really the heartbeat and what everyone relates to. (Beki) For Assignment: the World, I’m Beki Gibney. ISN’T IT COOL WORLD BUNGEE JUMP It’s a new world record. AJ Hackett, nicknamed “the father of bungee jumping”, set a new record for the highest bungee jump when he leapt from a platform 764 feet high and rebounded when he reached 112 feet above the ground. The total length of the fall was about 653 feet and took eight seconds. Hackett held the previous record set in 1998 when he leapt 591 feet in New Zealand. ISSUE Renowned scientist Stephen Hawking says humans must colonize other planets or face extinction from an asteroid collision or nuclear war. That idea, which was once just science fiction, is more and more becoming possible. NASA and other scientists around the world are preparing for bases on the moon and Mars. They say the technological advances making that possible will also make life better here on Earth. They and others also insist that dreaming and exploring are essential parts of human nature and that space is a logical next step in our evolution. They point to pioneers throughout time who welcome adventure along with danger. But other scientists say space remains a huge and dangerous place about which we know far too little. Some say that while it may be possible for us to live on other planets, such a life would have to be in protective suits and inside fragile, lonely artificial environments. Simply getting to our nearest neighbors currently would take years of travel during which time much might go wrong. And through time or distance, such colonists might never come back to Earth again. So, what do you think? Would you live on another planet? 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 boys be allowed to play on girls’ sports teams?” The majority of you, 48 percent say no, boys should not be allowed on girls teams. 47 percent say yes it would be okay. 5 percent are undecided. Many of you think letting boys play on girls teams is a good idea. Stephen S. of Lawrence, Massachusetts writes, “Boys should be able to play on girls’ teams because girls play boys sports like football.” Zach J. of Bismarck, North Dakota adds, “If the town doesn’t have enough money to start a boys’ team we have to go on the girls’ team.” Maryjane G. of Woodruff, Wisconsin writes, “Allowing boys and girls on the same team creates healthy competition. It challenges both sexes to improve at their sport together.” The majority of you, however, feel it just wouldn’t be fair to let boys play on girls teams. Jessica S. of Seattle, Washington writes, “It would be unfair to girls because boys are naturally stronger.” Samantha H. of Greenfield, Wisconsin agrees and adds, “Many girls may feel uncomfortable. There are separate teams for a reason.” Mathieu K. of Lancaster, New York thinks it could be dangerous. Mathieu writes, “If a girl got tackled or checked… they could get hurt. Boys play rough.” Finally, Alex K. of Fargo, North Dakota writes that it is just this simple, “Boys are stronger and have a lot more adrenaline.” We look forward to your responses to our two latest questions: “Would You live on another planet?” and “Who should be 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 about the United Nations, where did we tell you its new leader comes from? Is it 1. South Korea 2. North Korea 3. China And the correct answer is number 1. Ban Ki-moon was born in South Korea. NEW CLUES And now it’s time for next week’s clues in the news… Our first clue a location… 02 Degrees, 04 minutes north latitude 45 Degrees, 22 minutes east longitude Our second clue is a scrambled letter, three words First wod I N P U T Second word S I T S I V Third word A I R N U K E And finally, our third clue is a fill in the blanks, three words First word F blank O T blank A blank L Second word C blank A blank P blank O N 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 A few week’s ago we told you about an on-line poll the Atlanta Journal-Constitution was holding to name the new panda at Zoo Atlanta. Well, the results are in and after some 57,000 on line votes were cast the winning name is May-lan. And that’s it for this week’s show. From all of us here at Assignment: The World, we hope you have a great holiday season. I’m Teej Jenkins. We’ll see you again in the new year. © 2006 WXXI-TV/ Assignment: The World. All Rights Reserved.