VOASE0719_Economics Report

19 July 2007

Junior Achievement Teaches Business Skills to Young People
Volunteers help students around the world understand real-life economics.

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This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

Junior Achievement is an international movement to educate young people about business and economics. The purpose is to help them prepare to succeed in a world economy.

Vesna Jeremic, left, leader of Podunavlje County, Serbia, purchases ''stocks'' from students in Junior Achievement

The organization is the largest of its kind. JA Worldwide says it reaches about seven and one-half million students each year in nearly one hundred countries. Programs begin in elementary school and continue through middle and high school. The education is based on the ideas of market-based economics and entrepreneurship.

Junior Achievement began in nineteen nineteen in Springfield, Massachusetts. Two business leaders, Horace Moses and Theodore Vail, joined with Senator Murray Crane of Massachusetts to start it.

For more than fifty years, Junior Achievement programs met after school. They began as a group of business clubs. The organization started with a small number of children ages ten to twelve.

But in nineteen seventy-five, Junior Achievement began to offer classes during school hours. Many more young people joined the organization once it began to teach business skills as part of the school day.

Volunteers from the community teach about businesses, how they are organized, and how products are made and sold. They also teach about the American and world economies, the money system, industry and trade.

The Junior Achievement Company Program teaches young people how entrepreneurship works. They learn about business by operating their own companies.

The students develop a product and sell shares in their company. They use the money to buy the materials they need to make their product, which then they sell. Finally, they return the profits to the people who bought shares in the company.

Junior Achievement says more than two hundred fifty thousand volunteers support its programs around the world. In the United States alone, there are more than twenty-one thousand places that hold Junior Achievement events.

Junior Achievement Incorporated and Junior Achievement International combined their operations in two thousand four. They formed Junior Achievement Worldwide. Its headquarters are in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Shelley Gollust and Mario Ritter. Transcripts and archives are at voaspecialenglish.com where you can also find a link to the JA Web site, ja.org. I'm Faith Lapidus.

VOASE0719_American Mosaic

19 July 2007

Kids Love Shoes on Wheels, but Adults Turn Against 'Heelys'
A new environmental magazine called Verdant. And a listener from Iran wants the details about singer George Michael and his 1984 hit ''Careless Whisper.''

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HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA Special English.

(MUSIC)

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

We listen to music from George Michael …

Learn about some popular shoes for children …

And report about a new environmental magazine.

Verdant

HOST:

Finding new ways to improve the world’s environment and fight climate change is becoming an important industry. “Going Green” has become a way to make money. Verdant Magazine is a new publication that wants to be part of the “Going Green” market. Barbara Klein has more.

BARBARA KLEIN:

Verdant Magazine says it gives “Smarter Choices for Better Living.” It calls itself a high-end

magazine that provides information about environmentally friendly living. The magazine says it is fun while also being informative. It tells its readers about many things including travel, design, art and reports about products.

The first issue came out in May. Some articles are fun to look at, such as the pictures of environmentally safe objects for the home. These include computer devices covered in carved wood. Cloth colored with environmentally safe chemicals. And even art made from recycled materials.

One article tells about how to have a garden of plants that does not require a lot of water. The article shows that by using rocks and special plants people can have outdoor areas that do not waste water. Some stories are serious, such as the article about the future of hydrogen cars. Other articles are more fun, such as one about different uses for chocolate.

The next issue of Verdant will come out at the end of August. So far, people have given mixed opinions of the first issue on Web sites such as treehugger.com. Some people think Verdant is aimed only at rich people who can buy the objects in the articles. Some think the magazine itself is a waste since it is printed on paper. But others think the magazine offers environmental information in a form that is easy to use. If you want to decide for yourself, visit the magazine’s Web site at verdantmag.com.

Heelys

HOST:

One of the most popular activities among children in the United States this summer involves a costly pair of shoes. But adults are warning about the possible dangers of the shoes with wheels known as Heelys. Faith Lapidus explains.

FAITH LAPIDUS:

Heelys are shoes that can roll. They are sports shoes with a wheel in the heel. The wheels can be easily removed from the shoes. So a person wearing them can either walk or ride! Heelys are sold in at least fifty countries around the world. They cost between fifty and one hundred dollars. They were first sold in the United States in two thousand.

Heelys Incorporated is one of the fastest growing businesses in the United States. Reports say the company has produced more than ten million pairs of shoes. And it had almost two hundred million dollars in sales last year.

Roger Adams invented Heelys because he wanted to be able to roller skate without changing his shoes. He invented a shoe that could roll if the wearer moved the weight of his body toward the back.

Doctors, however, say wearing Heelys can be dangerous. One doctor told a newspaper in the state of Iowa that the shoes would be safer if the wheels were in the front of the shoe instead of the back. He said a person’s natural balance is to the front of the foot, not the back.

One medical study last month in the journal Pediatrics warned of the possible dangers of wearing Heelys. It said doctors at a hospital in Dublin, Ireland reported treating sixty-seven children for injuries over a ten-week period last summer. Doctors in Singapore reported that thirty-seven children were treated for injuries during seven months in two thousand four. Most of the injuries reported involved broken hands, arms and ankles and cracked heads. The children were not wearing any kind of protective equipment when they fell.

The Heelys company recently released the result of a study it had requested. The study found that rolling on Heelys is safer than roller skating, skateboarding or riding scooters. Still, the company and many doctors suggest that children wear protective equipment on their heads, arms and legs. But children say they do not like to do this. Many say they expect to fall while learning to use Heelys and they just get up and try again.

George Michael

HOST:

Our listener question this week comes from Iran. Saeed Majidi wants to know about George Michael and his famous song “Careless Whisper.”

George Michael

George Michael is one of the world's most successful male recording artists. He has sold more than eighty million records around the world. George Michael was born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou in London in nineteen sixty-three. His father was from the Greek side of the island of Cyprus and changed his name to Jack Panos when he moved to England.

George Michael and his high school friend Andrew Ridgeley formed the music band Wham! in nineteen eighty-one. They released two albums, “Fantastic” and “Make it Big.” The song “Careless Whisper” came out in nineteen eighty-four. George Michael wrote it when he was only seventeen years old.

“Careless Whisper” became one of the most popular songs of the nineteen eighties.

(MUSIC)

In nineteen eighty-six the members of Wham! broke up. But George Michael continued to write and sing hit songs. The next year he released the album “Faith.” It earned him many awards. They include a Grammy Award for Best Album and two American Music Awards for Favorite Male Vocalist. Here George Michael sings the title song, "Faith."

(MUSIC)

George Michael has always been politically and socially active. He has given earnings from songs and concerts to organizations that deal with AIDS and children’s health. This summer, he has been performing more than thirty concerts all over Europe. The Twenty-Five Live Tour is celebrating his first twenty-five years in music. The tour will end next month.

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.

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

US Central Bank Chief Foresees Subdued Growth But No Recession

By Barry Wood Washington 18 July 2007

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The head of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board, Ben Bernanke, Wednesday told a congressional committee that the subdued pace of U.S. economic expansion should pick up slightly in the months ahead. VOA's Barry Wood has more on his testimony.

Federal Reserve Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke testifies before the House Financial Services Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, 18 Jul 2007

While some economists fear that higher oil prices and a weak housing sector could trigger recession, Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke disagrees. He further suggests that the inflationary impact of a three-year-long increase in oil prices is being contained. He told the congressional panel he expects growth will gain momentum during the remainder of this year.

"The central tendency of the growth forecasts, which are conditioned on the assumption of appropriate monetary policy, is for real gross domestic product to expand by 2.25 to 2.5 percent this year and 2.5 to 2.75 percent in 2008," said Bernanke. "The forecasted performance for this year is about one quarter percent below what was expected in [last] February."

Slower growth over the past year, he said, results from weakness in housing.

In his appearance before the House Financial Services Committee, Bernanke gave no indication that short-term interest rates would be moving either higher or lower. They have been held steady at 5.25 percent by the central bank for over a year.

Concerning housing, Bernanke said prices are likely to remain weak for some time and there will be more foreclosures on properties where borrowers cannot meet their monthly payments.

The international economy, said Bernanke, is strong and likely to remain so. When asked whether China should float and revalue its currency - something many members of Congress have long been pressing China to do - the Federal Reserve chairman answered yes. It is, said Bernanke, in China's own interest to have a stronger currency.

"Without a flexible exchange rate, they're unable to run an independent monetary policy," he said. "And they're having some issues now with a bit of inflation and asset price changes that may reflect excess liquidity in their system."

Because China's trade surplus is so high, the foreign currency it has accumulated boosts the domestic money supply, raising the risk of inflationary pressure on the economy.

Referring to America's large trade deficit, Bernanke said while it poses no immediate problem efforts must be made to narrow the trade imbalance.

Plan to Withdraw US Troops From Iraq Fails Senate Test Vote

By Deborah Tate Washington 18 July 2007

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A Democratic-sponsored plan to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq by next April has failed a test vote in the U.S. Senate. The vote came after an all-night debate called by Democratic leaders to try to press more Republicans to back the plan. VOA's Deborah Tate reports from Capitol Hill.

Weary from the overnight debate, senators voted 52 to 47 to limit speeches and move the troop withdrawal proposal to an up-or-down vote. Supporters needed 60 votes to move the legislation forward.

The vote was largely along party lines, although several Republicans voted with Democrats.

Senator Harry Reid (l), and Senator Charles Schumer (r) during a press conference at Senate Radio-Television Gallery, 18 July 2007

Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said Republicans were on the wrong side of the issue.

"They chose to stand behind the president in this tragic failure that he has led," he said.

Opponents, including Senator John McCain of Arizona, derided Democrats' decision to keep the Senate in session around the clock, with cots rolled out and pizza delivered late into the night.

"All we achieved are remarkably similar newspaper accounts of our inflated sense of the drama of this display and our own temporary physical fatigue," said McCain.

Those opposed to the troop withdrawal proposal echoed the White House position as they urged fellow lawmakers to wait to assess the situation in Iraq until the top U.S. commander there, General David Petraeus, briefs Congress in September.

"Give General Petraeus and [U.S.] Ambassador [to Iraq Ryan] Crocker 60 more days to prepare their assessment," said Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Senate's top Republican. "At that point, we will have allowed the Baghdad security plan three months to work since it became fully manned last month."

But Senator Jack Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat, and key sponsor of the troop withdrawal plan, argued otherwise.

"The longer we delay, the more public support erodes, and options to avoid a more chaotic redeployment disappear," said Reed.

Reed's proposal, offered as an amendment to a defense bill, called for a troop withdrawal to begin within 120 days and completed by the end of April of next year.

As senators prepared to vote, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with key lawmakers to rally support for the administration's Iraq policy.

After the vote, Majority Leader Reid withdrew the defense bill, along with various Iraq-related proposed amendments, from Senate consideration for the time being. But he vowed to keep returning to the issue until Congress votes to change the U.S. course in Iraq.

US Military Captures Top Iraqi Member of al-Qaida in Iraq

By Margaret Besheer Irbil, Iraq 18 July 2007

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The U.S. military says it has captured the top Iraqi member of al-Qaida in Iraq. Officials say Khaled al-Mashhadani was an intermediary among top al-Qaida leaders including Osama bin Laden. From Iraq, VOA's Margaret Besheer has more.

Top Iraqi militant Khaled al-Mashhadani's picture is displayed on a giant screen during a US military press conference in Baghdad, 18 July 2007

Khaled al-Mashhadani, also known as Abu Shahid, was captured July 4 in the northern city of Mosul.

U.S. Brigadier General Kevin Bergner told reporters in Baghdad that Mashhadani is believed to be the most senior Iraqi national in the al-Qaida in Iraq network, and is a close associate of Abu Ayub al-Masri, the Egyptian-born head of the group.

General Bergner also said Mashhadani served as an intermediary between top al-Qaida leaders Abu Ayub al-Masri, Osama bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahri.

Last year, Mashhadani and Abu Ayub al-Masri started a virtual organization on the Internet called the Islamic State of Iraq, as the new Iraqi pseudonym for al-Qaida in Iraq.

General Kevin Bergner

"In his words, the Islamic State of Iraq is a front organization that masks the foreign influence and leadership within al-Qaida in Iraq in an attempt to put an Iraqi face on the leadership of al-Qaida in Iraq," Bergner said.

The Islamic State in Iraq has identified its leader as Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, but the general says Mashhadani told interrogators that al-Baghdadi does not exist and an actor directed by al-Masri is used to portray him in audiotapes.

The general says Mashhadani's capture has confirmed that foreign al-Qaida leaders, not Iraqis, make the operational decisions for the group inside Iraq.

"The capture of Mashhadani and his statements give us a more complete picture of al-Qaida in Iraq. Although the rank and file are largely Iraqi, the senior leadership of al-Qaida in Iraq, as we have previously stated, is mostly foreign," Bergner said.

General Bergner accused al-Qaida in Iraq of driving the country's sectarian violence.

"They are without question the main threat to the government of Iraq and to the stability of Iraq because of the role they play in accelerating and fueling sectarian violence," Bergner said.

Iraqi and coalition forces have intensified their pursuit of al-Qaida in Iraq recently in operations in several provinces around Baghdad. There has been significant success in the former al-Qaida stronghold of Anbar province, where local tribal leaders have turned against the group.

VOASE0718_The Making of a Nation

18 July 2007

US History: George H.W. Bush's Presidency Saw End of Cold War
The 41st president had high public ratings for his foreign policy, including the ouster of Iraqi forces that invaded Kuwait. But economic problems and other issues at home began to damage his popularity.

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VOICE ONE:

This is Mary Tillotson.

VOICE TWO:

President George Bush and then-defense secretary Dick Cheney during a ceremony in August 1989

And this is Steve Ember with THE MAKING OF A NATION -- a VOA Special English program about the history of the United States. Today, we continue telling about the administration of President George Herbert Walker Bush. He was elected the forty-first president of the United States in nineteen eighty-eight.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

The Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union ended under the administration of President George Bush. This very tense period had lasted more than forty years. The invention of weapons that could kill millions of people at one time increased worldwide fears during this period.

The world was changing greatly however, during the late nineteen eighties. The Soviet Union was dying.

VOICE TWO:

On November ninth, nineteen eighty-nine, East Germany opened the Berlin Wall for the first time since it had been built. This wall had divided Communist East Germany from the West since nineteen sixty-one. Citizens and soldiers soon began tearing it down. The fall of the Berlin Wall ended much of the fear and tension between democratic nations and the Soviet Union.

Tensions continued to ease as Communist rule in most of the former Soviet countries ended by the early nineteen nineties.

Fifteen republics had belonged to the Soviet Union. By the end of nineteen ninety-one, most had declared their independence. President Bush recognized all the former Soviet republics. They became a very loosely formed coalition called the Commonwealth of Independent States. Countries that had considered the United States the enemy, now looked to it to lead the way to peace.

VOICE ONE:

As the Soviet Union was dying, President Bush repeatedly negotiated with Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev. In the spring of nineteen ninety, for example, their meeting in the United States resulted in an important agreement. It called for each side to destroy most of its chemical weapons. The two men also agreed to improve trade and economic relations.

The American and Soviet presidents met in July, nineteen ninety-one, in Moscow. There, the two leaders signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, called START ONE. This treaty called for both the Soviet Union and the United States to reduce their supply of long-range nuclear bombs and missiles. Each promised to decrease its supply by about one-third over seven years. START ONE became the first agreement between the two powers that ordered cuts in supplies of existing nuclear weapons.

VOICE TWO:

In September nineteen ninety-one, President Bush said the United States would remove most of its short-range nuclear weapons from service. He also said the United States would destroy many of these weapons. The next month, the Soviet nations announced the same actions.

On December twenty-fifth, Mikhail Gorbachev officially resigned as Soviet president. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ended.

As president of Russia, Boris Yeltsin became the most important leader of the former Soviet Republics. President Bush and President Yeltsin signed another arms treaty in January, nineteen ninety-three. This START TWO agreement provided for reducing long-range nuclear weapons to half the number planned for START ONE. Cuts were to be made over seven years.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

George Bush ordered American forces into battle two times during his administration. These conflicts were not linked to disputes with Communist governments.

In December nineteen eighty-nine, he sent troops to Panama. The goal was to oust the dictator, General Manuel Antonio Noriega. Noriega had refused to honor election results that showed another candidate had been elected president of Panama. The United States also wanted Noriega on illegal drug charges. In addition, President Bush said he sent troops in to protect thirty five-thousand Americans living in the Central American nation.

American soldiers easily defeated Noriega’s forces. He was taken to the United States for trial. The United States then supported the presidency of Guillermo Endara, who had officially won the presidential election in Panama.

VOICE TWO:

In August nineteen ninety, Iraq invaded Kuwait. The United States and other nations were receiving much of their oil from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. The United Nations declared a resolution clearly threatening war on Iraq unless it withdrew from Kuwait by January fifteenth, nineteen ninety-one. But Iraq failed to obey.

President Bush succeeded in forming a coalition with thirty-eight other countries against Iraq. The coalition wanted to free Kuwait and protect Saudi Arabia from invasion by Iraq. President Bush sent hundreds of thousands of American troops into the effort.

VOICE ONE:

The Persian Gulf War began in Iraq on January seventeenth, nineteen ninety-one. At first, the coalition bombed Iraqi targets in Iraq and Kuwait. The bombing destroyed or damaged many important centers. On February twenty-sixth, Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein ordered his troops to leave Kuwait.

The order came too late. The Iraqis were surrounded. Major ground attacks on Iraq and Kuwait defeated Saddam Hussein’s forces in a little more than four days.

Only about three hundred-seventy coalition troops died in the Persian Gulf War. Some military experts say as many as one hundred-thousand Iraqi fighters may have been killed in the fighting. Others say far fewer Iraqi soldiers died. However, thousands of civilians were thought to have died in Iraq and Kuwait. Kuwait suffered severe damage. But it was free.

VOICE TWO:

After the war Saddam Hussein still controlled his country. Years later, some Americans continued to criticize the Bush Administration for not trying to oust the Iraqi leader. They believed President Bush should have urged that coalition forces try to capture the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.

After the war ended, Kurdish people in northern Iraq fought to oust the Iraqi leader. So did Shi-ite Muslims in southern Iraq. These groups suffered crushing defeat.

VOICE ONE:

The defeated Kurds fled to Iran, Turkey, and the northern Iraqi mountains. Thousands of Kurds died or suffered from war injuries, disease, and starvation. In April, President Bush ordered American troops to work with other coalition nations to give humanitarian aid to the refugees. The troops established refugee camps for the Kurds.

As time passed, Iraqi soldiers and aircraft continued to attack Kurds in the north and Shi-ite Muslims in the south. Coalition forces led by the United States established safety areas in northern and southern Iraq. Years later, these “no fly” areas still restricted Iraqi military air activity.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

President Bush also ordered American military troops to join other troops in Somalia. By late nineteen ninety-two, lack of rain and continuing civil war had caused widespread suffering there. Opposing armed ethnic groups were keeping Somalis from receiving food and other aid supplies. American soldiers helped in the effort to get aid to the starving people.

VOICE ONE:

The North American Free Trade Agreement, NAFTA, was signed in late nineteen ninety-two. It called for the United States and Mexico to remove taxes and other trade barriers. Mexico and Canada agreed to take similar action. NAFTA became effective in nineteen ninety-four, after George Bush had left office.

Some people feared that NAFTA would hurt millions of workers. Others praised President Bush for supporting the agreement.

VOICE TWO:

By the third year of his four-year term, President Bush’s international activities had made him an extremely popular president. It seemed he would be easily re-elected in nineteen ninety two.

Historians often say, however, that political situations can change quickly. That is what happened to America’s forty-first president. Economic problems and other issues inside the United States began to seriously damage the great popularity of George Herbert Walker Bush.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

This program of The Making of A Nation was written by Jerilyn Watson and produced by George Grow. This is Mary Tillotson.

VOICE TWO:

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

VOASE0718_Education Report

18 July 2007

Evidence for School Uniform Policies in US Seen as Weak
Supporters believe dressing the same creates a better learning environment and safer schools. But studies find mixed results. Second of two reports.

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This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

In nineteen ninety-nine, twelve percent of public elementary schools in the United States required students to wear uniforms. Just three years later, estimates were almost double that.

Students leave a Cleveland, Ohio, high school in January 2006. A study of six big-city Ohio public schools showed students who were required to wear uniforms had improved graduation, behavior and attendance rates. Academic performance was unchanged.

Some middle and high schools have also joined the movement. Yet studies find mixed results from requiring uniforms. And some schools have turned away from such policies.

Supporters believe dressing the same creates a better learning environment and safer schools. The school district in Long Beach, California, was the first in the country to require uniforms in all elementary and middle schools.

That was in nineteen ninety-four. The example helped build national interest in uniforms as a way to deal with school violence and improve learning.

Findings in Long Beach suggested that the policy resulted in fewer behavior problems and better attendance. But researcher Viktoria Stamison has looked at those findings. She says they were based only on opinions about the effects of uniforms.

She says other steps taken at the same time to improve schools in Long Beach and statewide could have influenced the findings. The district increased punishments for misbehavior. And California passed a law to reduce class sizes.

Her report is among several in a book published last year called "Uniforms in Public Schools: A Decade of Research and Debate."

In Florida, for example, researcher Sharon Pate found that uniforms seemed to improve behavior and reduce violence. In Texas, Eloise Hughes found fewer discipline problems among students required to wear uniforms, but no effect on attendance.

Sociologist David Brunsma has studied school uniform policies since nineteen ninety-eight. He collected the reports in the book. In his own study, he found that reading and mathematics performance dropped after a school in rural Pennsylvania required uniforms.

Political and community pressures may persuade schools to go to uniforms to improve learning. But David Brunsma and others believe there is not enough evidence of a direct relationship. In fact, he says requiring uniforms may even increase discipline problems.

But researchers also say studies of uniform policies are often scientifically limited. They say more work is needed to get better information.

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. For more on this debate, go to voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

US Senate Debates Plan to Withdraw Troops from Iraq in Marathon Session

By Deborah Tate Capitol Hill 17 July 2007

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In the U.S. Senate, Democratic leaders are holding a rare round-the-clock session to press Republicans to vote for a proposal calling for a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. Republican leaders are using procedural tactics to block the measure from moving forward on the Senate floor. VOA's Deborah Tate reports from Capitol Hill.

US troops during a mission in Baquba, 04 Jul 2007

Senators are debating a plan, proposed as an amendment to a defense bill, that calls for a U.S. troop pullout from Iraq to begin within 120 days and completed by next April.

Senator Jack Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat, is a key sponsor.

"The Bush administration's current policy is straining our military, inhibiting our ability to fight the war on terrorism, diminishing our standing in the international community, and rapidly losing the support of the American public," he said. "In sum, it is a policy that cannot be sustained."

Senator John McCain, 10 July 2007

But Republican opponents argue that withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq before Iraqis are able to defend their own country would only lead to more violence, and would hand a victory to terrorists.

"If we leave Iraq prematurely, jihadists around world would interpret the withdrawal as their great victory against our great power," said Senator John McCain, an Arizona Republican.

But Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine, one of a few Republicans who support the measure, says the proposal does not call for a premature withdrawal.

Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe, second from left, accompanied by fellow Senators, discusses war in Iraq during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, 17 July 2007

"It is a redeployment, a reduction in forces, a change in mission, for example, to engage in counterinsurgency against al-Qaida," she noted. "I think this is the most reasoned, reasonable approach. It is not rash."

Snowe favors a change in U.S. strategy in Iraq because, she argues, the Iraqi government has not done enough toward establishing a stable unity government.

Supporters of the troop withdrawal plan say more than 50 senators, a majority in the 100-member chamber, back the measure.

But they acknowledge that they lack the 60 votes necessary under Senate rules to overcome Republican efforts to block the legislation. A vote to limit debate and allow an up-or-down vote on the troop withdrawal measure scheduled Wednesday is expected to fail.

Still, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada says he hopes the round-the-clock session could alter the vote's outcome.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (r), followed by Sen. Charles Schumer, center, and Sen. Richard Durbin, arrives for a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, 16 July 2007

"Will the all-night session change any votes? I hope so, because it will focus attention on the obstructionism of the Republicans," he said.

At the White House, spokesman Tony Snow views the marathon Senate session as pure political theater.

"The idea of going through the gesture of having late night, all-night meeting is highly unusual," he said. "You think, okay, this might be kind of interesting, so let's take it for the spectator event it is."

The White House has been urging lawmakers to wait to assess the situation in Iraq until the top U.S. commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, briefs Congress in September.

Despite the gridlock on the troop withdrawal amendment, lawmakers did vote 94 to 3 in favor of a Republican-sponsored, non-binding resolution saying the Senate should not pass legislation that would undermine the U.S. military's ability to prevent a failed state in Iraq.

US Supports Pakistani Government Moves Against Extremists

By David Gollust State Department 17 July 2007

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The Bush administration said Tuesday the United States is prepared to back Pakistani government actions against extremism with as a much as $1 billion in economic and military aid over the next several years. Much of the money would help Islamabad authorities assert control in lawless tribal areas bordering Afghanistan. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

Richard Boucher (file photo)

The State Department's top official for South Asia says the Pakistani government has made an irrevocable commitment against extremists with its latest actions, and he says the United States is ready to support it long-term as it tries to build a moderate democratic Islamic state.

The comments by Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Richard Boucher follow the Pakistani government's use of force earlier this month to end the long-running militant occupation of Islamabad's Red Mosque compound, and new pledges to drive al-Qaida and other foreign forces from the tribal areas.

Boucher, best known for his years as the State Department's chief spokesman, said the action at the Red Mosque shows the government of President Pervez Musharraf is prepared to move against what he termed a "dangerous militancy" that has come to "infect" various areas and parts of Pakistani society:

"Clearing out the mosque and the extremism there was a bold move, a decisive move," said Boucher. "It may have been a long time coming after a lot of provocation, but that I think reflects a certain concern about the women and children inside. But now having dealt with the mosque, it's pretty much, you know, crossing a line and there's no going back."

Pervez Musharraf (file photo)

Boucher's appearance coincided with release of a White House intelligence report that said al-Qaida made a resurgence in the tribal areas under a deal Mr. Musharraf made with local chiefs last year withdrawing troops and allowing them to police the region.

The assistant secretary said the Pakistani leader is now making tough choices to deal with al-Qaida and the Taleban in frontier provinces, while maintaining a commitment to political reform in the run-up to parliamentary elections later this year:

"He's shown the determination and the authority and the ability to deal with some of these very difficult situations," said Boucher. "He's also shown the determination to bring about the democratic transition that he understands, and we understand, is important to the long-term success of Pakistan as a moderate, modern Muslim nation. So we have no problems working with him."

Boucher said the United States plans to spend $750 million over five years on education, health and economic projects in the tribal areas in support of a Pakistani program to integrate the remote region into the national economy.

He said the Bush administration hopes to find an additional $300 million or more to help revamp the Pakistani army's 85,000-member Frontier Corps that patrols the border region.

Boucher said while civilian aid may offer the best long-term solution to combating the extremists, some are very violent and will probably have to be dealt with militarily.

Libya Commutes Medics' Death Sentence in AIDS Case

By Sabina Castelfranco Rome 17 July 2007

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The death sentence of five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor accused of infecting hundreds of Libyan children with the AIDS virus, HIV, has been commuted to life in prison. Sabina Castelfranco reports from Rome the Bulgarians' effort now is to get the nurses repatriated.

The ruling came after the families of the children each received one million dollars in compensation.

The families agreed to drop their demand for the execution of five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor charged with having infected with HIV more 400 Libyan children at a hospital in the northeastern coastal city of Benghazi.

Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ivailo Kalfin called the ruling "a huge step in the right direction."

International experts and outside scientific reports have said for years that the children were contaminated as a result of unhygienic conditions in the Libyan hospital.

Libyan security guards stand in front of the dock during the trial of five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor in Tripoli, 04 Nov 2006

Libya's Supreme Court had upheld the death sentence of the six medics last week, but the Judiciary Council meeting late Tuesday overruled the court and commuted the sentences to life imprisonment.

Libya remains under intense international pressure to free the medical workers who have been in prison since 1999.

Libya's Foreign Minister Abdel-Rahman Shalqam said Tripoli was willing to consider the medics' deportation to Bulgaria. He said the negotiations would take place within "the legal framework and political context" between the two countries.

The United States and European Union welcomed the move by the Libyan judicial council, which could remove an obstacle toward rebuilding ties with Moammar Gadhafi's regime.

The United States said the ruling was a "positive step" and State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the U.S. was "encouraged" by the decision. He urged the Libyan government to find a way now to allow the medics to return home.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said it was a relief that Libya's High Judicial Council did not uphold the death sentence.

6 Nations Meet to Discuss Timetable for N. Korea to Dismantle Nuclear Programs

By Daniel Schearf Beijing 18 July 2007

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Delegates from six nations have gathered in Beijing to negotiate a timetable for North Korea to declare and dismantle its nuclear programs. As Daniel Schearf reports from the Chinese capital, the meeting begins as the United Nations' top nuclear expert says North Korea has shut down more nuclear facilities.

Negotiators from North and South Korea, the U.S., China, Japan, and Russia are trying to set a schedule for the second phase of an agreement that requires North Korea to declare all its nuclear facilities and dismantle them.

Christopher Hill addresses reporters after lunch meeting in Beijing, 18 Jul 2007

The chief U.S. negotiator, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill on Wednesday expressed optimism that that those steps could be done this year.

"I think the DPRK has an incentive to try to get moving onto this next phase because they would like to keep the fuel oil coming," he said. "And, we have a great incentive to move because it gets us beyond just shutdown to disablement."

North Korea has agreed to give up its nuclear programs in exchange for aid and diplomatic benefits.

The head of the United Nations nuclear agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, said Wednesday that Pyongyang has shut down five components at its Yongbyon nuclear complex.

Intelligence Estimate Says al-Qaida Intends to Attack US

By Gary Thomas Washington 17 July 2007

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A new U.S. intelligence estimate says al-Qaida remains determined to mount attacks on major targets in the United States, especially if it can acquire weapons of mass destruction. VOA correspondent Gary Thomas reports on the intelligence community's latest conclusions on al-Qaida's strength and reach.

The publicly released portions of the new National Intelligence Estimate say al-Qaida's determination to attack the United States is undiminished. Ted Gistaro, the intelligence officer who wrote the report, says counter-terrorism efforts have hampered al-Qaida, but it still remains the major threat to the United States.

"It has constrained al-Qaida, and caused a number of terrorist groups in addition to al-Qaida to perceive the U.S. as a more difficult target, but despite that we see an undiminished intent on the part of al-Qaida to try and attack us here at home. And so we concluded that al-Qaida is and will remain the most serious threat to the homeland," he said.

The estimate says al-Qaida has reconstituted itself as a center of global Islamic terrorism in bases deep inside Pakistan's largely lawless tribal areas along the Afghan border.

But Gistaro says al-Qaida is not stronger now than it was right after September 11th, 2001, as some earlier news reports had suggested.

"The [intelligence] community did not make the judgment that al-Qaida is stronger than at any time since 9/11 - did not discuss that, did not make that judgment," he said.

Personnel work in an unsecured training area of the Los Angeles Joint Regional Intelligence Center (file photo)

Intelligence officials say all 16 U.S. agencies that deal in intelligence or counter-terrorism unanimously concurred in the report's key judgments.

A 2006 National Intelligence Estimate on al-Qaida said the global jihadist movement was becoming decentralized and diffuse. Gistaro says that appears to have changed as al-Qaida has become more organized again and seeks to extend its reach and contacts, particularly with the group calling itself al-Qaida in Iraq.

"I think the relationship can be elastic at times. I think certainly two years ago we described it as being more decentralized, more of a franchisee type of relationship. I think one of the implications of al-Qaida core [leadership] having a more secure safe haven in Pakistan is that it's able to reconnect those lines of communication," he said.

White House Homeland Security Adviser Fran Townsend says the new intelligence estimate highlights the need for continuing vigilance against al-Qaida's terrorist threats.

"We are facing a persistent terrorist enemy led by al-Qaida that remains driven and intent on attacking the homeland and that continues to adapt and improve its capabilities," she said.

But Peter Zeihan, an analyst with the private intelligence firm Stratfor, says the public portions of the National Intelligence Estimate highlight intentions, not capabilities.

"If you go through the NIE report with a fine tooth comb, you'll notice that the word 'intent' is thrown around a lot, but the word 'capabilities' never pops up. And that's how we see it. The intent of al-Qaida to leverage all these groups that want to be associated with it, such as al-Qaida in Iraq, is definitely there. The intent of al-Qaida Prime, the apex leadership, to launch another major attack in the United States, is certainly there. What they lack is the capability," he said.

Democrats and Republicans both seized on the intelligence estimate to bolster their respective arguments over Iraq war policy. Republicans said the report highlights the continued need to confront al-Qaida in Iraq. Democrats say it underscores how the war in Iraq created new terrorists there while allowing al-Qaida to re-group in Pakistan.

Russia Promises 'Targeted, Appropriate' Response to British Expulsions

By Peter Fedynsky Moscow 17 July 2007

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Russia says it will have a "targeted and appropriate" response to Britain's expulsion Monday of four Russian diplomats. The two countries are at odds over the British probe into the poisoning death in London of a former KGB officer. But as VOA Correspondent Peter Fedynsky reports from Moscow, both countries appear to be seeking ways to protect average citizens from the damage caused by the standoff.

Political observers in Moscow predict Russia will respond in kind to Monday's decision by London to expel four Russian diplomats. But the Foreign Ministry appears in no hurry to announce specific measures.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko reads a statement at the Foreign Ministry's offices, 17 July 2007

Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko says that if Russia acted in the same manner as Britain, more than 80 British diplomats in Moscow would have been expelled. Late Tuesday, Grushko said only that the Russian response will be targeted and adequate.

At the same time, said the Russian official, we will consider average citizens, tourists, cultural and academic exchange participants, and business circles. Grushko says Russia does not want such people to suffer because of actions by London.

A statement in Russian by the British ambassador to Moscow, Anthony Brenton, reflects a similar intention to avoid inconveniencing the public. "We are happy to see Russians in Britain and we continue to issue visas. The stricter measures relate only to visa requests from members of the Russian government," he said.

Relations between London and Moscow soured after Russia refused to extradite Alexander Lugovoi, a Russian citizen accused of murdering Kremlin critic and former KGB intelligence officer, Alexander Litvinenko. Litvinenko was poisoned with highly radioactive polonium. Lugovoi, also an ex-KGB spy, denies the British charge.

Russia's refusal to extradite is based on Article 61 of its Constitution, which says "a citizen of the Russian Federation may not be deported from Russia or extradited to another state." However, Article 63 seems to leave room for interpretation. That article states, "The extradition of people accused of a crime shall be carried out on the basis of federal law or the international agreement of the Russian Federation."

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband expressed concern Monday that Russian law is applied selectively.

Human rights activists in Moscow say there have been several instances of Russian citizens being extradited against their will.

One of them is Alisher Usmanov, who was charged with possession of explosives and sent to Uzbekistan, which accused him of religious extremism. Usmanov's defenders say the charges were trumped up.

Yelena Rabinina of the Civic Assistance Committee, Grazhdanskoye Sodeystviye, a Russian human-rights organization, has followed the Usmanov case and others like it.

"Russia treats the constitutional in a very selective manner," says Rabinina. "If it is inconvenient, as in the case of Lugovoi, Russian authorities present themselves as defenders of the law, but in a number of other cases they use various tricks to do what they want with the constitution."

Moscow, accuses Britain of ignoring extradition requests for Russian citizens accused of being embezzlers, terrorists, drug dealers and murderers. Russia has also requested the return of billionaire Boris Berezovsky to face fraud and corruption charges. Berezovksy, a vocal Kremlin critic, was a friend of the murdered Alexander Litvinenko.

VOASE0717_Health Report

17 July 2007

Egypt Moves to Halt Female Genital Cutting
A girl's death leads to a stronger ban, public protest and a statement from the country's grand mufti that the tradition is against Islam.

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This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

Egypt has fully banned the tradition that some call female circumcision and others call female genital mutilation. The government acted after a girl in southern Egypt died. Her mother took her to a doctor to perform the operation.

Hundreds of girls at a protest in Assiut, Egypt, carry posters showing Badour Shaker

Twelve-year-old Badour Shaker reportedly was given too much anesthesia to kill the pain. Her death in June created public anger against the traditional practice.

Part or all of the clitoris and other tissue around the vagina are cut away. The practice is often seen for cultural reasons as a way to repress sexual desire and protect a girl's honor. Some parents also think it is connected with cleanliness.

But the cutting is often done by someone without medical training, clean tools or even anesthesia. Infections are common. Victims can also go into shock from pain and bleeding.

Experts say long-term problems can include painful growths and thick scar tissue. These can interfere with reproductive ability and childbirth.

The World Health Organization says the practice is dangerous physically as well as emotionally. Still, the United Nations says that in Africa, more than three million girls each year have it done to them.

In Egypt and Sudan the cutting is performed on both Muslim and Christian girls. It is also common in Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia.

The death of Badour Shaker led the Egyptian Health Ministry to strengthen a nineteen ninety-six ban on female genital cutting. The operation was still permitted in some cases. This was true since Egypt first banned the practice in nineteen fifty-nine.

After the recent death, Egypt's Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa condemned what he called a harmful tradition forbidden by Islam. The grand mufti is the country's top official for giving Islamic legal opinions.

Other countries are also taking action. Norway said it would bar families from leaving the country if the suspected purpose was to have the cutting done.

And in London, police have just offered money for information leading to anyone carrying out female genital mutilation in the British capital. Police officials say it is a human rights violation and extreme child abuse that can involve girls as young as four. The police launched the campaign during summer because the extended holiday period is believed to be when families most often have it done.

And that’s the VOA Special English Health Report, written by Caty Weaver. For more health news, go to voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Faith Lapidus.

VOASE0717_Explorations

17 July 2007

Colorado National Monument Shows the Wild Artistry of Nature
It has a strange and exciting beauty, like a great painting drawn onto living rock.

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VOICE ONE:

This is Faith Lapidus.

VOICE TWO:

And this is Steve Ember with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English. Come with us today as we visit a national park in the western state of Colorado.

We also tell about one man who made sure the beautiful natural area would be protected for all time. He did this by working to make it part of the National Park System. Today we visit the Colorado National Monument.

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VOICE ONE:

The Colorado National Monument is not as famous as some other national parks. It

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Part of the landscape at Colorado National Monument

does not get as many visitors as the Grand Canyon, Yosemite or the Yellowstone National Parks. However the Colorado Monument has a strange and exciting beauty all its own.

It is similar to a great painting drawn by nature onto living rock. Minerals in the area helped nature create a painting that is black, light brown, dark brown and many different colors of red. Often the colors seem to change as clouds block the sun. At other times the sun makes the many different colors seem to burn brightly.

VOICE TWO:

The Colorado National Monument is an area of great extremes. The ground rises very sharply from the surrounding flat desert area. The mountains here are part of the western Rocky Mountains. It is an area of huge rock formations created during more than one thousand million years. Volcanoes, great rivers, wind, rain, ice and the birth and death of huge mountains formed this beautiful area.

It is not possible to see this extremely beautiful area and not feel the power of nature. Giant mountains seem to have been cut sharply with a huge knife. Their sides are smooth and clean. Other areas of the same mountain seem to have been torn apart in some violent struggle. These areas are filled with huge piles of broken rock.

Walls of rock are twisted and have huge holes pushed into their sides. There are tall finger-like rocks that reach far into the sky.

Many of the tall rocks look like they could fall over at anytime

Other parts of the same area seem to have long, straight lines cut into the rock. It is possible to count these lines. Each line represents a time long ago when these mountains were at the bottom of an ancient ocean.

Each line was formed by dirt, mud and sand that gathered at the bottom of the ancient ocean. Then, as time passed, the bottom of this ancient ocean floor was pushed high into the air by huge pressures deep in the Earth.

VOICE ONE:

Scientists have found seashells high in these mountains and the fossil remains of ancient ocean creatures. Near the Colorado National Park researchers have found the huge fossil remains of ancient reptiles called dinosaurs. One fossil skeleton found early last century was the largest fossil dinosaur ever found at that time.

It was huge and surprised scientists around the world. Scientists are still busy looking for remains of these creatures that died millions of years ago.

However, not all of the animals found in or near the park are fossils. Because the area is desert, it is easy to believe that nothing is living here.

But if you are very quiet and stay very still you can see much life in the park. Mountain lions live here. It is very difficult to see them. However, visitors sometimes see the foot marks these big cats leave in the soft sand.

VOICE TWO:

If you look closely, you can see small rabbits searching for food or water early in the morning. On hot days you might see deer resting in the shade of the juniper trees. The deer are protected from hunters. Often they show little fear of people.

Visitors must be careful not to surprise a small reptile called the midget faded rattlesnake. The bite of this snake can be very painful and make a victim very sick.

At first, the Colorado National Monument seems to be nothing more than huge and very colorful rocks shaped by nature. But if you spend a few hours walking slowly on its many paths, you soon learn that it is very much alive.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

The forces of nature created the Colorado National Monument. But a man named John Otto was responsible for making sure this beautiful area became part of the United States National Park System. John Otto recognized the great natural beauty of this place and wanted it to be protected.

John Otto was an unusual man. He lived alone much of the time in what later became

John Otto, first superintendent of Colorado National Monument

the park. He did not build a house. He moved from place to place and lived in a temporary cloth home.

In a letter written in nineteen-oh-seven, Mister Otto told a friend the area made him feel like it was the heart of the world. He told his friend he was going to stay and build paths and work to inform people about this beautiful work of nature. Some people thought he was insane.

But John Otto began his campaign to protect the area by writing letters. He acted as a guide for people who read his letters and came to see the great natural beauty for themselves. He asked everyone who visited for their support in his campaign to have the federal government protect the area.

VOICE TWO:

In nineteen eleven, President William Taft signed the documents making the area a national monument. It would forever be part of the National Park System and protected by the government.

President Taft also appointed Mister Otto as the new park’s first top official. John Otto was only paid one dollar a year for this work. He was not expected to really work at the park, just deal with administrative duties, which were few.

However, John Otto did work in the park. By nineteen twenty-one he had finished building one of the first major paths. This made it much easier for people to visit the area. He built it using simple tools and without much help. It is called the Trail of the Serpent. He was also very careful to build the trail without damaging any of the area’s natural beauty. It was one of the first roads into the park that could be used by an automobile.

VOICE ONE:

High up in the Colorado National Monument is a steel sign that honors John Otto. It has been placed into the wall of a rock formation that John Otto loved. The marker says: “In recognition of John Otto, trail builder, promoter, and first custodian of Colorado National Monument, established May twenty-fourth, nineteen eleven.” John Otto would have liked that.

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VOICE TWO:

The Colorado National Monument is almost eight thousand three hundred hectares. It is near the city of Grand Junction, Colorado, not far from the state border with Utah. The area is known for its mountains and the beauty of the desert. It is also here that the last of the Rocky Mountains begin to drop away to flat land.

Although the Colorado National Monument is smaller than most national parks, about five hundred thousand visitors come each year. Most visitors drive on the Interstate Highway System.

Interstate Highway Seventy is only a few kilometers from the park. When a visitor leaves the road, the path becomes much smaller and begins to rise into the mountains. Signs urge safety. Other signs urge the driver of the vehicle to slow down.

VOICE ONE:

The small road begins to turn left, then sharply to the right, then left again. At the same time it moves up and up many meters at a time with each turn.

At first, mountains surround the road on both sides of the car. Then, without warming, the little road moves into the clear and visitors can see hundreds of meters down into the valley. For a little more than six kilometers the road twists and turns high into the park.

At the top of the little road visitors reach the National Park Visitors Center. The modern building provides information about the park. It has a small store where visitors can buy gifts. The Visitors Center also includes a small museum with fossils, photographs and the story of John Otto.

VOICE TWO:

When visitors have collected the information or gifts they want, most continue through the building to an observation area in back of the building. Slowly they walk to the very edge of the mountain.

In this great open space, the finger-like rocks seem to reach for the sky. Far below is the great natural beauty that took more than one thousand million years for nature to create.

And, it is here they can begin to understand why John Otto loved this place so much and why he worked so hard to protect it.

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VOICE ONE:

This program was written by Paul Thompson. It was produced by Mario Ritter. This is Faith Lapidus.

VOICE TWO:

And this is Steve Ember. Join us again next week for another EXPLORATIONS program in VOA Special English.