VOASE0322_American Mosaic

22 March 2007

'A Diamond Is Forever': How a Few Simple Words Changed an Industry
Also: A report on The World Almanac and Book of Facts, and music by Sonya Kitchell.

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HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC, in VOA Special English.

(MUSIC)

I'm Doug Johnson. On our show this week:

We answer a question about an advertising expression…

Play some music from Sonya Kitchell…

And report about the World Almanac.

The World Almanac and Book of Facts

HOST:

Listeners to American Mosaic send us letters and e-mails asking many kinds of questions about the United States. One place we sometimes look for answers is a book called The World Almanac and Book of Facts. Barbara Klein explains.

BARBARA KLEIN:

A new World Almanac is published every year and provides up-to-date information about many places and things. For example, you can find the names of actors who won Academy Awards in past years. The names of athletes who won major sports awards. Information about American cities and states.

The book also provides information about the nations of the world. It tells about world history, geography, business, science and technology and languages.

It presents the most important and most unusual news stories of the past year. And it gives interesting facts, such as the nation with the most refugees (Pakistan). The nation with the most vacation days each year (Italy). And the most popular dog in the United States (Labrador Retriever).

The New York World newspaper published the first World Almanac in eighteen sixty-eight. That is why it is called The World Almanac.

The World Almanac Web site says the publication has played a part in American history. For example, in nineteen twenty-three, Calvin Coolidge was sworn in as president after the sudden death of President Warren Harding. Mister Coolidge's father, a judge, read the oath of office from a copy of The World Almanac.

The Web site also says that several recent American presidents have used the book. It says there are photographs of presidents John Kennedy and Bill Clinton that show a copy of The World Almanac on or near their desks.

The Web site also claims that The World Almanac is the best-selling American reference book of all time. It says that more than eighty million copies have been sold.

The World Almanac now also publishes a computer version as well as a separate Almanac for children. The Kids Almanac provides information children might need for school reports. It also has games, puzzles and other activities children enjoy.

Speaking of Diamonds

HOST:

Our VOA listener question this week comes from Zimbabwe. Shadreck Chikwavaire asks about the meaning of the saying “diamonds are forever.” Many people around the world know that expression. It is the name of a popular book and movie about the fictional spy, James Bond. The theme song to the movie also became popular. Shirley Bassey sang it.

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Diamonds are minerals that first formed billions of years ago deep under the ground. They result when pressure and heat act on the substance carbon.

A diamond is the hardest substance found in nature. But the mineral can be cut into different shapes and used to make costly jewelry such as diamond rings. In the United States, it is traditional for a man to give the woman he plans to marry a diamond engagement ring. People also wear jewelry made of diamonds on their ears, necks and wrists.

People are willing to pay high prices for diamond jewelry. One company controls most of the diamond market -- the De Beers Consolidated Mines Company of South Africa. Reports say the company used to keep diamonds mined in many countries and released a limited number for sale each year. Officials say the company does not do business that way anymore.

The De Beers Company first created the saying "A Diamond Is Forever." In the late nineteen forties, De Beers hired an advertising agency to help increase its sale of diamonds. The agency N.W. Ayer developed an extremely successful campaign linking diamonds and romantic love.

The campaign invented the slogan “A Diamond Is Forever,” meaning that a diamond is a never-ending sign of love. It also meant that a diamond would always keep its value. The company continues to use the slogan in its advertising more than fifty years later. And reports say it has been used to advertise diamonds in at least twenty-nine languages.

The advertising business also recognized the huge success of the saying. In two thousand, Advertising Age magazine named "A Diamond Is Forever" the best advertising slogan of the twentieth century.

Sonya Kitchell

HOST:

Sonya Kitchell writes and sings songs that are influenced by jazz and blues. She has a rich and low voice that can skillfully express many emotions and styles. The surprising part is that she is only seventeen years old. Faith Lapidus tells us more about this young artist who is making timeless music.

(MUSIC)

FAITH LAPIDUS:

Sonya Kitchell

That was “Let Me Go,” a song Sonya Kitchell wrote with her parents in mind. In the song she asks them to let her grow up and become more independent.

When Sonya was a child, her parents surrounded her with their artistic and musical interests. She started studying jazz singing at the age of ten. Soon, she started writing and performing her music live with a group.

Sonya says she tries to take in as much of the world around her as she can. Songwriting has become a way to process her experiences.

Sonya Kitchell’s first album, “Words Came Back to Me,” came out last year. Here is, “Train,” from that album. It is a song about wanting life to go by both faster and more slowly.

(MUSIC)

Sonya Kitchell is quickly becoming very popular. She has traveled and performed with well-known singers. Sometimes Sonya tries to write when she is on the road. But she says writing comes easiest when she is at her home in the northeastern state of Massachusetts. There, she takes walks in nature to clear her mind and think.

Sonya Kitchell says she has many goals for herself and her music. She wants to help make intelligent music more popular. She says popular music should go back to its roots and be enjoyed not only for its sound, but also for its message. We leave you with the gentle sounds of “I’d Love You.”

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HOST:

I'm Doug Johnson. I hope you enjoyed our program today.

It was written by Dana Demange and Nancy Steinbach. Caty Weaver was our producer. To read the text of this program and download audio, go to our Web site, voaspecialenglish.com.

Send your questions about American life to mosaic@voanews.com. Please include your full name and mailing address. Or write to American Mosaic, VOA Special English, Washington, D.C., 20237, U.S.A.

Join us again next week for AMERICAN MOSAIC, VOA’s radio magazine in Special English.

UN Probe Finds Hariri Murder Political

By Peter Heinlein United Nations 21 March 2007

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A United Nations-appointed investigator is reporting significant progress in his probe into the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. As we hear from VOA's correspondent at the U.N. Peter Heinlein, the inquiry is coming to the conclusion that Mr. Hariri was probably killed, because he posed a threat to Syrian influence in Lebanon.

Flowers adorn the gravesite of Rafik Hariri in downtown Beirut

Belgian prosecutor Serge Brammertz chose his words carefully Wednesday as he briefed the Security Council on the progress of his Hariri assassination probe. Since he took over the investigation, he has developed a reputation as a meticulous and methodical investigator.

His predecessor, the German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis, had implicated Syrian intelligence officials and their Lebanese allies in a plot to kill Mr. Hariri in February 2005. Mehlis also accused Syria of obstructing his inquiry. Syria strongly denied the allegations, and condemned the Hariri assassination as a "heinous crime."

After Brammertz took over, he appeared to back away from Mehlis's sensational conclusions. He reopened the probe to consider other possibilities, and reported that Syria's cooperation had been 'satisfactory'. But in his latest comments to the Security Council, he says he has narrowed down the possible motives to one: a series of political setbacks to Syrian interests.

Brammertz told the Council the killers appear to have been spurred to action by a chain of events, including the U.N. Security Council's adoption of Resolution 15-59, demanding Syria's withdrawal from Lebanon. Another factor was the international uproar created by the move by Lebanon's parliament to override the country's constitution to extend the term of its pro-Syrian president Emile Lahoud.

In his latest report, Mr. Brammertz says his team of investigators is developing a "unifying factual theory" behind the crime. He suggests that one immediate cause for the assassination may have been concern that the anti-Syrian Mr. Hariri was likely to win in forthcoming elections.

"A number of factors shaped Hariri's environment in the period leading up to 14 February 2005," he said. "These include the inception of Resolution 15-59 and the implications of its implementation; the extension of the term of President Lahoud; the dynamics between Hariri and other political parties in Lebanon, Syria and other countries, and preparations ahead of the parliamentary elections scheduled for May, 2005. The Commission believes it is likely that a combination of these factors created the environment in which the intent to kill Rafik Hariri arose."

When asked whether he had concluded that Mr. Hariri was killed because he posed a threat to Syrian interests, Brammertz said that question would have to be decided by a tribunal.

"What we are saying is that we indeed believe, having enough information to support the hypothesis that the motive is most likely linked to his political activities," he added. "But still it will be up to a tribunal later on to determine in terms of responsibility who has to be considered responsible for this crime. It's not up to commission to say more."

Brammertz says the next step should be establishment of a tribunal to weigh the evidence and try suspects in the Hariri assassination. Lebanon's government has approved plans to establish the court, but the pro-Syrian speaker of parliament Nabih Berri, has not called the legislature into session to endorse the plan.

Gore Urges US Congressional Action on Global Warming

By Dan Robinson Capitol Hill 21 March 2007

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Former Vice President Al Gore has testified before Congress on the dangers posed by global warming. VOA's Dan Robinson reports, the environmentalist and former presidential candidate urged lawmakers to take steps to move the United States toward greater energy efficiency and de-facto compliance with the Kyoto Treaty.

Al Gore testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, 21 Mar 2007, before a joint hearing of the House Energy and Commerce, and Science and Technology subcommittees on climate change

Al Gore's Oscar-winning documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, tracked his efforts around the world to raise international awareness about global warming.

In a statement to a joint hearing of two congressional committees, he returned to the theme of his film, saying there is irrefutable evidence that the Earth is experiencing an unprecedented period of climate change.

Gore says the United States must take the lead, and lawmakers must summon the courage, to take steps that will help reverse the process, so future generations will not ask this question.

"What in God's name were they doing? Didn't they realize that four times in 15 years the entire scientific community in this world issued unanimous reports calling on them to act? What was wrong with them? Were they too blinded and numbed by the business of political life, or daily life, to take a deep breath and look at the reality of what we are facing?," said Gore.

"Did they think it was perfectly all right to keep dumping 70 million tons every single time of global warming pollution into this atmosphere? Did they think all the scientists were wrong?," he continued.

Gore cited recent studies saying that global warming may be worse than previously thought, and that the Arctic ice cap is melting more rapidly than previously predicted, and could disappear in as little as 34 years.

"This problem is burning a hole at the top of the world in the ice cover that is one of the principal ways that our planet cools itself. If it goes, it will not come back in any time scale relevant to the human species," said former vice president.

Gore appeared at a time when majority Democrats have made the issue of climate change a key part of their agenda.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi created a special committee on climate change and is encouraging legislation that would promote reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and encourage use of renewable fuels.

Republicans took the opportunity to renew criticisms of several aspects of Gore's film, and question conclusions he drew from scientific findings.

Congressman Joe Barton took aim at two of Gore's recommendations.

"Some of your ideas though, Mr. Vice President, I think are just flawed," said Joe Barton. "Your suggestion of a carbon tax is something that would harm our competitiveness, raise costs to American families, export jobs and actually do very little to improve our environment."

"Likewise a Kyoto-style cap and trade system for carbon dioxide will mainly increase the price of electricity while providing few if any environmental benefits," he added.

Gore urged Congress to pass legislation to encourage energy efficiency, including tighter standards for automobiles, and bar the construction of any new coal-fired power plants not capable of capturing carbon dioxide (greenhouse gases) that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere.

He also advocates steps to bring the United States into effective compliance with the existing Kyoto treaty, and says the effective date of a new treaty to succeed it should be moved up to 2010.

Gore's appearances in House and Senate committees marked his first return to the Capitol since 2001, when he presided over a congressional session that certified the victory of George W. Bush based on electoral college votes after the contested 2000 presidential election.

Although he has said he has no intention of running for president again, he still scores high in public opinion polls and has spoken out strongly against Bush administration policies in Iraq and other issues.

VOASE0321_The Making of a Nation

21 March 2007

History Series: Kennedy Begins His Presidency With Strong Public Support
Today, his inaugural speech is considered to be among the best in American history.

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VOICE ONE:

This is Rich Kleinfeldt.

VOICE TWO:

And this is Phil Murray with THE MAKING OF A NATION -- a VOA Special English program about the history of the United States.

(MUSIC)

John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Our program today is about the beginning of the administration of President John Kennedy.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

January twentieth, nineteen sixty-one. John Kennedy was to be sworn-in that day as president of the United States.

It had snowed heavily the night before. Few cars were in the streets of Washington. Yet, somehow, people got to the ceremony at the Capitol building.

VOICE TWO:

The outgoing president, Dwight Eisenhower, was seventy years old. John Kennedy was just forty-three. He was the first American president born in the twentieth century.

Both Eisenhower and Kennedy served in the military in World War Two. Eisenhower served at the top. He was commander of allied forces in Europe. Kennedy was one of many young navy officers in the pacific battle area.

Eisenhower was a hero of the war and was an extremely popular man. Kennedy was extremely popular, too, especially among young people. He was a fresh face in American politics. To millions of Americans, he represented a chance for a new beginning.

VOICE ONE:

Not everyone liked John Kennedy, however. Many people thought he was too young to be president. Many opposed him because he belonged to the Roman Catholic Church. A majority of Christians in America were Protestant. There had never been a Roman Catholic president of the United States. John Kennedy would be the first.

VOICE TWO:

Dwight Eisenhower

Dwight Eisenhower served two terms during the nineteen-fifties. That was the limit for American presidents. His vice president, Richard Nixon, ran against Kennedy in the election of nineteen-sixty.

Many Americans supported Nixon. They believed he was a stronger opponent of communism than Kennedy. Some also feared that Kennedy might give more consideration to the needs of black Americans than to white Americans.

The election of nineteen-sixty was one of the closest in American history. Kennedy defeated Nixon by fewer than one hundred-twenty thousand popular votes. Now, he would be sworn-in as the nation's thirty-fifth president.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Robert Frost

One of the speakers at the ceremony was Robert Frost. He was perhaps America's most popular poet at the time. Robert Frost planned to read from a long work he wrote especially for the ceremony. But he was unable to read much of it. The bright winter sun shone blindingly on the snow. The cold winter wind blew the paper in his old hands.

VOICE TWO:

John Kennedy stood to help him. Still, the poet could not continue. Those in the crowd felt concerned for the eighty-six-year-old man. Suddenly, he stopped trying to say his special poem. Instead, he began to say the words of another one, one he knew from memory. It was called "The Gift Outright."

Here is part of that poem by Robert Frost, read by Stan Busby:

VOICE THREE:

The land was ours before we were the land's.

She was our land more than a hundred years before we were her people ...

Something we were withholding made us weak

Until we found out that it was ourselves

We were withholding from our land of living ...

Such as we were we gave ourselves outright.

VOICE ONE:

Giving his inaugural speech

Soon it was time for the new president to speak. People watching on television could see his icy breath as he stood. He was not wearing a warm coat. His head was uncovered.

Kennedy's speech would, one day, be judged to be among the best in American history. The time of his inauguration was a time of tension and fear about nuclear weapons. The United States had nuclear weapons. Its main political enemy, the Soviet Union, had them, too. If hostilities broke out, would such terrible weapons be used?

VOICE TWO:

Kennedy spoke about the issue. He warned of the danger of what he called "the deadly atom." He said the United States and communist nations should make serious proposals for the inspection and control of nuclear weapons. He urged both sides to explore the good in science, instead of its terrors.

KENNEDY: "Together let us explore the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths, and encourage the arts and commerce ... Let both sides join in creating a new endeavor, not a new balance of power, but a new world of law, where the strong are just and the weak secure and the peace preserved."

VOICE ONE:

Kennedy also spoke about a torch -- a light of leadership being passed from older Americans to younger Americans. He urged the young to take the torch and accept responsibility for the future. He also urged other countries to work with the United States to create a better world.

John and Jacqueline Kennedy arrive at an inaugural ball on January 20, 1961

JOHN KENNEDY: "The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it -- and the glow from that fire can truly light the world. And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: Ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man."

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

John Kennedy's first one hundred days as president were busy ones.

He was in office less than two weeks when the Soviet Union freed two American airmen. The Soviets had shot down their spy plane over the Bering Sea. About sixty million people watched as Kennedy announced the airmen's release. It was the first presidential news conference broadcast live on television in the United States. Kennedy welcomed the release as a step toward better relations with the Soviet Union.

The next month, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev made another move toward better relations. He sent Kennedy a message. The message said that disarmament would be a great joy for all people on earth.

VOICE ONE:

A few weeks later, President Kennedy announced the creation of the Peace Corps. He had talked about this program during the election campaign. The Peace Corps would send thousands of Americans to developing countries to provide technical help.

Another program, the alliance for progress, was announced soon after the peace corps was created. The purpose of the alliance for progress was to provide economic aid to Latin American nations for ten years.

VOICE TWO:

The space program was another thing Kennedy had talked about during the election campaign. He believed the United States should continue to explore outer space.

The Soviet Union had gotten there first. It launched the world's first satellite in nineteen fifty-seven. Then, in April, nineteen sixty-one, the Soviet Union sent the first manned spacecraft into orbit around the earth.

VOICE ONE:

The worst failure of Kennedy's administration came that same month. On April seventeenth, more than one thousand Cuban exiles landed on a beach in western Cuba. They had received training and equipment from the United States Central Intelligence Agency. They were to lead a revolution to overthrow the communist government of Cuba. The place where they landed was called Bahia de Cochinos -- the Bay of Pigs.

The plan failed. Most of the exiles were killed or captured by the Cuban army.

VOICE TWO:

It had not been President Kennedy's idea to start a revolution against Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Officials in the last administration had planned it. However, most of Kennedy's advisers supported the idea. And he approved it.

In public, the president said he was responsible for the failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion. In private, he said, "All my life I have known better than to depend on the experts. How could I have been so stupid."

VOICE ONE:

John Kennedy's popularity was badly damaged by what happened in Cuba. His next months in office would be a struggle to regain the support of the people. That will be our story next week.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

This program of THE MAKING OF A NATION was written by Jeri Watson and produced by Paul Thompson. This is Phil Murray.

VOICE ONE:

And this is Rich Kleinfeldt. Join us again next week for another VOA Special English program about the history of the United States.

VOASE0321_Education Report

21 March 2007

Get A Military Education At the United States Military Academy at West Point
A Look At The United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, which can have up to 60 foreign students at any one time.

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This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

This week, in our series for students who want to study in the United States, we tell about the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Cadet basic training

West Point is a four-year school in New York State that educates future Army officers. The students are called cadets. They do not have to pay for their educations. But they must agree to serve on active duty in the Army for at least five years after they graduate.

A young man or woman must be nominated to the academy, usually by a federal or state lawmaker. Nominees also must satisfy the entrance requirements. These include being in excellent physical condition and getting good grades in high school.

About four thousand American cadets are at West Point this year. In addition, fifty-nine cadets from foreign countries are attending.

These international students are nominated by their home governments. They also must satisfy the physical and educational requirements. And they must do well on the TOEFL, the Test of English as a Foreign Language.

Home governments may have to pay up to sixty thousand dollars a year for each student they send to West Point. Among the countries with cadets at the academy this year are Afghanistan, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Costa Rica, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka, and Tunisia.

Each year, the United States Defense Department invites countries to nominate students to West Point and to the Navy and Air Force academies. This year, one hundred fifty-nine countries were asked to nominate students for the next school year. Not all countries take part in the program.

We spoke to Major Robert Romans, chief of the international affairs division at West Point, and Major Michael McBride, head of the international cadet program. They say up to sixty foreign cadets at any one time can attend the academy. And they say that interested students must seek information about the program at their local American Embassy. The embassy's Defense Cooperation Office will know how the student can be nominated.

The West Point Web site provides some information about the international cadet program and its requirements. The address is admissions.u-s-m-a.e-d-u.

Our Foreign Student Series continues next week. Scripts are available on the Internet at voaspecialenglish.com.

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. I'm Steve Ember.

Democrats Face Uncertain Vote on War Funding Measure

By Dan Robinson Capitol Hill 20 March 2007

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Democrats in the House of Representatives face uncertainty as they proceed with plans to bring legislation to the floor later this week to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and provide billions in domestic and homeland security needs. VOA's Dan Robinson reports from Capitol Hill, Democrats need to prevent defections in their own ranks, as they face stiff resistance from minority Republicans to the measure.

A US soldier keeps watch in a Shi'ite enclave of Sadr City in Baghdad, Iraq

Publicly, Democratic leaders continue to express optimism about the upcoming vote, but a different picture emerges when one looks behind the scenes.

The Democratic measure, which totals about $124 billion, with just over $95 billion for war needs, calls for a withdrawal of forces no later than September of 2008, and would require the president to certify that any troops he would deploy to Iraq before then be fully trained and equipped.

For weeks, leaders have had to contend with demands from outspoken war critics on the left of the party who would like to see a timetable that sets an earlier date to withdraw troops from Iraq.

Still others, representing the conservative wing of the party, continue to be wary of setting any certain date.

In a speech on the floor of the House marking the fourth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, House majority leader Steny Hoyer urged bipartisan support for the measure.

Hoyer challenged Republicans who have disparaged the Democratic legislation.

"The Iraq war is already longer than our participation in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War," he noted. "The specter of five-and-one-half years in Iraq, if our troops remain deployed until August 31 of 2008, can hardly be called a precipitous cut and run."

Minority Leader John Boehner and other Republican leaders predict a united front in their party against the measure.

"We will oppose these efforts to hamstring our generals, our troops on the ground, in their effort, and in their mission, of succeeding in Iraq," said Mr. Boehner.

Republicans issued a statement Tuesday calling the Democratic bill a "political charade" and predicting that it would never be approved in the Senate.

Uncertainty in the Democratic caucus about Thursday's vote was evident in a Tuesday news conference.

Reporters repeatedly pressed Congressman Jim Clyburn and Rahm Emanuel, the Democratic whip and caucus chairman respectively, on how confident they are in getting the 218 votes needed for passage:

CLYBURN: "I would say we are closer to 218 today than we were yesterday, and we will be closer to it tomorrow than we were today."

EMANUEL: "I have no doubt that we will have the votes that we need to pass this legislation."

In the background, Democratic leaders have been busy fighting for every vote possible, amid indications that a group of the most outspoken anti-war Democrats will vote against the bill.

Brian Van Riper

Just 17 Republicans crossed party lines to support a recent Democratic non-binding resolution opposing President Bush's troop surge in Iraq, and only a few are expected to support the Iraq funding measure.

Underscoring the spectrum of views in the House, Democratic and Republican lawmakers went before the Foreign Affairs Committee Tuesday to detail more than 30 bills regarding Iraq introduced since January.

John Bruhns

In advance of Thursday's House debate on Iraq-Afghanistan funding, five Iraq war veterans came to the Capitol building to express their support for the Democratic measure, Brian Van Riper and John Bruhns.

RIPER: "We can't sit back as Americans any longer and allow our military to be dragged further into Iraq, what is ultimately becoming a fruitless mission. I don't see an end anywhere in sight."

BRUHNS: "I think it is imperative that we tell the Iraqis that we need benchmarks, we need them to show us that the training wheels have been taken off and our troops aren't carrying the full responsibility."

In a statement marking Monday's fourth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, President Bush urged Congress to approve Iraq-Afghanistan bill, in his words, without strings and without delay, and threatens to veto the legislation as currently written.

Constitutional Showdown Emerging in Attorneys Scandal

By Deborah Tate Capitol Hill 20 March 2007

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President Bush is urging majority Democrats in Congress to accept his offer to allow congressional investigators to interview key aides in private but not under oath about the White House decision to fire eight federal prosecutors. But Democrats are insisting testimony be sworn and in public, as VOA's Deborah Tate reports from Capitol Hill.

President Bush is warning Democrats against seeking a constitutional showdown on the issue of the dismissals of the U.S. attorneys.

"Initial response by Democrats unfortunately show they are more interested in scoring political points than in learning the facts," said President Bush. "It would be regrettable if they choose to head down the partisan road of issuing subpoenas and demanding show-trials, when I have agreed to make key White House officials and documents available."

Bush said if the staff of a president operated in constant fear of being hauled before various committees to discuss internal deliberations, the president would not receive candid advice, and the American people would be ill served.

White House deputy chief of staff Karl Rove

White House lawyer Fred Fielding, in a letter to members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees probing the matter, said he would make available the president's top political advisor, Karl Rove, and former White House lawyer Harriet Miers, for questioning in private and not under oath.

But the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, rejected the offer, saying testimony should be sworn and on the record. In a written statement, he said that is the formula for true accountability.

His comments were echoed by Senator Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat:

"It seems as if the president wants to appear to be cooperative but not really cooperate," said Charles Schumer.

Democrats are looking into whether the firing of the U.S. attorneys was politically motivated.

Mr. Bush told reporters nothing improper was done in dismissing them. But the attorneys who lost their jobs argue that political considerations were behind their ouster.

The controversy has prompted calls from Democrats, and even a few Republicans, for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to resign.

The president reiterated his support for Gonzales.

Earlier, the Senate voted 92 to two to end the Attorney General's ability to appoint U.S. Attorneys without Senate confirmation - a power that was granted to the executive branch in a provision included in the Patriot Act. The measure still needs approval by the House of Representatives.

Congress Probes FBI Abuse of Power in Gaining Personal Data

By Peter Fedynsky Washington 20 March 2007

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U.S. legislators on Tuesday heard first hand the findings of an internal government report, which revealed that the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or FBI, abused its powers in obtaining personal information during investigations of suspected terrorists. VOA's Peter Fedynsky reports an FBI official acknowledged the revelations have damaged the agency's credibility.

Nearly 80 minutes into the hearing, Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers banged the gavel to restore order after a member of the audience briefly disrupted the proceedings.

The comment "We don't trust the FBI!" underscored what the FBI's General Counsel, Valerie Caproni, told the committee earlier in the hearing - that the bureau needs American public support to fight terrorism, particularly in neighborhoods susceptible to radical influence. "We need people in those communities to call us when they hear or see something that looks amiss. We know that we reduce the probability of that call immeasurably, if we lose the confidence of any part of the American public," she said.

That trust, however, has been eroded amid revelations that the FBI may have misused so-called National Security Letters to obtain private information about people, without getting prior approval from a judge or a grand jury.

Controls over how the letters are used was loosened under the so-called Patriot Act, a controversial law passed by Congress to hunt for terrorists in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

FBI officials Valerie Caproni (l) and Glenn Fine

In his testimony, Inspector General Glenn Fine told the House Judiciary Committee that the FBI dramatically increased the number of National Security letters in violation of statues, and policies established by the bureau and the U.S. Attorney General. But Fine said the FBI did not intentionally violate the law. "We believe the misuses and problems that we found generally were the problem of mistakes, carelessness, confusion, sloppiness, lack of training, lack of adequate guidance and lack of adequate oversight," he said.

Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, however, noted that the FBI was aware of the abuses as early as 2004. The Inspector General conceded that his investigation did not inquire about the actions of individuals. He said it would be appropriate for the FBI to learn exactly who was doing what, when and why, and to hold people accountable for any violations.

Committee member Jerrold Nadler, a New York Democrat and critic of the Patriot Act, said the FBI abuses could be attributed to the law itself. "It is not enough to mandate that the FBI fix internal management problems and record-keeping, because the statute itself authorizes the unchecked collection of information on innocent Americans," he said.

But Republican Lamar Smith of Texas said the problem is due to poor implementation. "It is clear from the report that these deficiencies are the result of the poor implementation and administration of national security letter authority. In other words, the problem is enforcement of the law, not the law itself," he said.

Members of the Judiciary Committee warned the FBI that it could lose its expanded surveillance authority, if the bureau fails to correct its mistakes.

Pakistan's Leader Faces Political Crisis Over Judge's Removal

By Gary Thomas Washington 20 March 2007

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The abrupt removal of Pakistan's chief justice has sparked a political firestorm around President Pervez Musharraf. Critics charge the president's decision to remove the judge was politically motivated. As VOA Correspondent Gary Thomas reports, the opposition, which has been sidelined during General Musharraf's rule, sees some political opportunity in the crisis during an election year.

Pervez Musharraf

Analysts say President Musharraf's suspension of Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry has presented the Pakistani leader with his biggest political challenge since he took power in a military coup in 1999.

Husain Haqqani, who has been an advisor to two former Pakistani prime ministers, says the president's recent actions have reawakened a sleepy political opposition that had largely been sidelined during President Musharraf's rule - and done so in an election year.

"What he did not realize was that, after seven years in power, the honeymoon is over," said Husain Haqqani. "There are many, many, many causes of resentment, and this has become the lightening rod for those many causes of resentment."

Pakistani lawyers and supporters surround the sacked Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry (2nd R) upon his arrival for a hearing at the Supreme Court in Islamabad, 16 Mar 2007

Chief Justice Chaudhry was suspended from office March 9 for alleged abuse of authority.

Critics claim the suspension was because he questioned the reach of the government's authority, especially with regard to arbitrary detention by the intelligence service.

The government denies any political motivation, but has not made public the charges against Justice Chaudhry.

The removal sparked demonstrations, and police detained hundreds of protesting lawyers and opposition activists.

Employees of Geo TV sits beside the window damaged by riot police in Islamabad, 16 Mar 2007

Seven judges and a deputy attorney general have resigned in protest. A police raid on GEO-TV, an independent television station, sparked further outrage in the streets.

In a lengthy interview with GEO-TV late Monday, President Musharraf said the situation may have been mishandled, but he defended Chief Justice Chaudhry's suspension. He pledged to hold what he called fair and transparent parliamentary elections later this year as scheduled, and denied that he would use the army to impose a state of emergency.

"Elections will be held on time. This is my assurance to the nation. [State of] emergency: the army will never be used. This is not their job," said President Musharraf.

"We need to protect ourselves from any negative fallout. Inshallah [as God wills], we will protect ourselves, we will go forward on the course, which is elections this year, when the five-year tenure of the assemblies is completed. I am firmly resolved to do that, and I will do it," he continued.

President Musharraf's term is also up, and he is expected to seek another term from the outgoing parliament and provincial assemblies, which together form an electoral college to choose the president.

Director James Dobbins, of the International Security and Defense Policy Center at the RAND Corporation, believes the president can ride out the current storm, but adds the clamor for a return to civilian rule will not go away.

"I think, at this stage, one would say it is likely that he will be able to weather it," he said. "The question is whether he draws the right conclusions and begins to move back to the resumption of civilian rule and the strengthening of the rule of law in his country."

Waiting in the wings to see how the crisis develops in this election year are two former prime ministers, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif. Both live in exile, and face arrest on corruption charges if they return to Pakistan.

The Supreme Judicial Council was to hear Justice Chaudhry's case Tuesday, but the hearing has been moved to early next month. The Council, which hears complaints of misconduct by high-ranking judges, could confirm his removal or throw out the charges and reinstate him.

Analysts say Justice Chaudhry's reinstatement would politically weaken President Musharraf, embolden the opposition and strengthen the independence of the judiciary.

Criticism Rises of African Leaders' Silence on Zimbabwe

By Scott Bobb Johannesburg 20 March 2007

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The Catholic Church in Zimbabwe has criticized the South African government for failing to use its economic clout to pressure the Zimbabwean government for change. The announcement comes amid renewed protest in South Africa against what is perceived as the silence of African leaders over recent police abuses against opposition leaders in the country. Correspondent Scott Bobb reports from our Southern Africa Bureau in Johannesburg.

Archbishop Pius Ncube (file photo)

Zimbabwe's Catholic Archbishop Pius Ncube Tuesday said South Africa is in a good position to put pressure on Zimbabwe and could force the government to change through sanctions if necessary.

But he said in a statement the South African government is merely watching.

The announcement came as a civic group of exiled Zimbabwean dissidents in South Africa criticized African leaders for remaining silent about the incidents which have brought condemnation from Europe and the United States.

Several dozen opposition leaders ten days ago were beaten while in police custody after they tried to gather for what was termed a prayer rally. One person died in the incident and several others were hospitalized. The group says dozens of other opposition activists have since been arrested.

An analyst with South Africa's Institute for Security Studies, Chris Moroleng, says the confrontation between the Mugabe government and its opponents has entered a new phase.

"They [authorities] are not waiting for incidents to occur but they are preemptively attacking the opposition and civil society before a direct confrontation takes place," he said.

Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai is seen in bed at a local hospital in Harare, 14 Mar 2007

He says security agents now are also directly targeting the opposition leadership.

The Zimbabwe government accuses the opposition of instigating violence in the country.

President Robert Mugabe has remained defiant in the face of international criticism and indicated in a recent address to members of his ZANU-PF party that he is prepared to continue the crackdown if the protests continue.

"They [the opposition will get arrested and will get bashed by the police," said President Mugabe.

Defenders of South Africa's policy say behind the scenes diplomacy is far more effective than public posturing. And broad economic sanctions would hurt primarily the Zimbabwean people who already are suffering from unemployment, inflation and shortages of food and services.

Analyst Moroleng says there is a growing feeling that African leaders should take stronger public positions even if they do not take punitive measures against Zimbabwe.

"What they should do is not intervene or engage with the Zimbabwean government in a manner that gives a perception of their support of ZANU-PF or of President Mugabe," he said.

He cites as positive steps the recent expressions of concern by the government of South Africa and by the government of Ghana which currently chairs the African Union.

And he notes that the security group of the Southern African Development Community is to meet in a few days to discuss the situation.

WWF Says World's Mightiest Rivers Are at Risk

By Anjana Pasricha New Delhi 20 March 2007

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Bangladeshi woman clean dirty polythene shopping bags in polluted waters of Buriganga river in Dhaka, 19 Mar 2007

The World Wide Fund for Nature says some of the world's mightiest rivers are dying, threatening the livelihoods of millions of people. The conservation group has identified 10 top rivers, and called for governments to step up efforts to preserve them. Anjana Pasricha reports from New Delhi, where the WWF issued its study.

They were once mighty freshwater bodies on whose banks human civilizations were born. But now, many of the world's great rivers are threatened by over-extraction of water, climate change, construction of large dams, and pollution.

The World Wide Fund for Nature says rivers at risk are found on almost every continent - the Yangtze, Mekong, Salween, Ganges and Indus in Asia, the Danube in Europe, the Plata in South America, the Rio Grande in North America, the Nile in Africa, and the Murray-Darling in Australia.

The conservation group says most rivers no longer run freely from source to sea. It says dams are altering their natural flow, industrial effluents have polluted their waters, and 20 percent of the world's 10,000 freshwater species have become extinct.

The threats vary. For example, the Salween in South East Asia is under pressure due to damming, while the Danube is threatened by the dredging and straightening of banks to ease shipping. The Rio Grande in the United States and the Ganges in South Asia are falling victim to over-extraction of water for irrigation and domestic consumption. The Indus faces a threat from climate change because of its high dependency on glacier water.

The WWF's coordinator for freshwater policy, Vidya Moni, outlined some of the problems in New Delhi.

"Large infrastructure was a big threat to the river Nile, there was a big threat to river Danube in terms of pollution which was extensively caused because of industrialization, river Yangtze in China is over-polluted, with coal mining happening on the fringes," she said.

The report says communities living on riverbanks are the worst affected, threatened with loss of their water-based livelihoods, such as fishing and agriculture.

Gurdev Singh is from Punjab state in northern India. He has witnessed the severe degradation in recent decades of the Ganges, which flows by his village.

Singh says the water was once so clear, it was possible to see fish swimming in the river. Now, industrial effluents have polluted the river severely. As a result, crop yields have been reduced, and animals drinking the water turn sick.

The secretary-general of WWF-India, Ravi Singh, has called for governments to radically step up efforts to preserve freshwater sources, and treat river conservation as part of national security and economic policy.

"The risks that we see on these issues are going to multiply unless we change the way we are set today. And these risks are such that [they] are going to affect communities, they are going to effect biodiversity, wild life, climate," said Singh.

WWF says 40 percent of the world's population now lives in river basins that are under stress.

VOASE0320_Health Report

20 March 2007

American Drug Officials Say Some Sleep Drugs May Do More Than Make You Sleep
Food and Drug Administration Orders Drug Makers to Include New Warnings on Some Sleep Medicines.

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This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

Representative Patrick Kennedy speaks about health care in 2006, one week after he was sentenced for driving under the influence of prescription drugs.

The United States Food and Drug Administration has ordered companies to place strong new warnings on thirteen drugs that treat sleep disorders. It also ordered the makers of the sleeping pills to provide information for patients explaining how to safely use the drugs.

Last Wednesday, the FDA announced that some of these drugs can have unexpected and dangerous effects. These include the risk of life-threatening allergic reactions. They also include rare incidents of strange behavior. These include people cooking food, eating and even driving while asleep. The patients later had no memory of doing these activities while asleep.

Last year, a member of the United States Congress said he had a sleep-driving incident. Patrick Kennedy, a representative from Rhode Island, crashed his car into a security barrier near the building where lawmakers meet. The accident happened in the middle of the night and no one was hurt. Mister Kennedy said he had earlier taken a sleep medicine. He said he was also being treated with a stomach sickness drug that can cause sleepiness.

The Food and Drug Administration did not say in its announcement how many cases of sleep-driving it has documented. However, the New York Times reported last year about people who said they had strange sleep events after taking the drug Ambien. Some reported sleep-driving and sleep-walking. Others said they found evidence after waking in the morning that they had cooked food or eaten in their sleep. But they had no memory of carrying out the activities.

A Food and Drug Administration official says that these serious side effects of sleep disorder drugs appear to be rare. But, he also said there are probably more cases than are reported. He said the agency believes the risk of such behaviors could be reduced if people take the drugs as directed and do not drink alcohol while taking the drugs. The Food and Drug Administration has advised drug companies to carry out studies to investigate the problem.

And that’s the VOA Special English Health Report, written by Caty Weaver. Our reports and audio links can be found at voaspecialenglish.com. You can send a health question to special@voanews.com. Please remember to include your name and country. I’m Steve Ember.

VOASE0320_Explorations

20 March 2007

Self-Taught Artists Around the World Create Powerful and Unusual Art
Outsider artists create visual examples of personal observations, invented worlds, and even severe mental conditions.

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VOICE ONE:

I’m Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

Detail from a drawing by Adolf Wolfli from 1910

And I’m Barbara Klein with Explorations in VOA Special English. Today, we travel to several countries exploring the world of Outsider Art. This powerful form of creative expression usually involves art made outside the limits and rules of official culture.

Often, outsider artists have not been formally trained. They use their skills to create visual examples of personal observations, invented worlds, and even severe mental conditions.

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VOICE ONE:

The Outsider Art movement has many names and forms. Experts debate about the differences between terms such as Naïve Art, Visionary Art, Folk Art, Intuitive Art and Outsider Art. It would be impossible to explain the entire debate, so we will just tell a few stories about some great artists. The art itself will explain what is special about these similar movements.

VOICE TWO:

Mental health experts helped bring public attention to one form of outsider art. For example, in nineteen twenty-one, a Swiss doctor, Walter Morgenthaler published a book about the art of his patient, Adolf Wolfli. Mister Wolfli was one of the early outsider artists who received popular recognition. During his thirty-five years in a mental hospital in Switzerland, Mister Wolfli created twenty-five thousand pages of drawings and stories.

Adolf Wolfli was a poor farm worker who was placed in a mental hospital in eighteen ninety-five. He soon started making color drawings that he organized into books. For example, around nineteen twelve he finished a nine-book series called “From the Cradle to the Grave.” In this work Mister Wolfli turned his sad childhood into a magical travel story. He included detailed drawings of maps, creatures, rulers, and even talking plants to help capture this imaginary world. In other books, he recreated and renamed the world and universe. He described this world using songs, poetry, and drawings.

VOICE ONE:

In the nineteen forties the French artist Jean Dubuffet discovered Mister Wolfli’s works and other artists like him. He called this kind of artwork “Art Brut” which is French for “raw art”. He described Art Brut as being created from pure and real creative forces. He saw outsider artwork as being free from the worries of competition and social acceptance that define the official art world. He argued that the official culture of museums, galleries and artists had lost its power. Art Brut, he said, was still true and powerful art. Jean Dubuffet soon started collecting this kind of art made by mental patients, prisoners and even children. In nineteen seventy-one he donated his personal collection of Art Brut to the city of Lausanne, Switzerland.

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VOICE TWO:

One way to learn more about this movement is to explore its artists. The American Folk Art Museum in New York City has several rich and inventive drawings by the self-taught artist Martin Ramirez. Mister Ramirez was born in the Mexican state of Jalisco in eighteen ninety-five. He left his wife and family in the nineteen twenties to find work in the American state of California.

But the United States was going through the economic problems of the Great Depression. As a result, Martin Ramirez was soon homeless and unable to find work. Police picked him up in Northern California in nineteen thirty-one. He was placed in a mental hospital and told he had a severe mental illness. He spent the next thirty-two years in mental hospitals.

VOICE ONE:

But there is a happier side to his tragic story. Mister Ramirez might not have been able to express himself in English, but he could do so with his art. In the late nineteen thirties, he started to collect small pieces of paper including food paper packaging, paper cups and book pages. On the large paper surfaces he pieced together, he drew pictures using colors he made from crushed pencils and crayons.

Detail from "Untitled (Caballero)" by Martin Ramirez. Made around 1950.

Over the years, Mister Ramirez drew hundreds of detailed pictures. The horse and rider is one subject he repeatedly drew. He also drew trains and tunnels. His strong repeating lines show depth and motion. Some of his trains come out of mountains, while others go over bridges.

In the early nineteen fifties, a professor of psychology and art named Tarmo Pasto visited Martin Ramirez. Professor Pasto recognized the artistic value of Mister Ramirez's drawings. He gave him art supplies and even organized exhibitions of his work. Most importantly, he made sure Ramirez's art survived and was not thrown away by hospital workers. The extraordinarily skillful and powerful drawings of Martin Ramirez are now a cultural treasure.

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VOICE TWO:

Many outsider artists have very successful careers during their lifetime. The artist known as Mister Imagination was born Gregory Warmack in nineteen forty-eight in Chicago, Illinois. He grew up in a poor family. As a young man he made jewelry out of thrown away objects and sold it in local restaurants. One night he was robbed and shot twice in the stomach. At the hospital he fell into a coma and was unable to communicate.

Detail of "Button Cane with Self-Portrait" by Mr. Imagination

He had a dreamlike vision of a bright light. He later said it represented artists from the past entering his body and mind to guide him. He decided that art would be his life goal and soon changed his name to Mister Imagination. He makes artistic statues from bottle caps and other found objects. They have been shown in galleries and museums across the United States.

These include the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland. This museum has more than four thousand pieces by what it calls "visionary" artists. About fifty works are shown at any one time in its permanent collection.

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VOICE ONE:

Ku Shu-Lan also enjoyed public recognition of her creations. She was born in nineteen nineteen in the Shaanxi area of China. Like many women in the area, Ku Shu-Lan was very skillful at the art of paper cutting. She often had visions of a magical goddess covered in flowers coming to her in a garden. She said the woman was herself, the paper-cutting goddess. Ku Shu-Lan lived with her husband in a cave carved from earth.

There was not much color in her life, so she made her own. She covered the walls of her home with her richly colored cutouts of this goddess. Some of her images have thousands of finely cut shapes. They are so detailed it is hard to believe the images are not painted. In nineteen ninety-six, Ku Shu-Lan fell and hurt herself. She was in a coma and was not able to communicate for several weeks. Her family started to plan for her burial. But, she later woke up. The first thing she asked for was a pair of scissors so she could start another paper creation.

VOICE TWO:

Ferdinand Cheval's Ideal Palace

Other outsider artists use their skills to create entire environments. For example, in Hauterives, France, you can see the Ideal Palace made by a mailman named Ferdinand Cheval. One day in eighteen seventy-nine while delivering mail Mister Cheval found a rock with a strange shape. He decided it was a sign that he needed to make his dream of being a building designer a reality. He spent the next thirty-four years of his life collecting stones and building a wildly imaginative palace building. Mister Cheval mixed periods and styles of Chinese, North African, and Northern European architecture. Today, people can visit this building to experience this mailman's hard work and creativity.

VOICE ONE:

Helen Martins created a whole other kind of magical environment in the town of Nieu-Bethesda, South Africa. In nineteen forty-five, Miz Martins found that the world looked gray and colorless. She decided she needed to brighten her life. So, at the age of forty-seven she started to glue crushed colored glass in special designs on every surface in her house. Then, she started making statues out of cement material and glass. She read poetry, religious books, and art history to find ideas for her creations. Helen Martins hired two workers to help her create her Owl House and the surrounding Camel Yard.

VOICE TWO:

By the time of her death in nineteen seventy-six, the yard had more than three hundred statues of animals and imaginary creatures. All of them face east toward the Muslim holy city of Mecca. Visitors can enjoy the brightness and color of the universe she created. Like Helen Martins, outsider artists add new life, imagination and skill to the world of creative expression.

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VOICE ONE:

This program was written and produced by Dana Demange. I’m Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Barbara Klein. You can read and listen to this program on our Web site, voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for Explorations in VOA Special English.