| Jerusalem 09 July 2007 |
Download The Arab League is sending a delegation to Israel this week for the first time. As Robert Berger reports from VOA's Jerusalem, the 22-nation organization is pushing a new initiative for Mideast peace.
The visit of the Arab League delegation to Israel is a sign of deep concern about the violent takeover of the Gaza Strip last month by the Islamic militant group Hamas.
Moderate Arab states want to push Israel to revive peace talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who heads a western-backed government in the West Bank. They believe that negotiations on the creation of a Palestinian state could prevent a similar takeover of the West Bank by Hamas.
So the foreign ministers of Egypt and Jordan will visit Israel this week on behalf of the Arab League to discuss what is known as the Arab peace initiative. It calls for all Arab states to establish full diplomatic ties with Israel in exchange for a full Israeli withdrawal to the 1967 borders.
Israel rejects that demand because it would mean giving up Jerusalem's Old City and all West Bank settlements. But Israeli officials say the visit of the Arab League delegation is "historic."
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| Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni |
But after the forces of Mr. Abbas were routed by Hamas in Gaza, many Israelis believe handing him major concessions would be a grave mistake. Israel TV journalist Yohanan El Rom says Mr. Abbas did not abide by the internationally-backed "Roadmap" peace plan, so he should not be rewarded with a Palestinian state.
"He is a leader of the Palestinian Authority in name only. He is weak, he has not kept his promises, the first item on the Roadmap was to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure, he did not do it," said El Rom. "He is reaping now his inaction. He is a failure as a leader."
President Abbas is also pushing for peace talks with Israel, saying the hope of a Palestinian state will improve his standing among his people and show them the benefits of moderation. But Hamas, which seeks Israel's destruction, says Mr. Abbas is an illegitimate leader and any negotiations with him are doomed to failure.
Israeli officials say Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is to meet with Mr. Abbas next week. The exact date and location of the meeting has not been announced.
| Islamabad 10 July 2007 |
Download Negotiations to end the stand off have apparently broken down and a military assault has reportedly begun. A senior military official says the security forces have entered the compound. Hospital officials say at least two troops have been killed and at least seven others injured. The government says hundreds of women and children are being held hostage by a group of "hardcore terrorists" with possible links to al-Qaida. VOA correspondent Benjamin Sand reports from Islamabad.
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| Soldiers man positions outside Islamabad's Red Mosque, 9 Jul 2007 |
Just before midnight Pakistani Information Minister Muhammad Ali Durrani told reporters negotiators were still working toward ending the seven-day stand-off.
"We are trying our best to minimize the losses, that is why we are in the negotiations," said Muhammad Ali Durrani.
Officials say those talks broke down hours later and fighting erupted outside the mosque.
The government says militants are holding hundreds of women and children as human shields and there are fears of mass casualties.
The mosque's fiery, pro-Taleban leader, Abdul Rashid Ghazi has said everyone in Lal Masjid would rather die fighting than surrender to government forces.
09 July 2007| California Growers Face Unwelcome Import: Light Brown Apple Moth | |
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DownloadThis is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.
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| An agricultural official inspects a trap for evidence of the light brown apple moth in Merced County, California |
Officials say it could cause more than one hundred thirty million dollars in crop damage and control costs if the moth spreads to agricultural production areas. California is the nation's leading agricultural state. The industry is valued at thirty-two billion dollars.
The light brown apple moth can attack more than two hundred fifty kinds of plants and trees. It causes damage by feeding on leaves, new growth and fruit, including grapes -- bad news for California's wine industry.
More than thirty thousand traps have been deployed as part of the effort to fight the invasion. As of last week the traps had caught almost five thousand light brown apple moths. The insects have been found in several counties but mostly in Santa Cruz and Monterey along the Central Coast. The others have mostly been found in the San Francisco Bay Area, to the north.
The first discovery came in February. A private citizen captured two suspicious moths in a blacklight trap on his property near Berkeley. A laboratory confirmed their identity in March. Then, in May, the United States Department of Agriculture ordered action to prevent the spread of the insect.
It restricted the movement of products including nursery plants, cut flowers and greenery from several counties in California and all of Hawaii. Shipments must be inspected and declared insect-free before they can be transported to other states.
The California Department of Food and Agriculture says growers have the choice to destroy affected plants or treat them with a chemical, chlorpyrifos. Another substance, Bt, is a natural organism used as a biological control. In June, weekly ground treatments with Bt began on more than two hundred properties in two counties, Contra Costa and Napa. Napa is famous for its wine grapes.
Control plans are being developed for the wider area, based in part on the advice of experts from Australia and New Zealand.
Mexico has suspended imports of some products from the affected areas. It also is requiring more inspection of products from outside the affected counties.
And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. I'm Faith Lapidus.
09 July 2007| What You Can Do to Prevent Health Problems While Traveling | |
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DownloadVOICE ONE:
This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I'm Bob Doughty.
VOICE TWO:
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| An airline passenger gets some sleep as she waits for a delayed flight |
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VOICE ONE:
Health officials in many countries say recent news reports have raised questions about the safety of passenger airplanes. The reports described an American man with a rare kind of tuberculosis. He flew two times across the Atlantic Ocean before agreeing to go to a hospital for treatment.
At first, public health officials attempted to warn people who were passengers on the long flights with the infected man. But officials said most of the passengers had a low risk of developing the disease. They suggested that the passengers could be tested if they wished to make sure.
Since then, health officials have found all the people who sat near the man. Officials said those persons needed to be tested for tuberculosis immediately, and then again in eight to ten weeks. It takes that long for the disease to develop. The officials also wanted the passengers to know they cannot infect anyone else with TB.
VOICE TWO:
Many people are concerned about the way sicknesses are spread in airplanes. It is known that diseases like tuberculosis can be spread from person to person through the air. Bacteria that carry TB move into the air when an infected person talks or expels air suddenly from the lungs. People nearby take the particles into their lungs when they breathe. But experts say healthy people are not in great danger unless they are in a closed space with an infected person for a long time.
Experts said one reason for the low risk of infection is that the man showed no signs of TB. Another reason is that the planes he flew in were equipped with HEPA filters. The Federal Aviation Administration says seventy-five percent of all large passenger planes now use such devices to remove dangerous particles from the air.
VOICE ONE:
The letters H-E-P-A represent the words High Efficiency Particulate Air. HEPA filters capture at least ninety nine point nine seven percent of all particles in the air that are zero point three microns in size or larger.
America's Atomic Energy Commission developed HEPA filters sixty years ago to protect workers who were developing the atomic bomb. The first HEPA filters removed radioactive particles from the air. Today, the filters are used to clean the air in planes, hospitals, factories, and even private homes.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says HEPA filters are effective in clearing the air of many particles that cause disease. Makers of the devices say they kill bacteria and viruses because they help to remove the wetness that germs need to survive. But HEPA filters cannot remove disease-causing particles smaller than zero point three microns. These will continue to move around in the air and can infect people.
VOICE TWO:
Medical experts say the most common way to get an infection is by touching an infected surface, then touching the eyes, nose or mouth. They say the best way people can protect themselves is by washing their hands after touching an object where germs could be present.
Experts say the news about the man with drug-resistant tuberculosis has increased concerns about travelers who are sick. They say diseases that spread more easily than tuberculosis could cause health and security crises. In the past, public health workers were able to delay travel by persons suspected of having diseases such as influenza. They continue to ask everyone to act responsibly and not fly while they are sick.
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VOICE ONE:
Experts say people should know about other health problems that can strike when traveling by air. One of these is a condition called hypoxia. It results from a lack of oxygen to the brain. Experts say the body begins losing oxygen minutes after an airplane leaves the ground. The air pressure in a plane during flight is lower than at sea level. This makes it more difficult for the body to effectively use the same amount of oxygen as it would on the ground. Fewer oxygen molecules cross the tissues in the lungs and reach the bloodstream.
The result is a five to twenty percent drop in the amount of oxygen in the blood. This reduces the amount of oxygen that reaches the organs of the body.
VOICE TWO:
One effect of this lack of oxygen to the brain is a headache. When this happens, the heart attempts to fix the situation by beating harder and faster. This can make the traveler feel tired.
These signs of hypoxia are not dangerous in a healthy person. But a drop in oxygen level can cause a health emergency in people with heart or lung problems. They might lose consciousness or even suffer a heart attack.
Experts say that smoking cigarettes and drinking alcoholic liquids also reduce the body’s ability to use oxygen. So they suggest that people not drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes either before or during a flight. They also say persons with heart or lung problems should seek advice from their doctor before flying.
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VOICE ONE:
Another health danger for travelers is a condition called deep vein thrombosis. A thrombosis is a blood clot -- a condition in which some blood thickens and blocks the flow to the heart.
Blood clots can kill if they move to the heart and lungs and stop needed oxygen from reaching those important organs. This is known as a pulmonary embolism.
The World Health Organization says travelers who sit still for four or more hours face a greater risk of developing blood clots. But it says only one in six thousand people develop deep vein thrombosis.
Doctors say some people have more risk than others. These include people who have had clots in the past, pregnant woman and those who take birth control pills. People who weigh too much and those with heart disease or cancer also may have a greater risk. Others include people being treated with estrogen and those who recently had an operation.
VOICE TWO:
Experts say the chance of a clot also increases if a person does not drink enough water. They say travelers who sit for hours need to drink plenty of water -- not liquids that contain alcohol or caffeine. Passengers should also increase blood flow to the legs. Ways to do this include wearing support stockings on your feet. Passengers should also walk around every hour or so during the trip or at least move their feet and legs. Also, no one should sit for a long time with the knees pressed back against a seat.
Doctors say anyone with pain, swelling or red skin on a leg during or after a long trip may have a blood clot. Anyone with such signs should see a doctor as soon as possible. The condition many times can be treated with drugs that thin the blood and stop the clot from moving through the body.
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VOICE ONE:
Another health problem people may suffer during a flight is ear pain, also known as airplane ear. This is the result of difference in air pressure between parts of the middle of the ear and the outer ear.
The air pressure in both these areas is kept generally the same by the Eustachian tube. The Eustachian tube connects the middle ear to the nose. The tube opens when a person swallows or takes a deep breath. These actions equalize the air pressure by permitting air to flow into or out of the middle ear. Pressure differences result when the Eustachian tube is blocked. Then the eardrum cannot perform normally. The person may not be able to hear normally…and may also suffer pain.
VOICE TWO:
People with colds or allergic reactions are at greater risk of airplane ear because their Eustachian tubes may be blocked. And children may suffer airplane air more easily than adults because their Eustachian tubes are small and easily blocked. Generally, airplane ear is most painful during take off and landing. But it generally goes away a few hours after the flight. If not, a doctor can provide treatment.
Ways to prevent airplane ear include canceling plans to fly if you have a cold or an allergy. Passengers can use decongestant medicines before the flight, a nasal spray or special earplugs that can help equalize the pressure during landing and takeoffs. Swallowing and taking deep breaths during the flight may also help some people.
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VOICE ONE:
This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS program was written by Nancy Steinbach. Our producer was Brianna Blake. I'm Bob Doughty.
VOICE TWO:
And I'm Barbara Klein. You can read and listen to this program on our Web site, voaspecialenglish.com. Join us next week at this time for more news about science on the Voice of America.
| Islamabad 08 July 2007 |
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Pakistani commandos blasted new holes in the walls around an Islamabad mosque where armed militants are reportedly holding hundreds of women and children hostage. Officials say they hope at least some of the people inside will be able to escape through the holes. But as VOA Correspondent Benjamin Sand reports from Islamabad, the militant leader in the mosque vows to continue the standoff that began Tuesday. 
Arrested Pakistan's religious students arrive at sports complex from Adiala jail to be handed over to their families, 8 Jul 2007
Cleric Abdul Rashid Ghazi says he and his supporters inside the Lal Masjid, or Red Mosque, would rather die than surrender.
The pro-Taleban leader released a statement saying he hoped his death would provoke an Islamic revolution throughout Pakistan.
On Saturday, President Pervez Musharraf issued a blunt ultimatum to the mosque's leaders.
He says the government, until now, has been patient. But he says anyone still inside the mosque should come out and surrender, and if they do not, they will be killed.
More than 1,000 people have come forward since Tuesday, but officials say hundreds more remain inside.
Around 50 or 60 well-armed militants are thought to be in control and may be preventing hundreds of women and children from leaving the mosque.
Thousands of troops have surrounded the compound and scores of ambulances have been pre-positioned nearby.
Explosions and gunfire continued throughout the night and early Sunday.
An elite Pakistani commando was killed during the latest operation as officials used dynamite to blast holes in the mosque's outer walls.
The militants' leader says no one is being held against their will and says at least 70 people in the mosque have died.
Government officials have rejected Ghazi's claims, but insist the radical cleric will be held accountable for anyone who has been killed during the standoff.
Lal Masjid has openly and repeatedly defied the government's authority in recent months. Ghazi has been a vocal supporter of Osama bin Laden and recently vowed to impose a Taleban-style Sharia law in the capital.
The bloody stand off erupted as President Musharraf faced mounting domestic opposition before national elections expected later this year. But public opinion has swung solidly behind the president and newspaper editorials have strongly backed the government's action against the hard-line mosque.
Cleric Abdul Rashid Ghazi says he and his supporters inside the Lal Masjid, or Red Mosque, would rather die than surrender.
The pro-Taleban leader released a statement Sunday saying he hoped his death would provoke an Islamic revolution throughout Pakistan.
On Saturday, President Pervez Musharraf issued a blunt ultimatum to the mosque's leaders.
He says anyone inside the mosque should come out and surrender, and if they do not, they will be killed.
Thousands of troops have surrounded the mosque. Explosions and gunfire continued throughout the night and early Sunday.
An elite Pakistani commando was killed during the latest operation as officials struggle to free women and children they say are being held hostage in the mosque.
The militants' leader says no one is being held against their will and says at least 70 people in the mosque have died.
| Rome 08 July 2007 |
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The new Seven Wonders of the World have been selected after a global poll. The winners were announced Saturday. Sabina Castelfranco reports from Rome. 
People celebrate in front of the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza in southern Mexico, after Chichen Itza was selected as one of the new seven wonders of the world, 7 Jul 2007
About 100 million votes were cast by the Internet and cell-phone text messages to choose the new Seven Wonders of the World.
Academy Award-winning British actor Ben Kingsley announced the winners at a glitzy international show at Portugal's largest venue, the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon.
"The Colosseum in Rome," he said.
The only site in Europe selected was the Colosseum. The others were: The Great Wall of China, India's Taj Mahal, Jordan's ancient city of Petra, the Incan ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru, Brazil's Statue of Christ Redeemer, and Mexico's Chichen Itza pyramid.
The seven winners beat out 14 other nominated landmarks, including the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Easter Island in the Pacific, the Statue of Liberty in New York City, the Acropolis in Athens, Russia's Kremlin and Australia's Sydney Opera House.
Thousands enjoyed the show in Lisbon, which included break-dancing and singing by tenor Jose Carreras and pop star Jennifer Lopez. Others celebrated in the countries home to the sites chosen.
In India, this young man said he was proud he was born in the city of the Taj Mahal. He said he was proud it was selected as one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
In Mexico, Yucatan State Governor Yvonne Ortega celebrated the selection of the Chichen Itza pyramid.
Ortega said, "the Mayans brought luck to us, the people from Yucatan, but now we must take advantage of this with a great economic development for the country."
The campaign to name the new wonders was launched in 1999 with almost 200 nominations coming in from around the world. The list of candidates was narrowed to 21 by the start of 2006. Organizers also went on a world tour, visiting each site.
The original list of wonders were concentrated in the Mediterranean and Middle East. The only surviving structures from the original seven wonders of the ancient world are The Great Pyramids of Giza.
The New 7 Wonders organization was established by Swiss-Canadian adventurer Bernard Weber. It aims to promote cultural diversity by supporting, preserving and restoring monuments. It relies on private donations and revenue from selling broadcasting rights.
08 July 2007| Crayola Crayons Have Been Helping Children Color for Generations | |
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DownloadVOICE ONE:
Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I’m Barbara Klein.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Steve Ember. This week, we tell about the history of one of the most popular and colorful toy products in America. Generations of American children have grown up coloring and drawing with crayons made by the Crayola company. These small sticks of color are also popular around the world.
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(SOUND)
Andrew:
Hi, my name is Andrew Bracken and I am six years old. I like to draw neighborhoods and cities. Right now I am drawing an ice cream store. My favorite crayon colors are: pink is my first, purple is my second and blue is my last.
VOICE ONE:
That was Andrew Bracken from Arlington, Virginia. He is one of many children in America who likes to draw with Crayola crayons. Many people use these fun drawing tools, but not everyone knows their history and how they are made.
The story of Crayola began in eighteen sixty-four. Joseph Binney started a company in the state of New York called Peekskill Chemical Works. The factory made products such as paints, dyes, and charcoal. Joseph Binney later asked his son Edwin Binney and another family member, C. Harold Smith, to work with him.
VOICE TWO:
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| Binney & Smith Founders |
VOICE ONE:
In nineteen hundred the company started making slate school pencils in their factory in Easton, Pennsylvania. Binney & Smith started listening carefully to teachers who wanted better materials to use in their classrooms. The company soon made the first dustless chalk sticks for writing on school blackboards. A few years later the company decided to produce safe and low cost wax crayons, which are coloring sticks that can be made out of wax, chalk or charcoal. In fact, “crayon” comes from the French word for pencil.
VOICE TWO:
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| A box of Crayola crayons from 1903 |
Today, you can buy boxes of Crayola crayons with more than one hundred colors. But the first box of Crayolas only had eight colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, brown and black.
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VOICE ONE:
If you want to understand how these famous colorful sticks are made, you can visit the Crayola Factory visitor’s center in Easton, Pennsylvania. The real factory where Crayola crayons are produced is no longer open to the public. But at the visitors center you can see older versions of the machines that make crayons. Listen as one of the factory’s guides tells about the company.
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CHARLIE DOHERTY:
Hi, I’m Charlie Doherty. I work here at the Crayola Factory making crayons...well, showing people how we make crayons and markers. Crayola was founded, the crayon part of the company, in nineteen-oh-three. In two thousand three we had our one-hundredth anniversary. We were the first to package eight different colors back in nineteen-oh-three. We had an eight pack. You know how many colors we make now? Guess! How many?
One hundred and a half. Yeah, they come in a tower.
VOICE TWO:
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| Charlie Doherty pouring liquid parrafin wax to make crayons |
VOICE ONE:
Charlie Doherty then shows the labeling machine that wraps small squares of paper around the crayon using sticky glue made from cornstarch. The paper helps strengthen the crayon so it does not break easily when used. The labels also give the name of the color.
Before these machines existed, local farmers put the colored labels on the crayons by hand. It was a good way for these families to make money during the winter. If you visit this factory, you can try to roll and glue the paper on a newly made crayon. It is not as easy as it looks! Charlie Doherty says the farmers used to be able to put the paper labels on ten to twelve crayons a minute.
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| The sorting machine that puts crayons into their boxes |
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The machine sorts the crayons so that every box has one of every color.
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VOICE TWO:
A whole history could be written about Crayola’s names for its many colors. Over the years Crayola has renamed three of its colors to be more "politically correct" and not risk insulting some groups of people. These include “Prussian blue” which became "midnight blue," and “Indian red” which became "chestnut." In nineteen sixty-two the company changed the color “flesh” to “peach.” The Crayola Web site says this was partly a result of the civil rights movement in the United States during the nineteen-sixties.
VOICE ONE:
It might surprise you to learn how seriously some people take their crayons. In nineteen ninety Crayola decided to retire eight colors including "raw umber," "maize" and "lemon yellow." The company did not expect that many adults who grew up with those colors would be very upset. Some people even protested in front of the Crayola headquarters. People organized themselves into protest groups like “RUMP.” This stands for the "Raw Umber and Maize Preservation Society.” Another protest group was called “The Society to Save Lemon Yellow.”
Crayola did not return the eight old colors permanently. But they did create special edition metal boxes of crayons that included the newly retired colors. They sold hundreds of thousands of those tins.
VOICE TWO:
You might be wondering who names all these colors. Crayola has three main ways for finding new names. Sometimes the company uses a book from the United States Commerce Department called “Color: Universal Language and Dictionary of Names.” This book is used by experts in industries like biology, botany, and home designing. Crayola also gets names from colors used by artists.
VOICE ONE:
Sometimes Crayola asks its workers for color ideas. Their suggestions include "pig pink" and "blue bell." Crayola has even asked its buyers for color name ideas. In nineteen ninety-three Crayola held a competition for new names. Adrienne Watral was six years old at the time. She named an orange crayon after her favorite food, "macaroni and cheese." Eighty-nine-year-old Mildred Sampson picked the name “purple mountain majesty.” This phrase comes from a famous song about America, but it is also the perfect name for a color.
Crayola recently started writing the names of each color in Spanish as well as French. So, now when you pick up the blue color “cornflower” you can improve your language skills. Cornflower is “azul aciano” in Spanish and “bluet” in French.
VOICE TWO:
Crayola is not the only company that makes crayons. For example, the Swiss company Caran d’Ache makes many kinds of high quality art products. These include colorful drawing sticks like oil pastels and wax pastels. This company’s products are mostly for professional artists and designers.
The company Dixon Ticonderoga makes Prang crayons out of wax and also out of soybean oil. Some people buy soy crayons because the colors are very bright and are good for the environment. These other companies might make similar products. But Crayola crayons have their own special place in the popular imagination of generations of Americans.
We leave you with the words of Daisy Bracken. She can tell you exactly which Crayola colors are special to her.
(SOUND)
Daisy:
My name is Daisy and I am four years old. Sometimes I color with crayons. I like indigo, green and purple and pink and red and I like yellow…and green…and brown….
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VOICE ONE:
Our program was written and produced by Dana Demange. I'm Barbara Klein.
VOICE TWO:
And I'm Steve Ember. You can see pictures of crayons being made at our Web site, voaspecialenglish.com. You can also find transcripts and audio archives of our programs. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.
08 July 2007| Seeing Pressures but Also Possibilities in Urban Growth | |
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DownloadThis is the VOA Special English Development Report.
Soon, more of us will be living in cities than in rural areas. Population experts at the United Nations had thought that would happen by this year. Lately their estimate is that in two thousand eight, for the first time in history, more than half of the world population will be in urban areas.
The United Nations Population Fund just released its yearly "State of World Population" report. Researchers say three-and-a-third billion people will be living in urban areas next year. By two thousand thirty, the estimate is almost five billion. The fastest growth will be in Asia and Africa.
Poor people will make up most of the urban growth. And natural increase will be the main cause of that growth, not migration from rural areas. The report says mega-cities of more than ten million people have not grown to the sizes once expected. Most growth is expected instead in smaller towns and cities.
The experts urge governments to improve social services and city planning policies. For example, the report calls for better land use so poor people do not have to live in slums. Today, an estimated one billion live in these often polluted and dangerous environments. Ninety percent of the people are in developing countries.
The report says the possible good of urbanization far outweighs the bad. The task is to learn how to make the best use of the possibilities. For example, cities can have a lot of poverty, yet they also represent the best hope for poor people to escape poverty, it says. "Cities create environmental problems, but they can also create solutions."
The United Nations report says climate change will affect poor countries, cities and individuals more severely. Yet many fast-growing cities are more concerned with economic growth than with protecting themselves against climate change.
On a separate issue, China last week denied a newspaper story about a World Bank report on the cost of pollution in that country. The Financial Times reported that Chinese officials persuaded the bank to remove information they thought could cause social unrest.
The information reportedly said air and water pollution caused about seven hundred fifty thousand early deaths in China each year.
A Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said there was no issue involving a request from China. She said the report has not been completed yet. The World Bank said the final version will be released as a series of papers.
And that's the VOA Special English Development Report, written by Jill Moss. I’m Shep O'Neal.
07 July 2007| Clare Booth Luce, 1903-1987: News reporter, Magazine Editor, Member of Congress and Ambassador | |
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DownloadVOICE ONE:
I’m Steve Ember.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Gwen Outen with People in America in VOA Special English. Today we tell about a woman who became famous for her activities in government, the media and the arts. She was a member of Congress and an ambassador. She was a news reporter and magazine editor. And she wrote plays. Her name was Clare Boothe Luce.
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VOICE ONE:
Clare Boothe Luce was one of the most influential women in modern American history.
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| Clare Boothe Luce |
While Clare was a girl, her parents ended their marriage. She and her brother stayed with their mother. Their mother did not have a lot of money. Yet she was able to send Clare to very good schools. Her mother then married a doctor from Connecticut. Clare’s stepfather, Albert Austin, later served in the United States House of Representatives.
VOICE TWO:
As a young woman, Clare Boothe was known for her intelligence and good looks. She met her first husband through a family friend. George Tuttle Brokaw was a wealthy man. He also was more than twenty years older than Clare. They were married in nineteen twenty-three and had one child – a daughter. However, her husband had a problem with alcoholic drinks. Their marriage ended after only six years.
Clare developed a serious interest in writing. In nineteen thirty, a friend, the magazine publisher Conde Nast, offered her a job. She wrote comments for pictures published in Vogue, a magazine for women about clothes and fashion. A short time later, she accepted a job at another magazine, Vanity Fair. She wrote reports about social events and famous people in New York. Later these reports were published in a book.
VOICE ONE:
Clare Boothe became a top editor at Vanity Fair. She worked there until nineteen thirty-four. By then, she was also writing plays. One play was called “Abide With Me.” It was about a man who mistreats his wife. “Abide With Me” opened in a theater on Broadway in New York City in nineteen thirty-five. Critics hated it.
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| Clare Boothe Luce with Henry Luce |
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VOICE TWO:
Clare Boothe Luce returned to writing plays. Her second play, “The Women,” made fun of rich women. It opened on Broadway in nineteen thirty-six. The show was very popular. It was later made into a movie. Another play, “Kiss the Boys Goodbye,” also was a success. So was her next play, “Margin For Error.” All three plays were noted for their use of sharp language and making fun of human failings.
Clare Boothe Luce was known for expressing her opinions. Her most famous saying was: “No good deed goes unpunished.” She often spoke about the problems of women trying to succeed in a world mainly controlled by men. She said: “Because I am a woman, I must make unusual efforts to succeed. If I fail, no one will say, ‘She doesn’t have what it takes.’ They will say, ‘Women don’t have what it takes.'” She made these comments in a speech to the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
CLARE BOOTHE LUCE:
"We women are supposed to be a minority. I’ve never understood that myself because we outnumber the men in actual numbers, and we live five years longer. So I’ve never felt like a minority because, as you know, minorities are never supposed to say anything unkind about one another."
VOICE ONE:
In nineteen forty, Clare Boothe Luce traveled to Europe as a reporter for Life magazine, which was published by her husband. She visited a number of countries and later wrote reports about how people were dealing with World War Two. She wrote a book about this called “Europe in Spring.” In the book, she noted that people were living in “a world where men have decided to die together because they are unable to find a way to live together." She also reported from Africa, China, India and Burma for Life magazine.
In nineteen forty-two, her stepfather, Albert Austin, died. Missus Luce agreed to be the Republican Party candidate for his seat in the House of Representatives from Connecticut. She was elected and entered Congress in January, nineteen forty-three.
Missus Luce was a political conservative. She spoke against the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. She criticized the Roosevelt administration’s foreign policy. She said it failed to supervise the war effort.
VOICE TWO:
A tragic event affected Clare Boothe Luce in nineteen forty-four. Her nineteen-year-old daughter Ann was killed in an automobile accident. Missus Luce experienced severe emotional problems. She sought help from a number of people, including a Roman Catholic clergyman, the Reverend Fulton J. Sheen. At the time, he was becoming known for his radio broadcasts.
Missus Luce demanded to know why God had taken her daughter. Reverend Sheen said the young woman had died so that her mother could learn about the meaning of life.
Missus Luce recovered and returned to Congress. She remained popular among the voters of Connecticut and was re-elected to a second term in office. However, she did not seek re-election in nineteen forty-six. Missus Luce said she wanted to spend more time with her husband. She also became a member of the Roman Catholic Church.
Missus Luce returned to writing. She also edited a book about people considered holy by the Roman Catholic Church.
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VOICE ONE:
Clare Boothe Luce criticized the spread of communism after World War Two. In nineteen fifty-two, she supported the Republican Party’s candidate for president, former General Dwight Eisenhower. He won the election and appointed Missus Luce as ambassador to Italy. She became one of the first American women to serve in a major diplomatic position. Missus Luce served as the ambassador until nineteen fifty-six. She left Rome after becoming sick with arsenic poisoning caused by paint particles in her bedroom.
VOICE TWO:
Three years later, President Eisenhower nominated Missus Luce as ambassador to Brazil. Most members of the United States Senate supported her nomination. However, some senators were opposed. Among them was Wayne Morse, a Democrat from Oregon.
The Senate approved Missus Luce as the new ambassador. After the debate, she said that Senator Morse’s actions were the result of him being “kicked in the head by a horse.” Many Democrats criticized her comment. A few days later she resigned as ambassador.
VOICE ONE:
Missus Luce remained active in politics. In nineteen sixty-four, she supported Senator Barry Goldwater as the Republican Party’s candidate for president. She also announced plans to be the Conservative Party candidate for the Senate from New York. However, Republican leaders disapproved and she withdrew from the race.
Clare Boothe Luce retired from public life. She and her husband moved to Phoenix, Arizona. Henry Luce died there in nineteen sixty-seven. He was sixty-eight years old.
Missus Luce moved to Honolulu, Hawaii. She lived there until the early nineteen eighties. During that period, she served as an advisor to three presidents. She was a member of the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board.
Then Missus Luce moved to Washington, D.C. In nineteen eighty-three, President Ronald Reagan awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom. That is the highest honor a president can give to an American citizen.
Clare Boothe Luce had a long battle with cancer. She died at her home in nineteen eighty-seven. She was eighty-four years old. She was buried near the remains of her husband in the state of South Carolina.
Experts said Clare Boothe Luce had enough important jobs in government, the media and the arts to satisfy several women. She was often on the list of the ten most important and admired women in the world.
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VOICE TWO:
This program was written by George Grow. Lawan Davis was our producer. I’m Gwen Outen.
VOICE ONE:
And I’m Steve Ember. Listen again next week for People in America in VOA Special English.
06 July 2007| US High Court Takes a More Conservative Turn With Bush Appointees | |
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DownloadThis is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.
Legal experts had a lot to discuss this week. President Bush intervened to keep a former top administration official out of prison. And last week the Supreme Court ended its first full term with two Bush appointees.
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| A demonstrator holds a sign outside the Supreme Court building in December |
John Roberts arrived on the court as chief justice after William Rehnquist died in two thousand five. Justice Samuel Alito joined the court at the beginning of last year. He replaced Sandra Day O’Connor who retired.
In the most recent term, which began in October, the four most conservative justices won twice as many cases as they lost. One-third of all cases were decided by votes of five-to-four. Commentators noted it was the highest share in ten years, though not all split liberal and conservative.
The deciding vote was often Justice Anthony Kennedy. He was in the majority in every five-four decision. Over the years he has voted with conservatives as well as liberals on the court.
In this term, Justice Kennedy sided with the liberals in their most important case. The court ruled that the government has the power to restrict the release of greenhouse gases. But he took the side of the conservatives in their most important decisions.
These included upholding a federal ban on a late-term abortion method. Another decision limited the free speech rights of public school students. And last week the court limited the ability of school systems to consider race in efforts to balance student populations.
On the last day of the term, the Supreme Court agreed to hear appeals by detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The court had denied an earlier request in April. The detainees seek the right to appeal their detainment in federal court.
The administration says they are enemy combatants and should not be given such rights. The Supreme Court will hear the arguments after its next term begins in October.
This week Americans debated another legal issue after President Bush commuted the prison sentence of Lewis "Scooter" Libby. He was the top aide to Vice President Dick Cheney and a presidential assistant.
A jury found he lied in the investigation into who leaked the identity of a Central Intelligence Agency officer married to an Iraq war critic.
The president said a thirty-month term was severe. He said he has not decided about using his constitutional right to also give a pardon. Monday's action came hours after a court refused to delay the prison sentence while Lewis Libby appealed his conviction.
He has already paid a fine of two hundred fifty thousand dollars as part of his sentence. The judge also ordered probation. Now the judge asks how someone could serve two years of supervised release without first going to prison.
And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. I'm Steve Ember.
05 July 2007| Live Earth Concerts Aim to Raise the Heat on Issue of Climate Change | |
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DownloadHOST:
Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC, in VOA Special English.
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I'm Doug Johnson. On our show this week:
We answer a question from a listener about stories called urban legends…
Play music by groups taking part in worldwide Live Earth concerts to fight global warming…
And report about some movie sequels being released this summer.
Summer Sequels
HOST:
A sequel is a movie that continues a story begun in an earlier movie or tells another story using the same characters. This summer, there are a lot of them. Barbara Klein explains.
BARBARA KLEIN:
Movie studio officials say they expect sequels this summer to earn a huge amount of money. They say three such movies released in May earned more than one hundred million dollars each in ticket sales in just one month. The three movies are "Shrek Three," "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End" and "Spider-Man Three."
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"Shrek the Third" continues the story of the green cartoon creature and his wife, Princess Fiona. It has earned more than three hundred million dollars in the United States since it opened in May.
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But movie officials are disappointed that the third movies in these series are not doing as well in the United States as the second movies did. They say one reason for this may be that the three movies opened very close to each other. Still, they expect all three movies to do extremely well around the world.
Several other movie sequels were released recently. They include “Ocean’s Thirteen,” "The Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer," and "Live Free or Die Hard." Still to come this summer: "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” and “The Bourne Ultimatum.”
Urban Legends
HOST:
Our VOA listener question this week comes from Taiwan. Sandra wants to know if urban legends are true.
An urban legend is a story that many people believe to be true. Some of these stories may have had some truth to them at one time. But they usually change over time and many are not true anymore. In the past, people read such stories in magazines and newspapers. Today, the Internet spreads them around the world much faster.
Many urban legends warn about something. One very old one is about a woman who tied up her long hair and never washed it. Spiders were said to have made a nest in her hair and killed her by eating her head. Other examples include warnings about eating two different foods or medicines at the same time, like taking an aspirin with Coca Cola.
One urban legend is about ships and planes that mysteriously disappear in an area of the Atlantic Ocean called the Bermuda Triangle. Another is about people in New York City who got rid of their small pet alligators by flushing them down the toilet. These alligators lived in New York's underground waste water system and grew to be huge. Other urban legends involve famous movie stars.
Some urban legends are false, yet are extremely difficult to stop. For example, one story said a major American company gave some of its money to the Church of Satan that worships the devil. Many people who believed this story stopped buying the company’s products even though the story was false.
Some Internet sites investigate the truth of urban legends. One is called Snopes dot com. It lists the twenty-five most popular urban legends. Many are spread through the Internet. The top one is about plastic bottles you can buy that contain water. An urban legend says that these bottles release cancer-causing substances when they are re-used. Snopes says this urban legend is false.
Live Earth
HOST:
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FAITH LAPIDUS:
They are being called "the concerts for a climate in crisis." Producer Kevin Wall, working with former Vice President Al Gore, came up with the idea for Live Earth. Wall has produced concerts for many famous performers including Bob Dylan. He founded SOS, Save Our Selves, to develop events to influence people to fight climate crisis. Wall was also the man behind Live Eight, a series of concerts last year to fight poverty.
Live Earth is taking place on the seventh day of the seventh month of two thousand seven. It represents all seven continents. More than one hundred famous musicians will perform. They include the Police, Madonna and Bon Jovi.
Lenny Kravitz will be the lead act at the concert in Rio de Janeiro. His hits include "American Woman" and "Let Love Rule." Here Kravitz sings "Are You Gonna' Go My Way."
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The Black Eyed Peas will be among the performers at the show in London. Here lead singer Fergie performs a song from her solo album, "The Dutchess." "Big Girls Don't Cry" is one of the top songs on Billboard Magazine's Hot One Hundred List.
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If you are near Hamburg, Germany you can see Shakira perform at the Live Earth show there. We leave you with Shakira singing "Illegal."
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HOST:
I'm Doug Johnson. I hope you enjoyed our program today.
Nancy Steinbach and Caty Weaver wrote the program. Mario Ritter 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.
05 July 2007| How Subprime Home Loans Become Risky Investments | |
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DownloadThis is the VOA Special English Economics Report.
As the American housing market has cooled, worries about investments based on risky home loans have heated up.
Last month, two hedge funds operated by the investment bank Bear Stearns nearly collapsed under debt. They had borrowed billions of dollars from lenders and invested in securities tied to subprime mortgages.
Bear Stearns agreed to provide over one and one-half billion dollars to rescue one of the funds. Investors in the other could lose everything.
The trouble at Bear Stearns is an example of the risks involved with mortgage-backed securities. These investments have helped drive home ownership rates in the United States to nearly seventy percent. But as interest rates have risen, some homeowners now find it hard to pay their mortgages, and keep their homes.
Americans usually need a mortgage loan to buy a house. Subprime borrowers are people without strong credit histories. Lenders can charge them more because there is a greater chance they will not be able to pay back the loan.
Subprime lenders often depend on credit to make the loans. Once processed, the loan is usually sold to an investment bank. Loans with similar levels of risk are grouped together and then sold to investors worldwide as mortgage-backed securities. The higher the risk, the higher the return.
The Government National Mortgage Association, known as Ginnie Mae, and two other organizations known as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac produce most mortgage-backed securities. But investment banks have increased their share, led by Lehman Brothers. Last year, it processed more than fifty billion dollars in securities backed by subprime mortgages.
Being able to sell their loans offers mortgage lenders a way to raise money to make new loans. But being able to spread their risk can also be seen as an invitation to make bad loans.
Last week, federal agencies released the final version of a statement on subprime lending. It provides guidance to lenders to make sure borrowers are able to pay back mortgages with adjustable interest rates. The aim is to avoid payment shock as the rates increase, often after a low starting rate. The agencies also warn against lending activities that harm the interests of homeowners.
And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. Transcripts and archives of our reports are at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.
| Jerusalem 04 July 2007 |
DownloadKidnapped BBC Journalist Alan Johnston, freed from captivity in Gaza early Wednesday, has described his experiences in a meeting with the media in Jerusalem. As Robert Berger reports from VOA's Jerusalem bureau, his enormous relief is overshadowed by haunting memories.
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| BBC reporter Alan Johnston speaks to the media during a press conference at the British consulate in Jerusalem, 04 Jul 2007 |
"It just is unimaginably good to be free," he said.
He looked and felt like a new man after a haircut, shower and shave.
"Maybe you have to have been a prisoner of some kind for some time to know how good it is just to be able to do the most basic things that freedom allows, not least to get a haircut," said Johnston.
"And you want to do everything at the same time, you know you want to read books, newspapers, go to the movies, go to the beach and sit in the sun and eat and talk and all the rest of it," he added.
So different, he said, than his nearly four months in captivity.
"It was as you can imagine the most appalling experience, like being buried alive and removed from life and sometimes, occasionally quite terrifying, and always frightening in that I just didn't know when it would end or how it would end," he said.
This story had a happy ending, when the shadowy group holding him, the Army of Islam, handed him over to officials of the Islamic militant group Hamas in Gaza. He said his situation changed when Hamas seized control of Gaza in last month's civil war.
"Hamas is a controversial organization with a lot of problems and so on in terms of relations with the outside world," said Johnston. "But I'm pretty sure if Hamas hadn't come in and stuck the heat on in a big way, I'd still be in that room."
Johnston was the only western journalist based in Gaza. The Gaza Strip has been a no-go zone for western journalists since Johnston was kidnapped, and it is not clear if they will start going back.
| Geneva 04 July 2007 |
DownloadThree of the most important international organizations that deal with food, agriculture, and rural development are calling for an African Green Revolution. The World Food Program (WFP), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and International Fund for Agricultural Development say they will work together to help African countries increase their food production to overcome hunger and create a more prosperous future. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from Geneva.
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| An electrical storm lights the night sky above vegetable crops on a farm near Groblersdal, South Africa, 19 Dec. 2006 |
Deputy Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization, David Harcharik, says a Green Revolution in Africa is not only possible, but necessary. He says the program would be tailored specifically for African conditions.
"If an African Green Revolution is going to be successful, it has to reach as many farmers as possible," he said. "Most of these farmers are subsistence farmers now. I think the Green Revolution has got to find some way to reach out to them and help them increase their agricultural productivity. But, I do not think that that in itself would be sufficient. There has to be a way for farmers to market and sell produce that they produce beyond their own immediate family or village needs."
Harcharik says international trading rules have to be adjusted to give African farmers greater international market access and a fairer chance of exporting their products.
International Fund for Agricultural Development Vice President Kanayo Nwanze says a Green Revolution must be based on African traditions and values.
"It must be a bottom up approach. It must be community based and emphasis must be on rural communities with the targets being women and children given the important role that is played by women in African agriculture," he noted. "We have very clear evidence that investments into women farmers actually increases the chances of better nutrition, better education, better clothing for children."
Nwanze says bad, corrupt governments in Africa are holding back progress. He says African leaders must root out corruption in their political systems and be more transparent if they want to move forward and create a better future for Africa.
The U.N. agencies agree that the amount of Overseas Development Assistance must be increased. But, they say the international community will be more willing to increase their financial commitments to Africa if they see African governments investing more of their national budgets in their own agricultural production.
