VOASE0317_People In America

17 March 2007

Thomas Edison, 1847-1931: America's Great Inventor
Edison is remembered most for the electric light, phonograph and his work with motion pictures.

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ANNOUNCER:

Welcome to the VOA Special English program, People in America. Today, Sarah Long and Bob Doughty tell about the inventor Thomas Alva Edison. He had a major effect on the lives of people around the world. Thomas Edison is remembered most for the electric light, his phonograph and his work with motion pictures.

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VOICE ONE:

Thomas Edison

Thomas Edison’s major inventions were designed and built in the last years of the eighteen hundreds. However, most of them had their greatest effect in the twentieth century. His inventions made possible the progress of technology.

It is extremely difficult to find anyone living today who has not been affected in some way by Thomas Edison. Most people on Earth have seen some kind of motion picture or heard some kind of sound recording. And almost everyone has at least seen an electric light.

These are only three of the many devices Thomas Edison invented or helped to improve. People living in this century have had easier and more enjoyable lives because of his inventions.

VOICE TWO:

Thomas Alva Edison was born on February eleventh, eighteen forty-seven in the small town of Milan, Ohio. He was the youngest of seven children.

Thomas Edison was self-taught. He went to school for only three months. His teacher thought he could not learn because he had a mental problem. But young Tom Edison could learn. He learned from books and he experimented.

At the age of ten, he built his own chemical laboratory. He experimented with chemicals and electricity. He built a telegraph machine and quickly learned to send and receive telegraph messages. At the time, sending electric signals over wires was the fastest method of sending information long distances. At the age of sixteen, he went to work as a telegraph operator.

He later worked in many different places. He continued to experiment with electricity. When he was twenty-one, he sent the United States government the documents needed to request the legal protection for his first invention. The government gave him his first patent on an electric device he called an Electrographic Vote Recorder. It used electricity to count votes in an election.

VOICE ONE:

In the summer months of eighteen sixty-nine, the Western Union Telegraph Company asked Thomas Edison to improve a device that was used to send financial information. It was called a stock printer. Mister Edison very quickly made great improvements in the device. The company paid him forty thousand dollars for his effort. That was a lot of money for the time.

This large amount of money permitted Mister Edison to start his own company. He announced that the company would improve existing telegraph devices and work on new inventions.

Mister Edison told friends that his new company would invent a minor device every ten days and produce what he called a “big trick” about every six months. He also proposed that his company would make inventions to order. He said that if someone needed a device to do some kind of work, just ask and it would be invented.

VOICE TWO:

Within a few weeks Thomas Edison and his employees were working on more than forty different projects. They were either new inventions or would lead to improvements in other devices. Very quickly he was asking the United States government for patents to protect more than one hundred devices or inventions each year. He was an extremely busy man. But then Thomas Edison was always very busy.

He almost never slept more than four or five hours a night. He usually worked eighteen hours each day because he enjoyed what he was doing. He believed no one really needed much sleep. He once said that anyone could learn to go without sleep.

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VOICE ONE:

Thomas Edison did not enjoy taking to reporters. He thought it was a waste of time. However, he did talk to a reporter in nineteen seventeen. He was seventy years old at the time and still working on new devices and inventions.

The reporter asked Mister Edison which of his many inventions he enjoyed the most. He answered quickly, the phonograph. He said the phonograph was really the most interesting. He also said it took longer to develop a machine to reproduce sound than any other of his inventions.

Thomas Edison told the reporter that he had listened to many thousands of recordings. He especially liked music by Brahms, Verdi and Beethoven. He also liked popular music.

Many of the recordings that Thomas Edison listened to in nineteen seventeen can still be enjoyed today. His invention makes it possible for people around the world to enjoy the same recorded sound.

VOICE TWO:

The reporter also asked Thomas Edison what was the hardest invention to develop. He answered quickly again -- the electric light. He said that it was the most difficult and the most important.

Before the electric light was invented, light was provided in most homes and buildings by oil or natural gas. Both caused many fires each year. Neither one produced much light.

Mister Edison had seen a huge and powerful electric light. He believed that a smaller electric light would be extremely useful.He and his employees began work on the electric light.

VOICE ONE:

An electric light passes electricity through material called a filament or wire. The electricity makes the filament burn and produce light. Thomas Edison and his employees worked for many months to find the right material to act as the filament.

Time after time a new filament would produce light for a few moments and then burn up. At last Mister Edison found that a carbon fiber produced light and lasted a long time without burning up. The electric light worked.

At first, people thought the electric light was extremely interesting but had no value. Homes and businesses did not have electricity. There was no need for it.

Mister Edison started a company that provided electricity for electric lights for a small price each month. The small company grew slowly at first. Then it expanded rapidly. His company was the beginning of the electric power industry.

VOICE TWO:

Thomas Edison also was responsible for the very beginnings of the movie industry. While he did not invent the idea of the motion picture, he greatly improved the process. He also invented the modern motion picture film.

When motion pictures first were shown in the late eighteen hundreds, people came to see movies of almost anything -- a ship, people walking on the street, new automobiles. But in time, these moving pictures were no longer interesting.

In nineteen-oh-three, an employee of Thomas Edison’s motion picture company produced a movie with a story. It was called “The Great Train Robbery.” It told a simple story of a group of western criminals who steal money from a train. Later they are killed by a group of police in a gun fight. The movie was extremely popular. “The Great Train Robbery” started the huge motion picture industry.

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VOICE ONE:

Thomas Alva Edison is remembered most for the electric light, his phonograph and his work with motion pictures. However, he also invented several devices that greatly improved the telephone. He improved several kinds of machines called generators that produced electricity. He improved batteries that hold electricity. He worked on many different kinds of electric motors including those for electric trains.

Mister Edison also is remembered for making changes in the invention process. He moved from the Nineteenth Century method of an individual doing the inventing to the Twentieth Century method using a team of researchers.

VOICE TWO:

In nineteen thirteen, a popular magazine at the time called Thomas Edison the most useful man in America. In nineteen twenty-eight, he received a special medal of honor from the Congress of the United States.

Thomas Edison died on January sixth, nineteen thirty-one. In the months before his death he was still working very hard. He had asked the government for legal protection for his last invention. It was patent number one thousand ninety-three.

(MUSIC)

ANNOUNCER:

This Special English program was written and produced by Paul Thompson. The announcers were Sarah Long and Bob Doughty.

I’m Mary Tillotson. Join us again next week for another PEOPLE IN AMERICA program on the Voice of America.

VOASE0316_In the News

16 March 2007

Presidential Candidates Crowd the Field for a Long Race to November '08
Campaign for the White House is seen as the most wide open in many years.

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This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

Who will be the next person to live here?

The next presidential election in the United States is in November of two thousand eight. But a crowd of candidates and possible candidates is forming early for what is seen as one of the most wide open races in many years.

The last election without a sitting president or vice president as a candidate was either in nineteen fifty-two or nineteen twenty-eight. Political experts disagree. In any case, President Bush is constitutionally barred from a third term. And Vice President Dick Cheney says he will not be a candidate for president.

Every president and vice president has been white and male. The current group of candidates includes a woman, Hillary Rodham Clinton; an African-American, Barack Obama; a Latino, Bill Richardson; and a Mormon, Mitt Romney.

The diversity may not mean much to people who are waiting to hear more about candidates' positions. But others may feel conflicting loyalties. A black teenager in Washington, D.C., is excited that she will be old enough to vote in her first presidential election. She says that as a woman, she hopes Hillary Clinton will win. But as an African-American, she hopes Barack Obama will win.

"I'm in, and I'm in to win," says Hillary Clinton. The New York senator and former first lady is the most popular Democrat. But Senator Obama of Illinois has gained on her with a following that some call "Obamamania."

Another popular Democrat is John Edwards, the two thousand four vice presidential nominee. Also in the race are Senators Chris Dodd and Joe Biden, Representative Dennis Kucinich and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson.

In the race for the Republican nomination, some early studies show former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani in the lead. He gained national attention after the September eleventh, two thousand one, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.

Other Republicans include Arizona Senator John McCain and Kansas Senator Sam Brownback. They also include former governors Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and Mike Huckabee of Arkansas. Former House speaker Newt Gingrich is popular among Republicans. But he says he will wait until September to decide whether he will run.

Chuck Hagel announced that he too will make a decision later this year. The Nebraska senator is known for his criticism of President Bush's handling of the Iraq war. Sam Brownback is the only declared Republican candidate who has spoken out against the recent troop increase.

The presidential nominating process involves state primary elections and party meetings known as caucuses. A lot of states are moving to vote earlier than they have, in an effort to increase their influence.

California is the most populous state. Yet Californians were feeling disrespected by candidates because of their June primary. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has just signed legislation to move it to February fifth, a day when many other states may also vote.

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

Britain Wants UN Security Council Attention on Zimbabwe

By Peter Heinlein United Nations 16 March 2007

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Britain is calling for a U.N. Security Council briefing on events in Zimbabwe, including the crackdown on government opponents. But as VOA correspondent Peter Heinlein at U.N. headquarters reports, the Council president, South Africa, is resisting the request.

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

Britain's U.N. ambassador, Emyr Jones-Parry, Friday, said the widely condemned recent events in Zimbabwe, the attack on opposition leaders, including Morgan Tsvangirai, and what he called 'the impossibility of the present situation' warrant the Security Council's attention. He says the Council should be formally briefed by the U.N.'s political department.

"It is right the situation should be brought to the Security Council of the United Nations," he said. "That's what the briefing will do, actually making sure that the focus of attention here is on the appalling events of the last week, and the economic meltdown of a country, who, by it's own figures, its inflation rate is 1,740 percent, and the implications of that for the ordinary people of Zimbabwe, and potentially for the region."

But the request for a briefing immediately ran into opposition from regional power South Africa, which holds the rotating Security Council presidency this month. South Africa's U.N. ambassador, Dumisani Kumalo, called the British request 'surprising,' and said his country sees no need to bring the issue of Zimbabwe before the Council.

"We did put South Africa on record that we do not believe that the issue of Zimbabwe belongs to the Security Council, because it is not a matter of international peace and security," he said.

In the past, China, Russia and several African nations have opposed bringing Zimbabwe before the Security Council.

Britain demanded and received a Council briefing nearly two years ago on Zimbabwe's controversial urban slum demolition drive. In a rare protest, several ambassadors walked out of the Council chamber after a motion to hold the briefing passed by a narrow margin.

British ambassador Jones-Parry argued Friday that the earlier vote effectively placed Zimbabwe on the Council's permanent agenda.

"Remember, Zimbabwe is a formal agenda item," he added. "Yes, it was agreed last year. It was agreed by a majority vote in the council, formally."

U.N. diplomats noted Friday that, if South Africa succeeds in delaying a briefing on Zimbabwe, conditions could change next month, when Britain assumes the Security Council presidency.

Opposition MDC faction leader Arthur Mutambara(c) chairman of the National Constitutional Assembly Lovemore Madhuku(l) and Tendai Biti(r) Secretary General of the main opposition faction vowed to forge an alliance against Mugabe's government

Jones-Parry said Britain is also pursuing the Zimbabwe issue at the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva. The United States and Australia have also joined the call for increasing sanctions on President Robert Mugabe's government.

In a related development, Nobel Peace laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu issued a statement saying Africans should hang their heads in shame over what is happening in Zimbabwe. He questioned how African leaders could show so little concern.

News reports from Harare say the injured opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, was discharged from the hospital Friday, and he and other opposition leaders vowed to keep battling against President Mugabe's rule.

Israeli PM Admits He's Unpopular but Rejects Calls to Resign

By Robert Berger Jerusalem 16 March 2007

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Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is brushing off polls which show the vast majority of the public wants him to resign. As Robert Berger reports from VOA's Jerusalem bureau, Mr. Olmert's political fortunes have plummeted since the Lebanon War in July and August of last year.

Ehud Olmert

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert admits that he has lost the support of the Israeli public.

"I'm an unpopular prime minister," Mr. Olmert said. "The polls say so and they are right. I am indeed an unpopular prime minister."

Mr. Olmert's approval rating has plunged to single digits in the wake of last year's Lebanon War, which was widely seen as a failure.

Despite a 34-day air and ground assault, the powerful Israeli army was unable to defeat 5,000 Hezbollah fighters entrenched in South Lebanon.

The prime minister's political fortunes took a turn for the worse this week, when the official commission of inquiry into the war announced that it would issue an interim report next month on Mr. Olmert's "personal responsibility."

Israeli politicians and the media believe that means he will be condemned for his handling of the war and could be forced to resign under the pressure of public opinion.

But Mr. Olmert said those seeking his downfall will have to wait.

"I know this is hunting season," he said, "but I'm here to work and to lead."

Mr. Olmert was speaking to his ruling Kadima party in a bid to boost sagging morale. Polls show that if elections were held today, Kadima would win only 10 seats in the 120-member parliament, down from its current 29. The party enjoyed a meteoric rise to power in a landslide election victory a year ago, but now, it is in danger of a meteoric fall.

Former CIA Officer Testifies White House 'Recklessly' Exposed Her Identity

By Dan Robinson Capitiol Hill 16 March 2007

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Former undercover CIA officer Valerie Plame, who has been at the center of a controversy involving the role White House officials played in revealing her identity, has testified in public for the first time at a congressional hearing. VOA's Dan Robinson reports from Capitol Hill, her dramatic appearance before a House committee was her first before Congress, and came four years after her identity was leaked in 2003.

Valerie Plame testifies before US Congressional committee 16 Mar. 2007

Plame and her husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, alleged that senior administration officials deliberately leaked her CIA identity to the media in retaliation for Wilson's allegation that the administration distorted intelligence on Iraq's weapons programs.

The scandal led to the recent conviction of senior White House aide Lewis Libby, who was found guilty of lying, perjury and obstruction of justice in connection with the investigation into the leak.

Congressman Henry Waxman opened Friday's hearing, saying its purpose was to find out whether White House officials took appropriate actions to safeguard Plame's identity.

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Representative Henry Waxman

"How did such a serious violation of our national security occur? Two, did the White House take the appropriate investigative and disciplinary steps after the breach occurred? And three, what changes in White House procedures to prevent future violations of our national security from occurring?," he said.

Waxman read a statement to the committee from the CIA supporting Plame's long-standing contention that she was an undercover agent, and, in the CIA's words, working on some of the most sensitive and highly-secretive matters handled by the agency, including service overseas.

Plame said that, in the days before her identity was revealed, she was working on classified weapons proliferation issues. She says she was shocked by evidence that emerged in the recent trial of former White House aide Lewis Libby.

"My name and identity were carelessly and recklessly abused by senior government officials in both the White House and the State Department," she said.

"All of them understood that I worked for the CIA. And having signed oaths to protect national security secrets, they should have been diligent in protecting me and every CIA officer," she added.

Former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby leaves federal court in Washington, 06 Mar 2007

Saying grave harm is done when undercover identities are revealed, Plame said evidence that emerged in the trial of Lewis Libby showed a pattern of, in her words, "creeping insidious politicizing" of the intelligence process.

"Testimony in the criminal trial of Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, who has now been convicted of serious crimes, indicates that my exposure resulted from purely political motives," she said.

Plame cited a number of visits by Vice President Cheney to the CIA in the weeks leading up to the U.S. invasion of Iraq as an example of political pressure being put on the agency.

In this exchange with Democrat Chris Van Hollen, Plame said Karl Rove, a close aide to the president, was involved in the disclosure of her identity.

VAN HOLLEN: "Do you believe there continue to be people, individuals in this administration, who were involved in leaking the information about you?"

PLAME: "Yes congressman, as we know again from the evidence that was introduced at the trial of the vice president's former chief of staff, for one, Karl Rove clearly was involved in the leaking of my name, and he still carries a security clearance to this day, despite the president's words to the contrary that he would immediately dismiss anybody who had anything to do with this."

Critics of Plame and her husband, including some key Republicans in Congress, have challenged their assertion that she was a covert agent. In response to repeated questions, Plame reaffirmed her undercover status.

Congressman Tom Davis questioned whether White House officials actually knew about this.

"It is a terrible thing that any CIA operative would be outed. But what is difficult, I think, what we have not been able to establish here, is who knew who was undercover, who was in a covert status, and, I think, we're going to have to look at that. But, if there is no evidence here that the people that were outing this or pursuing this had knowledge of the covert status," he said.

In later testimony, attorney Victoria Toensing disputed Plame's assertion that she was covert, saying her responsibilities did not qualify her as such under existing law aimed at protecting undercover agents.

And the director of the White House Office of Security since August 2004, James Knodell, faced intense questioning about what, if any, internal investigation was conducted by the White House itself.

None was conducted by officials in charge at the time, he said, because the matter had already been referred, at the request of the CIA, to the Department of Justice. But he added that an internal probe might be appropriate, now that the criminal investigation was completed.

WAXMAN: "Do you know whether there was an investigation at the White House after the leaks came out?"

KNODELL: "I don't have any knowledge of an investigation in my office."

WAXMAN: "Ever?"

KNODELL: "I do not."

No White House or State Department officials alleged to have been involved in the leaking of Plame's identity testified before the House panel.

VOASE0315_American Mosaic

15 March 2007

Most Americans Have No Connection to Ireland. But You Would Never Know That on St. Patrick's Day
Also: A question from Brazil about the difference between advertising and propaganda. And music by the Thievery Corporation.

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HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC, in VOA Special English.

(MUSIC)

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

We answer a question about advertising …

Play some music from Thievery Corporation …

And report about Saint Patrick's Day.

Saint Patrick's Day

Celebrating St. Patrick's Day the American way

Saturday, March seventeenth is Saint Patrick’s Day. In Ireland, it is a religious holiday that honors the man who brought Christianity to that country in the fifth century. In the United States, people celebrate with parades and parties. Faith Lapidus tells us more.

FAITH LAPIDUS:

Saint Patrick’s Day has changed over the years. It is no longer a day to celebrate only Saint Patrick, but a day to celebrate all things Irish.

In nineteen ninety-five, the United States Congress declared the month of March as Irish-American Heritage Month. The American president releases a statement about it every year. The statement praises Americans whose families came to the United States from Ireland. And it calls on all Americans to celebrate the month by learning about the influence of Irish-Americans.

The Census Bureau reports that more than thirty-four million Americans say their ancestors came from Ireland. That is twelve percent of the country’s population. It is the nation's second most frequently reported ancestry. German ancestry is the highest. The state with the highest percentage of Irish-Americans is Massachusetts. Twenty-four percent of the people living there say their ancestors came from Ireland.

History experts say people from Ireland first celebrated Saint Patrick’s Day in the city of Boston about two hundred fifty years ago. But the first Saint Patrick’s Day parade was held in New York City on March seventeenth, seventeen sixty-two. It included Irish soldiers who were serving in the British army.

Parades spread across the country as more and more Irish people came to America. But New York City’s parade is still the biggest one. The city of Chicago, Illinois also holds a large Saint Patrick’s Day parade. And it celebrates Saint Patrick’s Day by coloring its river green.

Green is the traditional Irish color. You see lots of it on Saint Patrick’s Day. People wear green clothes. Some even color their hair or faces green. And some drinking places serve green beer. Many people eat the traditional Irish meal of corned beef and cabbage. And many attend Saint Patrick’s Day parties.

A majority of Americans have no real connection to Ireland. But they like to say that everyone is a little bit Irish on Saint Patrick’s Day.

Advertising and Propaganda

This week, our listener question comes from Curitiba, Brazil. Joalo Ademir dos Santos wants to know about propaganda, advertising and publicity.

In some ways these words have similar meanings, but they are each a little different. Propaganda is a message designed and spread to influence public opinion. It is most commonly used by governments and in politics. Before the twentieth century, pictures and written media were the main forms of propaganda.

Today, propaganda can be found in radio, television, movies, and the Internet. Many governments throughout history have used propaganda to gain the support of their public. Propaganda does not always include neutral information because it supports the opinion of one group or government.

During wartime, propaganda created by a government and directed at its own civilians and military can improve feelings about the country. Propaganda aimed at the enemy is considered a form of psychological warfare. Many governments use propaganda as a policy tool. However, experts debate its effectiveness.

Advertising is a paid message usually used to influence people to buy goods or services. It can also be used to spread the ideas of an organization or business.

You can see and hear advertisements on radio, television, newspapers, the Internet and even signs on the street. Businesses invest large amounts of money in advertising campaigns in order to make their products well known. Advertising has become a major part of life. Experts say most people see and hear hundreds of different advertising messages each day.

Publicity is usually information or an announcement about a person, group, event or product. It is sent to the media with the hope of being published or broadcast. An organization's public relations department usually creates publicity. Information about ceremonies, press conferences or protests are common kinds of publicity. Experts say publicity is most successful when it has news value.

Thievery Corporation

HOST:

Thievery Corporation may sound like the name of a company, but it is the name of a musical group. Thievery Corporation started as an important part of the musical nightlife of Washington, D.C. Now, the group has become well known all over the world. You can hear their music in video games, television shows, and movies. Barbara Klein has more.

BARBARA KLEIN:

Eric Hilton and Rob Garza (pictured) are the creators of Thievery Corporation. For ten years they have been making records that combine repetitive electronic beats with ethnic music and jazz sounds. They started performing together at a popular drinking place in Washington, D.C., called the Eighteenth Street Lounge. People loved their sound so much that the men started to make records. Here is the song “Shaolin Satellite” from one of their early albums.

(MUSIC)

The sounds of the city influenced Hilton and Garza. They heard many kinds of ethnic music performed in the areas of the city called Dupont Circle and Adams Morgan. They met musicians from all over the world and included this music in their songs.

Here is Sista Pat singing “Wires and Watchtowers.” It is from Thievery Corporation's latest album called “The Cosmic Game.”

(MUSIC)

Recently Thievery Corporation performed four nights in a row in Washington. All shows sold out very quickly. Their energetic and colorful concerts included many singers and musicians such as guitar, sitar and bass players. There was even a belly dancer. The shows were a celebration of the group's ten years together. We leave you with their international hit “Lebanese Blonde,” from an earlier album called "Mirror Conspiracy."

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HOST:

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

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

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

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

Terrorist Leader Confession Raises Questions

By Gary Thomas Washington 15 March 2007

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According to a just-released U.S. transcript, accused al-Qaida operative Khalid Sheikh Mohammad has confessed to a leading role in at least 31 alleged terrorist plots, including the attacks of September 11, 2001. The admissions came in the transcript of a closed-door U.S. military hearing at the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. But, as VOA correspondent Gary Thomas reports, Mohammad's multiple confessions raise some questions.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (file photo)

Khalid Sheikh Mohammad says he was the foreign operations chief for Osama bin Laden and claims a key role, if not the leading one, in some 31 alleged plots around the world and spanning a decade.

But some experts believe that while Mohammad was indeed a key al-Qaida figure, they also say some of his claims are open to question and that he may be inflating his importance in some areas. In 2005, the commission that investigated the September 11 attacks noted Mohammad's sometimes extravagant ambitions and said that he liked to cast himself as a super-terrorist.

Former FBI agent Jack Cloonan, who was on the Osama bin Laden counter-terrorist team in New York, says Mohammad has what he terms an enormous ego. He also notes that the transcript of the March 10 military tribunal hearing has no details of any of the alleged plots.

"Well, one of the things that strikes out at me is that of the 31 operations that he has claimed credit for, claimed credit for himself, is actually the lack of specificity," he said. "Some of the ones are obviously well known, obviously the attacks on the [World] Trade Center, both in '93 and 2001. But some of the other things he's alluding to lack specificity. Now there may be more information that was provided either to the CIA or in fact to the military interrogators. And I hope that information was disseminated."

Other counter-terrorism experts, however, are not troubled by the fact that many of the plots Mohammad alludes to never actually occurred. Former CIA officer Michael Scheuer, who headed the agency's hunt for bin Laden, say al-Qaida was engaging in contingency planning. He adds that while Khalid Sheikh Mohammad may have embellished somewhat, even the potential planning he outlines is a chilling indicator of al-Qaida's danger.

"I think you come away from KSM's [Khalid Sheikh Mohammad's] testimony - even if you accept maybe a quarter of it being embroidery or swagger [exaggeration] - with a very clear view of a very potent, very intelligent, very innovative enemy," he said.

Mohammad was captured in March, 2003, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, near the capital city of Islamabad. As one of the so-called high-value terrorist detainees, he was held in a network of CIA secret prisons in various countries until his transfer to Guantanamo Bay last year. On March 10, he was given what the Pentagon calls a Combatant Status Review hearing to determine if he is to be released or detained indefinitely. The hearing was closed to the media.

Mohammad himself claims to have been tortured in his CIA interrogations, but the hearing transcript that was released edited out any further comment from him in that regard.

Tom Parker, a former British counter-terrorism officer, says Mohammad's claims of his terrorist leader status could be true. But he says what kind of treatment Khalid Sheikh Mohammad received could have affected his testimony.

"We don't know what he'd been through in the last three years," he said. "But if he has been subjected to highly coercive interrogation techniques, he could be a broken man. At this point he may be entirely prepared to confess to kidnapping [the late singer] Elvis [Presley]. We just don't know."

Former CIA officer Michael Scheuer says that while Mohammad could have been mistreated, he also knows that the issue of U.S. interrogation methods has been the subject of intense political debate.

"He is an informed observer of the propaganda and public diplomacy aspects of the war between the United States, and al-Qaida and its allies," he said. "And he has exploited that with a combination of truthfulness in terms of many of the attacks we know that he was involved with that he claimed, and in terms of a really acute eye for exacerbating problems of the American government in handling people that they capture."

Analysts say that because four years has elapsed since Khalid Sheikh Mohammad's capture, any further information gleaned from interrogation would be outdated and of little use now.

VOASE0315_Economics Report

15 March 2007

Worry Over Subprime Home Loans
Buyers who were given loans even though they have weak credit are missing their payments. Now investors and lawmakers are taking notice.

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This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

Financial markets had a rough week again as investors grew more concerned about the United States housing market. Much of the concern is about home loans to people with poor credit or little history of borrowing money.

Most homebuyers are considered "prime," or a high-quality credit risk. Yet lenders have taken the risk of subprime loans because those buyers pay higher interest rates.

The number and complexity of nontraditional home loans grew along with the housing market. Now, that market has cooled. At the same time, many buyers, and not just in the subprime market, are seeing their monthly payments go up. Nontraditional loans often start with low payments for the first year or two.

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported this week on the condition of eighty percent of home loans nationally. It says five percent of all mortgage payments were at least thirty days late in the final three months of last year. But more than thirteen percent of all subprime loans had late payments -- the highest level in four years.

By the end of last year, fourteen percent of all home loans were subprime. Total mortgage debt in the United States was ten trillion dollars.

Some experts worry that the problems could affect the wider economy. Congress may act to control risky lending. And Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd says federal aid may be needed to protect buyers.

If a buyer misses too many payments, a lender may try to reclaim the house through a forced sale. Nationally, foreclosure rates increased in the fourth quarter, but especially among subprime loans.

A number of lenders have already failed or left the business. Yet some may be able to escape losses by passing their risk to others. Many lenders sell their mortgages to investment banks. The banks resell the loans, creating trillions of dollars in mortgage-backed securities. These are bought and sold on financial markets. But some of these investments can be very risky if homeowners cannot repay their loans.

Subprime loans are only part of the story, however. House prices have been slower to rise, and in some places have dropped. Housing expert James Diffley of Global Insights says prices for existing homes in California could drop sixteen percent this year. He says other states including Arizona, Hawaii, Florida and Massachusetts could have large declines as well.

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

African Divorcees Conquer Social Taboo

By Phuong Tran Dakar 15 March 2007

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In some parts of Africa, divorce is still considered a scandal. But, as more couples move to Africa's rapidly growing cities, divorce has become less of a cultural shock. Although female divorcees in rural communities may still suffer blame for a failed marriage, women are fighting back in cities and telling their side of the story. Reporter Phuong Tran has more from Dakar, in this fourth report in a five-part series on the changing African family.

Khadija Sall, 34-year-old businesswoman and divorcee

Senegalese Khadija Sall, 34, leans into the mirror and applies blue eye makeup before clients arrive in the one-room salon she has owned for nine years.

She works long hours here, something she says her ex-husband was never able to accept.

"If you have a wife who wants to work to help you and your children, you need to support her," she said. "If you do not have money, then give her encouragement. My husband did absolutely nothing to help me, nothing. Why would I put up with a man like that? I love my job and he did not understand that."

After 16 years of marriage, four children and a fast-growing business, Sall left her husband.

"I was sick of him, sick of our constant fighting," she explained. "Every day, our children had to watch us fight. I left him because I did not want my children to go through that."

Khadija Sall working in her beauty salon

She says she has to work longer hours now to support her children. However, she says she is happier, and free to do the job she loves.

"Women want to be independent," she said. "Every woman works, if she can. If you do not have a job, you need to depend on a man for money. And, we both know that men are cheap and do not want to give us money. Work is good. I love my job. I respect my job, because I respect myself. Do you understand?"

Sociologist Djiby Diakhate says communities have dramatically changed how they view divorce - especially in urban areas.

"Marriage has always been a sacred contract between two families," he noted. "Now, with western concepts of individualism and personal liberty, it is more of a contract between two people. There is less family pressure to stay married, so divorced women are not looked down on, as before. Divorce is not only more common now, but also more accepted."

In the most recent Demographic Health Survey of Senegal's families, close to 300,000 women were divorced or separated in 2005.

A Senegalese woman who wants to divorce her husband needs to go to court, if her husband does not agree, whereas Islamic law in Senegal allows a man to divorce, regardless of what his wife says.

One of the 10 reasons women can file for divorce in court is if her husband is not able to support the family, financially.

Khadiya Sall's true love, her beauty salon

Sall prepares to close her beauty salon for the day.

When asked if she wants to marry again, she looks over her shop and its small piles of hair weaves, her receipt book of the day's earnings and tubs of leftover soapy water before she answers.

"Of course," she replies. She says when she meets a man who wants to encourage and help her with her work, she will marry him.

VOASE0313_The Making of a Nation

13 March 2007

History Series: Election of 1960 Brings a Close Race Between Kennedy, Nixon
After the first televised presidential debate, many people who had not considered voting for John Kennedy began to change their minds. To them, he looked like a president.

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VOICE ONE:

This is Richard Rael.

VOICE TWO:

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

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Dwight Eisenhower

Dwight Eisenhower was elected president in nineteen fifty-two. By nineteen sixty, he had served two terms. The twenty-second amendment to the Constitution said he could not be re-elected. Eisenhower was hugely popular when he first came to office. And his first term was considered successful.

He created a new government agency for education and health care. He led a congressional effort to improve the tax system. And, under his leadership, a peace treaty ending the Korean War was signed.

Eisenhower also met with Soviet leaders Nikolai Bulganin and Nikita Khrushchev. This began a tradition of meetings between the leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union. Experts believe these meetings probably helped prevent a nuclear war between the two countries.

VOICE TWO:

At the end of Eisenhower's first term, he was still very popular. He had suffered a heart attack. But he felt strong enough to campaign again. His Democratic Party opponent was Adlai Stevenson. They had been the candidates in the presidential election four years earlier. This time, Eisenhower won almost ten million votes more than Stevenson. That was an even bigger victory than in nineteen fifty-two.

VOICE ONE:

Eisenhower's second term, however, presented problems. The Soviet Union launched the space age by putting the world's first satellite into earth orbit. Fidel Castro established a communist government in Cuba. Many white Americans were fighting the Supreme Court's decision to end racial separation in schools. And the American economy suffered a recession. Eisenhower's popularity dropped during his second term. This would make it more difficult for the Republican Party's next candidate for president.

VOICE TWO:

The delegates who attended the Republican nominating convention in the summer of nineteen sixty feared that the party would lose the election in November. They had to find the strongest candidate possible. Many believed that Richard Nixon was the strongest.

Vice President Richard Nixon with Republican senators on January 1, 1960

Nixon had been a senator and a member of the House of Representatives. He had been Eisenhower's vice president for eight years. When Eisenhower suffered several serious illnesses, Nixon had a chance to show his abilities to lead the nation. He showed great strength while facing an angry crowd during a trip to South America. He also gained support when he defended the United States in an unofficial debate with Khrushchev during a trip to the Soviet Union.

VOICE ONE:

Nixon's closest opponent for the Republican nomination was Nelson Rockefeller. Rockefeller was governor of New York. He came from one of the richest families in America. At the convention, Richard Nixon easily won the support of the Republican Party. The delegates elected him on the first vote. He accepted the nomination. And he called for new efforts for peace and freedom around the world.

VOICE TWO:

The race for the Democratic nomination was much more difficult. He Democratic Party thought it would have no problem winning the presidential election. Many candidates entered the competition for the nomination. One was Senator Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota. Another was Senator John Kennedy of Massachusetts.

Humphrey had been elected to the Senate three times. He was a strong activist for civil rights, peace, and social improvements. Kennedy was a Navy hero in World War Two. He was handsome and only forty-three years old. He also was a member of the Roman Catholic Church. And no catholic had ever been elected president of the United States.

VOICE ONE:

Kennedy and Humphrey began to enter local primary elections in different states. The purpose of the primaries is to test voter support for candidates. Kennedy won an important primary in the state of Wisconsin. However, the Protestant Christian areas of the state did not support him. The question then became: Could he win in West Virginia? Most of the voters in that state were Protestants.

VOICE TWO:

On the last night of the primary campaign in West Virginia, Kennedy spoke about his religion. He said the president of the United States promises to defend the Constitution. And that, he said, includes the separation of the government from any religion or church.

Kennedy won a large victory in West Virginia. He then went on to win many votes in other primary elections. He received the nomination on the first vote of the Democratic Party convention.

In his acceptance speech, he said he would ask Americans to help their country. He said he would ask them to sacrifice for their country.

VOICE ONE:

After the party conventions, the two candidates -- Kennedy and Nixon -- began to campaign around the nation. Nixon charged that Kennedy was too young to be president. He said Kennedy did not know enough about governing. Kennedy attacked the Republican record of the past eight years. He said president Eisenhower and Vice President Nixon had not done enough to bring progress to the nation.

Protestant groups expressed concerns about Kennedy's religion. They wondered if he would be influenced by the Pope. They asked if the leader of the Roman Catholic Church would try to make policy for the United States. Kennedy answered by repeating his strong support for the constitutional guarantee of separation of church and state.

VOICE TWO:

The first televised presidential debate took place September 26, 1960

Public opinion studies showed the election campaign to be very, very close. Then, the candidates agreed to hold four debates. The debates would be broadcast on television.

In the first debate, they showed they did not differ too widely on major issues. Kennedy, however, appeared calm and sure. Nixon, who did not feel well, appeared thin and tired. Many people who had not considered voting for Kennedy now began to change their minds. To them, he looked like a president.

VOICE ONE:

In the fourth debate, they expressed widely different opinions about whether the United States was making progress. Kennedy believed there had been little progress under Eisenhower and Nixon. He said:

KENNEDY: "Franklin Roosevelt said in nineteen thirty-six that that generation of Americans had a rendezvous with destiny. I believe in nineteen sixty and sixty-one and two and three, we have a rendezvous with destiny. And I believe it incumbent upon us to be defenders of the United States and the defenders of freedom. And to do that, we must give this country leadership. And we must get America moving again."

VOICE TWO:

Nixon disagreed sharply. He believed the United States had not been standing still. Yet he believed it could not rest, either. He said:

NIXON: "It is essential with the conflict that we have around the world that we not just hold our own, that we not keep just freedom for ourselves. It is essential that we extend freedom, extend it to all the world. And this means more than what we've been doing. It means keeping America even stronger militarily than she is. It means seeing that our economy moves forward even faster than it has. It means making more progress in civil rights than we have, so that we can be a splendid example for all the world to see."

VOICE ONE:

Another issue of the nineteen sixty presidential debates was the Chinese attack on the islands of Quemoy and Matsu in the Formosa [Taiwan] Strait. Another was how to deal with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. Most people seemed to feel that Kennedy won the first debate. Experts thought Nixon probably won the second one. And both men did about the same in the last two.

VOICE TWO:

After the debates, the presidential candidates campaigned around the country again. Nixon proposed a trip to Eastern Europe and a meeting with Khrushchev, if he were elected. Kennedy proposed what he called a Peace Corps. The Peace Corps would be a program to send Americans to developing countries to provide technical aid and other help.

VOICE ONE:

President John Fitzgerald Kennedy giving his inaugural speech

On Election Day in November, the voters chose John Kennedy. His victory, however, was a close one. Almost sixty-nine million people voted. He won by fewer than one hundred twenty thousand votes. The United States now had its thirty-fifth president. He was the youngest and the first Roman Catholic. The beginning of John Kennedy's administration will be our story next week.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

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

VOICE ONE:

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

Rice Prepares for New Middle East Trip

By David Gollust Washington 15 March 2007

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U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says she will begin another trip to the Middle East late next week aimed at spurring Israeli-Palestinian dialogue. Rice held talks late Wednesday with visiting Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni (l) and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice

Rice is not likely on her next trip to convene a three-way meeting with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. But she is expected to meet top officials on both sides, and with moderate Arab leaders, in the region to try to further clear the way for a resumption of the regional peace process.

Rice, who had just returned from accompanying President Bush on his Latin American trip, announced her Mideast travel plans at a press appearance with Israeli Foreign Minister Livni, who was concluding a private Washington visit.

Rice's meeting with her Israeli counterpart was preceded by press accounts of new interest by the U.S. and Israel in the 2002 Saudi Middle East peace plan, which basically offered Israel normal relations with the Arab world in return for a full withdrawal from territories occupied in 1967.

But under questioning, both appeared to downplay the notion that the Saudi plan might replace the peace road map of the international Middle East Quartet - the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations -- as the guide for regional peace efforts.

Rice said the plan by the then-Crown Prince Abdullah - now the Saudi king - was a commendable initiative but not basis for negotiations:

"The Arab initiative is not a negotiating document. It is a document that sets forward a position. And as I said I think very favorably about the idea the Arab League - starting as the Crown Prince initiative - would as a whole set forward a position on which perhaps reconciliation could take place between Israel and the Arab states. But obviously it is not a negotiating position, and I'm sure that Israel would have its own views of how that reconciliation could take place," she said.

Foreign Minister Livni, for her part, said the Saudi initiative as initially published was very positive, given that it was predicated on a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

But she said as later adopted by the Arab league in Beirut, it contained language on refugees that would threaten Israel's existence as a Jewish state.

She said prospects for peace with the Palestinians would be enhanced if Arab states did not wait until the end of the peace process to normalize ties with Israel:

"I would like to see Arab leaders, pragmatic, normalize their relations with Israel without waiting for the peace between Israel and the Palestinians to be completed. Maybe if they will take these kinds of steps, that can help the moderates in the Palestinian Authority to take other steps in order to achieve peace. So this is something that we're waiting for," she said.

Aides to Rice gave no details of Rice's travel plans but Egyptian officials have already said they expect a visit from the Secretary on the upcoming trip.

Rice hosted a joint meeting in Jerusalem with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas February 19th, which was billed as the first discussion in more than six years of final-status issues in the peace process.

The Israeli Prime Minister and Mr. Abbas followed up that meeting with bilateral talks last Saturday.

But efforts to re-start a formal peace process have been thwarted by the Palestinian power-sharing deal between Mr. Abbas' mainstream Fatah party and the radical Islamist Hamas movement, which the United States considers a terrorist organization.

Zimbabwe's Tsvangirai Scanned for Skull Fracture

By Delia Robertson Johannesburg 14 March 2007

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Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai says police brutally beat him and other opposition leaders following their arrest on Sunday. Mr. Tsvangirai was interviewed by a radio reporter who was at the hospital where the opposition leader is awaiting the results of a scan to determine if he has a fractured skull and damage to the brain. Delia Robertson reports from Johannesburg.

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

Morgan Tsvangirai says that police started to beat him and his colleagues as soon as they arrived in police cells on Sunday.

"It was almost as if they were waiting for me," he said. "I was then sent inside where my colleagues were lined up inside the police cell. And before I could even settle down I was subjected to a lot of beatings. In fact, it was random beatings, but I think the intention was to inflict as much harm as they could."

Mr. Tsvangirai was among a group of around 50 people arrested when they attempted to attend a prayer meeting in Harare on Sunday. Several still had visible wounds when they appeared in court Tuesday, from Tsvangerai's stitched head to at least two with broken limbs and a woman who had to be carried on a stretcher.

Doctors say they are concerned that Tsvangirai's skull is fractured and that he has bleeding on the brain.

Leader of Zimbabwe's main opposition party, Morgan Tsvangirai is watched by a policeman outside the court in Harare, 13 Mar 2007

None of those arrested have as yet been charged. In two chaotic court appearances on Tuesday prosecutors were unable to produce a charge sheet. The accused were ordered back to court Wednesday morning, but waited in vain for the arrival of prosecutors and police. They returned to their homes or their hospital beds.

Following the incident on Sunday, other African countries appear for the first time, to be publicly distancing themselves from President Robert Mugabe and his government. The Zambian president has expressed concern and the South African government has urged the Zimbabwe government to abide by the rule of law.

Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad told South Africa's national radio, the government stands by to help its neighbor resolve the crisis.

"Our views are clearly known to all in Zimbabwe that we are extremely concerned about what has happened and we want to assist to help bring about some movement forward in the Zimbabwe situation," he said.

One of the lawyers representing the opposition leaders told VOA that Zimbabwe's attorney general's office is reluctant to bring charges against Mr. Tsvangirai and others, because the office questions the legal validity of charging them.

关于空间的求助！！！！！！！！！！！！

我要疯了。。。G宝盒出了些问题。
文件上传后，却没了影。。。G宝盒的客户端软件也连接不上。。。
在疯狂寻找空间中。。。发现Mofile真TMD贵还黑。。。我继续找。。。
有朋友懂这个的麻烦给我解释下面几个问题：
1.为什么上传的文件到G宝盒里就不见了（IE、FF浏览器我都试了）
2.大家对G宝盒评价如何
3.有什么国内外速度不错运营稳定的空间，收费不要太离谱就好
谢谢！

正在测试Google Page Creator。。。今天的东西都放在那里，不知道速度和稳定性如何，就是容量很小，只有100MB。。。

最新补充：
G宝盒现已恢复正常。我给管理写了封信，答复很快，说是电信网路调整。现在已经没什么大问题了。

VOASE0314_Education Report

14 March 2007

A Military Education, Though Not Necessarily for a Military Life
Part 28 of our Foreign Student Series looks at two military colleges in the American South.

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This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

Our Foreign Student Series continues this week with two examples of military colleges in the United States.

One is the Virginia Military Institute. V.M.I. is a public, four-year military college in Lexington, Virginia. It accepts women as well as men. Its one thousand three hundred students are called cadets.

Older cadets teach new arrivals about the honor system at V.M.I. Cadets risk expulsion if they lie, cheat or steal -- or accept lying, cheating or stealing by any other cadet. V.M.I. officials say an important part of a college education is learning self-control.

Lieutenant Colonel Stewart MacInnis is associate director of communications and marketing at the Virginia Military Institute. He says V.M.I. this year has twenty-three cadets from countries including Britain, Egypt, Poland, Russia and Thailand. Most of them are studying engineering.

Cadet parade at Virginia Military Institute

The cost for one year at V.M.I. for someone from outside Virginia is about thirty thousand dollars. Graduates are not required to go into the military, but Colonel MacInnis says about fifty percent do. And twenty percent make it a career.

Another public military college in the South is The Citadel, in Charleston, South Carolina. It also accepts both men and women for its four-year program.

The Citadel says it offers a traditional military education to its more than two thousand students. Thirty-eight percent of its graduates choose to enter the military.

This year, The Citadel has forty-nine students from twenty-four countries outside the United States. They are mainly studying business and engineering. The Citadel costs about twenty-seven thousand dollars for the first year. After that, it drops to about twenty-four thousand.

You can find links to the V.M.I. and Citadel Web sites at voaspecialenglish.com. You can also find transcripts and audio files of our Foreign Student Series. Next week, learn about the United States Military Academy at West Point.

We began our series on studying in the United States in September. So far we have dealt with the application process, college admissions tests, English language testing, financial aid and other subjects. In the weeks to come we will talk more about individual schools and programs. If you have a suggestion for our series, write to special@voanews.com. And please include your name and country.

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