VOASE0304_This Is America

04 March 2007

How Technology Can Help Disabled People Live More Normal Lives
Third in a series of four reports on living with a disability in the US; earlier programs dealt with education and employment.

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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. This week on our program, we have the third part of our series on living with a disability in America. In January we looked at education. Last month we talked about jobs. Today we discuss assistive technology.

(MUSIC)

Disabled man uses a device called the "Liberator," which helps him form words and sentences

VOICE ONE:

Technology offers many different ways to help people with disabilities lead more normal lives. Devices that help them perform an activity are called assistive technology. Assistive technology can help people reach their personal and professional goals.

The invention of the telephone might not have been very exciting to a deaf person. But it led to a way to send text messages over a phone line with the use of a teletypewriter, or TTY.

VOICE TWO:

Today, with special care, Web site designers can make their sites highly accessible to disabled users.

There are both simple devices and very complex ones to help people with disabilities.

VOICE ONE:

Even something as low-tech as a small piece of soft plastic can be an assistive technology. Attached to a pencil, it might help a child hold the pencil better if the child has trouble writing.

VOICE TWO:

Blind people can have documents read out loud electronically on their computer. And for people who cannot use their arms to type, speech recognition programs may be the answer. These let people give commands to their computer or have their words turned into print.

What about a person who is not able to speak? There are now special devices to help them, too. An American company called Blink Twice produces a device that looks like a handheld computer game. The device is called Tango.

VOICE ONE:

Tango was invented by Richard Ellenson, the father of an eight-year-old boy with cerebral palsy. This condition affects a person's ability to move and speak. With Tango, his son Thomas can touch pictures that express his feelings or the words he wants to say. A voice then speaks the words that Thomas has chosen.

The company's Web site has examples of what Tango sounds like:

TANGO: "How was your day? OK. Where did you go today? Oh. Did you do anything fun? Let me think of another question. Did you see anybody I know? Ah-ha! Last question. Did you miss me? I missed you!"

VOICE TWO:

Other voices, ideas and words can be added to meet the interests and needs of the individual user. For example, when Thomas watches sports, he can play cheers for his team that were recorded in his father's voice.

Richard Ellenson says he wants Tango to help people with disabilities build relationships, not just sentences. Right now, Tango costs about seven thousand dollars. But this is a new device, and the price of new technology often comes down after a few years.

VOICE ONE:

There are many devices to help people with disabilities use computers. There are ways for people to operate a computer by moving their heads or even just their eyes.

There are also keyboards that can be used with only one hand. One of these small keyboards is called a FrogPad. One young girl used the FrogPad at school. Her mother said the small keyboard helped her daughter work normally at school, and her friends thought the FrogPad was great.

VOICE TWO:

Students with disabilities want to be like their friends; they want to be able to do things as normally as possible. So for young people, technology must not only help them do their work. The devices must also be cool.

Ben is a fifteen-year-old boy in Maine. He was born with a condition called spina bifida. He cannot move his arms or legs. He uses a small device called a TongueTouch Keypad, made by a California company, newAbilities Systems.

The keypad is placed in the mouth. Ben learned to use his tongue to touch different keys. They operate his telephone, his computer, his electric wheelchair, his bed and his music player.

Ben is able to get in and out of his house without help. And he can even turn his music up loud if he wants to.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Sometimes, all it takes to improve on existing technology is a little imagination. Like adding a voice to clocks and watches so they announce the time. Or printing children's books in Braille with both raised marks and traditional text. That way the parent of a child who is blind can read the same book out loud while the child reads with his or her fingers.

Using a motorized wheelchair requires the ability to operate the controls. But what about people who are not able to use their hands? One solution is to attach a tube to the chair. The person operates the wheelchair by sucking air through the tube or blowing into it. This is called "sip and puff" technology, and it can also be used to operate other devices.

VOICE TWO:

Things that are designed to help the disabled may also make life easier for people who are not disabled. The opposite is also true.

Think of the millions of people who send and receive messages over cell phones and other wireless devices. This ability to communicate quickly by text messaging or e-mail is very useful. But imagine just how useful it can be to a person who is deaf.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Many times, the technology that helps people with disabilities is invented by people who have disabilities themselves.

TecAccess is a company that helps government offices and companies provide technology for people with disabilities.

TecAccess has fifty-two employees. Forty-six of them have one or more disabilities. The company is in Virginia, but its employees work all over the world.

VOICE TWO:

Don Dalton, owner of Assistive Technologies

A man named Don Dalton started a company in Illinois called Assistive Technologies. Mister Dalton became a quadriplegic in a swimming accident almost forty years ago. His company offers computer technology to help people with disabilities become more independent.

His newest product, in fact, is called Independence One. Once the system is put into a house, the user wears a wireless headset to control it. By voice, the user is able to control many devices and systems around the house.

Don Dalton uses the Independence One controller when he rides in the elevator in his office building. The system answers him in a woman's voice.

DON DALTON: "Wake up."
INDEPENDENCE ONE: "Hello. I'm here."
DON DALTON: "Elevator down."
INDEPENDENCE ONE: "Elevator going down."

VOICE ONE:

A video on his company's Web site also shows how Mister Dalton uses his voice to operate devices in his house. He can turn on the television, close a window in a different room, or work on his computer, all by using his voice.

He also uses the controller to make telephone calls over the Internet.

DON DALTON: "Start computer phone."
INDEPENDENCE ONE: "Starting computer phone. Please say login."
DON DALTON: "Login."
INDEPENDENCE ONE: "Logging in."
DON DALTON: "865-7004. Dial phone."
INDEPENDENCE ONE: "Thank you. Dialing."
INDEPENDENCE ONE: "I'm calling the cell phone on my wheelchair and it's ringing. [sound]"

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

In the United States, the federal government is expected to be a leader in supporting the use of assistive technology. For example, federal agencies are required by law to purchase or develop technology that can be used by all employees.

The government is providing money to research new assistive technologies. Loans are also available to help disabled federal employees and others to buy equipment. For example, a disabled person who owns a computer may be able to work from home instead of having to travel to an office.

Research centers are working to improve technology for people with disabilities. They are working in the areas of education, employment, computers, communication and community living.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Assistive technology can do a lot to improve the quality of life for people with disabilities.

That is, if the technology is available to them. Sometimes it can be very costly. People with a disability, especially a severe disability, have lower earnings and higher poverty rates than the general population. But government programs and private organizations may be able to help them get the assistance they need.

VOICE TWO:

Next month we have the fourth and final report in our series on living with a disability in America. Find out how recreation programs are helping people with disabilities have fun like they might never have thought possible.

VOICE ONE:

And if you missed any of the earlier reports, you can find transcripts and audio files at voaspecialenglish.com.

Our program was written by Karen Leggett and produced by Caty Weaver. I'm Steve Ember with Faith Lapidus. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

VOASE0304_Development Report

04 March 2007

Bringing Nanotechnology to Health Care for the Poor
Speakers at a program in Washington discuss using the technology to improve health care in developing countries.

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This is the VOA Special English Development Report.

Nanotechnology uses matter at the level of molecules and atoms. Researchers are finding different uses for particles with a length of one nanometer, or one-billionth of a meter. These include things like beauty products and dirt-resistant clothing. But one area where many experts believe nanotechnology holds great promise is medicine.

Last week, speakers at a program in Washington discussed using nanotechnology to improve health care in developing countries. The program took place at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

Peter Singer at the University of Toronto says a nanotechnology called quantum dots could be used to confirm cases of malaria. He says it could offer a better way than the traditional process of looking at a person's blood under a microscope.

In poor countries, this process is often not followed. As a result, sick people may get treated for malaria even if they do not have it. Such misuse of medicines can lead to drug resistance.

Quantum dots are particles that give off light when activated. Researchers are studying ways to program them to identify diseases by lighting up in the presence of a targeted molecule.

Experts say nanotechnology shows promise not just for diagnosing diseases, but also for treating them. Piotr Grodzinski of the National Institutes of Health talked about how nanotechnology could make drugs more effective.

He talked about cancer drugs already developed with nanotechnology. He says if a drug can target a cancer locally in the body, then much less of it might be needed, and that means lower side effects.

Andrew Maynard is chief scientist for the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies at the Woodrow Wilson Center. He noted that Brazil, India, China and South Africa are currently doing nanotechnology research that could help poor countries.

But he also noted that there is some risk in using nano-materials. He says nanometer-sized particles behave differently in the body and the environment compared to larger particles. Experts say more investment in research is needed to better understand these risks.

And that's the VOA Special English Development Report, written by Jill Moss. Transcripts and audio files of our reports are at voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Steve Ember.

Bush Tours Tornado Damage in US Midwest, Southeast

By Scott Stearns White House 03 March 2007

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U.S. President George Bush is touring damage from killer tornadoes in America's Midwest and Southeast. VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns reports, the violent weather killed at least 20 people.

Scene at school in Enterprise, Alabama after tornado struck, 1 Mar 2007

The president's helicopter flew over the path of the deadly storm in the state of Alabama, where eight teenagers were killed Thursday in the collapse of a high school in the town of Enterprise.

Meeting with state and local officials in Enterprise, President Bush called on Americans to help those affected.

"Some people are going to need your help," he said. "There have been some poor citizens who may or may not qualify for federal help, who are going to need the help of our fellow citizens. And, I would ask you, out of the generosity of your heart, to help the folks down here. This storm was a tough storm."

The storm killed two other people in Alabama, nine in the neighboring state of Georgia, and a young girl in Missouri.

Fourteen teams of experts from the Federal Emergency Management Agency are evaluating the damage to assess what federal assistance might be needed in situations that overwhelm state and local capabilities.

President Bush tours tornado damage at Enterprise High School in Enterprise, Alabama, 3 Mar 2007

That agency and President Bush were widely criticized for their poor response to Hurricane Katrina in August of 2005, which killed more than 1,800 people along the Gulf Coast.

Asked if the president's decision to visit the tornado-stricken areas Saturday was influenced by the political fall-out from Hurricane Katrina, White House Spokeswoman Dana Perino said that was never part of the discussion.

Traveling with the president, FEMA Director David Paulson stressed how much the response system has changed since Hurricane Katrina, telling reporters that federal officials no longer wait for state and local governments to be overwhelmed before stepping in.

Paulson says FEMA quickly supplied food, water, ice, plastic sheeting and communications equipment to help state officials care for people whose homes were damaged.

US Army Secretary Resigns Over Poor Conditions at Medical Facility

By Scott Stearns White House 03 March 2007

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The secretary of the U.S. Army has resigned amid a scandal over the quality of health care for troops wounded in Afghanistan and Iraq. VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns reports, President Bush wants a bipartisan commission to investigate ahead of Congressional hearings by opposition Democrats.

Francis Harvey (file photo)

U.S. defense officials say Defense Secretary Robert Gates asked for the resignation of Army Secretary Francis Harvey, because he said he was disappointed that some Army officials were not taking the poor treatment of wounded soldiers seriously enough.

Harvey's forced resignation follows the ouster of the general who ran the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where an investigation by The Washington Post newspaper uncovered recuperating soldiers living in a run-down building, infested with mice, mold and cockroaches.

The scandal is especially embarrassing for President Bush, who regularly visits with wounded troops at Walter Reed. He used his weekly radio address to announce a bipartisan commission to investigate.

George Bush, 2 Mar 2007

"Some of our troops at Walter Reed have experienced bureaucratic delays and living conditions that are less than they deserve," he said. "This is unacceptable to me, it is unacceptable to our country, and it's not going to continue."

Mr. Bush says he will name the members of that group and their deadline for reporting back to him in the coming days. He says he wants the commission to evaluate the treatment of wounded from the time they leave the battlefield to their return to civilian life as veterans.

The commander-in-chief has seen his public approval ratings fall over the war in Iraq. Opinion polls say a majority of Americans oppose the president's sending more than 20,000 additional troops as part of a new strategy to secure Baghdad.

Most opposition Democrats also oppose that plan, but are reluctant to cut funding for the troop increase, concerned that might appear disloyal to soldiers serving in harms way. Democrats have responded swiftly to the scandal at Walter Reed.

Congressional Democrats have already scheduled hearings for next week, one at Walter Reed with some of the recovering soldiers who have struggled through Army bureaucracy.

In the Democratic radio address, Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman, who is an independent, said soldiers with brain injuries have gone weeks without being able to get doctor appointments.

"There is not enough staff with the right skills to treat and care for the severely injured troops," he said. "And, rooms where some soldiers lived were found to be moldy and infested with rodents. Our nation has no greater moral and patriotic responsibility than to ensure that these brave Americans receive first class treatment, not only immediately after their injuries, but for their entire lives, through the Veterans Administration."

Lieberman says it is unacceptable that service members and veterans suffering from mental illness are not receiving proper care.

VOASE0303_People In America

03 March 2007

Billy Wilder, 1906-2002: He Made Movies That People Will Never Forget
Wilder made serious movies dealing with social issues as well as funny movies.

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VOICE ONE:

I’m Mary Tillotson.

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Steve Ember with the VOA Special English program, PEOPLE IN AMERICA. Today we tell about Billy Wilder. He was the director of some of the greatest American movies.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Many experts say that Billy Wilder changed the history of American movies. He is often called the best movie maker Hollywood has ever had. He was

Billy Wilder

known for making movies that offered sharp social comment and adult sexual situations. Wilder was one of the first directors to do this.

Between the middle nineteen thirties and the nineteen eighties, Billy Wilder made almost fifty movies. During that time he received more than twenty nominations from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He won six of the Oscar awards. His movies have been seen by people around the world. Wilder made famous movies like “Sunset Boulevard”, “Some Like It Hot”, and “Double Indemnity.” He also directed “The Lost Weekend”, “The Apartment”, and “The Seven Year Itch.”

VOICE TWO:

Samuel Wilder was born in nineteen-oh-six in the former Austro-Hungarian Empire. His birthplace is now part of Poland. His mother had enjoyed spending several years in the United States when she was young. So she called him Billy because she thought it sounded American.

Billy Wilder started law school in Vienna, Austria. Then he decided not to become a lawyer. Instead, he began reporting for a Vienna newspaper. By the nineteen twenties, he was writing movies in Germany.

However, the Nazis had risen to power in the nation. Wilder was Jewish, and he recognized that he had no future in Nazi Germany. In nineteen thirty-three, he went to Paris. There he directed a movie for the first time. It was called “The Bad Seed.” Then he received word that producers in the United States had accepted one of his scripts. Billy Wilder left Europe for America.

VOICE ONE:

Billy Wilder had only eleven dollars when he arrived to settle in the United States in nineteen thirty-four. He decided to live in the center of American movie making, Hollywood, California. At the time, many people who had left Germany were working there. They helped Wilder get jobs. After a while he formed a writing team with Charles Brackett. The two writers created many films together.

Wilder and Brackett wrote several successful movies. One was the nineteen thirty-nine movie, “Ninotchka”, starring Greta Garbo. Ernst Lubitsch directed the film. Wilder always praised this man as a friend and teacher whose humor and expert direction greatly influenced his work.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

In his love stories, Billy Wilder did not follow the Hollywood tradition of sweet boy-meets-girl situations. He had an unusual way of showing relations between men and women. For example, one of his most successful films was “Hold Back the Dawn.” The French actor Charles Boyer plays a refugee in this nineteen forty-one film. He marries an American woman so he can enter the United States.

In nineteen forty-four, Billy Wilder made a film called “Double Indemnity.” Some critics said this movie established him as one of the greatest Hollywood directors. It told a vicious story about a married woman and her boyfriend. They plot the death of her husband.

Charles Brackett thought the story was not moral. So the famous American mystery writer Raymond Chandler was asked to help write the script.

VOICE ONE:

As a director, Billy Wilder often violated Hollywood customs about social issues. For example, someone who drinks too much alcohol had rarely been a movie subject. Then Wilder directed “The Lost Weekend” in nineteen forty-five. Charles Brackett returned to work on the movie with him. They developed the script from a book by Charles Jackson.

Ray Milland plays the part of an alcoholic writer in the movie. It shows that alcohol rules his life, yet he does not admit it. He hides alcohol in his home and says he is not drinking.

VOICE TWO:

Reports at the time said manufacturers of alcoholic drinks tried to suppress the movie. They did not succeed. The public and critics praised “The Lost Weekend” for its painful honesty. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences gave Ray Milland the best actor award. Billy Wilder won two Academy Awards. One honored his part in writing the script. The other honored his direction. “The Lost Weekend” also won the first Grand Prix – first prize -- of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France.

World War Two ended in nineteen forty-five. Wilder had become an American citizen in nineteen thirty-nine. After the war, Wilder was asked by the United States Army to go to Germany to help re-organize the movie industry and radio media. The Nazi government had used both for its propaganda. While in Germany, Wilder learned that the Nazis had murdered his sister, his mother and his mother’s husband.

VOICE ONE:

In nineteen fifty, Wilder made “Sunset Boulevard.” This movie told of an aging actress in silent movies. She plans to return to movies. Gloria Swanson played this star. More than fifty years later, movie-lovers can still repeat some of her lines.

In one of the famous lines in “Sunset Boulevard,” Miz Swanson remembers telling the famous director Cecil B. DeMille that she is prepared for him to start filming:

(GLORIA SWANSON: “I’m ready for my close-up, Mister DeMille.” )

VOICE TWO:

“Sunset Boulevard” won three Academy awards. One honored the writing team of Wilder, Brackett and D. M. Marshman Junior. The movie marked the last time Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett wrote together.

Wilder also was highly praised for “Stalag Seventeen”, which he both produced and directed. The movie mixes humor and wartime realism. William Holden plays a dishonest American war prisoner in a World War Two German camp for Allied servicemen. Holden won the nineteen fifty-three Academy Award for his part. Wilder was nominated for best director.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

In nineteen fifty-four, Billy Wilder became an independent producer. He left Paramount Pictures, the motion picture company he had worked with for many years. He left after company officials cut many anti-Nazi comments from a version of “Stalag Seventeen.” That version was to be shown in Germany.

The next year, Wilder’s first movie as an independent filmmaker was a huge success. It was “The Seven Year Itch.” He developed the movie from a play by George Axelrod. In this movie, a married man wants to cheat on his wife with a beautiful golden-haired young woman. Marilyn Monroe played the young woman. The part launched her as a major Hollywood success. Some critics said Marilyn Monroe gave her best performances under Billy Wilder’s direction.

VOICE TWO:

In nineteen fifty-nine, Wilder made a funny movie that was very popular. I. A. L. Diamond joined Wilder in writing “Some Like It Hot.” It tells about two jazz musicians being chased by criminals. Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis play the musicians. They decide to wear women’s clothes and join a band in which all the musicians were women. Marilyn Monroe plays one of the band members. She wants to make Lemmon and Curtis believe she is a musician.

(MARILYN MONROE: “I’m Sugar Kane. My mother was a piano teacher and my father was a conductor”)

VOICE ONE:

Billy Wilder continued to make interesting movies through the nineteen sixties and nineteen seventies. As usual, he filled his movies with social comment and sexual situations. Over the years, however, other writers and directors also did this. By the nineteen eighties Wilder no longer was considered the most unusual, creative moviemaker in Hollywood.

VOICE TWO:

In recent years, however, Billy Wilder received many more awards and honors. Critics praised his gifts to movie making. In nineteen eighty-seven, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences gave him the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award. It is the highest award a producer can receive.

Wilder died in March, two thousand two. He was ninety-five. A current Hollywood producer said: “Billy Wilder made movies that people will never forget.”

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

This VOA Special English program was written by Jerilyn Watson and produced by Caty Weaver. I’m Mary Tillotson.

VOICE TWO:

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

VeryCD上的2月下载贴已加精！

下载贴终于给整出来了。。。http://lib.verycd.com/2007/02/07/0000138789.html
还没下的去VeryCD上下吧
今天贴的VOASE0302_In the News的内容有关股市。前阵子曾有投资的冲动，不过由于迟钝没来得及出手，所以也就侥幸逃过交学费。对于股市我没有多少发言权，不过QQ上有一朋友的签名挺好玩的，有点黑色幽默：
英语太烂了，工作没戏了，股票暴跌了，还是安分点好。又是一个黑色星期二。好好看书吧。

VOASE0302_In the News

02 March 2007

Stock Market Investors Count Their Losses After a Bad Week Felt Near and Far
Tuesday's big selloff was blamed largely on concerns about China's markets and the US economy. Greenspan's comments may have also played a part.

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This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

Financial markets around the world took investors on a shaky ride this week.

Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday, February 27, 2007

On Tuesday, concerns about the health of Chinese markets and the United States economy helped send investors on a flight from risk. A selloff that began on the Shanghai stock market quickly spread to Europe and the United States. Markets in Africa and Latin America also suffered losses.

China's main stock market in Shanghai fell nine percent Tuesday. It was the worst drop in Chinese stocks in ten years. Investors hurried to sell their stocks as concern spread that the government might raise interest rates. There were also unconfirmed reports of a possible new tax on capital gains. Chinese officials denied those reports.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average of thirty major stocks dropped four hundred sixteen points, more than three percent. That was a loss about six billion dollars of shareholder value on the New York Stock Exchange. It was the biggest one-day drop since the first day of trading after the terrorist attacks in September of two thousand one.

But at one point Tuesday, after a month of moving up, the Dow was down as much as five hundred forty-six points.

The intense trading even overloaded the systems that continually compute the Dow Jones average. Traders had the wrong information for seventy minutes. But the Dow Jones company says it does not believe that the delay worsened the drop in the market.

Investors may have also been influenced by comments from Alan Greenspan. On Monday, the former chairman of the Federal Reserve said a recession was possible in the United States by the end of the year. Later, though, he said a recession is possible but not probable.

The current Federal Reserve chairman told Congress that the markets in the United States seemed to be working well. Ben Bernanke said the central bank still expects "moderate growth" in the economy this year. His comments Wednesday seemed to help calm the markets.

A better-than-expected manufacturing report on Thursday also helped stock prices, after an early drop on Wall Street. Another economic report had been blamed as one of the causes of Tuesday's big selloff.

On Tuesday the Commerce Department reported the biggest drop in three months in orders for durable goods in January. These are higher-priced goods designed to last three years or more, like cars and computers.

There was also concern in the markets this week about companies that deal in "subprime" home loans. These loans for people with weak credit histories have been popular in recent years. But many people are now having trouble paying them back.

All together, it was one of the worst weeks in several years for financial markets that have recently hit new highs. Investors hoped that their shaky ride was nothing more than a normal price correction.

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

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2月合辑制作完毕，包括2007年2月的全部内容，Words and Their Stories的内容也收录其中。
源的地址（需安装eMule，复制到地址栏）是：ed2k://|file|VOASE0702.iso|299761664|9088DD552D0820422CB9111A4B96071B|h=GC5HL6JQTADKCUPNYMKKTO32DZGZQ5NE|/
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时间过得很快，PoEnglish已做了两个月合辑了。很多网友鼓励支持我所做的工作，我会继续坚持把工作做好！
由于学业繁忙，很多原先设想的节目耽搁了，不过VOASE是一定坚持每日更新，还有VOA News也会尽可能把带广播的资料都放上来。

VOASE0301_Economics Report

01 March 2007

Big in Texas: Energy Company Agrees to a Record Buyout
Directors of Dallas-based TXU agree to a proposal led by KKR and Texas Pacific Group for a deal valued at $45 billion.

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This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

Big business deals do not often come with a promise to cut greenhouse gases. But that was part of a deal this week for TXU, the biggest electric company in Texas. Its board of directors agreed to a buyout offer led by two private equity groups, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Texas Pacific.

They are offering to buy all shares in TXU and take the company private. That means it would stop trading on a public stock exchange.

A leverage buyout depends heavily on borrowed money, often for the purpose of selling the company later. This leveraged buyout would be the biggest yet -- an estimated value of around forty-five billion dollars, including debt.

KKR and Texas Pacific Group would take responsibility for more than twelve billion dollars owed by TXU. They would add twenty-four billion dollars in new debt through borrowing to finance the sale.

The proposal calls for them to each pay two billion dollars in cash. Investment banks would provide an additional three billion. And banks would also provide a one billion dollar unsecured loan known as an "equity bridge."

One of the unusual things about this proposal is that utilities are not a traditional target of leveraged buyouts. Utilities provide public services like power and water.

TXU just reported two and one-half billion dollars in profits last year, up fifty percent from the year before. But utilities often have a lot of debt because of high operating costs. At the same time, states may limit rates if prices rise too high.

Most unusual about the deal, however, are the promises made by KKR and Texas Pacific. These buyout specialist groups say they will cut electricity prices ten percent and offer "price protection" through September of two thousand eight.

Also, to reduce carbon emissions linked to climate change, they promise to build fewer power stations that burn coal than TXU had planned. And they promise to explore greater use of alternative and renewable fuels. Two activist groups, Environmental Defense and the Natural Resources Defense Council, supported the deal.

Critics, however, say TXU may be worth more than what is being offered. Shareholders cannot vote on the proposal before April sixteenth. For now, the company may consider any competing offers.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report. This week, the top story in financial markets was the sudden flight from risk. A full report -- tomorrow on the program IN THE NEWS. I'm Mario Ritter.

VOASE0301_American Mosaic

01 March 2007

'Everything Is Big in Texas.' Building a Case for an Expression
Also: Starbucks Coffee grows and grows, with stores in 30 countries, but has it lost its warmth? And music from Yo-Yo Ma's new album ''Appassionato.''

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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 the state of Texas …

Play some music by world famous musician Yo-Yo Ma …

And report about the successful coffee stores called Starbucks.

Starbucks

Starbucks coffee shops can be found all over America and in more than thirty countries around the world. Many people think they are great places to enjoy a hot cup of coffee or tea. But others criticize the company. Faith Lapidus has more.

FAITH LAPIDUS:

If you are in any major city in America, the chances are high that you are not far from a Starbucks. In fact, you might be very close to several of these coffee stores. The company started in the West Coast city of Seattle, Washington, in nineteen seventy-one. Starbucks was named after a character in the famous American novel "Moby-Dick" by Herman Melville. Today, there are more than twelve thousand Starbucks around the world.

Sales last year were almost eight billion dollars. The company believes in opening many stores in busy areas of cities. For example, there are about thirty Starbucks stores in downtown Seattle. Recently, three Starbucks opened in the area near VOA headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Starbucks sells more than just plain coffee. It started a whole coffee culture with its own special language and coffee workers called baristas. It sells many kinds of hot and cold coffee drinks, like White Chocolate Mocha and Frappuccino. It also sells music albums, coffee makers, food, and even books. But most of all, it sells the idea of being a warm and friendly place for people to sit, read or talk.

Starbucks is a great success story. Buyers are willing to pay as much as five dollars for a coffee drink. People we talked to said they go to Starbucks because they can depend on it to have exactly what they want and to be nearby.

However, some people do not like the company’s aggressive expansion. Owners of independent coffee stores cannot compete with Starbucks. One small coffee seller is taking the company to court. She says the way the company does business is illegal because it stops property owners from leasing stores to other coffee companies. She sees Starbucks as controlling the market and forcing out competition.

Nicolas O’Connell works for La Colombe, a coffee roasting company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He says Starbucks has helped to educate people about coffee from many countries. But he criticizes the company for using machines more than people to make the coffee. Mister O’Connell points out that the coffee culture is all about a handmade product and interaction between people.

Bigger in Texas?

Barack Obama, a candidate for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, was handed a cowboy hat after a rally last month in Austin, Texas

Our listener question this week comes from a university student in South Korea. Beom-seok Yim wants to know about the expression "everything is big in Texas."

We do not know where that saying came from. But it fits the southwestern state well. Texas is the biggest state by area in the continental United States. It is almost seven hundred thousand square kilometers. Only Alaska is bigger. Texas is also the second biggest state in population, after California. More than twenty-three million people live in the state.

Texas got even bigger in two thousand five after Hurricane Katrina hit several southeastern states. It received and sheltered almost two hundred thousand people from the affected states, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

Texas is the home of the big oil companies. It is also a leader in other industries, including biomedical research and information technology. The city of Houston is especially famous for its big aerospace industry and the NASA space center there.

And, Texas has grown big with powerful and profitable companies. Last year, Texas had the largest number of Fortune Five Hundred companies headquartered in the state -- fifty-six.

Texas is also home to big cattle ranches. Cattle is a major state industry. Texas also leads the states in international trade exports.

With all this, the Texas economy is very big. The value of its total goods and services has grown to almost one trillion dollars a year.

Visitors find that even normally small things are often big in Texas. Like hats, for example. Texans describe their big cowboy hats as "ten gallon." And, Texan women are said to like "big hair." These hairstyles are often layered high on the head and very full around the face.

Texans are often thought of as Americans with big personalities, big voices and big opinions. And, most Texans are proud of those descriptions.

As you probably know, the current American President, George Bush, is a Texan. He was not born in the state but moved there with his parents when he was two years old. He was governor of the state for six years and still owns a home in Crawford where he spends many of his vacations.

Yo-Yo Ma

Yo-Yo Ma is one of the finest and most popular cello players in the world. He was born in nineteen fifty-five to Chinese parents in Paris, France. His family later moved to New York City. He has been playing the cello since he was four years old. Now Yo-Yo Ma has a new album called "Appassionato." Shirley Griffith tells us about it.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH:

The word "appassionato" is an Italian word used in music. It means "with passion" or powerful emotion. Critics say this latest CD is the story of Yo-Yo Ma's musical life. The fifteen pieces were recorded between nineteen seventy-eight and two thousand six. They include four that have never been released before.

The music on "Appassionato" is by many different composers, from Felix Mendelssohn to George Gershwin. Yo-Yo Ma says he chose the music for "Appassionato" to represent different kinds of love. Nine different musicians play the piano on the CD. Ma says "Appassionato" also represents his love for performing music with friends. Here is Yo-Yo Ma playing "Going to School," composed by his friend John Williams. It is from the recent movie "Memoirs of a Geisha." Ma says this music is about innocent love.

(MUSIC)

Ennio Morricone is another modern composer best known for his music for films. Two of his pieces are included in the album. Yo-Yo Ma says "Gabriel's Oboe" is one of the most romantic pieces of music. He says it has layers and layers of emotion.

(MUSIC)

We leave you now with one of the songs recorded especially for Yo-Yo Ma's new CD "Appassionato." It is "Song Without Words" by Felix Mendelssohn.

(MUSIC)

HOST:

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

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

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

VOASE0301_Education Report

01 March 2007

Studying in the US: Rules About Alcohol
Policies on college drinking are the subject of Part 26 of our Foreign Student Series.

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This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

The legal age for drinking alcohol in the United States is twenty-one. Underage drinking is a crime but also a common part of college social life. This week in our Foreign Student Series, we look at alcohol policies at American colleges and universities.

Never too young: A drunk-driving accident is acted out at a high school north of Los Angeles as part of alcohol education efforts

These policies differ from school to school, as do enforcement efforts. But many schools have been moving to strengthen their rules.

The United States has more than seventeen million students in higher education. Each year, one thousand seven hundred of them age eighteen to twenty-four die from alcohol-related road crashes and other injuries.

Six hundred thousand more are injured while under the influence of alcohol. And almost seven hundred thousand are attacked by another student who has been drinking.

These numbers, from a two thousand five report, are on a government Web site: collegedrinkingprevention.gov.

One behavior that college officials are trying to prevent is binge drinking, having four or five drinks or more in a short period of time. Some researchers have found that students who think binge drinking is normal often overestimate how much other students really drink. A person can die of alcohol poisoning.

At the University of Oklahoma, new policies went into effect after a nineteen-year-old student died in two thousand four. He had been drinking heavily at a fraternity party.

Now alcohol is banned from all fraternity and sorority houses and university housing. Student organizations can serve alcohol at events but only on Friday and Saturday nights. And they must provide for transportation to and from off-campus parties. Other new requirements include an alcohol education program that first-year students take online.

The policies govern behavior on campus and off. With a first violation, students pay seventy-five dollars and their parents are told. They must also take an alcohol education class. For a second "strike," they have to pay one hundred fifty dollars. A third strike means a suspension for at least one semester.

Since January of two thousand five, six hundred thirty-three students have had a first strike. Thirty have had a second strike -- and one has been suspended. An official at Oklahoma tells us the aim is not just to punish but to change behavior and the culture at the university.

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. Transcripts and audio files of our Foreign Student Series are at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

Italian Government Survives Confidence Vote by Slim Margin

By Sabina Castelfranco Rome 28 February 2007

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Italy's Prime Minister Romano Prodi won a confidence vote in the Senate on Wednesday, exactly one week after he submitted his resignation. Sabina Castelfranco reports from Rome for VOA that the vote ensured the survival of his nine-month-old center-left government, at least for the moment.

Senate speaker Franco Marini read out the result of the much-waited confidence vote. He said there were 320 senators who were present in the upper house for the vote. The majority needed was 160 and the result of the vote was 162 votes in favor and 157 against.

Prime Minister Romano Prodi after winning a confidence vote in the Senate

The government of Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi survived the vote, which had been in question right until the very end. Prodi resigned last week after a defeat in the Senate on the government's foreign policy.

Following consultations with the country's party leaders, the Italian president had asked Mr. Prodi to stay on and put his Cabinet to new confidence votes in parliament. On Friday, the prime minister will submit his nine-month government to a vote in the lower house, where he has a comfortable majority.

Pointing to Mr. Prodi's two vote margin of victory in the Senate, many opposition leaders say the government will not be able to stay afloat for long.

Electoral law in Italy favors broad coalitions, such as Mr. Prodi's bickering Catholic-to-communist alliance, rather than strong majorities. The law is widely blamed for the country's political instability, which has given Italy 61 governments since World War II. Mr. Prodi has promised electoral reform if confirmed in his job.

Mr. Prodi said before the vote that there was general agreement that the electoral law must be changed - that an electoral law must be found that would guarantee governance in Italy.

The government's five-year mandate expires in 2011 but its future stability, with such a tiny majority in the Senate, is doubtful.

In a sign of the continuing difficulties facing Mr. Prodi, some coalition senators said Wednesday that while they supported the government in the confidence vote, they continued to be opposed to the country's military presence in Afghanistan and would vote against an upcoming measure to refinance the mission there.

US Investigator Says Iraqis Steadily Taking Over Reconstruction

By Gary Thomas Washington 28 February 2007

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Last month the U.S. Special Inspector-General for Iraq Reconstruction issued a blistering report on waste and abuse in U.S.-funded reconstruction programs in Iraq. Speaking to VOA, Stuart Bowen now says improved mechanisms are in place to monitor how money is being spent as the burden for reconstruction shifts from the United States to the Iraqi government. VOA Correspondent Gary Thomas talked to the investigator.

Stuart Bowen (Jan 2007 photo)

Speaking to VOA by telephone from Baghdad, Special Inspector-General Stuart Bowen says the time has come for Iraq to shoulder the financial burden of its reconstruction.

"The theme, and why this theme is such an important watershed moment, is that it marks the end of the phase wherein the United States will bear the preponderant financial burden for the relief and reconstruction of Iraq," said Stuart Bowen. "That burden has now in earnest shifted to the Iraqis and the Iraqi government."

Congress created a $21-billion Iraq Reconstruction Fund in 2003, but those funds have all been used. Bowen says the United States will continue to have a financial role to play in Iraq, but it will be along more traditional lines.

"It signals the evolution, the beginning of the evolution, of the U.S. role in Iraq to a support role, and it will continue to evolve into a traditional relief and support role," he said. "But I call the current phase 'foreign aid plus-plus,' which means there is still a significant and continuing role for the United States to play in financially and otherwise supporting Iraq."

At the end of January, Bowen's office issued a report that outlined cases of corruption and waste in reconstruction programs, including among some U.S. contractors. Some cases are under examination by the U.S. Justice Department for possible criminal charges.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice came under grueling examination Tuesday from senators on the Appropriations Committee about wasteful spending in Iraq. Rice admitted there had been what she termed problems with some contractors, but denied there has been widespread abuse of U.S. reconstruction funds.

"In terms of the funding that was provided by the Congress under the Iraqi Reconstruction Fund, I think that there have been some problems with some particular contracts; a particular contract, for instance, for health clinics and health services," said Condoleezza Rice. "But I do not believe that there has been a claim of widespread - of abuse of the funding that was provided under the IRF [Iraq Reconstruction Fund]."

Bowen said he found in this, his 15th trip to Iraq, that new both U.S. and Iraqi mechanisms are in place to try bring corruption under control and transparency to contracting.

Bowen adds that, under Congressional mandate, his office will soon begin a detailed, year-long audit of all reconstruction programs.

"A forensic audit is really a stem to stern review of the capital investment in Iraq, namely, the Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund," he said. "That will answer a lot of the questions that many have about what was wasted and what worked."

The Inspector-General report also said the security situation has greatly hampered reconstruction efforts, especially in Baghdad, and caused some reconstruction funds to be redirected to security issues. Electricity in the capital, for example, remained at pre-war levels in the last quarter of the year.

Bowen says power facilities are under constant attack, and crews who might repair them are in great danger.

"Infrastructure security is a problem," noted Stuart Bowen. "The Baghdad ring, as it is called, the electric lines and towers that provide electricity to the capital city, has been subject over the last nine to 12 months to incessant attacks."

The Bush Administration has asked for an additional $1.2 billion for reconstruction and expects the international community to step into the financial breach. But Bowen said the response has been disappointing, with $13 billion in reconstruction aid pledged by donor countries, but only $3 billion received.

US: No Direct Talks with Iran, Syria at Iraq Meetings

By Paula Wolfson White House 28 February 2007

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The Bush administration says there will be no direct talks with representatives of Iran and Syria at two upcoming conferences on Iraq. VOA's Paula Wolfson has details at the White House.

The White House has been under pressure in recent months to hold bilateral negotiations with both Iran and Syria on Iraq and other issues.

Tony Snow

Officials from Washington, Tehran and Damascus are all expected to take part in conferences on Iraq. But even though they will be in the same room, White House Spokesman Tony Snow says he expects no direct discussions on the sidelines.

"There will not be bilateral talks between the United States and Iran or the United States and Syria within the context of these meetings," said Tony Snow. "These are organized by the Iraqis and these are on issues that are pertinent to Iraq."

At a briefing for White House reporters, Snow said the decision to attend the two Iraqi conferences does not mean there has been a shift in Bush administration policy. And he noted that this is not the first time that the three countries have all attended a multilateral meeting.

The United States has diplomatic relations with Syria, although ties have been strained by what the Bush administration sees as Syrian meddling in Lebanon and unwillingness to take strong action to stop foreign fighters from crossing its border into Iraq.

The U.S. severed diplomatic ties with Iran in 1979, and the Bush administration has made clear any improvement is contingent on a decision by Tehran to end its nuclear enrichment program.

Snow said that position has not changed.

"It is important that people understand that this administration is serious when it comes to the Iranians about a precondition for bilateral negotiations and also for diplomatic relations, which is they can't be working toward a nuclear weapon," he said.

Snow stressed the United States has long supported the idea of an international conference organized by the Iraqi government. An initial meeting of envoys from world and regional powers will be held in Baghdad on March 10. A follow-up gathering at the ministerial level is expected to take place in the first half of April somewhere in the region.

VOASE0228_The Making of a Nation

28 February 2007

History Series: A Freeze Hits US-Soviet Relations After World War Two
The Cold War was a major force in world politics during much of the 20th century.

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VOICE ONE:

This is Doug Johnson.

VOICE TWO:

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

(MUSIC)

Today, we tell about the period known as the Cold War.

VOICE ONE:

The Cold War began after World War Two. The main enemies were the United States and the Soviet Union.

The Cold War got its name because both sides were afraid of fighting each other directly. In such a "hot war," nuclear weapons might destroy everything. So, instead, they fought each other indirectly. They supported conflicts in different parts of the world. They also used words as weapons. They threatened and denounced each other. Or they tried to make each other look foolish.

VOICE TWO:

Over the years, leaders on both sides changed. Yet the Cold War continued. It was the major force in world politics for most of the second half of the twentieth century.

Historians disagree about how long the Cold War lasted. Some believe it ended when the United States and the Soviet Union improved relations during the nineteen sixties and early nineteen seventies. Others believe it ended when the Berlin Wall was torn down in nineteen eighty-nine.

VOICE ONE:

The Cold War world was separated into three groups. The United States led the West. This group included countries with democratic political systems. The Soviet Union led the East. This group included countries with communist political systems. The Non-Aligned group included countries that did not want to be tied to either the West or the East.

Harry Truman

VOICE TWO:

Harry Truman was the first American president to fight the Cold War. He used several policies. One was the Truman Doctrine. This was a plan to give money and military aid to countries threatened by communism. The Truman Doctrine effectively stopped communists from taking control of Greece and Turkey.

Another policy was the Marshall Plan. This strengthened the economies and governments of countries in Western Europe.

VOICE ONE:

C-47s unloading at Tempelhof Airport in Berlin.

A major event in the Cold War was the Berlin Airlift. In June nineteen forty-eight, the Soviets blocked all ways into the western part of Berlin, Germany. President Truman quickly ordered military planes to fly coal, food, and medicine to the city.

The planes kept coming, sometimes landing every few minutes, for more than a year. The United States received help from Britain and France. Together, they provided almost two and one-half million tons of supplies on about two hundred-eighty thousand flights.

VOICE TWO:

The United States also led the formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in nineteen forty-nine. NATO was a joint military group. Its purpose was to defend against Soviet forces in Europe. The first members of NATO were Belgium, Britain, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, and the United States.

The Soviet Union and its east European allies formed their own joint military group -- the Warsaw Pact -- six years later.

VOICE ONE:

In nineteen fifty-three, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin died. His death gave the new American president, Dwight Eisenhower, a chance to deal with new Soviet leaders.

In July, nineteen fifty-five, Eisenhower and Nikolai Bulganin met in Geneva, Switzerland. The leaders of Britain and France also attended.

Eisenhower proposed that the Americans and Soviets agree to let their military bases be inspected by air by the other side. The Soviets later rejected the proposal. Yet the meeting in Geneva was not considered a failure. After all, the leaders of the world's most powerful nations had shaken hands.

VOICE TWO:

Cold War tensions increased, then eased, then increased again over the years. The changes came as both sides actively tried to influence political and economic developments around the world.

For example, the Soviet Union provided military, economic, and technical aid to communist governments in Asia. The United States then helped eight Asian nations fight communism by establishing the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization.

In the middle nineteen fifties, the United States began sending military advisers to help south Vietnam defend itself against communist North Vietnam. That aid would later expand into a long and bloody period of American involvement in Vietnam.

VOICE ONE:

The Cold War also affected the Middle East. In the nineteen fifties, both East and West offered aid to Egypt to build the Aswan High Dam on the Nile River. The West cancelled its offer, however, after Egypt bought weapons from the communist government of Czechoslovakia.

Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser then seized control of the company that operated the Suez Canal. A few months later, Israel invaded Egypt. France and Britain joined the invasion.

VOICE TWO:

For once, the United States and the Soviet Union agreed on a major issue. Both supported a United Nations resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire.

The Suez crisis was a political victory for the Soviets. When the Soviet Union supported Egypt, it gained new friends in the Arab world.

VOICE ONE:

Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, left, with President Dwight Eisenhower

In nineteen fifty-nine, Cold War tensions eased a little. The new Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev, visited Dwight Eisenhower at his holiday home near Washington. The meeting was very friendly. But the next year, relations got worse again.

An American military plane was shot down over the Soviet Union. Eisenhower admitted that such planes had been spying on the Soviets for four years. In a speech at the United Nations, Khrushchev got so angry that he took off his shoe and beat it on a table.

VOICE TWO:

John Kennedy followed Eisenhower as president in nineteen sixty-one. During his early days in office, Cuban exiles invaded Cuba. They wanted to oust the communist government of Fidel Castro. The exiles had been trained by America's Central Intelligence Agency. The United States failed to send military planes to protect them during the invasion. As a result, almost all were killed or taken prisoner.

In Europe, tens of thousands of East Germans had fled to the West. East Germany's communist government decided to stop them. It built a wall separating the eastern and western parts of the city of Berlin. Guards shot at anyone who tried to flee by climbing over.

VOICE ONE:

During Kennedy's second year in office, American intelligence reports discovered Soviet missiles in Cuba. The Soviet Union denied they were there. American photographs proved they were.

The Cuban missile crisis easily could have resulted in a nuclear war. But it ended after a week. Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles if the United States agreed not to interfere in Cuba.

VOICE TWO:

Some progress was made in easing Cold War tensions when Kennedy was president. In nineteen sixty-three, the two sides reached a major arms control agreement. They agreed to ban tests of nuclear weapons above ground, under water, and in space. They also established a direct telephone line between the White House and the Kremlin.

Relations between East and West also improved when Richard Nixon was president. He and Leonid Brezhnev met several times. They reached several arms control agreements. One reduced the number of missiles used to shoot down enemy nuclear weapons. It also banned the testing and deployment of long-distance missiles for five years.

VOICE ONE:

A major change in the Cold War took place in nineteen eighty-five. That is when Mikhail Gorbachev became leader of the Soviet Union. Gorbachev held four meetings with President Ronald Reagan. He withdrew Soviet forces from Afghanistan. And he signed an agreement with the United States to destroy all middle-distance and short-distance nuclear missiles.

VOICE TWO:

By nineteen eighty-nine, there was widespread unrest in eastern Europe. Gorbachev did not intervene as these countries cut their ties with the Soviet Union.

The Berlin Wall, the major symbol of communist oppression, was torn down in November. In less than a year, East and West Germany became one nation again. A few months after that, the Warsaw Pact was dissolved. The Cold War was over.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

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

VOICE TWO:

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

Man Accused of Spying for Israel Returns to Egyptian Court

By Leslie Boctor Cairo 28 February 2007

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An Egyptian Canadian man accused of spying for Israel appeared in an Egyptian court where he denied many of the allegations that have swirled around the unusual case. Leslie Boctor has more for VOA from Cairo.

Mohamed Essam Ghoneim El Attar flashes the victory sign while being escorted to speak with State Court Judge Sayed al-Gohari (R) during his second day in court in Cairo, 28 Feb 2007

From his heavily guarded prison cage, Mohamed El Attar shouted his innocence to the judge, and told journalists that a police officer had beaten and used electric shocks on him while in solitary confinement for four weeks and forced him to drink his own urine.

El Attar has been charged with spying on behalf of Israel, but the court proceedings focused heavily on his denial that he is a convert to Christianity or a homosexual. Shaking his head vigorously, El Attar denied he had converted to Christianity, as he previously confessed, saying that he is a believing Muslim.

The trial of Mohamad El Attar has come to be referred to as simply "el Ghesous il ginz", or the sex spy. But today at his second court appearance, El Attar denied the strange allegations surrounding his case, including those of homosexuality.

Egyptian authorities have charged Mohamad El Attar with working as a low-level agent for Israeli intelligence while living in Canada and Turkey. The 300-page court file outlines a confession that El Attar has now said he was coerced into giving.

His confession states that he had sought asylum in 2003 in Canada on the basis of his homosexuality. He claimed to have converted from Islam to Christianity. He said that he used his position at a Toronto bank to track financial transactions within the Arab community, and had recruited 20 Arab Canadians to work for Israeli intelligence.

The lively court proceedings were repeatedly interrupted by journalists and the accused shouting out questions and commentary to the judge. At one point during the proceedings, the judge asked him to approach the bench to inspect his ears to determine if one of them was pierced, and declared there was no pierced ear.

His last lawyer, who dropped the case after the first court appearance, said that when he visited El Attar in prison, he had dyed red hair and was wearing an earring. He also stated El Attar had been cut off by his family because of the charges brought against him.

Current El Attar lawyer, Ibrahim Bassoyouni, said that his family had not abandoned him and had been visiting him in jail. He said that El Attar had originally pleaded guilty to the charges because of the advice of his first lawyer and that he told Bassoyouni his alleged testimony was false.

"Mohamad El Attar told me the reports of his confession that were attributed to him during his interrogation were not true and that he did not say any of the claims that were being made in his name," Bassoyouni said.

Bassyouni also added he was confident El Attar would be found innocent. El Attar was arrested in Cairo at the beginning of January while on a trip to visit his family.

Egyptian police have also issued warrants for three Israelis who have been charged as part of the alleged spy ring. The Egyptian authorities said El-Attar came to Canada in 2003 with the help of his Israeli handlers.