VOASE0813_Science In the News

13 August 2007

Scientists Receive National Medals of Science and Technology
Winners were recognized last month at ceremonies at the White House.

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VOICE ONE:

This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I'm Barbara Klein.

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Steve Ember.­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ This week, we tell about the highest honors for science and technology in the United States.

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VOICE ONE:

On July twenty-seventh, President Bush honored recent winners of the National Medals of Science and Technology at special ceremonies at the White House.

The National Science Foundation administers the science awards. It accepts nominations for the award each year from universities and other organizations. Each nominee must be a United States citizen or a permanent resident seeking citizenship.

A committee of twelve scientists and engineers is named by the president to examine the nominees’ work. They study how each one has affected scientific knowledge. They also look at how other scientists have honored each nominee in the past, and how the work of each has influenced the education of future scientists through publications and teaching.

Two groups of winners were announced this year. Scientists in the first group were named in May and received the two thousand five National Medal of Science. Those in the second group were named in July and received the National Medal of Science for two thousand six.

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VOICE TWO:

President Bush with Jan Achenbach

Jan Achenbach of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois was honored for his engineering research in the area of solid mechanics. He developed ways to find weak areas in structures, which has greatly affected the airplane industry.

Another Northwestern professor also received the National Medal of Science. Tobin Marks' research involves the study and design of new substances. He designed a material that made possible an improved way to produce a plastic substance.

Two professors at Stanford University in Stanford, California were also among the winners. Gordon Bower was a professor of psychology who retired in two thousand five. He worked in experimental studies of human memory, language, feelings and actions. Bradley Efron invented a statistical tool known as the bootstrap method for estimating.

VOICE ONE:

Torsten Wiesel shared the 1981 Nobel Prize in Medicine

Another honoree was the former president of Rockefeller University in New York City. Torsten Wiesel shared the nineteen eighty-one Nobel Prize in Medicine for studies on how visual information moves from the retina of the eye to the brain.

Also honored with the National Medal of Science was Lonnie Thompson, a professor of earth science at the Ohio State University in Columbus. His studies of climate conditions have provided evidence that the last one hundred years was the warmest period of time in recorded history.

Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health near Washington, D.C., also received a National Medal of Science. He is the director of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases. He studies ways to prevent and treat diseases such as AIDS, tuberculosis, influenza and malaria.

The final National Medal Of Science winner for two thousand five was Ralph Alpher of the Dudley Observatory in Schenectady, New York. His work in the nineteen forties led to the development of the Big Bang Theory, now accepted as explaining the beginnings of the universe. Until two thousand four, he was professor of physics at Union College, in Utica, New York.

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VOICE TWO:

Rita Colwell improved understanding of cholera microbes

The winners of the two thousand six National Medal of Science include two women. Rita Colwell is a professor at the University of Maryland in College Park. She received the award for creating a better understanding of microbes that cause the disease cholera. Nina Federoff works at the Pennsylvania State University in State College. Her work with plants includes efforts to copy several kinds of plant genes.

Another Medal of Science winner is Marvin Caruthers, a professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He was honored for his work with the genetic material DNA and the human genome project. Peter Dervan of the California Institute of Technology in San Marino was honored for research in organic chemistry and biology, and for influencing education and industry.

Lubert Stryer is a former professor at Stanford University in California. He was honored for work with biological molecules. Hyman Bass of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor was recognized for establishing a new kind of mathematics.

Two professors at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge also received the National Medal of Science. Robert Langer was honored for helping develop new medical technologies. Daniel Kleppner is a former professor at MIT. He was honored for his research into the links between atoms and light.

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VOICE ONE:

The National Medal of Technology is awarded to Americans considered to be the leading developers of new technology ideas and products. It was established by Congress in nineteen eighty. The medal is given every year to researchers, teams of researchers and or companies for excellent technology work.

The National Medal of Technology is administered by the United States Department of Commerce. A special committee studies all nominations for the award. The secretary of commerce appoints the committee members for three-year terms. Members of the committee are generally experts in the areas of science, technology, business and law.

Again, this year two groups of winners were honored at the same ceremony in Washington on July twenty-seventh. The first group of winners was announced in June. They received the medal for two thousand five. The second group was named in July and received the two thousand six awards.

VOICE TWO:

The two thousand five technology winners included two individuals, one team and three companies. The first went to Alfred Cho of Alcatel-Lucent's Bell Labs in Murray Hill, New Jersey.

He was honored for helping invent a technology that is used to produce cellular telephones, compact disc players and high-speed communication devices.

Dean Sicking is a professor at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. He was recognized for his design and development of safety technologies that stop the energy involved in high-speed vehicle crashes. The committee said his work has prevented many deaths and injuries on roads every year.

A scientific team at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals in Madison, New Jersey received a technology award for developing the first vaccine to prevent deadly streptococcus pneumonia in children. The committee said the work has been described as the most important advance in medicine for children in the past ten years.

The first company award went to the Genzyme Corporation in Cambridge, Massachusetts for improving the health of people with rare diseases. The Semiconductor Research Corporation in Durham, North Carolina was honored for building a research force to support the growth of the semiconductor industry. And the Xerox Corporation in Stamford, Connecticut was recognized for fifty years of work that has created the modern printing industry.

VOICE ONE:

The Technology Medals for two thousand six went to five individuals. Leslie Geddes is a former professor at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. He was honored for his research into the electricity involved in medical devices.

Charles Vest is a former president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was recognized for working toward joint scientific efforts among universities, the government and industry.

James West is a professor at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. He received the technology award for helping invent the electret microphone in nineteen sixty-two. That technology is now used in several kinds of communication devices.

Paul Kaminski is the chairman of the Technovation Company in Fairfax Station, Virginia. He was honored for developing new kinds of pictures from space and his work in national security. And Herwig Kogelnik works at Alcatel-Lucent Bell Labs in Murray Hill, New Jersey. He received a technology medal for his leadership in the development of lasers and lightwave communications systems.

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VOICE TWO:

This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by Nancy Steinbach. Brianna Blake was our producer. I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Barbara Klein. Read and listen to our programs at voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again at this time next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.

Kosovo Negotiators Face Difficult Challenge

By Barry Wood Pristina 12 August 2007

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Kosovo's PM Agim Ceku, 2nd left, meets with diplomats from US Frank Wisner 1st left, EU Wolfgang Ischinger, 1st right, and Russia's Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko in Pristina, 11 Aug 2007

When asked whether an international negotiating team for Kosovo faces an impossible mission in getting Serbs and Kosovo Albanians to agree on a plan for the territory's future, one of the three diplomats involved replied, "No, not mission impossible, mission difficult." VOA's Barry Wood has more from the Kosovo capital, Pristina.

Russian, German and American negotiators, who call themselves "the troika", are trying to succeed where others have failed.

One of the world's most experienced conflict-resolution specialists, Martti Ahtisaari of Finland, spent the better part of a year trying in vain to bridge the wide gap between Belgrade and Pristina.

Serbia opposes anything beyond widespread autonomy for its breakaway province. Kosovo's 90 percent ethnic Albanian majority say they will settle for nothing less than independence. Kosovo has been run by the United Nations for eight years, since NATO bombing forced the Serbian authorities, who were fighting ethnic Albanian separatists, out of the province.

When Mr. Ahtisaari determined there was no chance the two sides could come together, the major powers asked him to develop his own plan for the future status of Kosovo. That blueprint for conditional independence with security guarantees for minorities was rejected last month by Russia, which threatened to use its Security Council veto to block implementation.

The United States has indicated that it would recognize a Kosovo declaration of independence, but stresses the importance of obtaining U.N. Security Council endorsement.

Moscow insisted that there should be an additional push to find consensus among Serbs and Albanians. In response the six-nation contact group on Kosovo set up the three-member negotiating team to undertake a further round of negotiations to be completed by December 10.

But the Russian negotiator, Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko, says that is a tall order.

"I have no illusions," he said. "You see, and I realize, how difficult this mission is. But this commitment we got during this opening session in Pristina is extremely important."

Kosovo's leaders say they still insist on independence, but pledged Saturday to work with the three negotiators in seeking common ground with Serbia on the territory's future.

U.S. diplomat Frank Wisner said the troika will not present the parties with new proposals on Kosovo's future, but will mediate between the former foes. The diplomats have also pledged to look at every angle in their efforts to find a solution.

Analysts say the success of Russian diplomacy in getting the new negotiations launched is the result of discord within the 27-nation European Union, which is expected to play a significant political and security role in Kosovo's future.

Some EU nations have backed away from supporting the Ahtisaari plan, suggesting they will not recognize a Kosovo declaration of independence in the event the negotiations fail.

Ilir Dugolli, who heads Kosovo's non-government Institute for Policy Research, says after eight years of U.N. rule, the delay in determining status is having a negative impact among ethnic Albanians.

"You see a bit of disappointment, a bit of frustration, you see a bit of uncertainty. And you see a bit of anxiety about how this process will be concluded and whether consensus within the European Union, primarily, will be established," said Dugolli.

Dugolli says he is distressed to hear some EU diplomats speak about territorial partition as a fall back solution. That would divide the predominately Serb and Albanian areas of Kosovo, but he says it is a dangerous idea.

"Because then immediately Albanians would ask for something else in return, the Presevo Valley [in Serbia proper]," he added. "Or it could have movements even in Macedonia or you do not know what would happen in Republika Serpska [in Bosnia] or other areas. So it is extremely risky and dangerous."

The troika negotiations have just begun. Both sides are pledging cooperation. And while few experts anticipate success, they stress that much can happen during the next few months.

Nigerians Call for End to Surge in Gang Violence

By Kari Barber Dakar 12 August 2007

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Cars and motorcycles destroyed by gangs at the police station in Port Harcourt, Nigeria (File Photo - April 14, 2007)

In Nigeria's violence-plagued and oil-rich Niger Delta, unrest continues after one of the deadliest days in nearly a week of gang warfare. Police have confirmed nearly a dozen deaths since Monday and witnesses say that toll is likely to rise. Kari Barber reports from VOA's West Africa bureau in Dakar that some calling for stronger intervention by the government's security forces.

Gunfire continued to be heard across the city of Port Harcourt, following intense battles between rival gangs that left several people dead on Saturday.

Journalist Ibiba Don Pedro says the streets are empty and many people have fled the city.

"People are staying at home. A lot of people are moving out of their communities," he said. "But mostly people are lying low. I guess in the next few days we are going to see a lot of people moving out of Port Harcourt for safety in other places."

It is unclear what sparked the gunbattles that began Monday. In the past year militant groups have stepped up kidnappings of foreigners and staged an increasing number of attacks on oil facilities, reducing the country's output of oil.

Don Pedro says rival gangs are competing for power. She says this outbreak of gang violence is not a part of the Niger Delta people's struggle for greater control of the region's oil wealth, but a negative effect of young men becoming accustomed to violence.

Don Pedro says she is still tense after armed men fired on her office during a recent awards ceremony for the journalist. One security guard was injured.

"We cannot imagine bringing up our children in an atmosphere like this," added Pedro. "I think the federal government has to come in to act, and I expect the international community to put serious pressure on the federal government to take action and to declare a state of emergency in River State immediately."

Kennedy West of the Association for Non-Violence in the Niger Delta says the government needs to step up the force they are using to quell the fighting. Nigeria's Police Chief, Mike Okiro, has held meetings with local leaders to find a way to control the situation.

"This is not the kind of area where you use minimum force now. Because there is lawlessness in its peak. There is violence in its peak," said Okiro. "The violence is a result of people making money out of it."

While kidnappings of foreign oil workers and attacks on oil facilities have become common in the restive region, the violence has now spread to include kidnappings of non-oil workers, armed robbery and gang violence.

Kidnappings are increasingly being used by some armed groups as a way to make money.

Soon after taking office in May, President Umaru Yar'Adua released militant movement leader Asari Dokubo, a major demand of militant groups. But groups say they are still fighting for more control of the region's resources.

VOASE0812_Development Report

12 August 2007

UN Reports on Extreme Weather and Climate Events
The World Meteorological Organization says January and April were the warmest months on record worldwide.

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This is the VOA Special English Development Report.

This summer, heavy rains and flooding have caused more than five hundred deaths in South Asia. More than ten million people have been forced from their homes. Huge amounts of cropland, animals and property have been destroyed. Officials and aid groups say a public health crisis threatens about thirty million people throughout India, Nepal and Bangladesh.

The World Meteorological Organization says the rain in South Asia is just one of many extreme weather events this year. The United Nations agency announced last week that January and April were the warmest months on record worldwide. The discovery appears to support environmental changes confirmed by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in February. The group said that it was more than ninety percent sure that carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases from human activities have been the main cause of global warming.

The World Meteorological Organization also noted extreme weather in other areas. It said heavy rains in China in June affected more than thirteen million people. In February, Mozambique had the worst flooding in six years. It said record-breaking heat was reported in southeastern Europe and central Russia earlier this year. A full report on weather in two thousand seven will be released at the end of the year.

The UN weather agency says it is working with its partners to establish an early warning system for climate extremes. It is also creating a long-term observation system to study the effects of climate change.

One such effect could be a lack of food and the risk of hunger in developing countries. The head of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization warned last week that climate change might hurt food production in warm southern areas of the world. Jacques Diouf spoke in India. He said that crops will likely decrease in seasonally dry countries as average world temperatures rise. However, he said small temperature increases could increase crops in most industrialized nations.

Mister Diouf called for an intense scientific effort to develop crops that will grow in future weather conditions. He said one example is genetically changed crops that will grow in extreme temperatures, dry conditions or poor soil.

And that's the VOA Special English Development Report, written by Jill Moss. I’m Shep O'Neal.

VOASE0812_This Is America

12 August 2007

Hot Dogs and Apple Pie: Just Some of America's Favorite Foods
From sweets to meats, Americans love their favorite foods.

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VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I’m Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Faith Lapidus. Today we tell about some of the foods that Americans like best – America’s favorites.

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VOICE ONE:

Hot dog

You may have heard that Americans like hot dogs and hamburgers best of all foods. Well, farmers and owners of public eating places might happily agree. So might the nation’s Meat Institute and the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council. But people whose favorites are pizza and apple pie would give the meat-lovers a spirited argument!

Naming the favorite foods of Americans depends a lot on whom you ask. But one thing is sure. The ancestors of most Americans came from other countries. The United States owes many favorite dishes, or the ideas for these foods, to the rest of the world.

For example, that traditional American favorite, the hot dog or wiener, had its modern beginning in Germany. The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council estimates that Americans eat about seven thousand million of these sausages during a summer.

VOICE TWO:

A hot dog is usually made from pork, the meat of a pig. Or it is made from beef, the meat of a cow. Another version is made from turkey. A vegetarian version of a hot dog has no meat at all. It often contains tofu, made from soy plants.

The hot dog is shaped like a tube. Many people say it looks like a Dachshund dog. It is served between two shaped pieces of bread called a bun. Americans often say they especially like hot dogs cooked over a hot fire in the open air. People at sports events buy plenty of hot dogs.

VOICE ONE:

For many people, it is not just the meat that tastes so good. These people enjoy colorful and tasty additions. For example, they include a yellow or yellow-brown thickened liquid called mustard. They may also put red catsup and pieces of a white or red, strong-smelling vegetable called onion on their hot dogs.

Hot dog eaters often add pickle, a salty green vegetable. Some people place barbecue sauce on top of all this. Or they use a spice called horseradish. It gives the hot dog a pleasant bite.

A hot dog is also known as a frankfurter or frank. That is because the city of Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany is often said to be the birthplace of this sausage. But the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council says there are other ideas about where the hot dog began.

VOICE TWO:

One version of hot dog history says a butcher, or meat cutter, from the German city of Coburg was responsible. It says he invented the hot dog in the late sixteen hundreds. Vienna, Austria, also claims that it created the food.

The council says butchers from several countries probably brought common European sausages to America. A street salesman sold hot dogs to people in New York City in the eighteen sixties. And, in eighteen seventy one, a hot dog stand opened at the Coney Island amusement park in New York City.

VOICE ONE:

Americans also eat lots of hamburgers. This ground meat comes from beef. It can be cooked in many ways. Like hot dogs, hamburgers are a favorite picnic food.

The classic American hamburger

Many public eating places in the United States say hamburgers are their most popular foods. People often eat them in places that serve quickly prepared, moderately priced food.

Like hot dog experts, hamburger historians disagree about how their subject got started. The Egyptians and Romans apparently ate ancient versions of hamburgers. In more modern days, people in Hamburg, Germany, made something like a hamburger from pork and beef.

VOICE TWO:

The small town of Seymour, Wisconsin, is among several American towns that claim to have created the first modern hamburger in the United States.

In Seymour, a man named Charlie Nagreen tried to sell meatballs at a local fair in eighteen eighty-five. But as people walked around, it was hard for them to handle the round pieces of meat. So Nagreen flattened the ball of meat. Then he placed this meat patty between two pieces of bread.

In two thousand one, people in Seymour cooked a hamburger that weighed more than three thousand kilograms. This creation reportedly fed thirteen thousand people.

VOICE ONE:

Like hot dogs, Americans like their hamburgers with additions. Things like mustard, catsup, horseradish, mayonnaise, barbecue sauce, tomatoes, lettuce, onion and perhaps a pickle.

A hamburger with cheese melted on it is called a cheeseburger. Cooks make a “Sloppy Joe” by combining hamburger meat with tomato sauce. Many people eat the Sloppy Joe mixture on a bun. Without a bun, they may get more of the loose meat on them than inside them.

For many people, eating both hot dogs and hamburgers does not seem right without potatoes. They eat French fries and potato chips with these meats. French fries are strips, or pieces, of potato cooked in oil. Potato chips are extremely thin, cooled pieces of potato. They usually are also cooked in oil.

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VOICE TWO:

Americans also buy or make large amounts of pizza. A basic pizza contains tomato sauce or cheese, or both, on a bread-like material.

Food writer Linda Stradley tells about the history of pizza on her computer Web site, “What’s Cooking America.” Miz Stradley says it could have been the Phoenicians, Greeks or Romans who invented pizza. Or, it could have been anyone who mixed flour with water and cooked it on a hot stone.

VOICE ONE:

Italians probably brought pizza to the United States in the second half of the nineteenth century. In nineteen-oh-five, Gennaro Lombardi reportedly opened the first pizza store in New York City. In the nineteen thirties, he added tables to his pizza place. Lombardi also began serving spaghetti.

Spaghetti is a traditional Italian favorite that also has become an American favorite. It is made from flour and water and sometimes eggs. This dough is pulled into lengths and boiled.

VOICE TWO:

All kinds of foods can be added to both pizza and spaghetti to add to their taste. For example, people like these foods with different meats on top. Or they like toppings of small fish called anchovies, or vegetables called mushrooms. Some people like all the additions at once.

Another favorite food, macaroni, is similar to spaghetti. Many Americans remember that their mothers made macaroni cooked with cheese on cold winter days. People sometimes call this dish “comfort food,” because it makes them feel better.

VOICE ONE:

Others praise hot soups prepared in their childhood homes. Some people say chicken soup -- chicken pieces in liquid -- can cure anything. Still others say New England clam chowder helps them think. This soup contains the shellfish clams floating in a milky liquid. Another version of clam chowder has tomato sauce. It looks red.

To end a meal, or between meals, Americans often eat chocolate in some form. They eat millions and millions of kilograms of chocolate a year. Chocolate is produced from cocoa beans. It is used in sweet foods like candy, pies, puddings and cakes. Many people say chocolate makes them feel happier.

VOICE TWO:

People have praised chocolate for its taste for many years. Some studies have shown that it can help chase away mild feelings of sadness. But chocolate often has a large amount of fat.

However, some experts now say a moderate amount of chocolate can be healthful. For example, the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center in Ohio notes that chocolate contains substances called antioxidants. Antioxidants are thought to help the body fight damage caused by natural processes and harmful substances in the environment.

The Heart Center suggests choosing dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate. And it warns that people should restrict themselves to a moderate amount.

VOICE ONE:

Like people in many parts of the world, Americans love pie. These sweet dishes have fruit, nuts or some other filling in a crust. Some people say pies are the best comfort food ever. That can be debated.

Apple pie

Pie can be the most inviting food ever. A red strawberry pie or a green or yellow Key lime pie can defeat the strongest resolution of people trying to lose weight. But apple pie may be a top American favorite. Over time, this dish has come to be strongly linked to the United States.

When someone or something seems especially American, people say it is “as American as apple pie.”

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VOICE ONE:

Our program was written by Jerilyn Watson. Caty Weaver was our producer. I’m Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Faith Lapidus. Our reports are on the Web at voaspecialenglish.com. Please join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

Evil Witches, Fallen Star Light Up "Stardust"

By Alan Silverman Hollywood 12 August 2007

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Evil witches, a fallen star and a young man in search of his heart's desire: these are just some of the elements in the new fantasy-adventure film adapted from a novel by popular science fiction author Neil Gaiman. Alan Silverman has a look at Stardust.

Claire Danes and Charlie Cox star in "Stardust"

Once upon a time, a young man named Tristan embarks on the adventure of a lifetime. "The Wall" separates the old English village of Wall from a magical kingdom named Stronghold. When, like his father did before him, Tristan leaps the Wall, he does, indeed, find the star ...but she is not what he expects.

"The star" is a beautiful, wide-eyed young woman named Yvaine. In this magical universe, the stars are actually all beautiful, wide-eyed young women who gaze down upon the antics of the humans and only rarely get to walk among them. However, Tristan is not the only one searching for Yvaine. A coven of wrinkled witches sends the strongest hag of their group, Lamia, to find the fallen star and bring her back so they can all share in her heart: the secret to restoring their youth:

As they try to escape Michelle Pfeiffer as the evil witch, Tristan and Yvaine team up with some even more unusual allies, including Robert DeNiro as pirate captain Shakespeare, whose sky vessel sails the clouds capturing bolts of lightning.

Claire Danes, who stars as the star Yvaine, asks "Who wouldn't want to have long blonde hair and ride a unicorn and be a princess from outer space? I think she's really bright and kind of plucky. Some might say she's difficult, but I think she is just discerning. She is strong."

Danes, who is about to make her Broadway debut in a revival of George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion, says her approach to "Stardust" was to make it seem real, not fantasy. "I wasn't thinking so much about how to play her as a celestial being. It just wasn't required. A lot of that work was done for me with the costumes and the hair and C-G-I (computer-generated images). What I really like about the script and the movie is that it walks a line between being fantastical and realistic in its tone," she says.

"It allows for more," says English actor Charlie Cox, who plays Tristan. He enjoys what he calls 'the freedom' fantasy can give an actor. "If you think of it logically, there is no realistic reaction to seeing a witch or a flying pirate, is there? So it allows for you to go a bit further with it if you wish. When you see someone in a movie react to having a gun pointed in their face, it is more likely to have happened to more people; whereas no one that I know has ever seen witch or a flying pirate. So, yes, it allows for for more."

"And that's the danger, because you do have that freedom," warns Michelle Pfeiffer, who says her challenge was to keep the witch she plays from seeming too unreal. "In the case of my character, Lamia, who is going to be there to tell you when you have to rein it in a little bit because there are a lot of pitfalls you can fall into. That's my big danger because I've never been really comfortable with being broad or slapstick humor. That's not where my comfort zone is, so I initially have to be really pushed and encouraged to go there."

The guidance from director Matthew Vaughn was simple and straightforward. "I just said 'this isn't a fantasy movie. We are playing this for real. If you do a period film, let's say in Tudor costume, it is wrong if you play the costume. Back then they weren't wearing costumes, they were wearing clothes. It was modern fashion. So I tried to ground it as much in reality as possible," he says.

Stardust, which was shot on location in Scotland and Iceland and sets in London's famed Pinewood studios, also features cameos by an array of British actors including comic Ricky Gervais, steamy Sienna Miller and veteran Peter O'Toole. Ian McKellen is the narrator. The musical score is by London-based composer Ilan Eshkeri.

Bush, Sarkozy Discuss Iran and Iraq

By Scott Stearns Washington 12 August 2007

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U.S. President George Bush and French President Nicholas Sarkozy met Saturday for informal talks on the war in Iraq and uranium enrichment in Iran. VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns reports, the French leader was a guest at the Bush family home in the Northeast state of Maine.

President Bush, left, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, wave while on a boat ride off Kennebunkport, Maine

There was no official agenda for the hamburger-and-hot-dog picnic at the Bush estate on Walker's Point. It was a social lunch at the invitation of the First Lady who met the Sarkozys at the G8 Summit in Germany two months ago.

But the two leaders did meet for nearly an hour in talks that included efforts at the United Nations to stop Iran from enriching uranium. On Iraq, Mr. Bush is hoping for a better relationship with the new French leader than he had with former President Jacques Chirac who blocked a U.N. resolution on the eve of the U.S. invasion.

Welcoming President Sarkozy to his parent's seaside vacation home, President Bush says past disputes about Iraq do not obstruct progress on other fronts including Lebanon and Sudan. "We have had disagreements on Iraq in particular but I've never allowed disagreements to not find other ways to work together," he said.

President Sarkozy calls the United States a longtime friend who he admires for trying to spread freedom around the world. He says France is friends with democracies not dictatorships. "Do we agree on everything? No. Because even within the family there are disagreements but we are still of the same family and we may be friends and not agree on everything but we are friends nevertheless. That's the truth," he said.

President Bush says he appreciates President Sarkozy's involvement in freeing Bulgarian nurses held in Libya over charges of spreading AIDS. He says he is impressed with the French leader's vision and candor. "The good thing about President Sarkozy is you know where he stands. He'll tell you exactly what he thinks and I hope he'd say the same thing about me," he said.

French First Lady Cecilia Sarkozy telephoned Mrs. Bush Saturday to say that she and her children had sore throats and would not be attending the lunch. President Sarkozy came on his own for a meal that included corn-on-the-cob, baked beans, and blueberry pie.

The Sarkozy family is vacationing in the neighboring state of New Hampshire. Mr. and Mrs. Bush return to the White House Sunday before leaving Monday for their Texas ranch.

VOASE0811_People In America

11 August 2007

Elvis Presley, 1935-1977: He Was The King of Rock and Roll
30 Years After His Death, His Records and Films are Still Enjoyed by People Around the World.

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ANNOUNCER:

Welcome to PEOPLE IN AMERICA, a program in VOA Special English. Today Rich Kleinfeldt and Steve Ember tell about one of America’s most popular singers, Elvis Presley.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

That song, “Hound Dog,” was one of Elvis Presley’s most popular records. It sold five

Elvis Presley

million copies in nineteen fifty-six. Music industry experts say more than one thousand million of Elvis’s recordings have sold throughout the world. He was a success in many different kinds of music -- popular, country, religious, and rhythm and blues.

Elvis Presley won many awards from nations all over the world, yet he did not record in any language other than English. He never performed outside the United States, except for three shows in Canada. Yet, his recordings and films have been, and are still, enjoyed by people all over the world.

VOICE TWO:

Elvis Aaron Presley was born in the southern town of Tupelo, Mississippi on January eighth, nineteen thirty-five. His family was extremely poor. During his childhood, he sang in church with his parents. He also listened to music that influenced his later singing, including country, rhythm and blues, and religious music. Elvis and his family moved to Memphis, Tennessee when he was thirteen.

After high school, he had several jobs, including driving a truck. In nineteen fifty-three, he made his first recording of this song, “My Happiness”:

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VOICE ONE:

Elvis Presley recorded the song at the Memphis Recording Service. The story is that he paid four dollars to make a recording for his mother. A woman who worked at the public recording studio had another job with a local independent record company called Sun Records. She made a second recording of Elvis’s songs because she thought the owner of Sun Records should hear him sing.

VOICE TWO:

The owner of Sun Records, Sam Phillips, had been looking for a white performer who could sing black rhythm and blues. He suggested Elvis work with a guitar player and a bass player. Several months later Mister Phillips agreed to have the group make a record. It was released on July nineteenth, nineteen fifty-four. One of the songs was “That’s All Right”:

(MUSIC)

The record sold well in Memphis, and was played a lot on local radio stations. To let others hear Elvis, Sam Phillips organized a series of performances at country fairs in the area. One of the people who heard Elvis perform at these shows was Colonel Tom Parker. Elvis signed an agreement that Colonel Parker would organize his appearances.

One of Elvis’ first new recordings became a huge hit, and led to his many appearances on television. It was “Heartbreak Hotel”:

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

By the middle of the nineteen fifties, Elvis Presley was known around the world as the young man who moved his hips in a sexual way as he sang rock and roll music. Many adults said he and his music were bad influences on young people. Young women loved him. Huge crowds attended his performances.

He made his first movie in nineteen fifty-six. It was “Love Me Tender.” The title song was a big hit.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Elvis Presley was one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood for a number of years in the nineteen fifties. He acted in thirty-one movies.

In nineteen fifty-eight, just as he finished making the movie “King Creole,” Elvis received notice that he had to serve in the United States Army.

He was stationed in Germany where he lived in a large house and dated a lot of

Elvis and Priscilla Presley

beautiful women. One young girl he met in Germany was Priscilla Beaulieu, the daughter of an Army officer. She was fourteen years old. Later, after Elvis had finished his army service, she came to live with him in Memphis. They married in nineteen sixty-seven, when she was twenty-one years old. He was thirty-two. They became parents nine months later of a baby girl, Lisa Marie.

VOICE ONE:

Colonel Parker made sure that songs Elvis had recorded earlier were released during the years he was in the army. So Elvis was just as popular after his military service as he was before it.

Elvis Presley won three of the music industry’s highest award, the Grammy. He received the first one in nineteen sixty-seven. It was for “How Great Thou Art,” an album of religious music.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Elvis returned to performing live shows in nineteen sixty-nine, in Las Vegas, Nevada. He then traveled around the country performing before huge crowds. He began to take drugs to help him sleep. He gained a lot of weight so he took drugs to help control his weight. And he took extremely strong drugs to reduce pain.

Elvis also suffered from the emotional sickness, depression. It became worse after his marriage ended. Elvis never permitted Priscilla to stay with him in Las Vegas or travel with him around the country. He also did not want Priscilla to see other people when he was away from home. And he spent time with other women. Priscilla finally left him in nineteen seventy-two for another man.

VOICE ONE:

Elvis Presley released many recordings of his performances during the nineteen

Elvis Presley

seventies. He also enjoyed great success on television. His nineteen seventy-three television show from Hawaii was seen in forty countries by more than one thousand million people.

His last record album was called “Moody Blue.” He recorded it in nineteen seventy-six. One of its hit songs was called “Way Down”:

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Elvis Presley died on August sixteenth, nineteen seventy-seven. First reports said he had a heart attack, but later tests showed many drugs in his body. Experts agree that these drugs probably caused his death.

Hundreds of thousands of people still visit his home, Graceland, in Memphis every year. Fans continue to buy his music, making him the most popular recording artist ever. Elvis Presley remains the undisputed King of Rock and Roll.

(MUSIC: "Good Rockin' Tonight")

ANNOUNCER:

This program was written by Nancy Steinbach. Rich Kleinfeldt and Steve Ember were the narrators. The producer was Paul Thompson. I’m Faith Lapidus. Listen again next week for another PEOPLE IN AMERICA program in VOA Special English.

VOASE0810_In the News

10 August 2007

Countdown to 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing
China Faces Criticism Over Human Rights, Press Freedom and Pollution.

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This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. On Wednesday, China celebrated the one-year mark until the start of the two thousand eight Summer Olympic Games in Beijing.

The celebration included sporting events and ceremonies across China. The Chinese

Pollution in the air in Beijing one year before the opening of the 2008 Olympic Games.

government has spent tens of billions of dollars on transportation and buildings to prepare for the Olympic Games.

But not everyone is celebrating. China is being criticized for failing to honor promises to improve human rights and press freedom before the games. The international media rights group Reporters Without Borders is among those criticizing China. The group says China told Olympic officials six years ago that it would improve its human rights record. But the group says about one hundred reporters and dissidents who use the Internet remain in prison. The group says thousands of other dissidents are jailed and executed in public every year.

Reporters Without Borders held a protest Monday near the Olympic headquarters in Beijing. Chinese police detained about twelve foreign reporters covering the event. They were later released.

Chinese Olympic officials have answered the criticism saying the games should not be politicized. This year a new media law went into effect in China. The law gives foreign media freedom to report throughout China until the end of the Olympics, without government interference. Officials with the Organizing Committee for the Beijing Olympics say China welcomes critical voices in the media.

But China’s actions do not support that claim. Officials keep tight control on the national media. They block foreign Web sites and broadcasts critical of the government. VOA’s Web sites and broadcasts are often blocked in China.

Some American lawmakers and activist groups have proposed legislation calling for a boycott of the Olympics unless China improves its human rights situation.

China is facing criticism in other areas as well. Some Olympic sports teams have expressed concern about the effect China’s air pollution will have on their athletes’ health.

The president of the International Olympic Committee admitted that air pollution in Beijing could force delays of some outdoor events. Jacques Rogge said Wednesday that postponements were a possibility for some sports that continue for several hours, such as cycling.

Beijing is one of the most polluted cities in the world. But Chinese officials have said the country is doing everything it can to make sure the ten thousand athletes will be able to compete in clean air.

And there is still another issue. An activist group called Olympic Dream for Darfur is urging China to use its economic and political ties with Sudan to do more to end the violence in Darfur. China is Sudan’s largest foreign investor. It has blocked strong United Nations action against the government of Sudan.

And that's IN THE NEWS, in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. I’m Steve Ember.

Pollution Threatens Australia's Great Barrier Reef

By Phil Mercer Sydney 10 August 2007

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Conservationists say the Australian government must undertake a multi-million dollar cleanup of the Great Barrier Reef or risk its destruction. Campaigners say the World Heritage Site is threatened by millions of tons of chemicals and mud washed from farms onto the reef each year. From Sydney, Phil Mercer reports.

This undated photo released by the Australian Institute of Marine Science, shows dying coral on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Environmentalists say the Great Barrier Reef is being threatened by waves of dangerous agricultural sludge.

Campaigners believe that more than 90 percent of the reef's pollution comes from soil, pesticides and other chemicals that have washed off farms and sugarcane plantations into rivers.

There are concerns that nutrients from farmland runoff boost the population of the crown-of-thorns starfish. It is a voracious predator that attacks coral.

The Australian government is being urged to do more to help farmers reduce this run-off.

Nick Heath from the global environmental group WWF says urgent action is needed.

"If nothing is done it's quite a grim future for the reef," he said. "Pollution will continue to stress corals, continue to feed wave after wave of crown of thorn starfish outbreaks, reducing coral cover and probably even worse reducing the resilience of the reef to be able to deal with the increased temperatures expected from climate change."

The Great Barrier Reef is home to 400 species of coral and supports over 2,000 different types of fish and 4,000 species of mollusks and countless other invertebrates.

It is the world's largest coral system and stretches for 2,300 kilometers along Australia's northeast coast, covering an area bigger than Britain.

The reef is one of Australia's most important tourist destinations, contributing an estimated $5 billion to the economy.

It attracts a million visitors a year, who come to see a vast array of sharks, turtles and brightly colored fish.

A new study by researchers at the University of North Carolina in the United States has found that the degradation of the world's coral reefs has been much worse than previously thought. A report said that over the past 20 years, coral had disappeared at five times the rate of the world's rainforests.

Many scientists have blamed climate change for rising ocean temperatures, which can kill coral by causing what is called bleaching.

Medical Aid Groups Welcome Indian Court Ruling on Patents

By Anjana Pasricha New Delhi 10 August 2007

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Medical aid groups - fighting for access to cheap medicines for the poor - are applauding an Indian court's decision to throw out a Swiss drug company's legal challenge on patent issues. Anjana Pasricha tells us more from VOA's bureau in New Delhi.

The court in Chennai threw out Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis' challenge to India's patent law - in a case closely watched around the world.

Novartis had filed suit after its bid to patent a new version of its anti-cancer drug, Gleevec, was rejected earlier this year. Indian law denies patents for minor improvements to existing medicines.

The ruling means Indian companies can continue to manufacture and sell medicines produced before 1995 - such as Gleevec - at a fraction of the price in Western countries. The only caveat is that domestic companies must use a different manufacturing process from that of the inventor.

The patent law here has enabled the Indian pharmaceutical industry to emerge as a major supplier of affordable drugs throughout the developing world.

Tido von Schoen-Angerer, a director at the medical charity Doctors Without Borders, called the ruling a "major victory" for poor people across the world.

Indian people infected with HIV and activists hold placards and shout slogans against harmaceutical firm Novartis during a demonstration in New Delhi, 29 Jan 2007

"The ruling still allows that for medicines that are not real breakthrough, big innovations, not to be patented in India," he said. "Right now we have a desperate need for several of the new HIV medicines to be produced cheaply in India, but the same will be true for all other inventions in other disease area be it cancer or other infectious diseases. So this has very broad importance for health in developing countries."

The Indian pharmaceutical industry - which is raking in profits - is also pleased with the ruling - noting that hundreds of similar pending patent applications will not be approved, and it can continue making a host of drugs, including anti-AIDS medicines.

The secretary-general of Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance, Dilip.G. Shah, says the ruling is a "major relief."

"Number of products which are in the market, they will be able to manufacture and continue to market them, and it will also save them from expensive litigation," said Shah.

Novartis, however, says the Chennai court ruling will have negative consequences for research into and development of better drugs for patients in India and overseas. It says the Indian patent law stifles innovation.

Several developed countries argue that drug patents must be protected worldwide, because pharmaceutical companies spend billions of dollars to create new drugs. The issue is a key sticking point in trade liberalization talks at the World Trade Organization.

Pyongyang Still Safer Bet For North Korea's Leader in Second Summit With South

By Kurt Achin Seoul 10 August 2007

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Leaders from North and South Korea plan to meet this month in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, despite hints at a summit seven years ago that the next one would take place in Seoul. As VOA Seoul correspondent Kurt Achin reports, the idea of visiting the South Korean capital is enough to make North Korea's leader, and those who protect him, lose sleep.

After the first summit between North and South Korea in Pyongyang in 2000, then-President Kim Dae Jung said he had invited North Korean leader Kim Jong Il to visit Seoul. And Mr. Kim replied he would do so "at an appropriate time."

However, South Korean Chief of National Intelligence Kim Man-bok, who arranged this month's summit, says it will again be in Pyongyang. When asked why not Seoul, he gave a polite response.

North Koreans bow before the statue of the late North Korean leader Kim Il Sung erected on Mansu Hill in Pyongyang, North Korea, 05 Aug 2007

Kim says North Korean authorities proposed Pyongyang host the summit, because it was the "more elegant" venue, where President Roh could receive the "best possible treatment."

But many experts say it is more than elegance than motivated the decision - namely, fears of a security and public relations debacle.

The first summit featured hundreds of North Koreans in matching outfits, waving bouquets of flowers in unison. That display was made possible by North Korea's totalitarian system, in which thousands are mobilized for choreographed displays of reverence for the Kim family.

Here in South Korea, there is a tradition of boisterous - and occasionally violent - public protest. Political science professor Lee Ki-tak, at Seoul's Yonsei University, says coming to South would be a rude awakening for Kim Jong Il.

He says Kim Jong Il is used to being treated as a god in the North, and North Korean propaganda portrays many South Koreans as feeling the same way. Imagine the surprise, he says, when the "god" finds his motorcade pelted with stones on a visit to the South.

Even in North Korea, Kim Jong Il's movements are kept secret. Because virtually all state power is concentrated in his hands, experts say any danger to Kim Jong Il is a threat to the entire North Korean system.

Hong Jun-pyo, a South Korean presidential candidate, says North Korean authorities are aware of the risk.

He says no matter how much effort South Korea puts into guarding Kim Jong Il, it cannot provide a 100 percent guarantee of his safety.

Simply put, he says, the North Korean leader is afraid he could be assassinated.

There is no shortage of South Koreans unhappy with Mr. Kim. About 10,000 North Korean defectors live here, most of whom made a dangerous journey to escape starvation and repression.

In addition, about 500 South Korean prisoners of the 1950s Korean War are believed to be alive in the North, along with about 500 southerners the North abducted since the war. Relatives of those individuals are among the most vocal critics of South Korean engagement with the North.

Other South Koreans are angry over its test of a nuclear device and its record of human rights abuses.

Asia Stocks Fall on Fears of Liquidity Crunch

By Heda Bayron Hong Kong 10 August 2007

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Share prices across Asia fell sharply as the fallout from the U.S. sub-prime loan crisis widens. VOA's Heda Bayron reports from Hong Kong.

A Japanese businessman looks at a stock indicator in Tokyo, 10 Aug 2007

Stock analysts say fears that the global financial system would experience a credit crunch triggered a market sell off in Asia Friday.

Analysts say investors are worried that funds for businesses are drying up as a result of the U.S. sub-prime mortgage problem. That prompted investors to flee the stock markets in favor of less risky investments.

"This (liquidity concern) adds of course to the general risk aversion in the markets," said Jan Lambregts, a treasury strategist at Rabobank International in Hong Kong. "With many of the Asian equity markets, emerging markets being at obviously high risk, it runs that people in general turn away from risky assets and that would have impact on equity and some of the Asian currencies as well."

On Friday, the Bank of Japan injected a trillion yen or $8.4 billion, into the financial system, while Australia's Reserve Bank released more than $4 billion.

These follow similar actions by the European central bank and the U.S. Federal Reserve Thursday to calm the markets.

By putting more money into the financial system, the central banks hope to make sure there is plenty of cash available for businesses that need to borrow to fund operations.

Wall Street lost nearly 3 percent Thursday as investors sold on news that the French bank BNP Paribas Thursday froze three funds exposed to U.S. sub-prime loans.

The U.S. sub-prime loan sector lent money to those who otherwise would not qualify for mortgages because of poor credit records. As interest rates rose, many of those borrowers defaulted and some lenders have gone bankrupt, creating a wider credit crisis in the United States.

Lambregts says although Asian exposure to the U.S. sub-prime loan market appears to be limited, some Asian banks are still feeling the pinch.

"One of the main problem we are dealing with is that whereas some people have made guesstimates (estimates) of the extent of the damage, the losses that may come from sub prime segment, we are not sure about the distribution of those," he explained. "The sense is that Asian banks are not in the first line of the losses. However, as we can see and this is the nasty part of contagion is that even banks that are completely not exposed to sub-prime can be affected."

Japan's Nikkei 225 index closed 2.37 percent down at 16,764 - its lowest in about five months. South Korea's Kospi Index sank 4.2 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index ended 3 percent lower.

VOASE0809_Economics Report

09 August 2007

Will Credit Risk Weigh Down Debt Markets?
Concern over the quality of debt investments worries investors. Could liquidity in debt markets be drying up?

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This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

Liquidity is the ease with which an investment can be sold and turned into money. For example, when a stock is traded easily, the market for it is said to be liquid.

Liquidity can also suggest the ease with which money can be raised in debt markets.

Subprime lender New Century Financial Corporation had to seek bankruptcy protection in April.

And this is where concerns are being raised. Offering credit always carries some risk that the loan will not be repaid. Now experts are saying that investors are as concerned about debt risk as they have been since two thousand one.

One way to measure investors' concern is by their willingness to buy new debt investments. Recently, banks, led by J. P. Morgan, postponed the sale of twelve billion dollars in bonds for the carmaker Chrysler.

The bond offering was part of a deal by private equity company Cerburus Capital Management to buy Chrysler from German carmaker Daimler. Reports say the deal is not in danger. But it could mean an increase in borrowing costs.

American markets are not the only ones in which banks are having trouble selling bonds. American private equity company Kohlberg Kravis Roberts hoped to raise over ten billion dollars in bonds. This was part of a deal to buy Alliance Boots, a European company that sells medicines. But a group of banks had to postpone the sale because of a lack of buyers.

Conditions for big deals by private equity companies appear to be cooling. Private equity companies depend on liquid debt markets to lend them money. And investors are less willing to put money into debt securities.

Part of this is the flight from risk involving investments based on subprime home loans. These loans carry lower than average credit quality but also pay higher interest rates. Credit rating agencies are now recognizing that investments based on subprime home loans are riskier than investors have thought.

Too many high-risk loans were blamed for the failure of the nation's second largest subprime lender. New Century sought bankruptcy protection from its creditors in April.

Investor flight from risk means that debt market liquidity could dry up as interest rates rise. But it is too early to tell.

The Federal Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve did not change the federal funds rate when it met on Tuesday. The important interest rate remains at five and one fourth percent.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. I'm Faith Lapidus.

VOASE0809_American Mosaic

09 August 2007

Barry Bonds Breaks Home Run Record Under a Cloud of Suspicion
Also: Music by Andrew Bird and a Day To Celebrate Left Handed People!

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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 singer Andrew Bird…

Answer a question about International Left-Handers' Day…

And in sports, a home run record for Barry Bonds.

Barry Bonds Home Run Record

HOST:

Major League Baseball has a new king of home runs. This week Barry Bonds of the

Barry Bonds hits his 756th career home run in San Francisco on August 7, 2007.

San Francisco Giants broke the record set by Hank Aaron. Faith Lapidus has our story.

FAITH LAPIDUS:

First of all, here is a simple description, for anyone not sure how the game of baseball is played.

A pitcher throws a ball toward a catcher. In front of the catcher is a batter. The batter tries to hit the small, speeding ball with a narrow bat and then run to first base. If the batter hits the ball, and a player from the opposing team catches it or throws it to first base before the batter gets there, the batter is out.

Sometimes the ball flies high over the walls of the field then no one can catch it…except maybe a lucky fan in the crowd. Now the batter can safely get to first base, and second, and third and back to home plate. The batter has scored a run, but not just a run, a home run -- one of the most thrilling plays in the game.

This helps explain all the attention over Barry Bonds breaking the career record set by Hank Aaron.

In nineteen seventy-four, Hank Aaron hit his seven hundred fifteenth home run to break the record held for many years by Babe Ruth. Hank Aaron went on to hit seven hundred fifty-five home runs before he retired in nineteen seventy-six.

Now Barry Bonds has done better than that. Some baseball fans are excited for him. But others have been yelling "cheater" or "steroids" when he goes to bat.

Many people suspect him of taking drugs to improve his performance. They think he lied four years ago during a federal investigation into illegal steroid sales by a San Francisco laboratory.

News reports said he told a grand jury that he did take a substance to improve his health but thought it was flaxseed oil. Barry Bonds denies ever having knowingly used steroids.

His former personal trainer is in prison for refusing to answer questions about the case. The investigation continues. And, so does the suspicion.

Major League Baseball banned steroids in two thousand two. The question now is what would happen to Barry Bonds' record if he is ever proven to have taken steroids? Pete Rose was banned from baseball in nineteen eighty-nine for gambling on games. But his record as all-time hits leader still stands

Left-Handers' Day

HOST:

Our VOA listener question this week is from Iran. Mohammed Sadegh Poladtan asks about an international holiday called Left-Handers Day.

International Left-Handers Day is Monday, August thirteenth. The International Left-Handers Day Web site says the Left-Handers Club started the holiday in nineteen ninety-two. It wanted left-handers around the world to celebrate. And it wanted to bring attention to the everyday problems of people who use their left hands.

One of these problems is difficulty using equipment and tools, like scissors. In general, most tools and equipment are made for people who are right-handed. The Left-Handers Club tries to educate designers and manufacturers to consider the safety of left-handed people when producing their products.

Another problem is that many societies have considered it bad to be left-handed. Some teachers and parents have tried to force children who used their left hand to use their right one instead.

Scientists do not really know why some people are left-handed. They have believed the reason is genetic. Researchers in Britain recently identified a gene that helps confirm this. Scientists at the University of Oxford reported their discovery in the publication Molecular Psychiatry.

They say the gene increases the chance of being left- handed. It appears to play an important part in deciding which part of the brain controls different activities. In right-handed people, the left side of the brain usually controls speech and language. The right side controls feelings. However, the opposite is often true in left-handed people. Scientists believe the gene is responsible for this. The gene showed a link with left-handedness in nine to twelve percent of the population. About ten percent of people around the world are left-handed.

Here is an interesting fact from the Left-Handers Club Web site: five out of the last six American presidents have been left-handed. They are Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

The Left-Handers Club wants everyone to know that left-handed people may be a little different from those who use their right hand. But they want left-handers to celebrate these differences on International Left-Handers Day August thirteenth.

Andrew Bird

HOST:

Andrew Bird is a skillful singer and songwriter who also plays the guitar, violin and glockenspiel instruments. This singer from the state of Illinois is even known for his extraordinary whistling abilities. He has explored just about every kind of musical tradition with his nine albums. Barbara Klein has more.

BARBARA KLEIN:

The music of Andrew Bird is hard to define. He combines many kinds of musical styles

Andrew Bird

into richly poetic songs. Bird started studying classical music as a small child. He also studied violin performance in college. His first records were heavily influenced by early jazz and swing music. Here is the song “Simple X” from his latest album “Armchair Apocrypha.”

(MUSIC)

Andrew Bird gives an excellent live performance. The sounds are so rich, it is hard to believe there are not several musicians on stage. To do this, Bird records himself playing musical instruments one at a time. He plays these recordings over and over and layers them together to make a complex arrangement. Every performance is a little bit different with this method. Here is the energetic song “Darkmatter.” Listen for Andrew Bird’s expert whistling noises.

(MUSIC)

We leave you with the song “Scythian Empires.” Andrew Bird says he was influenced by maps of the ancient world showing how people and civilizations change and move. The song tells about the beginnings and endings of ruling groups throughout history.

(MUSIC)

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.

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