First of all, thank you for your votes and comments on this issue. All together 20 people have voted for the question, half of them prefer a housewife and the other half prefer a career woman. We divided voters into two groups according to their gender. Eight men and ten women expressed their related comments as followings.
Men's opinions:
3 men prefer a career woman:
jeffconno 2007-3-19 09:55: Well, my wife better to be career woman at first so than we can share responsibility of supporting family, when we have enough wealth, to be an housewife is good but only if she wants to be.
rosepanther 2007-3-19 18:09: I prefer a career wife. Women should work and help their husbands financially. I am happy with my wife's salary .She is happy too.
cyberspook 2007-3-19 19:14: I would prefer a career woman , the reason is simple , I am a career man , I found out late that to have a career is to have independence and security , a woman needs a certain independence and she certainly needs security , a career can help her achieve that , I would be willing to help and support her any way I can to help her , this kind of help and commitment can only foster a deeper love and trust toward each other that will spread to other facets of our life together , I don't just wand a wife , I want a life partner I need my life partner.
2 men who prefer a housewife:
geminialex 2007-3-19 23:17: I am not old enough to experience having a wife. But as to me, I prefer a house wife. I hold the conception that diligence is the vocation of male. So I want my future wife to have a job but never take it serious and just enjoy our love, our family and our world.
changzhou007 2007-3-22 07:25: 1. I'd like to stretch the housewife-thingy a bit farther. How about an educated wife who teaches her kids at home full time? I meant home schooling, the kids stay at home and don't go to school. 2. Recently, there is one extraordinary phenomenon taking place quietly and sweeping through the North American continent, which is called as "The super women are coming home!". More and more career women are dropping out of the corporation rat race or quitting their high profile professional positions, coming home and staying at home and taking care of their kids. They usually stay at home for about five years on average, some of them re-enter the workforce, and some start their own business later on. The survey result has shown that most of those women did not regret their choices and enjoyed the quality time they have spent with their kids and families, although they have given up their careers. As a guy, I salute those women!
3 men are with neutral opinion:
desperado123 2007-3-19 23:58: I respect women's right , let them choose what they want to ,however , first of all I think it should be given this warning that no one is dependable unless you stand on your own feet .
spiritrace 2007-3-21 20:45: Personally I would take either or both as a mate. I don't have a problem with a woman with a career or who wants to stay home.
tearsgoneby 2007-3-19 11:59: if we got a balance between them, then she will neither be a career nor a housewife
Women's opinions:
2 women prefer career a women:
polaris1120 2007-3-19 10:19: If a woman isn't economic independent, she is very likely to be abandoned by her husband. There are too many such things happened every day, at least in China. The housewife cannot say anything about her husband's wrongdoing, even if he has a mistress.
sockmonkey 2007-3-20 04:31: I didn't get a $160,000 education just to sit on my butt at home... I would definitely rather be a career woman.
3 women prefer a housewife:
anna_sxm 2007-3-19 14:31: to be honest, I want to be housewife, so that I will have enough time to do things I'm interest in. but, in the true life, I chose to be a career woman, because the external condition is not proper.
blueruer 2007-3-19 15:48: come to your support of being a housewife
fluffy 2007-3-19 17:45: I want to be a housewife and that’s it, nothing more or less, its hard to find such a position in today's society...women tend to be and have to be everything these days....its a very tough life.
5 women are with neutral opinion:
ivy20025 2007-3-19 11:43: how about ...being...both? A good housewife and then having a good career? Could we get a balance in between?
holidays 2007-3-19 18:10: Which one is better, for me, it would depend on which one have more security. Nowadays, it seems husbands are less reliable and women received better education...
xilaren 2007-3-20 04:36: To be honest at this particular time I would rather be neither a career woman nor a housewife. I would like to be just a traveler .I suffer so much because of this career.
shelleybelly 2007-3-20 12:38: I know to be a housewife that your husband must have strong financial backups to allow you to be a happy housewife
iamlost 2007-3-21 23:27: now it's a half-half...Once I was impressed by a TV show in which the hostess said being a housewife was also a career and not easy to carry on. Housewife means more than staying at home, doing washing and cleaning. It is a job for a wife to manage a family in an all-round way, if not financially. I want to be a perfect housewife one day, if my husband has no problem with that.
Statistic result:
37.5% male and 20% female voters favor career women, 25% male and 30% females voters favor housewives, 37.5% male and 50% female voters hold neutral views.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Getting a military education at West Point
This is the VOA Special English Education Report.
This week, in our series for students who want to study in the United States, we tell about the United States Military Academy at West Point.
West Point is a four-year school in New York State that educates future Army officers. The students are called cadets. They do not have to pay for their educations. But they must agree to serve on active duty in the Army for at least five years after they graduate.
A young man or woman must be nominated to the academy, usually by a federal or state lawmaker. Nominees also must satisfy the entrance requirements. These include being in excellent physical condition and getting good grades in high school.
About 4,000 American cadets are at West Point this year. In addition, fifty-nine cadets from foreign countries are attending.
These international students are nominated by their home governments. They also must satisfy the physical and educational requirements. And they must do well on the TOEFL, the Test of English as a Foreign Language.
Home governments may have to pay up to 60,000 dollars a year for each student they send to West Point. Among the countries with cadets at the academy this year are Afghanistan, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Costa Rica, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka, and Tunisia.
Each year, the United States Defense Department invites countries to nominate students to West Point and to the Navy and Air Force academies. This year, 159 countries were asked to nominate students for the next school year. Not all countries take part in the program.
We spoke to Major Robert Romans, chief of the international affairs division at West Point, and Major Michael McBride, head of the international cadet program. They say up to sixty foreign cadets at any one time can attend the academy. And they say that interested students must seek information about the program at their local American Embassy. The embassy's Defense Cooperation Office will know how the student can be nominated.
The West Point Web site provides some information about the international cadet program and its requirements. The address is admissions.u-s-m-a.e-d-u.
Our Foreign Student Series continues next week. Scripts are available on the Internet at voaspecialenglish.com.
And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. I'm Steve Ember.
cadet : a student at a military school who is training to be an officer （军校学员）
This week, in our series for students who want to study in the United States, we tell about the United States Military Academy at West Point.
West Point is a four-year school in New York State that educates future Army officers. The students are called cadets. They do not have to pay for their educations. But they must agree to serve on active duty in the Army for at least five years after they graduate.
A young man or woman must be nominated to the academy, usually by a federal or state lawmaker. Nominees also must satisfy the entrance requirements. These include being in excellent physical condition and getting good grades in high school.
About 4,000 American cadets are at West Point this year. In addition, fifty-nine cadets from foreign countries are attending.
These international students are nominated by their home governments. They also must satisfy the physical and educational requirements. And they must do well on the TOEFL, the Test of English as a Foreign Language.
Home governments may have to pay up to 60,000 dollars a year for each student they send to West Point. Among the countries with cadets at the academy this year are Afghanistan, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Costa Rica, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka, and Tunisia.
Each year, the United States Defense Department invites countries to nominate students to West Point and to the Navy and Air Force academies. This year, 159 countries were asked to nominate students for the next school year. Not all countries take part in the program.
We spoke to Major Robert Romans, chief of the international affairs division at West Point, and Major Michael McBride, head of the international cadet program. They say up to sixty foreign cadets at any one time can attend the academy. And they say that interested students must seek information about the program at their local American Embassy. The embassy's Defense Cooperation Office will know how the student can be nominated.
The West Point Web site provides some information about the international cadet program and its requirements. The address is admissions.u-s-m-a.e-d-u.
Our Foreign Student Series continues next week. Scripts are available on the Internet at voaspecialenglish.com.
And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. I'm Steve Ember.
cadet : a student at a military school who is training to be an officer （军校学员）
make a story by some interesting sentences
Linda: Would you like to climb mountain with me during the summer holiday?
Mary: Any day will do?
Linda: Yes, I am free at home.
Mary: OK. I will inform you if I decide the time.
Linda: That’s settled then.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Linda: Any message for me?
Linda’s mother: Mary made a phone to you. You’d better call her in reply.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Linda: Hello, Mary.
Mary: Hello. Are you free tomorrow? I want to talk about our trip in your home.
Linda: Are you by yourself?
Mary: No. Peter and Jane would like to join us. All right with you?
Linda: Are you kidding me? Jane is too weak to climb. I think she can walk 20metres only.
Mary: Great minds think alike! But Peter will send us there by car if Jane goes.
Linda: Well. See you tomorrow.
Mary: See you.
Mary: Any day will do?
Linda: Yes, I am free at home.
Mary: OK. I will inform you if I decide the time.
Linda: That’s settled then.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Linda: Any message for me?
Linda’s mother: Mary made a phone to you. You’d better call her in reply.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Linda: Hello, Mary.
Mary: Hello. Are you free tomorrow? I want to talk about our trip in your home.
Linda: Are you by yourself?
Mary: No. Peter and Jane would like to join us. All right with you?
Linda: Are you kidding me? Jane is too weak to climb. I think she can walk 20metres only.
Mary: Great minds think alike! But Peter will send us there by car if Jane goes.
Linda: Well. See you tomorrow.
Mary: See you.
Congress probes FBI abuse of power
U.S. legislators on Tuesday heard first hand the findings of an internal government report, which revealed that the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or FBI, abused its powers in obtaining personal information during investigations of suspected terrorists. VOA's Peter Fedynsky reports an FBI official acknowledged the revelations have damaged the agency's credibility.
Nearly 80 minutes into the hearing, Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers banged the gavel to restore order after a member of the audience briefly disrupted the proceedings.
The comment "We don't trust the FBI!" underscored what the FBI's General Counsel, Valerie Caproni, told the committee earlier in the hearing - that the bureau needs American public support to fight terrorism, particularly in neighborhoods susceptible to radical influence. "We need people in those communities to call us when they hear or see something that looks amiss. We know that we reduce the probability of that call immeasurably, if we lose the confidence of any part of the American public," she said.
That trust, however, has been eroded amid revelations that the FBI may have misused so-called National Security Letters to obtain private information about people, without getting prior approval from a judge or a grand jury.
Controls over how the letters are used was loosened under the so-called Patriot Act, a controversial law passed by Congress to hunt for terrorists in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
In his testimony, Inspector General Glenn Fine told the House Judiciary Committee that the FBI dramatically increased the number of National Security letters in violation of statues, and policies established by the bureau and the U.S. Attorney General. But Fine said the FBI did not intentionally violate the law. "We believe the misuses and problems that we found generally were the problem of mistakes, carelessness, confusion, sloppiness, lack of training, lack of adequate guidance and lack of adequate oversight," he said.
Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, however, noted that the FBI was aware of the abuses as early as 2004. The Inspector General conceded that his investigation did not inquire about the actions of individuals. He said it would be appropriate for the FBI to learn exactly who was doing what, when and why, and to hold people accountable for any violations.
Committee member Jerrold Nadler, a New York Democrat and critic of the Patriot Act, said the FBI abuses could be attributed to the law itself. "It is not enough to mandate that the FBI fix internal management problems and record-keeping, because the statute itself authorizes the unchecked collection of information on innocent Americans," he said.
But Republican Lamar Smith of Texas said the problem is due to poor implementation. "In other words, the problem is enforcement of the law, not the law itself.Timely corrected measures by FBI and effective oversight by the Justice Department in the congress will ensure proper use of the important law." he said.
Members of the Judiciary Committee warned the FBI that it could lose its expanded surveillance authority, if the bureau fails to correct its mistakes.
Nearly 80 minutes into the hearing, Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers banged the gavel to restore order after a member of the audience briefly disrupted the proceedings.
The comment "We don't trust the FBI!" underscored what the FBI's General Counsel, Valerie Caproni, told the committee earlier in the hearing - that the bureau needs American public support to fight terrorism, particularly in neighborhoods susceptible to radical influence. "We need people in those communities to call us when they hear or see something that looks amiss. We know that we reduce the probability of that call immeasurably, if we lose the confidence of any part of the American public," she said.
That trust, however, has been eroded amid revelations that the FBI may have misused so-called National Security Letters to obtain private information about people, without getting prior approval from a judge or a grand jury.
Controls over how the letters are used was loosened under the so-called Patriot Act, a controversial law passed by Congress to hunt for terrorists in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
In his testimony, Inspector General Glenn Fine told the House Judiciary Committee that the FBI dramatically increased the number of National Security letters in violation of statues, and policies established by the bureau and the U.S. Attorney General. But Fine said the FBI did not intentionally violate the law. "We believe the misuses and problems that we found generally were the problem of mistakes, carelessness, confusion, sloppiness, lack of training, lack of adequate guidance and lack of adequate oversight," he said.
Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, however, noted that the FBI was aware of the abuses as early as 2004. The Inspector General conceded that his investigation did not inquire about the actions of individuals. He said it would be appropriate for the FBI to learn exactly who was doing what, when and why, and to hold people accountable for any violations.
Committee member Jerrold Nadler, a New York Democrat and critic of the Patriot Act, said the FBI abuses could be attributed to the law itself. "It is not enough to mandate that the FBI fix internal management problems and record-keeping, because the statute itself authorizes the unchecked collection of information on innocent Americans," he said.
But Republican Lamar Smith of Texas said the problem is due to poor implementation. "In other words, the problem is enforcement of the law, not the law itself.Timely corrected measures by FBI and effective oversight by the Justice Department in the congress will ensure proper use of the important law." he said.
Members of the Judiciary Committee warned the FBI that it could lose its expanded surveillance authority, if the bureau fails to correct its mistakes.
N.Korean nuclear talks extended
The North Korea nuclear talks are being extended in Beijing as Pyongyang continues to insist it gets back $25 million that had been frozen in a Macau bank. VOA's Luis Ramirez reports from Beijing.
Diplomats had hoped to conclude what was supposed to be a three-day session, but with the North Koreans boycotting plenary sessions for two days, the Chinese hosts decided to try again and asked all the participants to stay another day.
The impasse involves North Korea's insistence that it first confirm receipt of nearly $25 million being released from a Macau bank, before continuing with negotiations. The money had been frozen during an 18-month U.S. probe into allegations that the bank, Banco Delta Asia, had helped launder millions of dollars that North Korea obtained through counterfeiting, drug trafficking, and other crimes.
A U.S. ruling recently cleared the way for Macau to release the funds to North Korea via a Chinese bank, which by late Wednesday, had not happened.
U.S. envoy Christopher Hill said the North Koreans did attend a short plenary session. He said the Chinese hosts are working to keep the talks going and make up for lost time.
"They feel they can resolve some of these issues with the bank accounts that have really slowed things up and so they are hopeful that in another day we can get back to some of the real issues that we are trying to get resolved," he said.
Hill says the stalemate over the funds has prevented the participants from getting to the core issue of nuclear disarmament.
In a February preliminary accord, Pyongyang promised to shut down its main nuclear reactor and plutonium factory by mid-April in exchange for energy aid and diplomatic concessions. Ultimately, the agreement calls for North Korea to provide a full accounting of its nuclear capabilities and a disabling of its facilities.
The participants in the talks, which also include officials from Japan, Russia, and South Korea, hope to leave Beijing with a timetable for implementation of the February agreement.
Diplomats had hoped to conclude what was supposed to be a three-day session, but with the North Koreans boycotting plenary sessions for two days, the Chinese hosts decided to try again and asked all the participants to stay another day.
The impasse involves North Korea's insistence that it first confirm receipt of nearly $25 million being released from a Macau bank, before continuing with negotiations. The money had been frozen during an 18-month U.S. probe into allegations that the bank, Banco Delta Asia, had helped launder millions of dollars that North Korea obtained through counterfeiting, drug trafficking, and other crimes.
A U.S. ruling recently cleared the way for Macau to release the funds to North Korea via a Chinese bank, which by late Wednesday, had not happened.
U.S. envoy Christopher Hill said the North Koreans did attend a short plenary session. He said the Chinese hosts are working to keep the talks going and make up for lost time.
"They feel they can resolve some of these issues with the bank accounts that have really slowed things up and so they are hopeful that in another day we can get back to some of the real issues that we are trying to get resolved," he said.
Hill says the stalemate over the funds has prevented the participants from getting to the core issue of nuclear disarmament.
In a February preliminary accord, Pyongyang promised to shut down its main nuclear reactor and plutonium factory by mid-April in exchange for energy aid and diplomatic concessions. Ultimately, the agreement calls for North Korea to provide a full accounting of its nuclear capabilities and a disabling of its facilities.
The participants in the talks, which also include officials from Japan, Russia, and South Korea, hope to leave Beijing with a timetable for implementation of the February agreement.
Secretary Rice heading back to Middle East
U.S. President George Bush is sending Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to the Middle East Friday for talks in Egypt, Israel and Jordan aimed at resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns has the story.
President Bush says he is sending Secretary Rice back to the Middle East because securing peace there is a U.S. priority.
"She's going to continue our efforts to involve all parties -- the Palestinians, the Israelis, Arabs -- to work for a solution that will lead to peace, and that is a Palestinian state, living side-by-side with Israel in peace and security," said President Bush.
Rice is scheduled to meet with Israeli and Palestinian officials, as well as Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordanian King Abdullah.
President Bush says he has been in contact with regional allies to remind them of what he says is his strong commitment to the two-state solution.
"This will be hard work. It's not easy to get all parties headed in the right direction," he said. "But it's necessary work for this country, and it's necessary for our secretary of state, with my strong approval, to be moving the process forward."
Rival Palestinian groups Hamas and Fatah agreed on a unity government earlier this month in Saudi-sponsored talks.
The Bush administration says it will have contacts with non-Hamas members of the new government. But the administration will not deal with Hamas, which it lists as a terrorist group, and which refuses to recognize Israel, renounce violence and abide by past peace accords.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says his country is willing to make what he calls painful concessions to advance the long-stalled peace process.
He says a Saudi initiative calling for Israel to return all territory occupied in 1967 in exchange for normal relations with Arab neighbors could be a convenient basis for future talks.
President Bush says he is sending Secretary Rice back to the Middle East because securing peace there is a U.S. priority.
"She's going to continue our efforts to involve all parties -- the Palestinians, the Israelis, Arabs -- to work for a solution that will lead to peace, and that is a Palestinian state, living side-by-side with Israel in peace and security," said President Bush.
Rice is scheduled to meet with Israeli and Palestinian officials, as well as Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordanian King Abdullah.
President Bush says he has been in contact with regional allies to remind them of what he says is his strong commitment to the two-state solution.
"This will be hard work. It's not easy to get all parties headed in the right direction," he said. "But it's necessary work for this country, and it's necessary for our secretary of state, with my strong approval, to be moving the process forward."
Rival Palestinian groups Hamas and Fatah agreed on a unity government earlier this month in Saudi-sponsored talks.
The Bush administration says it will have contacts with non-Hamas members of the new government. But the administration will not deal with Hamas, which it lists as a terrorist group, and which refuses to recognize Israel, renounce violence and abide by past peace accords.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says his country is willing to make what he calls painful concessions to advance the long-stalled peace process.
He says a Saudi initiative calling for Israel to return all territory occupied in 1967 in exchange for normal relations with Arab neighbors could be a convenient basis for future talks.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Debate heats up with approach of Iraq war's 4th anniversary
As the fourth anniversary of the Iraq war approaches, debate over the war's future is heating up among politicians in Washington. The sides of the argument mostly fall along partisan lines, with Democrats, who control both houses of Congress, sharply criticizing the Bush administration's policies. VOA's Stephanie Ho has more on the story.
Critics of the Bush administration's Iraq policy include Democratic Senator John Kerry, who was his party's presidential candidate in 2004. He blasted the White House for sending more U.S. troops to Iraq, and said he believes there is no military solution to the ongoing violence in the country.
"I get really angry," said John Kerry. "I heard about those four soldiers killed today and I say to myself, as someone who remembers going out on patrols that sort of had a huge question mark over them, what are we doing? What are these kids doing, going out there and finding an IED [improvised explosive device] the hard way?"
The four U.S. troops were killed Sunday by a roadside bomb in Baghdad.
In an effort to quell the violence, the White House in January said it is sending 21,500 additional U.S. troops to Iraq. More recently, the Bush administration announced it is sending 4,700 more troops to Iraq, mostly to serve in a support capacity.
The Bush administration's policy was praised by White House National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley. Speaking on the ABC television program This Week, he acknowledged that some Iraqis want the U.S. military presence to be, in his words, "over."
"But the point is we need to get it in a position where the Iraqis can take responsibility for security successfully," said Stephen Hadley. "Because if we do not and we do a premature withdrawal, then what we have is a situation where, if the Iraqi forces cannot handle the situation, which is the case now, we have Iraq as a safe haven for terrorists, who will destabilize the neighbors and attack us."
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates appeared on the CBS television program Face the Nation to urge critics to wait and see whether the White House's latest troop surge plan is effective.
"General Petraeus, the commander out there, has said it will probably be summer before we know whether we are being successful or not," said Robert Gates. "But I would say that the Iraqis are meeting the commitments they have made to us."
Democratic congressman and prominent critic of the Iraq war, John Murtha, indicated his distrust of the Bush administration's management, in an appearance on CNN's Late Edition.
"Every time they say there is progress, it turns out there is no progress and then they have to backtrack," said Congressman Murtha. "For instance, they say everything is getting better, yet oil production, electricity production are all below pre-war levels. Incidents have increased outside Baghdad."
He said he believes something dramatic needs to be done in order for the situation to get better. He is among supporters of legislation in the House of Representatives that includes a deadline of September 2008 for U.S. troops to be withdrawn from Iraq.
Meanwhile, thousands of people demonstrated in Washington Saturday to show their opposition to the Iraq War. There were others demonstrating in support.
Protests are expected to continue in the United States and elsewhere in the world before Tuesday's four-year anniversary of the start of the war.
Critics of the Bush administration's Iraq policy include Democratic Senator John Kerry, who was his party's presidential candidate in 2004. He blasted the White House for sending more U.S. troops to Iraq, and said he believes there is no military solution to the ongoing violence in the country.
"I get really angry," said John Kerry. "I heard about those four soldiers killed today and I say to myself, as someone who remembers going out on patrols that sort of had a huge question mark over them, what are we doing? What are these kids doing, going out there and finding an IED [improvised explosive device] the hard way?"
The four U.S. troops were killed Sunday by a roadside bomb in Baghdad.
In an effort to quell the violence, the White House in January said it is sending 21,500 additional U.S. troops to Iraq. More recently, the Bush administration announced it is sending 4,700 more troops to Iraq, mostly to serve in a support capacity.
The Bush administration's policy was praised by White House National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley. Speaking on the ABC television program This Week, he acknowledged that some Iraqis want the U.S. military presence to be, in his words, "over."
"But the point is we need to get it in a position where the Iraqis can take responsibility for security successfully," said Stephen Hadley. "Because if we do not and we do a premature withdrawal, then what we have is a situation where, if the Iraqi forces cannot handle the situation, which is the case now, we have Iraq as a safe haven for terrorists, who will destabilize the neighbors and attack us."
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates appeared on the CBS television program Face the Nation to urge critics to wait and see whether the White House's latest troop surge plan is effective.
"General Petraeus, the commander out there, has said it will probably be summer before we know whether we are being successful or not," said Robert Gates. "But I would say that the Iraqis are meeting the commitments they have made to us."
Democratic congressman and prominent critic of the Iraq war, John Murtha, indicated his distrust of the Bush administration's management, in an appearance on CNN's Late Edition.
"Every time they say there is progress, it turns out there is no progress and then they have to backtrack," said Congressman Murtha. "For instance, they say everything is getting better, yet oil production, electricity production are all below pre-war levels. Incidents have increased outside Baghdad."
He said he believes something dramatic needs to be done in order for the situation to get better. He is among supporters of legislation in the House of Representatives that includes a deadline of September 2008 for U.S. troops to be withdrawn from Iraq.
Meanwhile, thousands of people demonstrated in Washington Saturday to show their opposition to the Iraq War. There were others demonstrating in support.
Protests are expected to continue in the United States and elsewhere in the world before Tuesday's four-year anniversary of the start of the war.
UN chief 'encouraged' by North Korea talks
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says he is encouraged by North Korea's apparent willingness to dismantle its nuclear weapons. In an exclusive VOA interview, Mr. Ban discussed his back stage role in the ongoing six-party talks on denuclearizing the Korean peninsula. Correspondent Peter Heinlein spoke to the secretary-general, and files this report.
As a former South Korean foreign minister, Mr. Ban is intimately familiar with the six-party talks involving South and North Korea, Russia, China, Japan and the United States. But since he took over as U.N. secretary-general in January, he no longer has an active role in the talks.
Nevertheless, Mr. Ban told VOA he is watching developments carefully, and working behind the scenes to ensure the success of efforts to denuclearize the Korean peninsula.
"I have been closely monitoring, in my capacity as secretary-general of the United Nations, using my experience and know-how dealing with the North Korea nuclear issue," said Mr. Ban. "It was a very encouraging development of the situation when the six parties have agreed on these nuclear issues and denuclearization process."
Mr. Ban says his efforts include close contacts with many of the principals in the six-party talks, which resumed Monday in Beijing.
"I have been trying my best, first, to facilitate the ongoing peace process," said U.N. secretary-general. "I met the chief negotiator of the United States."
"I have discussed this matter with Secretary of State, Dr. Rice, and many other senior officials of other governments," he added.
The secretary-general said he was pleased at the landmark 'aid-for disarmament' deal reached among the six parties February 13 in Beijing. According to the terms of that deal, North Korea agreed to dismantle all nuclear weapons and materials in return for economic and security assistance.
Secretary-General Ban called Pyongyang's decision to accept the deal 'good policy'.
"It's always good for the parties to engage in direct dialogue in a bilateral setting or a multilateral setting. And it is also encouraging that North Korea has decided to engage in dialogue. It was I think a good policy for them," Mr. Ban said.
The secretary-general also expressed satisfaction that the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency, Mohammed ElBaradei, has also had good discussions with North Korean authorities about implementing the February 13th deal.
If followed, the agreement would lead to North Korea getting out of the nuclear weapons business entirely, normalizing relations with longtime enemies Japan and the United States, and possibly ending 53 years of stalemate that has existed since the Korean War ended without a peace agreement.
But the chief U.S. delegate at the six-party talks, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill recently cautioned against being overly optimistic about the early successes. He likened the process to a video game that gets more and more difficult as you move on to higher and higher levels.
As a former South Korean foreign minister, Mr. Ban is intimately familiar with the six-party talks involving South and North Korea, Russia, China, Japan and the United States. But since he took over as U.N. secretary-general in January, he no longer has an active role in the talks.
Nevertheless, Mr. Ban told VOA he is watching developments carefully, and working behind the scenes to ensure the success of efforts to denuclearize the Korean peninsula.
"I have been closely monitoring, in my capacity as secretary-general of the United Nations, using my experience and know-how dealing with the North Korea nuclear issue," said Mr. Ban. "It was a very encouraging development of the situation when the six parties have agreed on these nuclear issues and denuclearization process."
Mr. Ban says his efforts include close contacts with many of the principals in the six-party talks, which resumed Monday in Beijing.
"I have been trying my best, first, to facilitate the ongoing peace process," said U.N. secretary-general. "I met the chief negotiator of the United States."
"I have discussed this matter with Secretary of State, Dr. Rice, and many other senior officials of other governments," he added.
The secretary-general said he was pleased at the landmark 'aid-for disarmament' deal reached among the six parties February 13 in Beijing. According to the terms of that deal, North Korea agreed to dismantle all nuclear weapons and materials in return for economic and security assistance.
Secretary-General Ban called Pyongyang's decision to accept the deal 'good policy'.
"It's always good for the parties to engage in direct dialogue in a bilateral setting or a multilateral setting. And it is also encouraging that North Korea has decided to engage in dialogue. It was I think a good policy for them," Mr. Ban said.
The secretary-general also expressed satisfaction that the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency, Mohammed ElBaradei, has also had good discussions with North Korean authorities about implementing the February 13th deal.
If followed, the agreement would lead to North Korea getting out of the nuclear weapons business entirely, normalizing relations with longtime enemies Japan and the United States, and possibly ending 53 years of stalemate that has existed since the Korean War ended without a peace agreement.
But the chief U.S. delegate at the six-party talks, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill recently cautioned against being overly optimistic about the early successes. He likened the process to a video game that gets more and more difficult as you move on to higher and higher levels.
Friday, March 16, 2007
Bush begins week-long Latin America tour
President Bush has embarked on a week-long tour of Latin America. VOA White House correspondent Paula Wolfson sets the scene for the trip from his first stop, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
President Bush came to office with a vow to make Latin America a policy priority.
"Our hemisphere is not going to be an afterthought for this administration," he said. "One of the most important parts of our foreign policy will be to promote prosperity and peace and freedom throughout this hemisphere."
But everything changed on September 11, 2001, when terrorists struck the United States. Fighting terrorism soared to the top of the Bush administration agenda, along with promoting democracy in the Middle East. Latin America was overshadowed by news of war and bloodshed, and some to the south began to believe they were being ignored.
"Generally speaking, the United States is not viewed with the confidence it once was," said Peter Hakim, who heads a group called the Inter-American Dialogue, a private organization set up to foster hemispheric ties.
"I have not seen in the region, and I travel there quite a bit, as much anti-U.S. sentiment across the region and it is very pervasive," he added.
White House aides say President Bush is making this trip in an effort to persuade America's neighbors to the South that he does care about their plight.
At a recent Washington address, the president indicated the journey will highlight, if not a policy shift, at least a change in focus.
"The working poor of Latin America need change, and the United States of America is committed to that change," added Mr. Bush.
Mr. Bush will spend a lot of his time visiting programs that help the poor and the disenfranchised. Instead of devoting most of his public comments to issues like free trade and counter-narcotics, he will use this trip to showcase his willingness to help the democracies of the region meet the basic needs of their people: education, health care and housing.
Cynthia Arnson is director of the Latin American Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington. She says the Bush administration has realized that too many people in the region feel the move to democracy and free markets has done little if anything to improve their lives.
"It is a recognition at the highest levels of the U.S. government that there are other issues at play in the hemisphere than the ones the United States has traditionally focused on," she noted.
Arnson says the lack of progress has enabled a new political left to take hold in Latin America. And no one exemplifies that new left better than the anti-American president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez.
"I think it is true that there is probably no issue that serves as a common denominator defining today's left in the region more than the desire to address the massive poverty and social injustice that exists in various degrees of severity throughout Latin America," she added.
The White House denies the president is going to Latin America to counter Hugo Chavez, and US officials say they expect little mention of the Venezuelan leader in Mr. Bush's public comments.
What they do expect is an emphasis on the positive, as President Bush stops at youth centers, visits farm cooperatives, and pays homage to the region's indigenous culture.
His travels will take him from Brazil to Uruguay, Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico for meetings with presidents from the political left to the right of center.
The aim may well be to show that Mr. Bush is willing to work with any hemispheric leader who believes in, what he calls, good governance. That amounts to a belief in democracy and free markets combined with a strong desire to make sure the benefits reach all members of society, not just a privileged few.
President Bush came to office with a vow to make Latin America a policy priority.
"Our hemisphere is not going to be an afterthought for this administration," he said. "One of the most important parts of our foreign policy will be to promote prosperity and peace and freedom throughout this hemisphere."
But everything changed on September 11, 2001, when terrorists struck the United States. Fighting terrorism soared to the top of the Bush administration agenda, along with promoting democracy in the Middle East. Latin America was overshadowed by news of war and bloodshed, and some to the south began to believe they were being ignored.
"Generally speaking, the United States is not viewed with the confidence it once was," said Peter Hakim, who heads a group called the Inter-American Dialogue, a private organization set up to foster hemispheric ties.
"I have not seen in the region, and I travel there quite a bit, as much anti-U.S. sentiment across the region and it is very pervasive," he added.
White House aides say President Bush is making this trip in an effort to persuade America's neighbors to the South that he does care about their plight.
At a recent Washington address, the president indicated the journey will highlight, if not a policy shift, at least a change in focus.
"The working poor of Latin America need change, and the United States of America is committed to that change," added Mr. Bush.
Mr. Bush will spend a lot of his time visiting programs that help the poor and the disenfranchised. Instead of devoting most of his public comments to issues like free trade and counter-narcotics, he will use this trip to showcase his willingness to help the democracies of the region meet the basic needs of their people: education, health care and housing.
Cynthia Arnson is director of the Latin American Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington. She says the Bush administration has realized that too many people in the region feel the move to democracy and free markets has done little if anything to improve their lives.
"It is a recognition at the highest levels of the U.S. government that there are other issues at play in the hemisphere than the ones the United States has traditionally focused on," she noted.
Arnson says the lack of progress has enabled a new political left to take hold in Latin America. And no one exemplifies that new left better than the anti-American president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez.
"I think it is true that there is probably no issue that serves as a common denominator defining today's left in the region more than the desire to address the massive poverty and social injustice that exists in various degrees of severity throughout Latin America," she added.
The White House denies the president is going to Latin America to counter Hugo Chavez, and US officials say they expect little mention of the Venezuelan leader in Mr. Bush's public comments.
What they do expect is an emphasis on the positive, as President Bush stops at youth centers, visits farm cooperatives, and pays homage to the region's indigenous culture.
His travels will take him from Brazil to Uruguay, Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico for meetings with presidents from the political left to the right of center.
The aim may well be to show that Mr. Bush is willing to work with any hemispheric leader who believes in, what he calls, good governance. That amounts to a belief in democracy and free markets combined with a strong desire to make sure the benefits reach all members of society, not just a privileged few.
Bush vows support for beleaguered Uribe
President Bush traveled to Colombia Sunday amid tight security in a show of support for President Alvaro Uribe, VOA's Paula Wolfson reports from Bogota the short visit was long on symbolism.
President Bush came to Bogota at a critical time. President Uribe, his strongest ally in the region, is dealing with a political scandal involving members of his inner circle. And in Washington, Democrats in the U.S. Congress are questioning the Bush administration's request for billions of dollars over the next few years in additional aid to Colombia, which remains the world's largest producer of cocaine.
Mr. Bush says "Plan Colombia" - the program set up to battle narco-terrorists - is worthy of continued U.S. support. And he stressed he has confidence in President Uribe.
"You have set high expectations for your nation," said President Bush. "I appreciate your determination. And I am proud to call you a personal friend, and call your country a strategic partner of the United States."
During a joint news conference, Mr. Bush spoke directly about the political scandal that has rocked Colombia - the revelation that some of President Uribe's allies had ties to paramilitary commanders.
"I support a plan that says there will be an independent judiciary analyzing every charge brought forth and when someone is found guilty there will be punishment," he said. "That is the kind of plan I support. And it happens to be the kind of plan the president supports."
Mr. Uribe said the prosecutions, trials and sentences handed down are proof of just how far Colombia has come in its fight against insurgents and drug lords.
"Instead of being afraid of telling the truth, we have been supporting truth," said Alvaro Uribe. "Instead of looking for ways out of justice, we are trying to support justice as much as possible."
Mr. Bush is the first U.S. president to visit Bogota in a quarter century. Security was extremely tight for his visit with more than 20,000 police deployed in the city. They stood just a few meters apart, lining his motorcade route. And the entire visit - which lasted less than seven hours - played out largely in the confines of Colombia's presidential palace and an adjacent city square that was closed to the public.
Mr. Bush received a red-carpet welcome in the square. But there was also a raucous welcome from protesters - including one group that clashed with police within sight of his motorcade.
President Bush's critics here in Colombia charge the United States is putting too much money into military aid and not enough into funding programs to help the poor and the disadvantaged.
Before leaving Washington, Mr. Bush announced an increase in U.S. funds to help meet basic needs in Latin America, such as housing, health care and education. Colombia remains the largest U.S. aid recipient in the region and one of the largest in the world, just behind the Middle East and Afghanistan. Most of the American assistance funds that go to Bogota - about 70 percent - are targeted for Plan Colombia.
President Bush came to Bogota at a critical time. President Uribe, his strongest ally in the region, is dealing with a political scandal involving members of his inner circle. And in Washington, Democrats in the U.S. Congress are questioning the Bush administration's request for billions of dollars over the next few years in additional aid to Colombia, which remains the world's largest producer of cocaine.
Mr. Bush says "Plan Colombia" - the program set up to battle narco-terrorists - is worthy of continued U.S. support. And he stressed he has confidence in President Uribe.
"You have set high expectations for your nation," said President Bush. "I appreciate your determination. And I am proud to call you a personal friend, and call your country a strategic partner of the United States."
During a joint news conference, Mr. Bush spoke directly about the political scandal that has rocked Colombia - the revelation that some of President Uribe's allies had ties to paramilitary commanders.
"I support a plan that says there will be an independent judiciary analyzing every charge brought forth and when someone is found guilty there will be punishment," he said. "That is the kind of plan I support. And it happens to be the kind of plan the president supports."
Mr. Uribe said the prosecutions, trials and sentences handed down are proof of just how far Colombia has come in its fight against insurgents and drug lords.
"Instead of being afraid of telling the truth, we have been supporting truth," said Alvaro Uribe. "Instead of looking for ways out of justice, we are trying to support justice as much as possible."
Mr. Bush is the first U.S. president to visit Bogota in a quarter century. Security was extremely tight for his visit with more than 20,000 police deployed in the city. They stood just a few meters apart, lining his motorcade route. And the entire visit - which lasted less than seven hours - played out largely in the confines of Colombia's presidential palace and an adjacent city square that was closed to the public.
Mr. Bush received a red-carpet welcome in the square. But there was also a raucous welcome from protesters - including one group that clashed with police within sight of his motorcade.
President Bush's critics here in Colombia charge the United States is putting too much money into military aid and not enough into funding programs to help the poor and the disadvantaged.
Before leaving Washington, Mr. Bush announced an increase in U.S. funds to help meet basic needs in Latin America, such as housing, health care and education. Colombia remains the largest U.S. aid recipient in the region and one of the largest in the world, just behind the Middle East and Afghanistan. Most of the American assistance funds that go to Bogota - about 70 percent - are targeted for Plan Colombia.
LA highlights role as creative center
Los Angeles gets little respect as an artistic or cultural center from its rivals on the East Coast, such as New York or Boston, but the sprawling West Coast city is highlighting its role as a creative hub. VOA's Mike O'Sullivan has details.
Even its critics acknowledge that Los Angeles has wonderful weather and impressive scenery. And it is home to the entertainment industry, with all its glitz and glamour.
Yet Los Angeles receives only grudging recognition as a creative center.
Jon Goodman, who heads the civic group Town Hall Los Angeles, says art and technology are converging in L.A., where movies are made with computer software, and medical schools use entertainment technology to train students to interact with patients.
"21st century art, design and entertainment requires technology," said Jon Goodman. "The real convergence is not TV going to the computer, or movies going to computer. The real convergence is technology, art and design all coming together."
Los Angeles architect Frank Gehry uses computer-generated designs to create architectural landmarks like the Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles.
Gehry and Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa came to another cultural center, the Getty Museum, to launch the campaign promoting Los Angeles as a creative center. The promotion features a full month of activities, ranging from art shows and museum exhibits to dramatic performances. The mayor says the city is due for some recognition.
"This is an opportunity for us to celebrate what LA is all about," said Mayor Villaraigosa. "It is a place of many, many cultures. It is the place where the world comes together, where immigrants come here like Frank Gehry from Canada, with a dream, and live that dream in a way that makes us all feel so special."
Gehry came to Los Angeles at age 17. Now 78, he has spent his career in the city, a place he says is not bound by traditions and orthodoxies .
"It is an open system here, maybe because it is so dispersed," said Frank Gehry. "And it has been under the radar. It is nice to focus on it."
Don Levy, a senior vice president for Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment, says Los Angeles is a center for all kinds of innovation.
"Creativity is not limited to the arts," said Levy. "Creativity is really about imagination, and imagination is really the underpinning of virtually all innovation. That includes science, medicine and business. And Los Angeles is a city filled with imaginative people looking at new ways to present ideas, fashion, design, technology, as well as entertainment."
Los Angeles officials say creative endeavors are also good for business, providing hundreds of thousands of jobs and injecting $13 billion a year into the local economy.
Even its critics acknowledge that Los Angeles has wonderful weather and impressive scenery. And it is home to the entertainment industry, with all its glitz and glamour.
Yet Los Angeles receives only grudging recognition as a creative center.
Jon Goodman, who heads the civic group Town Hall Los Angeles, says art and technology are converging in L.A., where movies are made with computer software, and medical schools use entertainment technology to train students to interact with patients.
"21st century art, design and entertainment requires technology," said Jon Goodman. "The real convergence is not TV going to the computer, or movies going to computer. The real convergence is technology, art and design all coming together."
Los Angeles architect Frank Gehry uses computer-generated designs to create architectural landmarks like the Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles.
Gehry and Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa came to another cultural center, the Getty Museum, to launch the campaign promoting Los Angeles as a creative center. The promotion features a full month of activities, ranging from art shows and museum exhibits to dramatic performances. The mayor says the city is due for some recognition.
"This is an opportunity for us to celebrate what LA is all about," said Mayor Villaraigosa. "It is a place of many, many cultures. It is the place where the world comes together, where immigrants come here like Frank Gehry from Canada, with a dream, and live that dream in a way that makes us all feel so special."
Gehry came to Los Angeles at age 17. Now 78, he has spent his career in the city, a place he says is not bound by traditions and orthodoxies .
"It is an open system here, maybe because it is so dispersed," said Frank Gehry. "And it has been under the radar. It is nice to focus on it."
Don Levy, a senior vice president for Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment, says Los Angeles is a center for all kinds of innovation.
"Creativity is not limited to the arts," said Levy. "Creativity is really about imagination, and imagination is really the underpinning of virtually all innovation. That includes science, medicine and business. And Los Angeles is a city filled with imaginative people looking at new ways to present ideas, fashion, design, technology, as well as entertainment."
Los Angeles officials say creative endeavors are also good for business, providing hundreds of thousands of jobs and injecting $13 billion a year into the local economy.
Bush, Mexican Presi.focus on immigration, drug trade
President Bush is visiting a hacienda (plantation) in the Mexican state of Yucatan with his host, President Felipe Calderon, where the two leaders are discussing immigration, the fight against drug smugglers and other matters of mutual concern. As VOA's Greg Flakus reports from Merida, there are low expectations on both sides of the border for this meeting.
In his greeting to President Bush Tuesday President Calderon emphasized the importance each country has to the other.
He said President Bush had made that same point on a previous visit, with then-president Vicente Fox in 2001. But the terrorist attacks in Washington and New York later that same year derailed plans both Bush and Fox had for comprehensive immigration reform.
In his greeting, President Calderon expressed support for Bush's effort to create a guest worker program as part of any reform approved by the U.S. Congress.
But the Mexican leader criticized U.S. plans to build nearly 1,000 kilometers of fencing along the border, saying that spending such funds on building roads in Mexico's interior would do more to curb the migration of workers to the north.
He also underscored the limits of his power to discourage illegal immigration, saying it could not be done by decree.
But U.S. advocates of greater border security and better enforcement of U.S. immigration laws are campaigning against any immigration reform package that would create what they believe would be an amnesty.
Illegal immigrants already use false documents and other measures to avoid deportation and backlogged immigration officials are ill-equipped to stop them.
For this reason, critics of the Bush proposal say any guest worker program, regardless of the rules and legalities it may contain, would be quickly subverted by the illegal immigrants.
U.S. critics of the guest worker plan also complain that Mexico sends its poor to the United States in order to avoid the difficult changes needed to provide for them at home and because the immigrants send back some $20 billion a year in remittances, second only to oil as a source of national income in Mexico.
The reluctance of Mexico's elite to address the problem of poverty was underscored last week when Forbes magazine revealed that Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim Helu is ranked as the third richest person in the world.
In a nation where half the population is below the poverty line and many people live on as little as half a dollar a day, the telephone company Slim operates is a virtual monopoly and, according to a report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, charges its users exorbitant rates.
In a news conference Monday, Slim denied this and criticized the report.
He said telecommunications in a developing nation require heavy investment. He said his companies have invested four billion dollars in infrastructure.
But, when asked about his own philanthropy, Slim mocked the other two top men on the Forbes list, U.S. billionaires Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, saying he did not plan on playing Santa Claus.
He said his idea was to do things and resolve problems rather than give out money. He said his function is to build a strong business, not spread wealth.
Slim did say he will provide more money for a foundation he started which supports better healthcare in Mexico and he suggested that the United States send more of its elderly patients to hospitals in Mexico, where costs are cheaper. Among Slim's many holdings is a company that constructs hospitals in Mexico.
In his greeting to President Bush Tuesday President Calderon emphasized the importance each country has to the other.
He said President Bush had made that same point on a previous visit, with then-president Vicente Fox in 2001. But the terrorist attacks in Washington and New York later that same year derailed plans both Bush and Fox had for comprehensive immigration reform.
In his greeting, President Calderon expressed support for Bush's effort to create a guest worker program as part of any reform approved by the U.S. Congress.
But the Mexican leader criticized U.S. plans to build nearly 1,000 kilometers of fencing along the border, saying that spending such funds on building roads in Mexico's interior would do more to curb the migration of workers to the north.
He also underscored the limits of his power to discourage illegal immigration, saying it could not be done by decree.
But U.S. advocates of greater border security and better enforcement of U.S. immigration laws are campaigning against any immigration reform package that would create what they believe would be an amnesty.
Illegal immigrants already use false documents and other measures to avoid deportation and backlogged immigration officials are ill-equipped to stop them.
For this reason, critics of the Bush proposal say any guest worker program, regardless of the rules and legalities it may contain, would be quickly subverted by the illegal immigrants.
U.S. critics of the guest worker plan also complain that Mexico sends its poor to the United States in order to avoid the difficult changes needed to provide for them at home and because the immigrants send back some $20 billion a year in remittances, second only to oil as a source of national income in Mexico.
The reluctance of Mexico's elite to address the problem of poverty was underscored last week when Forbes magazine revealed that Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim Helu is ranked as the third richest person in the world.
In a nation where half the population is below the poverty line and many people live on as little as half a dollar a day, the telephone company Slim operates is a virtual monopoly and, according to a report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, charges its users exorbitant rates.
In a news conference Monday, Slim denied this and criticized the report.
He said telecommunications in a developing nation require heavy investment. He said his companies have invested four billion dollars in infrastructure.
But, when asked about his own philanthropy, Slim mocked the other two top men on the Forbes list, U.S. billionaires Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, saying he did not plan on playing Santa Claus.
He said his idea was to do things and resolve problems rather than give out money. He said his function is to build a strong business, not spread wealth.
Slim did say he will provide more money for a foundation he started which supports better healthcare in Mexico and he suggested that the United States send more of its elderly patients to hospitals in Mexico, where costs are cheaper. Among Slim's many holdings is a company that constructs hospitals in Mexico.
California students learn first aid skills
Students in California are learning emergency skills to help if a disaster strikes their community. Mike O'Sullivan reports, they are mastering first aid and disaster communications.
Tom Baker teaches mathematics and meteorology at Moorpark High School outside Los Angeles. He also teaches emergency preparations in a course called Radio Amateurs in Disaster Operations. Students study for their amateur radio license.
"Take out your Morse code sheets, everyone," he says to the students.
They also learn disaster triage and first-aid techniques, taught by a captain from the local fire department.
Baker says the lessons of Hurricane Katrina, which struck New Orleans and the Gulf Coast a year-and-a-half ago, show that people may be on their own after a disaster.
"You have got to have water, you have got to have electricity, some form of a generator, some form of food or medicines, or whatever it is," he notes. "And you have got to do that all on your own for at least 72 hours. There is no umbrella of protection waiting for us. We are on our own."
Student Brandon Sullivan plans to become an emergency medical technician.
"And just help my community, if anything bad happens, all these bird flus and stuff, terrorism, and I just do not want to feel I cannot do anything about it," he says.
Student Chris Darabi says preparation is essential here in California.
"It is an area with a high probability for earthquakes, so I just want to be prepared for anything, any disaster," he notes.
Stephanie Ross says the class is challenging.
"At first, when you start it, it is kind of confusing, but it comes together," she says.
People in any part of the world are at the mercy of the weather, and at risk of both natural and man-made disasters.
Even on this quiet California campus, student Adam Price says anything could happen.
"You have got earthquakes and natural disasters that could happen at any time, like the bird flu that will hit, probably," he adds. "But it is just a case of being prepared for anything that could happen, because you never really know what could happen."
Ventura County Fire Captain Jon Jelle says the class teaches student self-sufficiency.
"This is just kind of a stepping stone to let them know there are things out there in the world that they can do without being told to do so," he says. "In case of a disaster or emergency, they can go out there and help."
Fires, floods, earthquakes, a bird-flu epidemic or a terrorist attack - teacher Tom Baker says his students will be ready.
Tom Baker teaches mathematics and meteorology at Moorpark High School outside Los Angeles. He also teaches emergency preparations in a course called Radio Amateurs in Disaster Operations. Students study for their amateur radio license.
"Take out your Morse code sheets, everyone," he says to the students.
They also learn disaster triage and first-aid techniques, taught by a captain from the local fire department.
Baker says the lessons of Hurricane Katrina, which struck New Orleans and the Gulf Coast a year-and-a-half ago, show that people may be on their own after a disaster.
"You have got to have water, you have got to have electricity, some form of a generator, some form of food or medicines, or whatever it is," he notes. "And you have got to do that all on your own for at least 72 hours. There is no umbrella of protection waiting for us. We are on our own."
Student Brandon Sullivan plans to become an emergency medical technician.
"And just help my community, if anything bad happens, all these bird flus and stuff, terrorism, and I just do not want to feel I cannot do anything about it," he says.
Student Chris Darabi says preparation is essential here in California.
"It is an area with a high probability for earthquakes, so I just want to be prepared for anything, any disaster," he notes.
Stephanie Ross says the class is challenging.
"At first, when you start it, it is kind of confusing, but it comes together," she says.
People in any part of the world are at the mercy of the weather, and at risk of both natural and man-made disasters.
Even on this quiet California campus, student Adam Price says anything could happen.
"You have got earthquakes and natural disasters that could happen at any time, like the bird flu that will hit, probably," he adds. "But it is just a case of being prepared for anything that could happen, because you never really know what could happen."
Ventura County Fire Captain Jon Jelle says the class teaches student self-sufficiency.
"This is just kind of a stepping stone to let them know there are things out there in the world that they can do without being told to do so," he says. "In case of a disaster or emergency, they can go out there and help."
Fires, floods, earthquakes, a bird-flu epidemic or a terrorist attack - teacher Tom Baker says his students will be ready.
Terrorist leader confession raises questions
According to a just-released U.S. transcript, accused al-Qaida operative Khalid Sheikh Mohammad has confessed to a leading role in at least 31 alleged terrorist plots, including the attacks of September 11, 2001. The admissions came in the transcript of a closed-door U.S. military hearing at the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. But, as VOA correspondent Gary Thomas reports, Mohammad's multiple confessions raise some questions.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammad says he was the foreign operations chief for Osama bin Laden and claims a key role, if not the leading one, in some 31 alleged plots around the world and spanning a decade.
But some experts believe that while Mohammad was indeed a key al-Qaida figure, they also say some of his claims are open to question and that he may be inflating his importance in some areas. In 2005, the commission that investigated the September 11 attacks noted Mohammad's sometimes extravagant ambitions and said that he liked to cast himself as a super-terrorist.
Former FBI agent Jack Cloonan, who was on the Osama bin Laden counter-terrorist team in New York, says Mohammad has what he terms an enormous ego. He also notes that the transcript of the March 10 military tribunal hearing has no details of any of the alleged plots.
"Well, one of the things that strikes out at me is that of the 31 operations that he has claimed credit for, claimed credit for himself, is actually the lack of specificity," he said. "Some of the ones are obviously well known, obviously the attacks on the [World] Trade Center, both in '93 and 2001. But some of the other things he's alluding to lack specificity. Now there may be more information that was provided either to the CIA or in fact to the military interrogators. And I hope that information was disseminated."
Other counter-terrorism experts, however, are not troubled by the fact that many of the plots Mohammad alludes to never actually occurred. Former CIA officer Michael Scheuer, who headed the agency's hunt for bin Laden, say al-Qaida was engaging in contingency planning. He adds that while Khalid Sheikh Mohammad may have embellished somewhat, even the potential planning he outlines is a chilling indicator of al-Qaida's danger.
"I think you come away from KSM's [Khalid Sheikh Mohammad's] testimony - even if you accept maybe a quarter of it being embroidery or swagger [exaggeration] - with a very clear view of a very potent, very intelligent, very innovative enemy," he said.
Mohammad was captured in March, 2003, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, near the capital city of Islamabad. As one of the so-called high-value terrorist detainees, he was held in a network of CIA secret prisons in various countries until his transfer to Guantanamo Bay last year. On March 10, he was given what the Pentagon calls a Combatant Status Review hearing to determine if he is to be released or detained indefinitely. The hearing was closed to the media.
Mohammad himself claims to have been tortured in his CIA interrogations, but the hearing transcript that was released edited out any further comment from him in that regard.
Tom Parker, a former British counter-terrorism officer, says Mohammad's claims of his terrorist leader status could be true. But he says what kind of treatment Khalid Sheikh Mohammad received could have affected his testimony.
"We don't know what he'd been through in the last three years," he said. "But if he has been subjected to highly coercive interrogation techniques, he could be a broken man. At this point he may be entirely prepared to confess to kidnapping [the late singer] Elvis [Presley]. We just don't know."
Former CIA officer Michael Scheuer says that while Mohammad could have been mistreated, he also knows that the issue of U.S. interrogation methods has been the subject of intense political debate.
"He is an informed observer of the propaganda and public diplomacy aspects of the war between the United States, and al-Qaida and its allies," he said. "And he has exploited that with a combination of truthfulness in terms of many of the attacks we know that he was involved with that he claimed, and in terms of a really acute eye for exacerbating problems of the American government in handling people that they capture."
Analysts say that because four years has elapsed since Khalid Sheikh Mohammad's capture, any further information gleaned from interrogation would be outdated and of little use now.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammad says he was the foreign operations chief for Osama bin Laden and claims a key role, if not the leading one, in some 31 alleged plots around the world and spanning a decade.
But some experts believe that while Mohammad was indeed a key al-Qaida figure, they also say some of his claims are open to question and that he may be inflating his importance in some areas. In 2005, the commission that investigated the September 11 attacks noted Mohammad's sometimes extravagant ambitions and said that he liked to cast himself as a super-terrorist.
Former FBI agent Jack Cloonan, who was on the Osama bin Laden counter-terrorist team in New York, says Mohammad has what he terms an enormous ego. He also notes that the transcript of the March 10 military tribunal hearing has no details of any of the alleged plots.
"Well, one of the things that strikes out at me is that of the 31 operations that he has claimed credit for, claimed credit for himself, is actually the lack of specificity," he said. "Some of the ones are obviously well known, obviously the attacks on the [World] Trade Center, both in '93 and 2001. But some of the other things he's alluding to lack specificity. Now there may be more information that was provided either to the CIA or in fact to the military interrogators. And I hope that information was disseminated."
Other counter-terrorism experts, however, are not troubled by the fact that many of the plots Mohammad alludes to never actually occurred. Former CIA officer Michael Scheuer, who headed the agency's hunt for bin Laden, say al-Qaida was engaging in contingency planning. He adds that while Khalid Sheikh Mohammad may have embellished somewhat, even the potential planning he outlines is a chilling indicator of al-Qaida's danger.
"I think you come away from KSM's [Khalid Sheikh Mohammad's] testimony - even if you accept maybe a quarter of it being embroidery or swagger [exaggeration] - with a very clear view of a very potent, very intelligent, very innovative enemy," he said.
Mohammad was captured in March, 2003, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, near the capital city of Islamabad. As one of the so-called high-value terrorist detainees, he was held in a network of CIA secret prisons in various countries until his transfer to Guantanamo Bay last year. On March 10, he was given what the Pentagon calls a Combatant Status Review hearing to determine if he is to be released or detained indefinitely. The hearing was closed to the media.
Mohammad himself claims to have been tortured in his CIA interrogations, but the hearing transcript that was released edited out any further comment from him in that regard.
Tom Parker, a former British counter-terrorism officer, says Mohammad's claims of his terrorist leader status could be true. But he says what kind of treatment Khalid Sheikh Mohammad received could have affected his testimony.
"We don't know what he'd been through in the last three years," he said. "But if he has been subjected to highly coercive interrogation techniques, he could be a broken man. At this point he may be entirely prepared to confess to kidnapping [the late singer] Elvis [Presley]. We just don't know."
Former CIA officer Michael Scheuer says that while Mohammad could have been mistreated, he also knows that the issue of U.S. interrogation methods has been the subject of intense political debate.
"He is an informed observer of the propaganda and public diplomacy aspects of the war between the United States, and al-Qaida and its allies," he said. "And he has exploited that with a combination of truthfulness in terms of many of the attacks we know that he was involved with that he claimed, and in terms of a really acute eye for exacerbating problems of the American government in handling people that they capture."
Analysts say that because four years has elapsed since Khalid Sheikh Mohammad's capture, any further information gleaned from interrogation would be outdated and of little use now.
This year's Oscars have international flair
Sunday, the eyes of the world will be on Hollywood, where the Academy Awards, or Oscars, will be presented. VOA's Mike O'Sullivan reports, this year's movie honors have an international flavor.
Peter O'Toole, Irish-born and raised in Britain, is an acting nominee for his leading role in the film Venus. Helen Mirren will compete for the best-actress award for her role as the British monarch Elizabeth II in The Queen. Mirren is British herself, but the task of portraying a well-known figure was formidable, and critics have called the depiction uncannily accurate.
How did she do it? Reporters asked her at a recent luncheon for Oscar nominees.
"It is called imagination," she said. "And that is what we do as actors. We imagine. You know, you are never in the real, real world of the film or the play that you are doing. You have to imagine and put yourself there."
Just one nominee in the Best Actress category is American this year, Meryl Streep for the fashion-industry satire The Devil Wears Prada. Two nominees are British, Judi Dench for Notes on a Scandal and Kate Winslet for Little Children, and Spain's Penelope Cruz is a nominee for the comedy-drama Volver.
"It is a huge honor to be nominated, to be in the company of these amazing actresses," Cruz said. "This is such a strong year. And it is even more special, the fact that I got the nomination with a movie that is Spanish-speaking."
African-born Djimon Hounsou is nominated for best supporting actor for Blood Diamond. The film starring best-actor nominee Leonardo DiCaprio is a tale of conflict and greed in Sierra Leone of the 1990s. American Forest Whitaker is best-actor nominee for his role as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland.
Japan's Rinko Kikuchi and Mexico's Adriana Barraza are nominees for their supporting roles in the international thriller Babel.
Babel's Mexican director, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, will compete for the Oscar for best director. The film's Mexican screenwriter, Guillermo Arriaga, is an Oscar nominee for his original screenplay, and Guillermo del Toro is a double nominee for another Mexican entry, Pan's Labyrinth. That fantasy film is nominated in six categories.
Babel and The Queen will compete for the Oscar for best picture, along with the Japanese-language war film Letters from Iwo Jima from American director Clint Eastwood. Other nominees in the best-picture category are the crime thriller The Departed and the comedy Little Miss Sunshine.
The Oscars are presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and academy president Sid Ganis says this year's event will have an international flavor.
"Isn't that brilliant, that there are movies from all over the world? The art of film was never meant to be an American phenomenon," he said. "It is art. So it is for the world, and artists all over the world are scoring in a big way. It is very great, wonderful."
The Oscar telecast is also international. Viewers in more than 100 countries can watch the Hollywood ceremony.
Peter O'Toole, Irish-born and raised in Britain, is an acting nominee for his leading role in the film Venus. Helen Mirren will compete for the best-actress award for her role as the British monarch Elizabeth II in The Queen. Mirren is British herself, but the task of portraying a well-known figure was formidable, and critics have called the depiction uncannily accurate.
How did she do it? Reporters asked her at a recent luncheon for Oscar nominees.
"It is called imagination," she said. "And that is what we do as actors. We imagine. You know, you are never in the real, real world of the film or the play that you are doing. You have to imagine and put yourself there."
Just one nominee in the Best Actress category is American this year, Meryl Streep for the fashion-industry satire The Devil Wears Prada. Two nominees are British, Judi Dench for Notes on a Scandal and Kate Winslet for Little Children, and Spain's Penelope Cruz is a nominee for the comedy-drama Volver.
"It is a huge honor to be nominated, to be in the company of these amazing actresses," Cruz said. "This is such a strong year. And it is even more special, the fact that I got the nomination with a movie that is Spanish-speaking."
African-born Djimon Hounsou is nominated for best supporting actor for Blood Diamond. The film starring best-actor nominee Leonardo DiCaprio is a tale of conflict and greed in Sierra Leone of the 1990s. American Forest Whitaker is best-actor nominee for his role as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland.
Japan's Rinko Kikuchi and Mexico's Adriana Barraza are nominees for their supporting roles in the international thriller Babel.
Babel's Mexican director, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, will compete for the Oscar for best director. The film's Mexican screenwriter, Guillermo Arriaga, is an Oscar nominee for his original screenplay, and Guillermo del Toro is a double nominee for another Mexican entry, Pan's Labyrinth. That fantasy film is nominated in six categories.
Babel and The Queen will compete for the Oscar for best picture, along with the Japanese-language war film Letters from Iwo Jima from American director Clint Eastwood. Other nominees in the best-picture category are the crime thriller The Departed and the comedy Little Miss Sunshine.
The Oscars are presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and academy president Sid Ganis says this year's event will have an international flavor.
"Isn't that brilliant, that there are movies from all over the world? The art of film was never meant to be an American phenomenon," he said. "It is art. So it is for the world, and artists all over the world are scoring in a big way. It is very great, wonderful."
The Oscar telecast is also international. Viewers in more than 100 countries can watch the Hollywood ceremony.
American Idol Album Sales Updates: Daughtry Bumped From Top Spot
It has to happen some time: Chris Daughtry fell out of the No. 1 slot in Billboard, but not by much.
Two debuts edged him: The Notorious B.I.G.’s Greatest Hits, which sold 99,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and Arcade Fire’s new Neon Bible (92,000). Daughtry sold 82,000, down 9% from the previous week; his total is 1.88 million.
Other American Idol album chart data follows:
Carrie Underwood got a nice boost from her Idol performance last week, jumping from No. 15 to No. 12 on the chart and selling 45,000, a 33% improvement over the previous week. That was enough to push her over the 5 million mark (5.04 million, rounded), but she still trails Kelly Clarkson (who sold 3,900 copies last week) by about 700,000 for the all-time Idol album sales title.
Katharine McPhee drops 44-61, selling 13,000, down 22%. Total is 248,000.
Kellie Pickler is back down after her Idol boost, dropping 66-83 with 9,700 units sold, 19% off the previous week’s sum. Her total is 464,000, maybe a month or a bit more away from the half-million mark.
Fantasia Barrino drops 105-121, selling 6,900, a 14% reduction from the previous week. Total: 317,000.
Taylor Hicks drops drastically, 109-136, selling 5,900, 20% fewer than in the previous week. Total is 653,000, but all signs point to it not going a whole lot higher.
Off the chart: Ruben sold another 1,800, down about 14%, for a total of 213,000; and Clay Aiken sold 1,000, about the same as the previous week, to bring his total to 505,000.
Two debuts edged him: The Notorious B.I.G.’s Greatest Hits, which sold 99,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and Arcade Fire’s new Neon Bible (92,000). Daughtry sold 82,000, down 9% from the previous week; his total is 1.88 million.
Other American Idol album chart data follows:
Carrie Underwood got a nice boost from her Idol performance last week, jumping from No. 15 to No. 12 on the chart and selling 45,000, a 33% improvement over the previous week. That was enough to push her over the 5 million mark (5.04 million, rounded), but she still trails Kelly Clarkson (who sold 3,900 copies last week) by about 700,000 for the all-time Idol album sales title.
Katharine McPhee drops 44-61, selling 13,000, down 22%. Total is 248,000.
Kellie Pickler is back down after her Idol boost, dropping 66-83 with 9,700 units sold, 19% off the previous week’s sum. Her total is 464,000, maybe a month or a bit more away from the half-million mark.
Fantasia Barrino drops 105-121, selling 6,900, a 14% reduction from the previous week. Total: 317,000.
Taylor Hicks drops drastically, 109-136, selling 5,900, 20% fewer than in the previous week. Total is 653,000, but all signs point to it not going a whole lot higher.
Off the chart: Ruben sold another 1,800, down about 14%, for a total of 213,000; and Clay Aiken sold 1,000, about the same as the previous week, to bring his total to 505,000.
Antonella Barba
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FAST FACTS
Age: 20
Hometown: Point Pleasant, NJ
Audition City: New York
Voted off: Mar. 8th
Favorite male pop artists?
Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Justin Timberlake
Favorite female pop artists?
Christina Aguilera, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, JoJo
When did you first start to sing?
6th grade talent show
Do you have any formal singing training?
No
What other talents do you have?
Violin, piano
If you don’t make it on AMERICAN IDOL, what will you do?
Finish school
What are your personal goals in life?
Be happy, no matter what I end up doing.
What album would your friends be surprised you own?
Josh Groban
Who is your AMERICAN IDOL?
Amanda, cuz she gave me the encouragement and support to get here
Do you have any rituals or things you do each time before you perform?
Pray
Most embarrassing moments?
Saying the wrong things before I think
What has been your proudest moment in life so far?
Making it through the first cut, the biggest cut so far, with my best friend
If you couldn’t sing, which talent would you most like to have?
Playing football
What is your definition of AMERICAN IDOL?
A role model for talent
Who is your favorite judge and why?
Simon. He tells it how it is, but only if you set yourself up for it.
What would people be surprised to learn about you?
I win eating competitions.
How has this changed your life?
This is the first time I haven’t been in school ever.
Do you have any lucky charms?
Only with milk.
Who are your heroes in life?
Walt Disney
What’s been your toughest obstacle in life?
Defeating stereotypes
Do you think the audition process was fair?
Not entirely, come on, it’s reality TV.
If you win, who will you thank first?
God
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