US Veterans, Family Members Testify on Military Medical Care

By Dan Robinson Washington 05 March 2007

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US lawmakers are pledging strong action in the wake of the latest revelations regarding poor conditions wounded soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan have faced at a key Army medical hospital. VOA's Dan Robinson reports on an unusual public hearing at the facility, steps under way in Congress and what President Bush has said about the situation.

The scandal over unsanitary and other sub-standard conditions at a building at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center has already resulted in the dismissal of the secretary of the Army by Defense Secretary Robert Gates and the replacement of the head of the facility.

However, House and Senate lawmakers want more done. They are demanding the creation of an independent commission and a wider government probe into bureaucratic and other problems affecting veterans.

The first in a series of hearings took place Monday when members of a House subcommittee went to the Walter Reed facility.

"This is absolutely the wrong way to treat our troops, and serious reforms need to happen immediately," said Democratic Congressman John Tierney.

Spec. Jeremy Duncan and Annette McLeod, wife of Cpl. Wendell McLeod, testify before a House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee hearing at Walter Reed Medical Center, 5 March 2007

Wounded veterans and family members testified about tangled bureaucracy slowing or preventing urgently needed care.

Jeremy Duncan, a U.S. Army Specialist receiving treatment at Walter Reed for wounds suffered in an explosion in Iraq, testified about conditions he saw in a building there.

"There is no way they couldn't have known," he said. "Everybody had to have known somewhere, if they wanted to actually look at it or pay attention or believe it."

Staft Sgt. John Shannon testifies before House subcommittee at Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, 5 March 2007

U.S. Army Staff Sergeant John Shannon, who lost an eye after being shot during a battle near the Iraqi city of Ramadi, says system-wide reforms are needed.

"A system that fires people down the chain, once again in my opinion is indicative of a system that is trying to protect itself whether it fixes the problem or not, and in my opinion [is] clearly not focused on fixing the problem," he said.

Military officials who have been in charge at the Walter Reed facility offered apologies during the hearing.

Major General George Weightman was the commander before he was dismissed last week.

"It is clear [that] mistakes were made, and I was in charge," he said. " We can't fail one of these soldiers, or their families, not one, and we did."

Lieutenant Gen. Kevin Kiley, left, and Major Gen. George Weightman testify before House subcommittee hearing at Walter Reed Medical Center, 5 March 2007

Weightman's temporary replacement, Lieutenant General Kevin Kiley, called steps to simplify bureaucracy urgent, and had this apology for conditions at Walter Reed.

"I am personally and professionally sorry and I offer my apologies to the soldiers, the families, the civilian and military leadership of the Army and Department of Defense, and to the nation," he said.

Documents Congress is examining include an internal Army memo indicating high-level officials at Walter Reed and the U.S. Army Medical Command were warned in 2006 that a process of privatizing positions dealing with patient care, and an influx of wounded from Iraq and Afghanistan, threatened to overwhelm the system.

Republican Congressman Tom Davis says the Pentagon was unprepared for the number of wounded, currently at least 22,000 from Iraq alone.

"The Pentagon somehow failed to anticipate that deploying unprecedented numbers of reserve component troops into combat would produce an unprecedented flow of casualties," he said. "As a result, the defense department has been scrambling ever since to lash together last century procedures and systems to care for returning citizen soldiers."

Controversy about conditions for wounded veterans comes as President Bush faces sharply eroded public support for the war in Iraq, and opposition to new troop deployments.

White House spokesman Tony Snow was asked by reporters Monday what specific steps the president and others are taking.

"What he has been doing is making sure that people take a good look to find out what this situation is," he said. "No excuses, get the facts, get it fixed."

The president asked Congress for $87 billion for the Veterans Administration for 2008. He said that military health care spending has gone up by 83 percent since 2001.

While the Walter Reed scandal puts pressure on all members of Congress to come up with a solution, it also poses challenges for majority Democrats.

Before last November's mid-term congressional election, they accused Republicans of short-changing military veterans in the government budget.

Facing a tight budget situation, Democrats must now determine how to respond to long-standing flaws and correct deficiencies in the nationwide military health care system.

US, North Korea Begin Talks on Normalizing Relations

By David Gollust Washington 05 March 2007

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U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill

Senior U.S. and North Korean diplomats have begun landmark talks in New York on normalizing relations as part of the agreement under which Pyongyang has agreed to scrap its nuclear program. U.S. officials say they will press for a full disclosure of all North Korean nuclear projects including a disputed uranium-enrichment effort. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

美国和朝鲜的高级外交官员将在纽约会晤，就两国关系正常化开始为期两天的会谈，这是平壤同意放弃其核项目而签署的协议的部分内容。美国官员表示，他们将敦促朝鲜公布包括一项有争议的浓缩铀提炼项目在内的所有朝鲜核项目。

The talks beginning late Monday at the U.S. mission to the United Nations are the highest-level U.S.-North Korean meeting on American soil since 2000, when Pyongyang sent a senior envoy to Washington near the end of the Clinton administration.

星期一晚上，在联合国的美国使团开始的这次会谈将是2000年以来美国和朝鲜在美国的国土上举行的最高级别的会谈，2000年，在克林顿政府任期即将届满时，平壤向华盛顿派出一名高级特使。

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill and North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-Kwan will be setting up a working group intended to open the way to normalization of relations under the nuclear deal reached last month in Beijing.

按照上个月在北京签署的核协议，美国助理国务卿克里斯托弗·希尔和朝鲜副外相金桂冠将设立一个为两国关系正常化铺平道路的工作组。

The February 13 agreement at the Chinese-sponsored six-party talks obligates North Korea to shut down its main nuclear facility at Yongbyon within 60 days in exchange for 50,000 tons of fuel oil.

2月13号由中国主持的六方会谈签署的这个协议要求朝鲜在60天内关闭其在宁边的主要核设施，以换取5万吨燃油。

Over the long term in the multi-stage accord, North Korea is to declare and irreversibly end all aspects of its nuclear program for a million tons of oil or equivalent aid and other benefits including normal relations with Washington.

在这项多阶段的协定中的一项长期目标是，朝鲜交代并不可逆转地停止所有核项目，以换取一百万吨的石油和相当于这些能源的援助以及包括与美国关系正常化的其它好处。

North Korea conducted a nuclear test last October with a device intelligence officials believe was made from plutonium harvested from the Yongbyon reactor. But the United States believes North Korea also had a parallel enriched-uranium project and admitted its existence during a visit by a U.S. envoy in 2002.

去年10月，朝鲜试验了一个核装置，情报官员认为，它是由宁边核反应堆生产的钚制成的。但是美国认为，朝鲜过去还拥有一个提炼浓缩铀的平行核项目，2002年一位美国特使访问朝鲜时，朝鲜承认有这个项目。

In a talk with reporters, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack reiterated a statement by Assistant Secretary Hill on Sunday that North Korea needs to account for, and eliminate, all aspects of its nuclear program including the uranium project:

美国国务院发言人麦科马克在与记者交谈时重申美国助理国务卿希尔星期天发表的一项声明，朝鲜需要说明并且消除包括浓缩铀项目在内的所有的核项目。

"I refer you to the intelligence community for their assessment of the state and nature of that H.E.U. [highly-enriched uranium] program, but none-the-less we believe there is one," he said. "The North Koreans have admitted to one and they, in the process of denuclearization, would need to come clean on that program and eventually dismantle that program, along with their other nuclear programs."

他说：“我请你们注意情报部门对这项高浓度提炼的浓缩铀项目的情况和特点的评估，但是我们依然认为有这样一个项目。朝鲜已经承认有一个这样的项目，在实现无核化的过程中，他们必须交代这个项目，最终拆除这个项目以及其它核项目。”

After the October 2002 visit by U.S. envoy James Kelly, North Korea denied having an

Six-Party Talks participants in Beijing, 13 Feb 2007

enriched-uranium bomb project, and a senior intelligence official told Congress earlier this month U.S. officials are not highly-confident North Korea ever produced uranium suitable for a bomb.

在2002年10月美国特使詹姆斯·凯利访问朝鲜后，朝鲜否认拥有一个浓缩铀的核武器项目。这个月早些时候，一位高级情报官员对国会说，美国官员并不确信朝鲜曾经生产过能够用来制造核武器的金属铀。

Assistant Secretary Hill, who was chief U.S. envoy to the six-party talks, says the working group he will set up with his North Korean counterpart will establish an agenda for normalizing relations, including what will be required for removing North Korea from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism.

曾经担任六方会谈美国首席代表的助理国务卿希尔说，他与朝鲜方面将要建立的这个工作组将设定一个关系正常化的日程，内容包括美国为了把朝鲜从支持恐怖主义国家的名单上去除，朝鲜需要做的事情。

North Korea has been listed as a terrorism sponsor since 1988 but the State Department said in its most recent annual report on the issue that Pyongyang is not known to have sponsored any terrorist acts since the bombing of a South Korean airliner in 1987.

自1998年以来，朝鲜一直被美国列在支持恐怖主义的国家的名单上，但是，美国国务院在就这一问题所做的最新年度报告中表示，自从1987年一架韩国客机被炸毁以来，并不知道平壤支持过任何恐怖活动。

The February 13 six-party accord has come under criticism from U.S. conservatives, notably John Bolton of the American Enterprise Institute, who until late last year was U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.

2月13日的六方会谈也受到来自美国保守派的批评，特别是来自美国企业研究所的约翰·博尔顿，这位直至去年时任美国驻联合国大使的批评。

In a Wall Street Journal commentary, Bolton faulted the deal for relying excessively on the International Atomic Energy Agency for verification of North Korean compliance.

博尔顿在华尔街日报评论中指出，此项协议过分依赖由国际原子能机构核查朝鲜的遵守情况。

He said North Korea's record of what he termed "aggressive mendacity" requires the most intrusive of verification systems and that if the current approach is followed, in his words, an "already bad deal will become a dangerous deal."

他称朝鲜的信用记录是“侵略性谎言”，其最需要的是更强制的审查机构。如果按照目前的做法是，用他的话说是一个“已经坏了的交易将成为危险的交易”。

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最后一句感觉翻得不好，没有资料借鉴，政治题材难，请大家来讨论下。

Tips：
美国企业研究所全称为美国企业公共政策研究所(American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research,AEI),是美国最大和最重要的思想库之一,也是美国保守派的重要政策研究机构.在20世纪,它与布鲁金斯学会并称为美国华盛顿的"两大思想库",有"保守的布鲁金斯"之称.该所的保守立场使之与共和党渊源较深,曾被称为共和党的"流亡政府"和"影子内阁".近年来,其立场有向中间靠拢的趋势,对国会和政府的影响力也在逐渐增强.
PS：我找到的中文资料不多，希望大家补充。

Article From Wikipedia：

The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research (AEI) is a conservative think tank, founded in 1943, whose stated mission is "to defend the principles and improve the institutions of American freedom and democratic capitalism — limited government, private enterprise, individual liberty and responsibility, vigilant and effective defense and foreign policies, political accountability, and open debate." AEI labels itself as an independent nonprofit organization. It is supported primarily by grants and contributions from foundations, corporations, and individuals.

Like most think tanks that maintain non-profit status under the federal tax code, AEI is officially nonpartisan and takes no institutional positions on pending legislation or other policy questions.

AEI has emerged as one of the leading architects of the second Bush administration's public policy. More than two dozen AEI alumni have served either in a Bush administration policy post or on one of the government's many panels and commissions. AEI, along with the more conservative Heritage Foundation, is often cited as a center-right counterpart to the center-left Brookings Institution. In 1998, AEI and Brookings established the AEI-Brookings Joint Center for Regulatory Studies.

VOASE0305_Science In the News

05 March 2007

International Study Shows That Many Genes Could Be Involved in Autism
Also: A study finds that aspirin may help protect healthy adults against asthma. Scientists discover more than 100 lakes under Antarctica. And for the first time, a woman wins the ''Nobel prize of computing.''

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VOICE ONE:

This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I'm Doug Johnson.

VOICE TWO:

David Massey, a student at the West Virginia Autism Training Center at Marshall University, works with Stephanie Hurley, a Marshall senior. New findings about the possible causes of autism appear below.

And I'm Steve Ember. This week, we will tell you what an American satellite discovered under Antarctica. We will also tell about the first woman to win a major award for computer scientists. And, we report on a study that found yet another possible use for the drug aspirin.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

American space agency scientists say they have discovered large lakes hidden under the ice in Antarctica. The lakes are said to quickly fill with water and empty into surrounding seas.

Research scientists say they found more than one hundred lakes under the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. Until now, scientists did not know many of these lakes existed. Knowing that they exist will help scientists better understand the effects of climate change on the ice sheet.

The ice above the lakes moves at a speed of about eight tenths of a meter each day. Fast-moving ice streams are one way to estimate climate change. Information from the ice streams can be used to estimate how ice will survive rising sea temperatures.

VOICE TWO:

The researchers say they do not know exactly how the underground lakes affect the melting of ice away from the Antarctic ice sheet. Yet the melting of the ice sheet is one of the greatest fears of climate change scientists. American space agency researchers say Antarctica alone holds about ninety percent of the world’s ice. They say the continent also holds seventy percent of the Earth’s fresh water.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recently released a report about climate change. The group warned that melting ice could cause world sea levels to rise up to fifty-eight centimeters by the end of the century.

VOICE ONE:

The discoveries were announced last month at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in San Francisco, California.

Satellite images discovered the lakes under about seven hundred meters of ice. The satellite information was gathered from two thousand three to two thousand six. In the past, scientists had to cut deep holes into Antarctic ice to learn about what was happening underneath. The process only permitted them to study small areas at a time.

VOICE TWO:

The ice streams on top of the lakes move quickly. Scientists say they move about one and one-half meters each day and often drop ice into the sea. Currently, about twelve ice streams are moving the edges of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet into nearby waters.

Experts say the ice sheet last melted about one hundred twenty five thousand years ago. At the time, Earth's surface temperatures were similar to current temperatures. The American space agency estimates that the moving of ice into the ocean at the time sent sea levels about eighteen feet higher.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

An American study shows that use of the drug aspirin may prevent healthy adults from developing the disease asthma. Asthma is caused by a condition in the lungs. During an asthma attack, breathing passages become smaller, blocking the flow of air. The disease usually develops during childhood. Some children recover as they get older.

Tobias Kurth led the new study. He works for Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. His team studied information about twenty-two thousand male doctors. The doctors had taken part in a health study during the nineteen eighties. That study was about heart disease, but its records also had information about asthma.

VOICE TWO:

None of the doctors had asthma when the study began. Half of them took an aspirin every other day. The other half took a harmless substance called a placebo.

After about five years, one hundred forty-five men in the placebo group had developed asthma. But only one hundred thirteen men in the aspirin group had the disease. This represented a twenty-two percent decrease in the risk of developing asthma for those taking aspirin.

The research team reported the results last month in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

The researchers say it is too early to suggest that people take aspirin to prevent asthma. They also say aspirin is not a treatment for asthma. The drug can cause asthma attacks in some people who have the disease.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Another study offers information about the possible genetic causes of autism. Scientists already believed that autism is passed from parents to their children. But the study shows there could be many genes responsible for the brain disorder. This is different from other disorders that are caused by a single gene.

Results of the study were reported last month in the publication Nature Genetics. The Autism Genome Project organized the study. The project involves research scientists in nineteen countries. The researchers compared genetic material from almost twelve hundred families. Each family had two or more children with autism.

VOICE TWO:

The researchers used what they called gene chip technology to look for small genetic differences that could be linked to the disorder. They identified a gene called neurexin-one as one possible cause of autism. This gene seems to be linked to communication among brain cells. The study also showed that an area of chromosome eleven might influence the development of autism.

Signs of the disorder appear in early childhood, usually by the age of two or three years. Autism affects four times as many boys as girls. Another study released last month suggests that as many as one in every one hundred and fifty children in the United States has an autism disorder.

VOICE ONE:

Autistic children have problems in the development of social and communication skills. They may also have limited interests and repeat the same actions again and again.

One problem with earlier autism research has been that studies are often based on information from a small number of people. In this study, more than one hundred and twenty researchers spent five years working to expand the number of persons studied. Because they shared their information, the researchers had a greater amount of information to work with.

Scientists hope that learning more about the genetic roots of autism will help them to better identify and understand the disorder. They also hope to learn more about developing drugs to treat autism.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Frances Allen is the first woman to win the Turing Award

Finally, a computer scientist from the United States has won the two thousand six A.M. Turing Award. The Association for Computing Machinery named Frances Allen as the winner. The A.C.M. is an international organization for computer scientists and educators.

The A.M. Turing Award has been called the Nobel prize of computing. It is given every year to scientists and engineers who created the systems and theories that have aided the information technology industry. The Turing Award winner receives one hundred thousand dollars. Earlier winners include Vinton Cerf and Robert Kahn for helping to design the Internet.

The award is named for the British mathematics expert Alan M. Turing. He is considered one of the fathers of computer science. His work helped Allied nations learn how the German military passed secret commands and orders during World War Two.

VOICE ONE:

This is the first time that the Turing Award has been given to a woman. The Association for Computing Machinery says it is honoring Frances Allen for improving the performance of computer programs in solving problems. It says her work also helped to speed up the use of high performance computing.

Miz Allen is retired from her job with the T.J. Watson Research Center at IBM Corporation. She joined the company in nineteen fifty-seven to teach the computer language FORTRAN to IBM engineers. She was trained as a mathematics teacher but became interested in the power of computers.

Miz Allen has won several awards and honorary college degrees. She told the USA Today newspaper that she wants to use the Turing Award to influence more young women to study computer science. She will receive her award in June at ceremonies in San Diego, California.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:
This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS program was written by Brianna Blake, Dana Demange, Shelley Gollust and Nancy Steinbach. Brianna Blake was our producer. I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Doug Johnson. Be listening again next week at this time for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.

VOASE0305_Agriculture Report

05 March 2007

Getting the Most Out of Marginal Lands
Farmers can reclaim poor quality land for agriculture. But they also have to be careful not to make things worse.

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This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

To call something "marginal" means it is not very good. Farmers have their own way to define marginal land: It is the last to be planted under good conditions, and the first to be avoided under poor conditions.

Low quality soil is not the only reason land could be considered marginal. It might be in an area where rainfall is limited. Or a hillside might rise too steeply.

There are uses for marginal land, however. Most often it is used as grassland. Grasses provide excellent feed for grazing animals like cattle, sheep and goats.

Grass seed can be bought from a supplier. Or native grasses can be used. But it is important to establish good ground cover to avoid soil loss through erosion.

Forage crops like clover and alfalfa can be planted. These members of the legume family provide high protein food for grazing animals. They also improve the quality of the soil.

Most plants use up nitrogen. But legumes put nitrogen back into the soil. Forage crops also help limit erosion.

However, using marginal land for grazing is not a simple issue. There is a risk of overgrazing. Cattle can damage forage crops by eating down to the roots. Also, the weight of the animals crushes the soil and can make it too hard for growing.

A way to reduce the harm is to move animals from one field to another. This method is known as rotational grazing. Experts say rotational grazing is extremely important for marginal land.

Another use for marginal land is for tree crops. Studies have shown that the white pine and loblolly pine are two kinds of trees that grow well on such land. They grow fast and provide good quality wood. Another tree is the poplar, found in many parts of the world. Slower-growing trees like the black walnut also provide a nut crop.

Trees support the soil. They reduce the effects of wind and rain. And they help block the sun.

Failure to take the care needed to protect marginal lands can make a bad situation worse. But good planning can turn a marginal resource into a highly productive one.

This VOA Special English Agriculture Report was written by Mario Ritter. Our reports are online at voaspecialenglish.com. If you have a question about agriculture, send it to special@voanews.com. We might answer it on our program. I'm Barbara Klein.